Antidepressants

trooper1 wrote:

Hi
I will be moving to saudi to live and work, i take mirtazapine would i be able to buy this drug over the counter at a pharmacy

You'd need a prescription for that first of all.. Secndly the same drug name should be available, if not get the chemical/generic name written by your doctor and then come here.

Hi
Thanks for the reply, i can get a prescription from my doctor here in the uk, would i have to get a prescription in saudi or can i get it over the counter in a pharmacy

trooper1 wrote:

Hi
Thanks for the reply, i can get a prescription from my doctor here in the uk, would i have to get a prescription in saudi or can i get it over the counter in a pharmacy

Getting a prescription from ur Doc in the UK and then showing it to a Doc. here and getting a prescription from here would be better so that u dont face hassles in the pharmacies here. :-)

ok thanks for your help.

Probably not.

whats probably not

Unless it is in the formulay for the hospital they will not have it. As an example. I take Betaserc here which is not approved by the FDA in America so I cannot get it there. Your medication may not be available here. Also it might be sold under the generic name. I would suggest finding out before you leave if it is available here by contacting the government office that oversees prescription drugs and their availability in Saudi Arabia first.

trooper1 wrote:

Hi
I will be moving to saudi to live and work, i take mirtazapine would i be able to buy this drug over the counter at a pharmacy

If the pharmacy stocks that medicine then I would say "yes" you can buy it over the counter. Maybe not in hospital pharmacies but in most other pharmacies on the street. I have been buying escitalopram (Cipralex) over the counter no problem for the last 10 months from various pharmacies. I'm not trying to advocate self prescribing medicine, but in my case I know what I need and as it takes such a long time to come off I still have to buy it!

If you have prescrition of doctor that you need this drug, so you can get it from medical store.

Hi Jim, I was just saying that in my experience it is very easy for me to get the medicine I need (Cipralex or Citalopram) over the counter. All I do is show the box of the meds I need and the pharmacist has never asked me for a prescription.
I know that this would be impossible to do in the UK and probably many other countries too, but from my experience it's a bit more relaxed in the KSA.

Hi,

Sometimes that is the case however there are a few medications that you must get a RX from a MD and can only be refilled with a new RX. Many are available but with some it is a toss up. It is always good to ask in advance as you suggest.I would also suggest to know the generic names as well since it might have a different spelling or even pronunciation from how you know it.

If you thought you needed anti-depressants before, wait to you get here!
The traffic alone has sucked all the life out of me.

trooper1 wrote:

Hi
I will be moving to saudi to live and work, i take mirtazapine would i be able to buy this drug over the counter at a pharmacy

Remron ( mirtazapine ) is available easily !

My dad takes it , but the side effects are worse , like headache in the evenings and increased blood sugar !

Then the doctor advised to take Product Name: RIASERTAL 50 MG 100 MG ® Generic Name: Sertraline HCl

It did a huge effect , and helped him a lot

But different persons have different side affects so I guess it's going good for you

Don't worry , the med is available here

Most anti depressants are freely available. Just to be safe, ask your dr which one you could use as an alternative should our particular one not be available.

Hi cliffster thanks for the reply, I dont take the drug for depression it's for something else, but thanks for the reply

Hi trooper1,

You are going to need to arrange for a doctor in Riyadh at any rate, since you should never be on any long-term medication schedule without medical supervision.

Also, as a rule antidepressants tend to lose their effect following prolonged use and it's extremely common that patients with chronic depression need to be switched to a different medication from-time-to-time, so you'll also need to have a doctor locally for this reason. You should never take any medication longer than 6 months without some kind of evaluation by a doctor.

Cheers,
James            Expat-blog Experts Team

Hi James I get evaluation from my doctor

You cannot buy anti-depressant drugs in Saudi pharmacies without a prescription from a general doctor, psychiatrist, or neurologist.

However, you can easily buy anti-depressant herbal medications such as St John's wort or Fish oil. These are usually found in Nahdi Pharmacy or GNC.

D.HOMOD wrote:

You cannot buy anti-depressant drugs in Saudi pharmacies without a prescription from a general doctor, psychiatrist, or neurologist.

However, you can easily buy anti-depressant herbal medications such as St John's wort or Fish oil. These are usually found in Nahdi Pharmacy or GNC.

Absolutely not true. I have bought anti depressants from Saudi pharmacies on more than ten occasions. I was never once asked for a prescription.... Please check your facts before you start to spread untruths as it can be very misleading not to mention inconvenient for those concerned.

Yeah your correct mate you can buy them as I've had someone go to a pharmacy and they took pics of the tablets I need and confirmed with the pharmacy that I can buy over the counter

I'm shocked that they are selling anti-depressants without a prescription!

I was not able to buy Citalopram or escitalopram (SSRI antidepressant) from the Saudi pharmacies in 2014; the pharmacists said that these type of medications require a "Reseta" from a doctor!

Note that I searched only in Jeddah and Dammam (Nahdi pharmacy)

I do not wish to break some hope mates, but by law, the process of selling psychotropic drugs without accepting a prescription in Saudi pharmacies is considered illegal.
The pharmacy might get closed if the Saudi authorities find out.
I highly recommend that you earn a prescription to refill legally.

I totally understand that, but sometimes when you have already had a prescription from a different country and you still need to take that medicine is it really necessary or practical to go to a doctor and get a prescription everytime you need to buy a new box? I know in my case it certainly isn't!

I think in your situation you can buy it from outside KSA and ship it your Saudi mailbox.
Furtunately, the Saudi customs are not very strict with anti-depressants.

I travelled back and forth between USA, Qatar and KSA with an SSRI anti-depressant in my luggage; they did not confiscate it or even ask about it.

I heard that antidepressants and sleep aids are illegal. Sorry if this is a stupid question. I may be relocating to Riyadh. Are they illegal? Thanks everyone.

No. Rules here does not allow to dispense such medicines without an autherised prescription.

So is citalopram advailable in Saudi Arabia ? Another name for it, is Celexa

How do I find out if my sons medication is advailable in Saudi Arabia?

Hello Umjibreel,

Welcome to Expat.com.

I would highly advise you to create a thread of your own on the Riyadh forum to enquire about the availability of this type of medication.

This thread dates back to 2014 and the last post published was in 2017; you may not receive any response.

Thank you,

Diksha
Team Expat.com

Any one can tell me the price of antidepression medicine in saudi arabia?

Any one tell me price of antidepression medicine and fees of psychiatrist in saudi?

@mooro_uk hello is this pertaining to riyadh or saudi in general? i have had a job offer and tend to prefer remaining on citalopram though its completely necessary. and thanks for any advice your reply above leaves me hopeful