kzel81
Barfly
Life in not about the amount of breaths you take, but about the moments that take your breath away
Posts: 61
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Post by kzel81 on Oct 29, 2006 5:15:49 GMT 7
Just wondering if ventolin, or similar, is fairly easy to access over there?
I suffer from very mild asthma, and haven't had a flare up in years.
But keeping in mind the fact that the pollution may effect me when I first come over, I'll be bringing some ventolin over with me, and am just wondering if it's fairly easy to get more should I need it?
Thanks!
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Post by Dr. Gonzo on Oct 29, 2006 5:47:17 GMT 7
My wife [Chinese] says yes.
I must say that in 5 years teaching in China, I never saw a student using a puffer.
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nolefan
Barfly
Quod me nutrit, me destruit!
Posts: 686
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Post by nolefan on Oct 29, 2006 7:13:38 GMT 7
It is actually quite easy to get depending on where you are.
Juanbimba and I just got some the other day in Beijing over the counter. Cost for ventolin was something like 40RMB or so. There's another brand by glaxo-smith that comes in a nice UFO shaped thingie but it runs about 240RMB.
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Post by Becster79 on Oct 29, 2006 9:54:23 GMT 7
Hey Kze, welcome to China (and the forum)! I'm the same as you, haven't had a flare up in years but only when in China (I'm actually just getting over a case right now).
I found the grey ventolin puffers, looks EXACTLY the same as back home, at Waton's, over the counter, for 40RMB. No script needed! Watson't is a large chain, I found mine in Xian and it's 3 storeys. Make sure you know what to ask for in Chinese, 'asthma' was in my phrasebook so they knew immediately.
So where will you be based when you arrive?
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Escaped Lunatic
Barfly
Civet Burger? Sounds tempting. Can I get fries with that?
Posts: 567
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Post by Escaped Lunatic on Oct 29, 2006 10:01:03 GMT 7
Guess I'll take the opportunity to parasite my own related question onto this innocent thread.
I'm currently taking Vytorin - it's a combination of Zetia (ezetimibe) and Zocor (simvastatin). Am I likely to be able to find either the Vytorin or the individual components in China? If so, what's the trip to the pharmacy likely to cost?
"Just say no to drugs!"
- Nancy Reagan
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kzel81
Barfly
Life in not about the amount of breaths you take, but about the moments that take your breath away
Posts: 61
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Post by kzel81 on Oct 29, 2006 10:37:19 GMT 7
Thanks all! So where will you be based when you arrive? I haven't signed a contract yet, but I'm currently considering a job in Kunshan. Even if I go with another job, I'm probably going to be around the Suzhou area. |
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Post by Raoul Duke on Oct 29, 2006 22:31:25 GMT 7
Hey, Suzhou is great and it'd be great having you here! (Although Kunshan, of course, is NOT Suzhou...  ) Meanwhile, I use Ventolin myself. I get the inhalers for under 30 RMB (~$3.75 US or around 142,000 Samoan Uuluaati) and they work great. You can actually find it for under 10 RMB in a 1950's-grade Chinese inhaler thingy, but it's so primitive (and ineffectual) that I pay more for the good one. Loony, I don't often say this but that's one medication I've never heard of. If it's available in China at all, it may be confined to the bigger cities. You might ask your doctor if you can achieve your goal using medicines that are a generation or two older than the latest-and-greatest...you can get Western meds here but they're often well behind the curve. |
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Post by Raoul Duke on Oct 29, 2006 22:33:20 GMT 7
Oh, one last note...if you suffer from asthma or other respiratory problem, be advised that you're coming to a country where even the best city air is probably MUCH worse than it is where you come from. Be prepared...
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Post by AMonk on Oct 29, 2006 23:03:57 GMT 7
EL : I'd be very interested in knowing the availability of Vytorin, myself (one of Hubby's meds). Also the situation on Plavix (for Hubby) and Glucophage and Hyzaar or Elanapril (pour moi). OOOhh, the pain/strain of getting (ulp) old-er.
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Escaped Lunatic
Barfly
Civet Burger? Sounds tempting. Can I get fries with that?
Posts: 567
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Post by Escaped Lunatic on Oct 30, 2006 4:14:32 GMT 7
Guess I'll send an email to my friend at Beijing Medical University and see if she has any info. I've managed to stash about 3 months worth, but there's a limit to how many samples I can squeeze out of my doc.
In the meantime, if anyone happens to be at the local drugs-r-us, feel free to interrogate the clerks for me and for Amonk's hubby.
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Post by Mr Nobody on Oct 30, 2006 8:36:24 GMT 7
Actually, you got me too, and I don't say that much either. Medicines have changed a lot since I learned about them, and I guess I haven't been keeping as up to date as I thought.
I will have to google.
But right now, I have to shoot off to the once in a year lifetime experience of the international food festival, held on a mountain nearby. It was yummy last year, this year I hope to be there when the spit roast venision is up for grabs.
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Escaped Lunatic
Barfly
Civet Burger? Sounds tempting. Can I get fries with that?
Posts: 567
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Post by Escaped Lunatic on Oct 30, 2006 9:01:44 GMT 7
Don't worry about googling mine - just visit www.vytorin.com and you'll learn more than anyone ever wanted to know about it. I can say that of the various anti-cholesterol meds I've used, it's the one that's been most effective with me. I'm plotting to temporarily ditch my daily doses of tricor and niaspan while in China. |
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