HI all,
I'm looking for a qualified psychiatrist in Kunming who's willing to subscribe anti-depressants as I am aware that mental health issue is not traditionally treated with western meds especially for a young guy in his 20s but I was clinically diagnosed with depressant back in Switzerland and i'm running out of my meds pretty soon. I can't get meds sent from Switzerland as it's heavily controlled and I will probably relapse into another major depressive episode from withdrawal too.
It'll be very much appreciated if any of you know any good doctors in Kunming.
Thanks in advance
You could try the following.
Go into the big hospitals, start with the biggest, and go to the pharmacy dept, with your med packages.
Ask the pharmacist if they stock meds like that and the name of the doctor who prescribes them. If they don't, try another hospital. Make sure you speak to the pharmacist, not the helper. If they say 'no', ask if they could possibly get them if a doctor at the hospital prescribes them. Remember that in China 'no'does not necessarily mean no; it may mean you didn't ask the right question (dumb as it seems).
You would then need a doctors consult, but if you are already on them it is just a case of rubber stamping. Pharmacy is a major revenue earner in Chinese hospitals. All of the big pharma companies supply the main Chinese hospitals (BMS, Pfizer, Bayer, AstraZeneca, GSK, Johnson & Johnson etc.)
Once you have the record of the prescription once, you will not need to see the doctor for a repeat prescription. They usually only supply one month at a time. I do this with my meds, and the doctor may only want to see you again in 6 months.
You might try a large pharmacy like Yunnan Baiyao Drug Store on Nanping Jie at the southeast corner of the big intersection. Most have a drug dictionary with drugs alphabetically in English. Bring your med bottles. If it isn't in the book, good luck finding it anywhere in China.
Bear in mind doctors could have incentives to supply you new drugs on the market which haven't gone through the testing and approval associated with western pharmaceutical industries
In the apsolute northern extremity of the city is a madhouse called 昆明市精神病院. It has been on TV once or twice. You'd have to travel there on the
Kunming expressway and take a turn off, its miles out. I looked on Baidu map but I'm still none the wiser.
Surely they'd have what you're looking for. It may be worth trying to see if a Chinese friend can get a phone number for the place as it would be a long way to go not to get what you need.
As above I would try going to the pharmasy of a regular large hospital and begin by asking there, if they have it go through the procedures, and get a prescription as Tiger has said, this is the easiest way likely to get the result you need.
The street level chemists aren't allowed to sell anything too hardcore so although there's probably a few on your street its unlike to have anything that is useful.
You could make an appointment with the international clinic and see if the doc there has knowledge of where to get your meds should you not find them in the large hospitals pharma.
www.gokunming.com/[...]
@Napolean A madhouse? For electroconvulvise therapy or something?
Geezer is absolutely correct. Yunnan Baiyao Drug Store on Nanping Jie has anti-depressants you can buy over the counter. I have known several foreigners who have bought them at this pharmacy. They have more than one kind. Good luck.
Hey thanks everyone for your inputs and I will try going to pharmacies first, and hopefully mine's not banned here. I'll save the madhouse as the last resort though and vicar's right it does sound suspicious.
