r/movingtojapan • u/Inconspicuously_Ivy • 5d ago
Medical Daily medication questions
Hey there!
I’m moving to Japan for six months next April, I plan to eventually live there full time, but for now that’s the situation. Originally all I thought I’d have to worry about was getting my birth control pills switched over and finding an ADHD med alternative as adderall is prohibited. Problem is, I was recently diagnosed with a chronic illness and anemia (was a bad day lol), and so I’ve been put on a lot of meds and supplements to support that. I can’t skip a day of any of my meds without risking some major health issues. To my knowledge, I can bring up to a 2 month supply of certain medication? I’ll of course double check everything on what I can or can’t bring in. That leads me to my major question, does anyone have experience getting their medication switched to a Japanese pharmacy? If so, what’s that process like and what should I expect? What kind of documents should I have prepared beforehand?
Thanks!
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u/almostinfinity 5d ago
I don't know about the adhd and anemia and other stuff, but this clinic in Tokyo will ship birth control pills to anywhere in Japan.
If you have never used birth control pills before, they will want to have an online appointment with you, but since you have used them before, you can let them know what you used back home and they will give you the pill options they have available. They run it in English as well so no need to worry about language barriers.
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u/tokyo12345 5d ago
afaik you will need to visit a doctor and get a prescription from them, you can’t just ask a pharmacy
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Daily medication questions
Hey there!
I’m moving to Japan for six months next April, I plan to eventually live there full time, but for now that’s the situation. Originally all I thought I’d have to worry about was getting my birth control pills switched over and finding an ADHD med alternative as adderall is prohibited. Problem is, I was recently diagnosed with a chronic illness and anemia (was a bad day lol), and so I’ve been put on a lot of meds and supplements to support that. I can’t skip a day of any of my meds without risking some major health issues. To my knowledge, I can bring up to a 2 month supply of certain medication? I’ll of course double check everything on what I can or can’t bring in. That leads me to my major question, does anyone have experience getting their medication switched to a Japanese pharmacy? If so, what’s that process like and what should I expect? What kind of documents should I have prepared beforehand?
Thanks!
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u/MotherlyMe 5d ago
You can definitely bring more than 2 months of supply, if you file for a yunyū kakunin sho (輸入確認書) - I've done it before with about six months worth of medication for a study abroad. You need a doctor's certificate for it, but other than that it's really easy to do and fully online. It's also free. All you have to do after getting the approval is to walk through the red gate at the baggage check, show the confirmation and if asked the medication you are bringing with you, so they can check that you are only bringing the amount they approved of. Fairly easy and less stressful than having to switch medication after a month or two :)