Hello everyone! I have borderline personality disorder and ADHD, so I take an anti-epileptic (also mood stabilizer called Trileptal), a narcolepsy medication, modafinil, for the ADHD (to keep me awake), and Wellbutrin to treat the depression that comes along with it.
I’m moving to Tokyo in September and I need to figure out how to get my medication re-prescribed, because my symptoms become extreme when I don’t use them. (I have a quiet form of borderline personality disorder, so I don’t lash out at others, and instead just myself, but my symptoms are still really difficult to manage without medication.)
I’ll be given a 90 day supply of them, so I have three months to get this all worked out. I can speak a minimal amount of Japanese (enough to try to get my point across), but I could likely find someone who would be willing to translate for me, or just hire a translator if need be. I could also search out one that speaks English, but I don’t know if they’re any good.
Thank you!
8 comments
If you’re bringing more than a month worth of drugs into the country, be sure to fill a Yunyu Kakunin-sho.
As for the meds themselves, I don’t know how available they’ll be. Japan has practically non-existent mental health support, and a lot of the drugs that are typically prescribed in places like the US for these conditions are illegal in Japan. I searched for Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal) in the list of approved drugs in Japan, and it’s not on it. On the other hand, Modafinil「モダフィニル」is on the list.
Good luck! Hopefully someone with more experience with these conditions and drugs than me can help you.
You have to find a doctor and start the process from scratch. Some of your current medication may not be available in Japan in that case the doctor will prescribe what he/she thinks is best. It’s also possible that the doctor may not be able to properly daignose some or all of your issues in which case you will have to go to a specialist and start again.
Also be warned that it is a possibility that the doctors here may even reject your current diagnosis in which case you may have to go to multiple other doctors until one agrees to help.
While it has improved by leaps in bounds since I have come to Japan mental health care is still far behind the west.
Depending on the severity of your conditions Japan may not be the best choice for you. Only you can make that decision though so I emplote you to do your research.
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Don’t move to japan. You will be screwed for months or years. And you will become one of those poster saying how bad your life has become.
I’m a nurse and get treatment for mental health at a clinic. The meds here are basically tic-taco. Good luck
Okay! I think I may have figured out a solution. I plan to just apply for a yunyu kakunin-sho for my medications and just get a year supply of each. I already contacted one of the offices to get them to approve my medications. I’ll just travel home yearly and get a new supply. Then this mitigates having to start a brand new medication and find a new psychiatrist.
Mate do you have any sort of support network in Japan that can help you if shit hits the fan and you end up in a spiral, if not I would honestly recommend not moving to a country where that isn’t in place otherwise it will bite you in the ass. Go for a long holiday to Japan but don’t move there
Japan isn’t going to fix your issues, if anything it will get worse.
This is a bad idea