[giselle]

I discontinued my prescription back home thinking that it'd be easy to get one here.

Then I called up the Family Planning Association and they said they'd only prescribe it to women over 26 years old or if they're married (?!??!!)

I'm in my early 20's and have been taking my regular 28-day birth control pills for over a year. Mostly it's not even for birth control reasons but for the bad PMS I get.

Where can I go to get a prescription?

[jaykay]

Go to your local doctor. They are able to prescribe pills or monthly injection. And no you do not have to be married or over 26!

[Claire ex-ax]

That's just the FPA's regulation. As jaykay said, go to your GP. You might even be able to buy them direct from a pharmacy without a prescription (note: not all overseas brand names are available here but generics are) - although if you do that you should still get regular check-ups.

[IMO]

You may also be able to get them without prescription depending on the brand you use.

Several popular contraceptive brands such as Microgynon are available on an 'over-the-counter' basis at chemists such as Watsons and Mannings.

Having said that, it is still probably worth having a regular 6 monthly or yearly check up with a local doctor to make sure that everything is ok with your medication in any case.

[sunniefaith]

28 days ones can be hard to find in HK. Actually, I had a hard time looking for my pill and have given up on looking for them. I just get them from Thailand now.

[ontheroad]

Watsons and Wellcome stocks birth-control pills as well.

[PDLM]

Originally Posted by ontheroad

Watsons and Wellcome stocks birth-control pills as well.

Did you really mean Wellcome? That would be very surprising to me - I believe they are only available in pharmacies, and I haven't seen a Wellcome with a pharmacy.

[ontheroad]

Originally Posted by PDLM

Did you really mean Wellcome? That would be very surprising to me - I believe they are only available in pharmacies, and I haven't seen a Wellcome with a pharmacy.

I know, I was so surprised when I saw it! I was looking for asprin this week-end at the Wellcome in Repulse Bay and didn't find any, but on the other hand they had a couple of different brands of birth-control pills. The same brands they sell OTC at Watsons.
It's super irresponsable, they already sell alcohol to underage kids at those supermarkets (and I know they do), and so now they're also selling them the pill.

[Mariposita]

Or I suggest going to a more local pharmacy such as Tak Shing (I work in central and many expats head to them to buy medication OTC - no prescription required). I buy the 28-day tri-regol for $40 a pack and it was just like getting my prescribed ones in the US, minus the hassle.

[PDLM]

Originally Posted by ontheroad

It's super irresponsable, they already sell alcohol to underage kids at those supermarkets (and I know they do), and so now they're also selling them the pill.

Well... you could make the case that this is actually quite responsible: at least it might reduce the incidence of one of the side effects of teenagers drinking!