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wanderingwonderwoman · Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Posts: 19 Location: chile

anyone out there know the deal w/ buying birth control in turkey? over the counter /easy to get, or something that i need to bring with me ?

and while im at it, may as well ask about tampons too. i'll be in istanbul, btw.

thanks!

w

Frizzie Lizzie · Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 1:11 pm Post subject:

Birth control pills are pretty easy to get in any eczane (chemist's), and they're cheap.
If you use Tampax, better bring a few boxes with you - one of my friends gets her husband to send them over from the States as she can't find them here. Everything else is available.

ash · Joined: 11 Jul 2004 Posts: 125 Location: Oz

When I was in Antalya, I required a pregnancy test.

I looked up the words for 'pregnant' and pregnancy test in my Turkish dictionary, and took it with me for good measure.

I had to get up super early to escape my mothers notice (I wanted some private time to contemplate any result). I went down to the nearest chemist, and couldn't make myself understood until I used the good old international body language gesture for 'PREGNANT!'

Then the boys in the shop understood immediately and with very sweet and comforting nods and smiles got me the product I needed. I don't think pregnancy tests necessarily travel well if you want them to have maximum accuracy.

The end of this longish story? I wasn't pregant.
Just thought I'd share this experience. Cool

tekirdag · Joined: 13 Jul 2005 Posts: 505

OB tampons are available in some big supermarkets and certainly most chemists(drug stores). You would have to ask in the chemist, of course, but the word is the same in Turkish and English(although pronounced with long O...Tam pone). There should be no problem finding them in Istanbul. I am in a much smaller city than Istanbul and they are in every chemist's.

As Frizzie Lizzie wrote, the pill is very easy to get and they are very cheap. But you would be unlikely to find a brand you know. Although you don't need a prescription, I think, it would be best to see a doctor to get a good brand recommended.

Frizzie Lizzie · Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 1:58 pm Post subject:

I found Microgynon fairly easy, which is the brand I'd used in a few other European countries.
It's probably worth having the name written down on a piece of paper to make sure you don't get the wrong stuff, and also seeing a gynecologist (I had a student who was one and she helped me a great deal).

Mark Loyd · Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 517

You can also buy cheap condoms from three wheeled barrows on the streets in Eminonu. You can`t miss the condoms because they have a picture of a man in hipster briefs on the front.

The Turks have done a great job of Kurdish birth control in the south-east.

NMB · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Posts: 84 Location: France

I easily found the Jasmine pill in Istanbul ('Yasmin'). It doesn't come in generic, and there's no mistaking it, as the outer packaging is exactly the same.

Mark Loyd · Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 517

Yasemin

NMB · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Posts: 84 Location: France

No, Mr. Loyd. I'm looking at my birth control pill package as I type. 'Yasmin.'

Mark Loyd · Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 517

You must have one of those poor fakes. Lots of fakes are sold in pharmacies in Turkey.

NMB · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Posts: 84 Location: France

Hmm...Very clever packaging, as it's exactly the same as the one I buy in France! Even equipped with serial numbers and all...

Very much a know-it-all, and very 31.

Mark Loyd · Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 517

When it comes to fraud you can`t beat Turks.

bron · Joined: 26 May 2004 Posts: 88

I bought the same thing three or four months running, then bought it again in Canada.

Yasmin. The Turkish name is Yasemin. The birth control pills are Yasmin.

Mark Loyd · Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 517

Lets hope they keep the two of you well protected.

saloma · Joined: 07 Jul 2005 Posts: 211

Mark Loyd - Just like 31, but meaner.