Go to one of the big hospitals and take a Chinese friend with you. Describe the med and the symptoms to the doc and he can prescribe them to you or at least the Chinese copy of said meds. You'll then be able to go downstairs and pick them up. The whole thing even including talking to the doc will probably cost you less than what you could haggle at the drugstore.

Kerygma, what medications are you looking for exactly?

I've been here for a long time and I know a lot of the Chinese equivalents to many common meds and also where to get them. Many medicines have "brand names" here in China (ie Advil/Ibuprofen has the brand "Fenbid"). Please note, that as in the US, certain meds will require a prescription from a doctor and cannot be purchased over the counter.

Let me know some specifics that you need and I'll help you out as best as I can. If you don't feel like displaying your personal medical history for all to see, please feel free to send me a message through the site. If they are just relatively common meds, just post here.

I don't know where to find my glipzide

Yup, hop over to Hong Kong. That's the best idea. Bring your supplies back.

Roger-

I think you mean Glipizide, aka Glucotrol. Used for diabetes blood sugar control, correct?

You can buy it here. 格列吡嗪 ge lie bi qin

Here is a link to an image of the box:

http://www.baiyjk.com/Picture/200908/jpg/pc0000000000019162

or another brand:

http://www.sgzxyy.com/pic/%E6%A0%BC%E5%88%97%E5%90%A1%E5%97%AA%E7%89%87.gif

A friend of mine (who has since gone home) was diabetic here and these are the brands she used to get. They used to be over the counter, but right now I'm not sure (stuff like that changes every 5 minutes here). Try a pharmacy and ask for it. If they say "chufang" it means you need a prescription. Go see a doctor, tell him you have "tang niao bing" (diabetes - 糖尿病) ask ask for what you need. They'll usually just write a prescription for what you ask for.

Good luck!

There are often multiple brands, but it is a generally good idea to stay away from the really cheaply priced stuff. The drug stores will usually offer you 3 types: cheapest, mid-range, and "very good", with the very good being the most expensive. NEVER buy the cheap one. I've had decent luck with the mid-range, although the tablet dosage is about 1/4 of what you probably need, so you'll need to take 4 of them (depending on the med) so it really makes more sense just to buy the expensive one.

This is China however, so there is never a 100% guarantee.