Citalopram, SSRI usage in Japan

Hi y’all. I’m looking for information about taking citalopram while being in Japan long-term. According to my limited research, it hasn’t been approved by the Japanese FDA. I can get it mailed from home, but that raises all sorts of other questions. I called the American embassy in Tokyo and was told to fax a form to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Labor. I’ll pass. I also called some Japanese psychiatrists, but it’s Golden Week so I can’t get a hold of anyone of course. If you guys have any information, that would be great.

I’ll give this one bump and then let it go.

I can’t answer your question directly, but I found it fascinating that there is even a Wikipedia article on antidepressant use in Japan. I was going to suggest looking into the higher-priced Lexapro if it were available on the market, but Wikipedia suggests that it isn’t.

How long are you expecting to be there, though? Citalopram is dirt-cheap in the US, and I can’t imagine it being that expensive to mail out there, although who knows what kind of legal issues there may be.

Anti-depressants in Japan? They’re freaking everywhere here. They come in convenient bottles marked “Asahi” and “Kirin.”

This country barely has a psychiatry industry. You may be able to get them mailed, but like everything else here, it’s going to involve paperwork. My contact lenses are considered “topical medication” and can be mailed in quantities of no more than 30 a month.