How I Bought Affordable Nurtec in Mexico (June 2026)

Intro

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re caught in the same predicament that I am:

• You have chronic migraines.
• Your insurance doesn’t cover Nurtec.
• You don’t qualify for Pfizer’s assistance program.
• You can’t afford to pay thousands of dollars per month out of pocket for meds.

If this is you, take heart. In this post, I’ll lay out exactly what I did as an American citizen to buy a three-month supply of Nurtec in Mexico at a fraction of the US cash pay price.

Note: Nurtec = Vydura

Photo credit: https://www.nurtec.com/

Photo credit: https://medihealthdirect.co.uk/

Pfizer distributes rimegepant in the US under the brand name Nurtec. Everywhere else, it’s called Vydura.

1) Planning and Prep

Choosing a Border Crossing

I live in central Ohio, so I decided to fly to a border city on the US side then cross into Mexico on foot. Here are the two best crossing options for me:

I chose San Diego / Tijuana for the better flight options.

Choosing a Place to Stay

Zona Rio is the part of Tijuana where you’ll find lots of clinics, dentists, and pharmacies as well as hotels, restaurants, and shopping. It’s a nice part of town and felt very safe. I saw lots of Americans including Americans traveling with their kids.

The police presence in Zona Rio was pretty intense. I kept seeing police trucks with mounted guns.

Photo credit: https://www.grandhoteltj.com.mx/

I chose a highly rated hotel on Priceline that is situated inside Zona Rio. Here are the details:

• Name: Grand Hotel Tijuana
• Address: Blvd. Agua Caliente 4558, Aviacion, 22014 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico
• Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/j3hQCBFDkYJjc2sX7
• Description: 5-star hotel with a pool, restaurant, breakfast buffet (a nice one), and lots of other amenities
• Price: I paid around $110 USD per night
• Website: https://www.grandhoteltj.com.mx/en

Preparing for the Doctor Visit

I didn’t know what to expect for the doctor visit. Would this be a lengthy consultation? Would they want to see records? I really had no clue. However, I figured it was better to be safe rather than sorry. Here are the things I took along:

Migraine Medical Records

I took my “Headaches” folder along that includes all my medical records associated with my migraines. It’s mostly printed copies of after-visit summaries plus digital copies of my CT scan and MRI.

Letter to the Doctor in Spanish

Since “mi espanol es muy mal,” I wrote a letter that summarized my battle with migraines and listed exactly what meds I was hoping to get. I used ChatGPT to translate it into Spanish then carried a printed copy with me.

Here’s a redacted version of the letter I used. If you’re interested in seeing/using it, here’s the redacted version: google docs link.

Cell Service in Mexico

Verizon Covers Mexico (No Travel Pass Needed)

I’m a Verizon customer. When I travel internationally, I usually have to add a Verizon Travel Pass to be able to use my phone. In this case, I got a notification from Verizon after I crossed the border in Mexico that said my plan covered Mexico as well–no need to add a Travel Pass.

Dead Zone Right at the Border

There’s a dead zone right after crossing the border. When I emerged from the border control building, my phone couldn’t reach the US towers anymore, but I wasn’t deep enough into Mexico for Verizon to initiate the handoff.

Since I didn’t have cell service, I couldn’t call an Uber and couldn’t access any apps. Fortunately, I had grabbed a screenshot of my Priceline confirmation. I showed it to a taxi driver who took me to my hotel.

Making Calls to the US

I had to call my bank because my card got bricked at one of the pharmacies. Getting calls to go through was tricky. Here’s the experience I had:

I called the 1-800 number on the back of my card, but all I got was a message in Spanish that I couldn’t understand. Next, I tried the international number on the back of my card but only got the same message.

Eventually, I noticed that the US country code isn’t “1” but “+1” as in “+1-800. So, I dialed that. Same message.

I then noticed the number I was dialing wasn’t showing up as “+1” but rather “01.” On a phone numberpad “0” and “+” share the same button. To get the “+,” I had to long-press the button.

So, I tried again by dialing “+1-800…” The call went through!

Hopefully this little explanation will save someone time and stress.

Getting Around in Mexico

Uber works perfectly in Mexico. Rides cost a fraction of what the equivalent ride would cost in the US. My rides were all in the 10 minute range and cost about $3 USD. Any chats are automatically translated from Spanish to English and vise versa.

My one taxi ride was significantly more expensive. Since my phone didn’t work right after crossing the border, I took a taxi from the border to my hotel. That ride cost me $20 USD. The same ride from my hotel to the border on Uber cost me $3. Maybe if you’re fluent in Spanish, you’d have better results haggling with taxi drivers, but I just avoided them by using Uber.

Paying in Mexico

I carried some cash with me to exchange into pesos to buy street tacos, etc. However, I swiped my Chase debit card for nearly everything.

Credit cards are actually a better option for internation travel, but I’ve literally gotten rid of all my credit cards while doing a financial reset. Credit cards tend to get better exchange rates than cash or debit cards. Also, if any fraud takes place while traveling, it’s the bank’s money that got stolen, and they deal with it. However, for this trip I used a debit card with no problems and got good exchange rates.

I didn’t notify Chase that I’d be traveling because I couldn’t find a way to do it in the app. Also, they seem to be getting extremely good at figuring out what’s fraud and what isn’t. Unfortunately, my card ended up getting bricked at one of the pharmacies. I called the number on the back of the card and got everything cleared up.

In summary, swiping a credit card is probably the best way to pay for meds and travel expenses in Mexico. That being said, I used a debit card and didn’t experience any problems that I would have avoided by using a credit card.

2) Crossing the Border

San Diego Airport to Border

I flew out of Columbus on a Friday evening and arrived in San Diego around 12:30 am. I immediately took an Uber to the San Ysidro PedEast crossing because it’s open 24/7. Here are the details:

• Name: San Ysidro PedEast
• Address: 725 E San Ysidro Blvd, San Diego, CA 92173
• Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/vErt9f6mDo8WFfD28
• Uber Est. Time: 20 min
• Uber Est. Cost: $50 USD

Walking across the Border

I was dropped off at the top of this alley then walked down through it toward the border crossing.

This is what the alley looks like.

At the southern end of the alley, you’ll find this sign pointing toward Mexico. Follow this walking path toward Mexican border patrol.

On this map, you can see the alley where I was dropped off at the top left. I followed the foot path toward the border patrol building seen in the center of the map. It was a short walk–I’d guess several thousand feet.

Border Security

The border crossing was very easy. I didn’t wait at all. I talked to a friendly agent who asked for my passport and how long I planned to stay. I said said two or three days. He wrote some things on a pass, stamped it, and stuck it inside my passport.

From there, I had to run my backpack through a scanner and walk through some sort of detector.

Once I exited the building, I walked another several thousand feet down a fenced corridor. At the end, I was dumped out onto a street corner with a Farmacias Roma (think a nice big 7/11) and a taxi stand.

WARNING: Right after crossing the border, my phone went into a dead zone. I couldn’t call an Uber to get to my hotel. Fortunately, I had screenshot my hotel address and showed that to a taxi driver. For more about this, check out the secton titled “Cell Service in Mexico.”

3) Getting a Prescription

Free Clinics

Most pharmacies have an adjoining clinic that offers free doctor visits. There are several popular pharmacy chains namely Farmacias del Ahorro and Farmacias Roma. I decided to visit a Farmacias del Ahorro.

How Much to Request

I decided to request 6 boxes of Nurtec/Vydura. Here’s how I settled on that amount:

• The US Border Patrol states that they want people to cross into the US with only a 3 month supply of any medication (link). I highly expect Nurtec/Vydura is the least of the Border Patrol’s worries. However, I also didn’t want these expensive meds to be confiscated at the border.
• When taken as a preventative, Nurtec/Vydura is taken every other day meaning about 45 tablets per 90 day period.
• Nurtec/Vydura is sold in boxes of 8, so 6 boxes equals 48 tablets.
• If push came to shove at the border, I was pretty sure I could defend having 48 tablets in my possession.

My Visit to Farmacias del Ahorro

This is the Farmacias del Ahorro I visited. The clinic is the door on the left in front of the white car. The pharmacy is on the right.

• Address: Gobernador Lugo 9702, Gabilondo, 22044 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico
• Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uY1gJ4R2SQC8zo5Z9

At the clinic, I talked to Dr. Jesus Armando Rodriguez Meza. He was extremely helpful and spoke nearly perfect English. The visit was very brief. He mainly looked at the part of my letter that described what I was looking for (to see the letter, see the section called “Planning and Prep”).

Dr. Jesus wrote me a prescription for 48 tablets of Vydura.

4) Filling the Prescription

Problem: Limited Supply at Each Location

After Dr. Jesus wrote my prescription, he walked me over to the Farmacias del Ahorro next door to help me get the prescription filled. The girl behind the counter said, “We only have one box in stock.”

Most pharmacies keep a very limited supply at each branch. That meant I had two options:

1. Pick up Nurtec/Vydura at multiple locations (more walking/Ubering)
2. Ask one pharmacy to fill the whole prescription (may take a while)

I ended up using both strategies:

Solution 1: Pick Up at Multiple Locations

When I found out the first pharmacy had only box, I asked Dr. Jesus, “Could I just use this prescription at different pharmacies so that I can go around and pick up the meds myself?”

“Yes,” he said, “you can even use the prescription at pharmacies not in this chain.

So, I bought the single box of Vydura they had for about $195 USD as well as a bottle of Diet Coke to wash down my first pill.

“Do you take tips?” I asked him.

“Sure,” he said. I gave him a crisp $20 USD (the doctor visit had been free).

After a short walk down the street, I paused to open the mythical box of Vydura I had traveled so far to procure. Sure enough, there they were–eight little blister packs. I pealed the backing off the first one and popped the pill in my mouth. It tasted sweet and a little minty. I washed it down with a swig of Diet Coke.

Solution 2: Ask One Pharmacy to Fill the Whole Prescription

Right across the street from the Farmacias del Ahorra, I noticed a Farmacias Roma tucked away in a little strip mall. I decided to check if they had Vydura in stock.

“We have one box,” the girl behind the counter said, “how many do you want?”

“I need five total,” I told her, “but I’ll take this one.”

“Can you give me twenty minutes to get the rest?” she asked.

“Twenty minutes?!” I said. “Sure! I’ll wait.”

So, the girl immediately got on the phone and started calling other Farmacias Roma. The weather was pleasant, so I went outside to wait. After about twenty mintues, I checked in at the counter. “It’s still on the way,” the girl said, “it’ll be here soon.”

Sure enough, delivery motorbikes soon started showing up.

The wait ended up being closer to an hour, but I am definitely not complaing. During checkout, I ran into a snag with my card that I had to sort out by calling my bank. However, once that was sorted out, checkout was a breeze.

Mission accomplished! I couldn’t believe it.

How I Plan to Fill My Prescription Next Time (will update this section)

Next time, I’m going to try calling Dr. Jesus to see if he can get an order pulled together for me ahead of time. I had tried calling Farmacias del Ahorro HQ earlier in the week, but the language barrier was just too high to make progress. Now that I have a contact in the Farmacias del Ahorro system that speaks English, I may be able to get my whole prescription filled in one place.

I’ll post an update to this article in about three months to log whether or not this works.

5) Recrossing the Border

Delirious Euphoria

Since I hadn’t been sure how long this whole process would take, I had only booked a one-way to San Diego. Now that I had 6 boxes of Nurtec/Vydura in my backpack, I went back to the hotel to book a flight home.

By this point in time, my first dose of Nurtec had kicked in. I felt better than I had felt for months, maybe years.

I was euphoric and celebrated by eating a steak at the Argentinian restaurant across the street from the hotel. It was delicous. The meat was roasted on long spears over charcoal.

I stayed another night at the Grand Hotel Tijuana then got up at 2:00 am to start the trip home.

Hotel to Border

I took an Uber from the hotel back to the border.

Here are the details:

• Name: PedEast / Puerta Este, Rampa Xicoténcatl
• Address: Rampa Xicoténcatl, Cuauhtémoc, 22010 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico
• Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9LLdaAviB82bKL1GA
• Uber | Estimated Time: 10 minutes
• Uber | Estimated Cost: $5 USD

Recrossing the Border

There are a few small food and knickknack stands right before the border crossing.

I walked from the dropoff spot into a pedestrian tunnel of sorts. It split people into these lanes listed below.

I took the “All Traffic / Ready Lane” lane, but at this time of the day, it made no difference whatsoever. I never stopped walking until I got to the border patrol building. However, the car lanes were lined up for miles.

There are wait time trackers to help you plan when to cross (see below).

The pedestrian chutes funnel everyone into this building where I talked to a Border Patrol officer. My time at the desk went like this:

“Passport.”

I handed it over.

“Where’re you going?”

“Home.”

“Where’s home?”

“Ohio.”

“What were you doing in Mexico?”

“Getting medication.”

“Can I see it?”

“Sure.” Unzip backpack.

Guard takes out a box of Vydura. “What’s this?”

“Vydura. It’s migraine medication.”

“You came all the way from Ohio for migraine meds?”

“Yep. If you do the math, it’s worth it.”

“OK.” Zip backpack.

I walked out and found myself back in the same alley where I had crossed into Mexico roughly 24 hours earlier.

Border to San Diego Airport

I Ubered to the airport and flew home. Here are the details:

• Name: San Diego International Airport
• Address: Harbor Island Dr, San Diego, CA 92101
• Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/h8teKCieZQnXpTnx9
• Uber | Estimated Time: 20 minutes
• Uber | Estimated Cost: $50 USD

6) $$$

Summary of Costs

Of course, the big question is “how much did it all cost?”

Price Comparison (US vs. Mexico)

Here’s how that breaks down per pill and how that compares to the prices I was quoted here in the US:

Conclusion

I’ve been taking Nurtec/Vydura every other day now for roughly three weeks. It’s working wonderfully!

I take Nurtec/Vydura every other morning when I wake up. On the 48-hours-later mornings, I often feel like trash with the harsh pounding in the back of the head and nausea I used to endure all the time. I usually take the pill then lie down again. An hour later, the pounding and nausea are completely gone.

I continue to battle with some migraine symptoms. I can tell on trigger days that I would be flat in bed without Nurtec/Vydura. However, instead of wasting away like used to, I take Ibuprofen and continue with my life. I very occasionally get the brief zingers of pain across the temples and forehead. My eyes still hurt a bit.

However, on the whole, my life has improved drastically. Three weeks later, I’m actually gaining steam. My wife, son, family, and friends are overjoyed. I got together with a few of my friends just days after getting back from Mexico. “You’re like the old Chris,” one of them said.

I hope this article can help you find relief and get back to being yourself again, too.

If you need help, hit me up at mrchristopherdmiller@gmail.com.