Explaining Medications You Take

Telling a doctor or pharmacist about your current prescriptions and medical needs.

You
Tomo medicamentos todos los días. Necesito que sepa cuáles son.
TOH-moh meh-dee-kah-MEHN-tohs TOH-dohs lohs DEE-ahs. neh-seh-SEE-toh keh SEH-pah KWAH-lehs sohn
I take medications every day. I need you to know which ones they are.
Always carry a written list of your medications with generic names. Brand names often differ between countries.
Doctor
Por favor dígame los nombres y las dosis.
pohr fah-BOHR DEE-gah-meh lohs NOHM-brehs ee lahs DOH-sees
Please tell me the names and dosages.
You
Tomo una pastilla para la presión arterial y otra para la tiroides. Aquí tengo la lista.
TOH-moh OO-nah pahs-TEE-yah PAH-rah lah preh-see-OHN ahr-teh-ree-AHL ee OH-trah PAH-rah lah tee-ROY-dehs. ah-KEE TEHN-goh lah LEES-tah
I take one pill for blood pressure and another for thyroid. Here, I have the list.
"Presión arterial" is blood pressure. "Presión alta" (high) and "presión baja" (low) are useful to specify which condition you have.
Doctor
Muy bien. ¿Es alérgico a algún medicamento?
mooy bee-EHN. ehs ah-LEHR-hee-koh ah ahl-GOON meh-dee-kah-MEHN-toh
Very good. Are you allergic to any medication?
"Alérgico" changes to "alérgica" if you're female. Doctors may use either form — both are asking the same question.
You
Sí, soy alérgico a la penicilina. También se me acabó mi medicina y necesito un reemplazo.
SEE, soy ah-LEHR-hee-koh ah lah peh-nee-see-LEE-nah. tahm-bee-EHN seh meh ah-kah-BOH mee meh-dee-SEE-nah ee neh-seh-SEE-toh oon reh-ehm-PLAH-soh
Yes, I'm allergic to penicillin. I also ran out of my medicine and need a replacement.
"Se me acabó" (it ran out on me) is a very common expression. Many prescription medicines from home can be purchased over the counter in Latin American pharmacies.