Packing Medication on Long Trips

[GeezerCouple]

9 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

I know Sudafed is prohibited in Japan

 

Right, but it's only the original formulation of Sudafed, the one that is still OTC, but now it's "BTC" (Behind The Counter 😉 )  in some (many? all?) states.  That means, one must ask for it, not just grab it off a shelf.  The "new" formulation is okay.  However, I wouldn't want to have to explain that to some entry level border agent, on the off chance it became an issue. )  

 

Unfortunately, for us, that older formulation is what really works for us.
Fortunately, we got through a couple of weeks in Japan without needing it.

 

GC

[GeezerCouple]

19 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

Can you share where, and what medication? 
Any tips on where and how to double check?

 

It can be a bit tricky, depending upon the country.

We always go to the country's OWN website, and don't rely upon, say, what a USA-based group says.

 

I start by Googling something like, "medicine restricted in <country name> for tourists", and then go through the first few items that pop up.

 

Make sure you don't stop on a section that is meant for importing/commercial purposes.

Those rules can be completely different.

 

And keep in mind, most "routine" meds don't need special permissions (or get banned), or not restricted in normal doses (Sudafed aside...).  But there can be some where the total you bring in might be restricted.

 

For Japan, I simply sent them our long list of what each of us takes or *might* take (meaning, we want to keep it with us), and in less than 24 hours, we had a reply indicating the maximum amount we could each bring.  IF that's a problem, perhaps your physician could write one refill with a larger dosage each day (?).  Then the labeling would match, but when you get back, you could skip the next refill, or such.

 

We've never been fully inspected, but we want to be okay IF we are.  It could be something random ("Congratulations, you are TODAY's inspection!" Heh.).  Or someone could have had a bad breakfast... Also, we do have some meds that are or might be restricted, whereas many people don't.

 

GC

[SPacificbound]

We tend to take long trips, minimum a month to 3+ months so we take the prescription bottles and each carry them in our back packs. 

[Mum2Mercury]

16 hours ago, DavidsNana said:

@Rick&JeannieI love those pill bags that you posted the link to ... 

Me too, and they're available everywhere.  I'm pretty sure I bought them at Harris Teeter's pharmacy. 

 

I like to label them with the date.  At home I have a routine, and I never miss taking medicines, but onboard I'm kinda bad about it.  I bring a bit of Scotch tape and tape the little baggies (in chronological order) inside a cabinet -- makes it super easy to keep up with things.  

 

No check-in person has ever bothered to look at medicines I'm carrying.  Perhaps because I'm tiny and white with gray hair and look like a Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher?  That's not fair, but it's the world in which we live.  

[Mum2Mercury]

14 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I’ve cruised for as long as five months as a time. I get vacation waivers for the few prescription meds I take so I get a six month supply at a time. I take a lot of supplements and they take up more space. I don’t take any controlled substances so I take everything out of the prescription bottles and organize them in the stacking pill containers I use at home. Then I pour those into the little pill bags, one for morning and one for night. I can tell by looking at the pills if they’re morning or night pills but I still separate them into a gallon ziplock bag for morning and for night. I use Restatsis containers to hold the pill bags in a nightstand drawer. They fit perfectly. I also use those little pill bags, well labeled, for OTC meds like Sudafed, Dextramathorphan, and ibuprofen. 

I do admire organization!  

[ldubs]

I toss my pill bottles in my carryon.  Been to 53 countries.  Never had any issues with prescription or OTC.  

Edited May 1, 2023 by ldubs

[YourWorldWithBill]

On 4/30/2023 at 12:02 PM, curious_st said:

How does everyone pack medication on long trips?  I won’t have any of the “good stuff” like narcotics. The bulk of mine are vitamins and other OTC, with a few prescriptions in the mix. 

I also have lots of vitamins, which I put in a container that divides by day for two weeks. If my cruise were longer I'd use more of these. I take my prescription pills (just a few) in the original bottles to avoid any possible suspicions.

[Dbs944]

The wife take Trulicity which needs to be refrigerated.   She takes it every Friday.   We leave for a 9 day cruise on a Sunday, one night on the airplane, one night in Lisbon prior, 9 nights on the ship and 2 nights in Rome (Thursday and Friday).   That's a lot of different fridges.

 

Any suggestions on keeping her pens cool?

[Shmoo here]

14 minutes ago, Dbs944 said:

The wife take Trulicity which needs to be refrigerated.   She takes it every Friday.   We leave for a 9 day cruise on a Sunday, one night on the airplane, one night in Lisbon prior, 9 nights on the ship and 2 nights in Rome (Thursday and Friday).   That's a lot of different fridges.

 

Any suggestions on keeping her pens cool?

https://www.amazon.com/FRIO-Cooling-Wallet-DUO-refrigeration-IMITATION/dp/B004X4J5ZK/ref=asc_df_B004X4J5ZK?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80814159960359&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584413736044458&psc=1

[fruitmachine]

18 hours ago, Dbs944 said:

The wife take Trulicity which needs to be refrigerated.   She takes it every Friday.   We leave for a 9 day cruise on a Sunday, one night on the airplane, one night in Lisbon prior, 9 nights on the ship and 2 nights in Rome (Thursday and Friday).   That's a lot of different fridges.

 

Any suggestions on keeping her pens cool?

"If you decide to travel with your Trulicity pens, you can keep them at room temperature (below 86°F, 30°C) for up to 14 days."

https://www.trulicity.com/how-to-use/storage-disposal

[suzyed]

On 4/30/2023 at 8:26 PM, PescadoAmarillo said:

I’ve cruised for as long as five months as a time. I get vacation waivers for the few prescription meds I take so I get a six month supply at a time. I take a lot of supplements and they take up more space. I don’t take any controlled substances so I take everything out of the prescription bottles and organize them in the stacking pill containers I use at home. Then I pour those into the little pill bags, one for morning and one for night. I can tell by looking at the pills if they’re morning or night pills but I still separate them into a gallon ziplock bag for morning and for night. I use Restatsis containers to hold the pill bags in a nightstand drawer. They fit perfectly. I also use those little pill bags, well labeled, for OTC meds like Sudafed, Dextramathorphan, and ibuprofen. 

I like the idea of the little tubs but I don't ever remove scrips from the original containers. I put the bottles in a zip lock and transport in my carry on bag. Supplements and vitamins, antacids etc. go in their original containers and in a packing cube. 

[suzyed]

On 5/4/2023 at 2:17 PM, fruitmachine said:

"If you decide to travel with your Trulicity pens, you can keep them at room temperature (below 86°F, 30°C) for up to 14 days."

https://www.trulicity.com/how-to-use/storage-disposal

I was just going to share the same thing.  I used to use Trulicity pens.

[Markanddonna]

Everything depends on how many prescriptions you take. I have only one, so I bring them in their own bottle. I then place all my over-the-counter supplements (calcium, multi, Vit B, C, etc.) in one or two different bottles. I bring one of those seven-day containers filled with the first week's dosages. Then, each week, I refill it. I only take one of each supplement, so that is easy. I have a description of what each is in case I need to know. 

[simplelife]

DH and I travel with the same plastic pill sorters we use at home (Mine has one compartment per day of the week, since I take my meds just in the morning, and DH's has two for morning and evening). We will take an extra each since out next cruise is more than a week. (They are cheap on Amazon)