VEGF injections for AMD while cruising?

[khuselid]

I know this is a weird question, but please only respond if you can answer it. We don't need advice about eye care or safety etc. There are many qualified opthamologists, world wide, who do these shots. They are routine.

 

Has anyone had an injection for their AMD while cruising, say, at a larger port of call, for example, Lima? We want to go on a longer cruise and my husband needs an eye shot every 4 weeks. We are putting feelers out everywhere including his doctors and checking online. We'd love to hear from anyone who has done this.

 

Thank you all!! And sorry if anyone is squeamish about eye shots....(I am!!).

[doghouse2]

Yes.  I had this injection in Barcelona while on a 3 leg cruise.  It went very smoothly but did take a bit of planning/dialogue with the facility prior to arrival.  We had only 1 day in Barcelona so I had to make sure that it could be done in my time constraint which was not their normal practice.

[AMHuntFerry]

On 6/18/2023 at 5:26 PM, khuselid said:

I know this is a weird question, but please only respond if you can answer it. We don't need advice about eye care or safety etc. There are many qualified opthamologists, world wide, who do these shots. They are routine.

 

Has anyone had an injection for their AMD while cruising, say, at a larger port of call, for example, Lima? We want to go on a longer cruise and my husband needs an eye shot every 4 weeks. We are putting feelers out everywhere including his doctors and checking online. We'd love to hear from anyone who has done this.

 

Thank you all!! And sorry if anyone is squeamish about eye shots....(I am!!).

If I understand correctly you are trying to find an appropriate doctor in one or more ports. You may already been doing this...my regular medical coverage has an international version; part of the coverage is referrals to medical services. If you have this type of coverage (mine is part of the BCBS system), this may be a good place to start (and you can check direct-pay vs. reimbursement policies).

I think referrals are also available through trip insurance companies (going on memory though so ??).

[khuselid]

1 hour ago, doghouse2 said:

Yes.  I had this injection in Barcelona while on a 3 leg cruise.  It went very smoothly but did take a bit of planning/dialogue with the facility prior to arrival.  We had only 1 day in Barcelona so I had to make sure that it could be done in my time constraint which was not their normal practice.

thank you so much! I am glad it went well and isn't it great to have this option for those who need it? We figured it will take some clear planning, although we will be in Lima for 2 whole days. Thanks again, this is comforting!

[PaulMCO]

So far we have not had to do this, as my DW gets Eylea every three months.

We have thought of it.  Our travel insurance will not cover this as it is a pre-existing medical maintenance item.  Cost for Eylea is over 2K per injection. 

 

For good physicians and hospitals that might do this I would check international insurance carriers like GeoBlue to see who are their in network providers are and work from there.

 

You could also contact the US Embassy as they may have a recommended list of health care providers.  Especially as to the skill level and availability of ophthalmologist's that specializes in retina diseases in ports like Lima.