Prescription medicines

DH is now taking many prescription medicines but is healthy enough to work and travel. This brings up the question..Do we have to carry all the bottles of medicine or can I put them in the weekly pill boxes and carry a list of the contents. There are no narcotics and one controlled drug (for anxiety). I would be willing to take the anxiety med in a bottle if necessary.

DH is now taking many prescription medicines but is healthy enough to work and travel. This brings up the question..Do we have to carry all the bottles of medicine or can I put them in the weekly pill boxes and carry a list of the contents. There are no narcotics and one controlled drug (for anxiety). I would be willing to take the anxiety med in a bottle if necessary.

I believe they recommend taking the bottles but I have prepared a listing for both my wife and I of all our meds with mg levels that we take along if we do not take the bottles. With that said we do try to take the bottles, just in case. This is an iffy issue for some?

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We get our 90 day prescriptions from either CVS or Walgreens.. With the bottles is a separate type-written sheet ( approx. 6 X 9 in) describing the Meds, dosage, patients name, & all the info about the meds..

I put our meds into the weekly/daily plastic boxes for our cruises & carry those sheets with me in one envelope for each of us..

Never had a problem & have been doing this for more than 20 years..

I would suggest that any prescription drugs that are subject to abuse such as narcotics be taken in their original bottles. It seems to be OK to put other drugs in a weekly pill box.

We always take prescription anti nausea, anti diarrhea, antibiotics, migraine meds, etc., in small labeled baggies. Our one benzo stays in its original container.

If we took a lot of scripts for controlled substances, I would ask the pharmacy for smaller containers.

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We get our 90 day prescriptions from either CVS or Walgreens.. With the bottles is a separate type-written sheet ( approx. 6 X 9 in) describing the Meds, dosage, patients name, & all the info about the meds..

 

I put our meds into the weekly/daily plastic boxes for our cruises & carry those sheets with me in one envelope for each of us..

 

Never had a problem & have been doing this for more than 20 years..

We do the same using the extra printout that comes with your prescription. If you haven't saved them, the pharmacy will print out another one. I only have a week plastic box so pills with printout go in individual baggies. Have never had a problem.

DH is now taking many prescription medicines but is healthy enough to work and travel. This brings up the question..Do we have to carry all the bottles of medicine or can I put them in the weekly pill boxes and carry a list of the contents. There are no narcotics and one controlled drug (for anxiety). I would be willing to take the anxiety med in a bottle if necessary.

Can't vary according to where you are going.

Since we have no choice but to fly, I always take all medications in their appropriate bottles. We do get 90 day supplies but our drug store will make smaller bottles to take on vacations -- and I have a small medical bag that our doctor got for us. DH takes 17 different medications and some of them 2 and 3 times a day. I count out what we need for hotels and cruise plus at least 5 extra day of pills.

And yes -- several times over the years TSA has opened the medical bag and checked the bottles.

My mom used only the weekly pill box and the pill box was taken from her. She had to travel without her pills. Now she travels with the months supply in the original bottles and an empty weekly box she fills back up the first night.

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DH is now taking many prescription medicines but is healthy enough to work and travel. This brings up the question..Do we have to carry all the bottles of medicine or can I put them in the weekly pill boxes and carry a list of the contents. There are no narcotics and one controlled drug (for anxiety). I would be willing to take the anxiety med in a bottle if necessary.

They recommend taking your meds in your carry-on, which can present problems depending where you're traveling. If your cruise is a round trip out of FLL, I've never had an issue with throwing them all in a clear plastic bag. I would assume your pill box would work as well. If you're traveling internationally before your cruise, they tell you to leave all meds in their original bottles/packaging and to get a letter from your doctor listing your prescriptions.

They recommend taking your meds in your carry-on, which can present problems depending where you're traveling. If your cruise is a round trip out of FLL, I've never had an issue with throwing them all in a clear plastic bag. I would assume your pill box would work as well. If you're traveling internationally before your cruise, they tell you to leave all meds in their original bottles/packaging and to get a letter from your doctor listing your prescriptions.

Not sure where you are traveling but some countries are very strict about 'importing' meds and require the original container plus a letter from your MD for controlled substances. Also get labeled, smaller containers from my pharmacist. Never had an issue in the Caribbean but for some reason TSA likes to examine my cold pack for my refrigerated med.

Take us away is so right, I am a dialysis patient cruising for the first time I was told to take medication in prescribed bottles and also have a letter from my doctor listing them and any other medical supplies I need

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Think about it this way: is the imperative to save space greater than the risk of having the medications confiscated by TSA or other officials? As others mentioned, pharmacies are typically happy to arrange smaller bottles/relabeling. I travel with an epi pen, in addition to some medications in pill form, and have been asked to produce a prescription or original label (as the label is typically on the large box, not the pen itself). I'd always rather be prepared and perhaps mildly inconvenienced rather than wind up scrambling to get something last minute close to port.

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Went on our land/river cruise through the China and a friend of ours had an epi pen. She did all the right things, written rx, original container. She was treated like she had a bomb! She and her husband got 'special treatment', a private room with their carry on bags taken apart, etc. Fortunately, our guide was still in the area, was told what was going on, and it all got settled. Take your meds in their original bottles and the paperwork.

I'd also recommend taking a photo of all of your scripts and keeping it one ur phone marked as a favorite. In case of emergency, you likely won't be with all of your meds and the list you made. However nurses appreciate a photo of the printout that come with your meds. Then there is no question.

We also always take the full bottle. You never know when you may be delayed by days if not longer and need extra pills.

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Being an overly cautious type, I always take pharmacy-labeled containers even for domestic travel. A natural disaster or a 9/11-type event could cause one to run out of meds and need proof to be able to get more.

Doing without some prescriptions isn't an option!

I have always taken the one RX drug I take in loose daily pill containers and have never had the original bottle. It has never been an issue ever. Plus it is an RX often easily purchased OTC, and far cheaper, everywhere but the US.

But it is always better to be safe than sorry, particularly when there are so many drugs you will need to now account for by taking the original containers. Mine are so tiny that 30 plus days supply of them are virtually invisible tucked into my toiletries bag.

And speaking of OTC Rx drug purchases, we have never seen anything better than the pharmacy close to the dock in Valetta, Malta.

I carrythe original pharfmacy botttlesfor flying b ut ntg bor oarding the ship. Going totheship, I use 7 day pillholders.

I just got my global entry and part of the TSA spiel was about taking pills in original bottles. I said prescription pills, right? And he said everything-aspirin, vitamins Etc. I had never heard that and never done it. What is everyone's experience with that?

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While I have never had any loose pills taken out for special scrutiny I certainly would not take any chances in countries with extremely strong drug penalty restrictions like the UAE. One benefit of having the original pill bottles is the relative ease should you need any refills or emergency supplies while abroad.

DH is a retired US doctor and he has been surprised how willing foreign pharmacies are to honor Rx courtesies to him like getting eye infection drops when we were in the Indian Ocean tropics. So obviously there is no one size fits all in reality; but certainly in theory and precaution: take the original bottles.

Oooops! Sorry

Thanks for all the info. We have decided to take all the original bottles and fill the daily pill box after we board. Even a slim chance of the meds being taken by TSA is too much to risk.

Hi 78232. I had your dilemma. I was traveling with lots of prescription bottles that took up too much carry on bag space but I wanted to carry the meds in the original pharmacy packaging. I live in the US. After reading advice on cruise critic, I found an independent pharmacy that "blister packs" my medicine. Each notebook paper size sheet, less than an inch thick, has seven strips of four blisters, that's four doses a day for a week. Several pills or vitamins can fit in each blister. The blister pack is labeled with my name and info, the pharmacy's name and info, and the name, strength, and a description of each pill. This would vary based on insurance plan, but for me the copay for my meds packaged like this is no more than the copay for big bottles at a big chain pharmacy. I found my pharmacy google searching "blister pack pharmacy" or something like that. I've taken several trips since packing my meds this way. I find it very convenient.

Vicki

Since we have no choice but to fly, I always take all medications in their appropriate bottles. We do get 90 day supplies but our drug store will make smaller bottles to take on vacations -- and I have a small medical bag that our doctor got for us. DH takes 17 different medications and some of them 2 and 3 times a day. I count out what we need for hotels and cruise plus at least 5 extra day of pills.

 

And yes -- several times over the years TSA has opened the medical bag and checked the bottles.

Our experience has been the same. We also take otc meds. such as asprin,

multi vitamins, calcium and anti nausea in the origional bottles.

Thanks for all the info. We have decided to take all the original bottles and fill the daily pill box after we board. Even a slim chance of the meds being taken by TSA is too much to risk.

I also wouldn't take the risk.

You may also want to check out the country that you are sailing to make sure that your drugs are allowed in the country. A prescribed drug in the US can be a banned drug in another country. Each country has its own listing of controlled and banned medications.

My husband has 21 prescription drugs that he takes on a daily basis. He's never taken the original labeled bottles when flying domestically in the US; the 7 day pill container suffices. Per the TSA itself: "TSA does not require passengers to have medications in prescription bottles, but states have individual laws regarding the labeling of prescription medication with which passengers need to comply." Source: http://blog.tsa.gov/2014/09/tsa-travel-tips-traveling-with.html

As for crossing international borders, we have taken all 21 bottles (a pain) out of an abundance of caution. We've never, ever had anyone ask to see them or question his meds in any way. **shrugs**