Daily Medication on long term tours/expeditions

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Quick question aimed at those who need daily medication and have done some long tours, those who tour with someone in this situation or just happen to be a doctor...

How do you get your medication? Do you buy it out there? Do you use your local Dr privately and then an overseas prescription service?

Anyone read anything that might be useful?

The issue for myself is that I am asthmatic needing daily medication - this is not going to stop me - it never has before and I don't intend to let it stop me now... (as a kid when my Dr told me I had asthma and then it was the belief that you should not be active, I was told to give up my hiking - apparently I told my Dr that I would give up my asthma first - 11 year olds hey ) (the fitter I am the less of an issue my asthma is and I don't think I will ever get any fitter than with what we have planned!)

I have an appt for to talk to my local GP, but the problem is that whilst we have lived where we are for the last 13 years, we rent and have no family even remotely close by to be able to stay registered with the same Dr...

The main issue is that we are going to be away for 4-5 years if all goes well.

thanks
Emma

 

[smith4188]

How do you get your medication? Do you buy it out there? Do you use your local Dr privately and then an overseas prescription service?

Last year I cycled from the Isle of Man to southern Spain three months after a brain haemorrhage. I didn't tell my doctor and judging by the look I got when I told him later he would have disapproved. You can let illness dictate what you do and live a miserable life, or you can do it anyway. Good luck to you!

My situation is different from yours but similar. I need five different types of blood pressure pill (high BP caused the haemorrhage). Next year I will start the first of three six-to-eight month tours of Europe. I've no idea whether I can get six month's worth of pills on prescription in the UK - I suspect not - but if they refuse I have a backup plan. Unlike the anal, over-policed prescription system in the UK, a single prescription in Spain can get you as many pills as you want. They give you the prescription back again afterwards. The downside is that the cost of the pills is a bit higher. In Spain I have also asked for and been given a prescription drug without a prescription simply by showing the empty packet of the pills I needed. Maybe that will work elsewhere.

Couldn't you hoard a few months' worth of asthma medication in the UK, keep two months' emergency supply with you and if you're struggling to get it along the way, call upon the friend to post it on ahead? I suppose it depends how bulky your medication is. And I've no idea about the legality of posting medication abroad - that's why I'm taking all mine with me - but clearly you can't do that on such a long tour.

Good luck with the ride and here's hoping your asthma continues to improve!

 

[Howard]

Quick question aimed at those who need daily medication and have done some long tours, those who tour with someone in this situation or just happen to be a doctor...

This is something I'm going to have to deal with next year. What I intend to do is request my GP prescribe me 6 months supply which I will then collect and divvy up between stuff I can carry and stuff I'll have to post ahead. Your GP should be able to do this for you if you are on repeat prescriptions anyway.

I'll arrange for a member of my family or a friend to post the stuff on at suitable times then make arrangements with the hotels / hostels etc where this stuff gets posted to so that nothing - hopefully - gets lost.

You'll need good contingency planning, mind - but don't let this stuff stop you from doing what you want.

 

[andym]

I'm just recovering from a dose of shingles which I wouldn't have got if I'd been taking my tablets.

First option: talk to your doctor. Carrying 6 months supply, (or getting it sent to you, or whatever) is probably the simplest option.

Ootion 2 is to go to doctors en route. If you are in Europe make sure you have an EHIC card. I've used it once (in Italy) and it was much easier than I'd thought.

Outside Europe you're probably going to need to go private and pay yourself as your insurance probably won't cover routine meds for a pre-existing condition.

 

[mcr]

If your surgery has an online repeat prescription facility and you can log in once a month to request them, there shouldn't be a problem with someone else collecting the medication on your behalf and forwarding it on to you (if you have a pre-payment card, they'll need to show that, of course).

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

thank you.

I know that this is going to be a challenge, but it has not previously stopped me and I don't intend it to stop me now. I have an appt with my Dr next week, and have been working hard to reduce my asthma medication. The letter in various languages sounds like a very good idea.
I guess some of the issue is that going around the world kinda includes going outside of my 'comfort zone' with my asthma I'm only used to climbing mountains in the middle of winter at home and cycling all seasons. I guess it is just one of those things that we have to deal with as it happens and seeing what medication I can actually manage without whilst taking my GP's advice. We still have 3.5 months to sort this bit out thankfully.

thanks
Emma

 

[Brains]

My Wife is a type 1 diabetic on 5 injections a day

If she is unable to inject time is measured in hours before we have a major problem.

After a day it would be A&E in a coma, so international supply, demand and logistics is a major consideration.



What we have done in the past is:



1 - Had 'the letter' in all local languages explaining what she needs and when

2 - She has two supplies, each lasting a week, I have two supplies, another person we are travelling with has one or two supplies, so at least 6 weeks instantly available from 3 different sources

3 - One month supply was with the parents, packed and labelled, to be sent via DHL anywhere in the world instantly.

4 - In certain countries, depending on local supply and arrangements we also used to bring another month or three with us, and then give to a local friend (or even the British Consul) with instructions to send by post or DHL or whatever when we called/mailed



What it comes down to is to have multiple options, so that if one batch gets lost/stolen/forgotten/spoiled etc. then there are several back up plans that will give you a week or two of grace before you have to get to 'civilisation' to either buy local or pick up packages from the UK.



Ensure the parents in the UK pick up your regular prescription and stockpile it until such time as you can arrange to get it sent out. You need to contact your courier of choice (DHL or UPS are really the only options) to arrange in advance, as depending what it is, and where, sending medicines via courier can be problematic

 

[Deafie]

Have you done an extended tour before? I too suffer with asthma but find that after a week or so of cycle camping I no longer need any of my medications, even ventolin. Just keep them around for when you board a plane or whatever and plan ahead. You know what I mean.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Have you done an extended tour before? I too suffer with asthma but find that after a week or so of cycle camping I no longer need any of my medications, even ventolin. Just keep them around for when you board a plane or whatever and plan ahead. You know what I mean.

The only tour we have done is last summer for 2 weeks, but we frequently camp and climb/hill walk for 2 or 3 weeks at a time and my asthma can go either way.
Regretfully the idea of not being with meds is not much of an option - I am a moderately severe asthmatic, I usually take 8 or 9 sets of medication to control my asthma. but am trying to get it down, now down to 5 items but without exercise (I have both exercise and allergy induced asthma). I usually have to take oral steriods to get by as well hence the problem.

My major issue is that 1 set of parents live 200 miles from my local GP and the other 250 miles, so I would have to register at a new DR's and they would not know me or know that I know my asthma and would not issue what I (currently) need without seeing me. We can't stay NHS at our current GP becuase we rent and are not, for obvious reasons, keeping the property on. Hence it is the supply of the medication that is currently the issue rather than the making sure we have multiple sets which I am used to - my car, workplace and husband all have spare sets, so even if I forget or lose an inhaler there is another one available. When we are out mountaineering, then he carries a set, I carry a set +spares and there are extras available in the car/accommodation.

thanks
Emma

 

[andym]

My major issue is that 1 set of parents live 200 miles from my local GP and the other 250 miles, so I would have to register at a new DR's and they would not know me or know that I know my asthma and would not issue what I (currently) need without seeing me. We can't stay NHS at our current GP becuase we rent and are not, for obvious reasons, keeping the property on.

It doesn't need to be your parents who pick up the prescription, a friend or other relative can do this as well. See here.

I'd check the NHS website, and/or ring your primary care trust and/or talk to your doctor. I'm sure there has to be a process for people in your position - people go away, temporarily, to work or study all the time. It's in no one's interests (not least your doctor or PCT) for you to simply vanish out of the system. If you're going back to that area there may not be any reason why you can't stay on the lists of that GP. It's got to be worth a phone call and/or visit to your doctor you may well be worrying unnecessarily.

 

[jay clock]

do you not have any friends at all who live near your current address that you could "move to" for GP purposes?

On another note I have travelled a fair bit, and if you have money (ie are not a poor local) then you can get drugs pretty much anywhere in the world (may have to take a 12-24hr bus journey to get to a big enough town)

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

It doesn't need to be your parents who pick up the prescription, a friend or other relative can do this as well. See here.

I'd check the NHS website, and/or ring your primary care trust and/or talk to your doctor. I'm sure there has to be a process for people in your position - people go away, temporarily, to work or study all the time. It's in no one's interests (not least your doctor or PCT) for you to simply vanish out of the system. If you're going back to that area there may not be any reason why you can't stay on the lists of that GP. It's got to be worth a phone call and/or visit to your doctor you may well be worrying unnecessarily.

do you not have any friends at all who live near your current address that you could "move to" for GP purposes?

hence the reason for me asking this question - we have no-one even vaguely closely that we could 'move' to - 20 miles is the closest and there are no guarentees that we will remain in this area afterwards - we will have nothing whatsoever to keep us here - no house, no jobs, and no family & only a couple of friends.

The issue is the potential time we are away from the country - we are aiming for 4 - 5 years, and there is a requirement to have a check-up once a year which will not be possible.

Ah well - we will have to see what happens when I ask my GP next week

thanks for all your assistance.
Emma

 

[andym]

hence the reason for me asking this question - we have no-one even vaguely closely that we could 'move' to - 20 miles is the closest and there are no guarentees that we will remain in this area afterwards - we will have nothing whatsoever to keep us here - no house, no jobs, and no family & only a couple of friends.

The issue is the potential time we are away from the country - we are aiming for 4 - 5 years, and there is a requirement to have a check-up once a year which will not be possible.

Ah well - we will have to see what happens when I ask my GP next week

thanks for all your assistance.
Emma

I've let my flat and I'm travelling. I'm two years on from a stem cell transplant (for lymphoma). The hospital know I'm travelling and although they aren't exactly happy (the consultant insisted I came back for a checkup in August) they are OK. As for the doctor, well I went in for vaccinations recently and the issue never came up.

My initial plan was to come back after a year, 8 months on I'm now thinking it will be two years. Plans change.

OK you it might be that you are away for 4-5 years and you won't come back to the area. But the official version might be that you are going away and planning to come back in 6 months time and planning to live in the area again. In 6 months time, well you may decide to travel for another 6 months but still with the intention of coming back. And so on.

If you have a medical condition that means you need an annual checkup, coming back to the UK once a year is do-able (when I had to come back this summer, I left the bike and my luggage at a hotel near the airport). OK it might be expensive, but it's do-able.

But look on the bright side. Worst case: you have to rely on doctors abroad. I recently had to find a doctor here in Bologna. I found one more or less at random from the list but she turned out to be very capable, and very helpful. The treatment and prescription were all absolutely free (thanks to the EHIC card) and the bureaucracy was minimal. So it won't be the end of the world.

Good luck.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I've let my flat and I'm travelling. I'm two years on from a stem cell transplant (for lymphoma). The hospital know I'm travelling and although they aren't exactly happy (the consultant insisted I came back for a checkup in August) they are OK. As for the doctor, well I went in for vaccinations recently and the issue never came up.

My initial plan was to come back after a year, 8 months on I'm now thinking it will be two years. Plans change.

OK you it might be that you are away for 4-5 years and you won't come back to the area. But the official version might be that you are going away and planning to come back in 6 months time and planning to live in the area again. In 6 months time, well you may decide to travel for another 6 months but still with the intention of coming back. And so on.

If you have a medical condition that means you need an annual checkup, coming back to the UK once a year is do-able (when I had to come back this summer, I left the bike and my luggage at a hotel near the airport). OK it might be expensive, but it's do-able.

But look on the bright side. Worst case: you have to rely on doctors abroad. I recently had to find a doctor here in Bologna. I found one more or less at random from the list but she turned out to be very capable, and very helpful. The treatment and prescription were all absolutely free (thanks to the EHIC card) and the bureaucracy was minimal. So it won't be the end of the world.

Good luck.

Thank you Andym

I guess the issue for me is futher afield when the EHIC card will be of no use to us. I have had to get treatment once before in Ireland using the EHIC and actually had less issues than when away from home in the UK.

There is a little more background - I have a small, slow growing brain tumour and that with my severe asthma is not going to impress the hospital. My GP is used to me, the consultant at the hospital does not share the same views as my GP who accepted that she would rather give me the medication/treatment I need and me get on with it, than me just get on with it anyhow. I guess we may have to come back from time to time relating to my health (regular MRI's) but the main issue is that we won't be at the same GP or even hospital unless I can convince then to keep us on if they will accept a friends house 20 miles away. There is no-one closer at all and the house we rent can not be kept on, our budget does not permit it (even though the accommodation is reasonably cheap). Fingers crossed for when I have to talk to her about it next week - I shall start with the for a year or two appraoch rather than all the way around the world.

thank you.
Emma

 

[slugonabike]

It's worth noting that, if any post sent to your present address is returned 'gone away' or 'not known' etc the HA (or whoever is running primary care by that stage) is notified* and you will be automatically removed from your GP's list. It's worth making sure you have made arrangements to redirect post for this reason alone if you intend to continue with your current GP somehow.

* I've never known how