Traveling with Medicines

 I mentioned previously that Shirley has some health issues.  She has a genetic lung disease that lead to her having a double lung transplant in 2013.  Following her surgery, she suffered a post operative infection that nearly killed her.  She's fully recovered from the transplant, but has a list of medications as long as your arm that she needs to take daily.  She still sees her transplant team for follow-ups twice yearly and on our last visit her doctor told us "I'm no longer concerned about your lungs.  My job now is managing the side effects of all of your medications and infections."

It looks like we'll be traveling with around 25 prescription meds - not counting about a dozen OTC medications and supplements.  This raises a litany of logistical questions:

1.    How do we keep the meds organized and easy to find what is needed?   Shirley has long relied on numbering the tops of her medicine bottles and keeping them together in a box.  We've essentially copied that over, but are relying on a couple of padded medication bags we found on line.  Each bag holds about 20 bottles, some in elastic bands on inside the zippered top, and the rest in the base which has some Velcro pieced to create custom-sized sections.  

One of two med bags for pills


2.    How do we make getting through customs as efficient as possible?  The organizing solution mentioned above is part of this.  My hope is that by having the pills in their original pill bottles will help minimize suspicion.  I also plan to travel with paper copies and/or photos of each of the papers that accompanied each script.  We also had her PCP write a letter listing all her prescriptions and what each is for.  We'll let you know when we first go through customs if this raised any issues.

3.    How do we make sure we have enough of each medication without running out overseas?  Shirley gets all of her meds through a mail order pharmacy that provides 90 day supplies. We checked several months ago on the timing and ensured that we had a new supply of each about a month before we left.  That allows us to put aside a 30 day supply of everything in advance and still have enough for both the weeks before we leave and several weeks after we return.  

4.    How do I keep a once-weekly injection medication refrigerated?  One medication she takes requires refrigeration and we purchased an insulated bag that has a couple of pouches that can be frozen to keep things cool.   


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