Any tips for taking my ulcerative colitis meds abroad?
Posted , 2 users are following.
Hi, I go to USA and Canada next month, I was just wondering, as I'm on octasa and azathioprine, I'd need some way of explaining why I have them with me. I also have my inhalers for my asthma, too, which I don't often need, but just in case.
I went to Turkey a few years ago with my medication, I can't remember exactly (family members dealt with it for me, I think) but my specialist nurse at the hospital I'm with may have wrote a letter to customs officers that was to be shown at each airport.
Would that suffice this time as well as the chemist packaging with my name on it that they're usually in? Or would I not be allowed to take the medication? Obviously I can't go without my medication for days at a time, so if that were the case, I wouldn't be able to go. I wasn't sure, as America and Canada are on another continent, whether there'd be different rules to Turkey on things like that.
Thanks!
0 likes, 1 reply
esther77657 Sawyer9
Posted
I travelled a couple of times to USA with anti-TNF medication in a refrigerated box (with ice packs). Each time, I took a letter from the company who supply the meds and my prescription from the doctor. The letter has never been read by customs staff, but the box and its contents have been opened and examined. Ice packs were scanned. I have never had a problem but I recommend taking as much information as possible to be on the safe side. I even cut the top off the box that the meds arrive in as this always has my details on. The letter has a phone number that they can call with any queries, but that has never happened either. However, I recently travelled to Japan and looked online at customs information. I was pleased that I didn't need to take any injections with me because their restrictions looked very strict. It seemed that one needed to contact them and complete special forms before travelling with certain meds. It's probably a good idea to check each country.