One thing I have done the last several years is put my meds in a 30-day pill organizer. It’s handier than dealing with ten pill bottles. Lately, however, I have found it to be problematic.

I usually get 90-day refills and fill up my organizer as soon as I get those refills. One issue with that is not all my meds refill at the same time. I end up not being able to fill the whole 30 days or I fill all I can and mark the days that are missing something with a note.

The biggest issue is with 90-day refills it’s also easy to lose track of when you run out after you fill, say, 19 days. You can overlook it pretty easily unless you make notes.

I have decided to just go back to leaving my meds in the bottles. This will not only help to eliminate running out of my meds, but it is also will help while traveling.

My first trip to Europe I used my 30-day meds organizer, not really thinking about the potential issues it could cause me by not having labels. My last trip in 2020 I was more cautious and used the bottles the prescriptions came in.

You will see travel advice and hacks of all sorts, but I’m not interested in shortcuts that could cause me real grief in a foreign country. Hell, the way things are, it is not worth potentially having issues in other states.

However, I have seen where people are hauling their meds loose in plastic bags. Really?! No effing way I would do that, especially traveling internationally. Seems like there’d be a lot of questions with a bag o’ pills and Customs and rightfully so. They said they’ve had no issues, but it isn’t worth the risk to me. Then again, maybe they don’t have 10 earrings like me.

On top of that, it’s worth checking your destinations to see if you can bring your meds. Some require documentation from medical professionals (like ADHD meds in Europe) and some are potentially not allowed at all.

I just thought about another one of my meds and I need to get the prescription bottle in my travel bag for it so I can be safe. Perhaps you also carry nitroglycerin in a little metal container on your key ring so it’s handy for an emergency. It comes in a little glass bottle inside of the plastic prescription bottle. You put the glass bottle in your key ring bottle but there’s no prescription on it. It’s just the label on it from the manufacturer.

It’s worth doing your research on ANYTHING you think is questionable when going to visit other countries. Remember, they have their own laws and regulations. When you’re traveling you are subject to those laws and regulations, just like when you go to another state.

It doesn’t matter if what you’re doing is legal at home. Something you think is pretty innocent may be jail time abroad and I’m sure not many of you (shouldn’t be ANY of you actually) want to go to prison anywhere let alone a foreign country.

It’s nothing to be scared of – just do your research.

————-

That’s it for this post.

Shawn