Long term cruising and pharmaceuticals

[ToddMc]

For the long term cruisers that take prescription meds. What do you do about your med supply and prescriptions while cruising beyond the states?. Some meds are only prescribed on a month to month basis or insurance will only pay for a 1 month supply where you cant stock up. What to do? Thanks.

ToddMc

[MarkJ]

I hate when i see a reply like: this has just been asked and ansewered, search for the threads.... But there were some doctors on this forum who have answered your question very well. The Custom Search in the box above is very good

[zeehag]

canadians need to show up in canada every 6 months or lose their insurance plans. those in mexico without temporal or permanente visas need to leave every 6 months to remain legal. those with visas find the mds in mexico are decent intelligent and damned inexpensive. 200 pesos fro a checkup??? get real. cannot even have a toe touched in usa for that. medicare covers nothing, not in usa not out, so is moot. pay cash .
i was just a step away from septic and internment in a hospital critical bed-- was treated outside hospital and recovered for a whopping 400 usd. top that. in usa would have been 300,000 plus.
i have not known many cruisers who actually summer in paradise--seems they cannot stand the heat and omyods storms. ohno must go north. there fore your conundrum has been answered. get 6 months supply and return on the migration and start again. full time cruisers find their own answers and donot migrate. different issues.

[Rohan]

Your question might get better response in the general sailing forum or the provisioning forum.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by ToddMc

For the long term cruisers that take prescription meds. What do you do about your med supply and prescriptions while cruising beyond the states?.

This is quite an involved question to answer, and to some extent depends on the medications themselves. Before you leave to go cruising, you'll probably have an "annual checkup". This is an opportunity to discuss the issue with your own doctor. Obtain repeatable prescriptions. Some places any pharmacy can fill based on a US Rx, some, none, and others, ships' pharmacists, who do the medicine kits for cruise ships.
Some meds are only prescribed on a month to month basis or insurance will only pay for a 1 month supply where you cant stock up. What to do?


Pay money. Stay healthy; it is a healthy lifestyle. Find out what meds you can give up--some require tapering off. Many places, cheaper than US. Figure it out as you go.

Thanks.


ToddMc

Do use the search, Mark J's right, there have been some good doctor-posted responses to this issue.


Ann

[Bulawayo]

I also believe it is area dependent. In East Africa most medicines can can be bought over the counter. I have treated a number of people with a variety that would require a prescription in Europe or in SA. One issue that comes up regularly is diabetes.

Originally Posted by ToddMc

For the long term cruisers that take prescription meds. What do you do about your med supply and prescriptions while cruising beyond the states?. Some meds are only prescribed on a month to month basis or insurance will only pay for a 1 month supply where you cant stock up. What to do? Thanks.

ToddMc

[ingrid75]

In many countries you can buy as much as you want of whatever you want over the counter. I have done this in Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia, Fiji, and India just to name a few. So, as long as you know what drugs you need and in what dosages, provisioning your meds is no different than provisioning your food, booze, or fuel. Periodically you can go in for a physical check up and the doctor will tell you if you need to change you dosage or add other meds to your regime cruising is really much easier than most people think.��

[UNCIVILIZED]

Some members here have had the Doctors set them up with 3 months of their meds, but write the dosage as 2x what they really take. So that they have 6 months worth at a time. With the specifics on how to do this according to various health plans per country being found in another thread on this topic. In addition to the other options already mentioned above. And in those other threads, the specifics on freight forwarding, & rules on doing it with meds are touched on.
Also, while it's obvious, most people keep a reserve supply on hand. Which makes 10x more sense on a boat, where things do get wet from time to time.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by ToddMc

For the long term cruisers that take prescription meds. What do you do about your med supply and prescriptions while cruising beyond the states?. Some meds are only prescribed on a month to month basis or insurance will only pay for a 1 month supply where you cant stock up. What to do? Thanks.

ToddMc

I feel your pain. Between the US government and the insurance companies it seems we are stuck with it. God help us on a 31 day month when to script is for 30 days.Then there is blood work and the DR. every 6 months. We are being saved from ourselves.

[brookiesailor]

I have lived in places where you can't get many of my meds. I would have a check up every six months and the doc would write a six month prescription NOT a prescription with six refills. The insurance company would automatically fill the first three months then it would take a couple of days of the pharmacy explaining I can't come back for the other three months for them to do a vacation override. I did this for five years. Now when I walk into the pharmacy they know the routine and I don't even have to say a word.


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[reed1v]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Some members here have had the Doctors set them up with 3 months of their meds, but write the dosage as 2x what they really take. So that they have 6 months worth at a time. With the specifics on how to do this according to various health plans per country being found in another thread on this topic. In addition to the other options already mentioned above. And in those other threads, the specifics on freight forwarding, & rules on doing it with meds are touched on.
Also, while it's obvious, most people keep a reserve supply on hand. Which makes 10x more sense on a boat, where things do get wet from time to time.

For pills that can be safely split, yes, a physician can up the dosage four fold so you can split them four ways. A three month supply is doable almost anywhere in the US with the major health insurance companies like Blue Cross. If your family doctor knows you well, you probably can get a one year prescription for a good reason(going long distance sailing, crossing the antarctic on foot, etc). Another approach is to set up physician contacts along your route that can prescribe meds when you arrive. Once outside of the US, meds are dirt cheap. The only snag is if you are on some specialized meds that might not be readily available overseas(unlikely but you never know--do the research beforehand).

[GoingWalkabout]

Originally Posted by zeehag

canadians need to show up in canada every 6 months or lose their insurance plans. those in mexico without temporal or permanente visas need to leave every 6 months to remain legal. those with visas find the mds in mexico are decent intelligent and damned inexpensive. 200 pesos fro a checkup??? get real. cannot even have a toe touched in usa for that. medicare covers nothing, not in usa not out, so is moot. pay cash .
i was just a step away from septic and internment in a hospital critical bed-- was treated outside hospital and recovered for a whopping 400 usd. top that. in usa would have been 300,000 plus.
i have not known many cruisers who actually summer in paradise--seems they cannot stand the heat and omyods storms. ohno must go north. there fore your conundrum has been answered. get 6 months supply and return on the migration and start again. full time cruisers find their own answers and donot migrate. different issues.

I had an MRI in a private hospital on a new machine for the equivalent of $US90.00 in Buenos Aires. Medicine is rediculasely cheaper than in the USA.

[brookiesailor]

The only thing I warn against having the doctor writing for a double script is this; if something happens to you and a helpful person grabs your prescription bottles to give the hospital for dosages you can find yourself in a worse mess fast.


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[Bulawayo]

Agree..... & many meds require specific control of their storage environment. Many are not especially challenging but insulin, for example, has specific temperature storage requirements. Relatively easy on land but not quite so easy on water. In this instance its worth considering having a dedicated fridge solely for such use (and 12v versions exist in small sizes - typically 10-17 litres, by Engel or Dometic etc).

Originally Posted by reed1v

For pills that can be safely split, yes, a physician can up the dosage four fold so you can split them four ways. A three month supply is doable almost anywhere in the US with the major health insurance companies like Blue Cross. If your family doctor knows you well, you probably can get a one year prescription for a good reason(going long distance sailing, crossing the antarctic on foot, etc). Another approach is to set up physician contacts along your route that can prescribe meds when you arrive. Once outside of the US, meds are dirt cheap. The only snag is if you are on some specialized meds that might not be readily available overseas(unlikely but you never know--do the research beforehand).

[Cadence]

it appears the FDA is doing their job. Making difficult for people who need the drugs.
Personally if someone wants to grind up pills and snort them I could give a ****.

Sorry, well, we all make our own choices in life.