cathyliles2938

Help please. We are traveling to Stresa, Italy on February 29,2024. We will be there 89 days and then fly to London for 4 days. I take antidepressants and will need to take 3 months worth. Do I have the doctor put the length of the stay on the medical certificate to explain why I have so many?

MmePerdu

If your trip is for 3 months & you have rt tickets for that amount of time it would make sense to anyone who asked that you'd have 3 months of your medication. But no one's going to ask.

greytop13

You'll be fine. No note required.

janisj

Ditto the above posts. Nothing special is required.

Seamus

Not sure what medical certificate you refer to - what country are you traveling from?

KayF

i agree that no one is likely to ask but a good idea to keep the medication in the original packaging from the pharmacy, which (I guess, different countries have different rules) will have your details on the pill containers.

Traveler_Nick

I'd ask your doctor for an extra prescription using the generic name. Not because any one will notice but in case you lose the supply you're bringing.

To repeat it's highly unlikely anyone will even notice.

ekscrunchy

You can buy most anti depressants without a prescription in Italy for a fraction of the cost in the US.

Heimdall

I travel internationally with lots of prescription medicine, and no one has ever asked, but as well as leaving the medicine in original containers, suggest you have a record of the prescription from your doctor. I print out the prescriptions from my online medical records and carry it with my bag of medicines.

As written above, customs won’t question the fact that you have enough medication to cover the length of your trip. If you are in Italy for 89 days and London for four days, 89 days of medication won’t be enough. I understand it is dangerous to stop antidepressants suddenly, so have enough to cover the 93 days + travel time, and extra in case of travel delays.

janisj

And, you probably know this but just in case . . . definitely do not put meds or anything important in checked luggage.

bilboburgler

ditto

Heimdall

Ditto +1

ekscrunchy

I have no idea which medication you take, but if it is very expensive in the US (I am assuming, perhaps wrongly, that you are from US) you might even consider buying some in Italy to take home. It's yet another jab at the US system, but I was absolutely shocked at how low the prices were for some prescription drugs, as compared to the US. We were in Italy last September. On the first morning after arrival, I realized that I had forgotten a prescription medicine that I could not do without. So when we arrived in Maratea (glorious Maratea!), we drove from our (fantastic) hotel up into the town, and I stopped at the first pharmacy we came across. I told them the name of the medication and the lovely pharmacist looked it up to find the name in Italian. From there it was a breeze. The pharmacy did not have it in stock, but would ordered it for me; I collected it the following day. The medicine costs me $90 for a 3-month supply, with insurance, so $30 per month. The Italian price was well under 10 euro for a 30-day supply. The drug was manufactured in Europe, as I remember it was made in Italy.
I only wish I had purchased more than a one-month supply!! No prescription needed.