PatrickLondon

You could try asking Boots directly what their pharmacies would do
[email protected]

ekscrunchy

For those traveling with strong medications fort pain, I think thhe worry is more that they might be stolen than that a customs agent is going to snatch them away!

Is that really true that /Vicodin can be bought in the UK over-the-counter? It's not made with codeine. I would imagine many users from the US would have caught on and be flocking over there to stock up!

bvlenci

Nochblad, we were talking about bringing medicines into Italy from the US. In the US, all prescription medicines are delivered to the patient in a bottle (or sometimes a box) which has the patient's name and all instructions for dosage and mode of assumption . Americans often think that European customs officials will expect to see confections of this type, and I was trying to reassure them that no one in Italy would expect to see this.

You're right that if you operate outside the national health service, you will get to keep the original prescription. But you still won't have any identifying information on the box of medicine, and the prescription itself, unless I'm mistaken, doesn't have your name on it.

I never buy medicine outside the public system, unless it's something that's not even covered. If I get a prescription from a private doctor, I take it to my family doctor and she writes me a prescription. This allows me to get the medicine free, but, even more important, my doctor enters it into my computerized file, where she can easily see what medicines I'm taking and avoid prescribing something incompatible.

PatrickLondon

As I understand it, Vicodin contains hydrocodone, which in our system is a Class A controlled drug, so no, you couldn't buy it over the counter and you'd have to have a doctor's prescription. In any case, OTC painkillers are usually sold in quantities for a few days' use. If you were to try to load up with dozens of packets, you might face a grilling from the pharmacist, at the very least.
https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Pain/Pag...ainkiller.aspx

thursdaysd

Thanks Patrick, will do. The drug in question has more than doubled in price in the US since it was released in 2013, although it is still obtainable from Canadian "pharmacies" at the 2013 US price, which was already expensive.

BigRuss

Mea culpa on the vicodin. That said, if all you need is codeine plus analgesic, the Nurofen Plus or Boots' own are great and you can't get that OTC in the US.

janisj

Boots sells 32 tablet boxes of Paracetamol (500mg) with codeine (8mg) OTC (well actually behind the counter but no prescription req'd) for £2.50 or so. I know it is less than £3. I pick up a couple of boxes every time I visit the UK. You can only buy 1 box at a time so I visit 2 different pharmacies. I don't need pain meds very often but when I do it is so much easier to have my Boots stash on hand instead of arranging/picking up a prescription.

ekscrunchy

Good tip, thank you.

mowmow

When I climbed Kilimanjaro I had a bunch of meds with me that they recommend to have on hand for altitude sickness. I organized them in a pouch that was made to organize meds for two weeks. I made a photocopy of the prescription information printout that comes with each prescription you pick up in the US from major pharmacies. Our pharmacy (CVS) has a small label/sticker on that sheet, so I peeled them all off and managed to get it all on one page. Nobody looked at them or questioned anything. They were too busy fussing with the hand/foot warmers. Thankfully I had documentation from TSA that they were safe to have on the airplane. SOO glad nobody took those away from me. I think my feet would have frozen off at night without them.

If you take a copy of the printout from the pharmacy, you can get a medication refilled in a foreign country. It's easier than making a copy of a pill bottle label. Scan it and keep it in your email in case it gets lost. You can print it again or open it up on your phone to show them.
I travel with liquid Benadryl and Zyrtec due to my anaphylaxis, and I've not had any trouble with TSA over it. One kind agent even put a leaking bottle in a Ziploc bag for me in San Francisco in September

suze

I don't understand the comments about a doctor's note. Even with prescription meds that are 'controlled' I get them in a pill bottle, with a label, but I never have a "doctor's note" about them.

PalenQ

No need to overthink this - the answer is a resounding NO Problem ever with those types of meds. Forget doctor's note - just like taking aspirin with you. Put any angst to rest - and keep in mind janis' habit of stocking up on codeine as soon as she hits the ground in U.K. - may be better for mild pain than some opiate?

ekscrunchy

Yeah but codeine IS an opiate! Still a good idea!

To the poster who says you can get scripts from USA refilled in a foreign country if you have the pharmacy printout, my question is: In which country is this possible?

suze

PalQ - hello, it IS an opiate. So I'm guessing it it illegal to bring back into the USA with you, even though they sell it over the counter in the UK (or Mexico or wherever).

SkipHudgins

I would not worry. Just went thru customs with my wife’s 10 Rx in prescription bottles in Rome.
no one asks or looks at bags when you go thru the nothing to declare door after getting your bags

StCirq

<<
To the poster who says you can get scripts from USA refilled in a foreign country if you have the pharmacy printout, my question is: In which country is this possible?
>>

Not here in France, to my knowledge.But they will generally give you something equivalent.

crellston

It is illegal for U.K. Pharmacists to dispense meds based on anything other than a EU prescription https://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1011.aspx?CategoryID=73 this include US issued scripts.

thursdaysd

Thanks crellston. That is quite clear. I would need to get a doctor in the UK to write a prescription, which would no doubt be a big hassle if even possible. (We're not talking a one off course of antibiotics.)

StCirq

I don't know that it would be that big of a hassle, thursdays. Last time I was in the UK (almost exactly a year ago), I had taken a bad fall the night before we traveled there, and I thought I might have broken a rib (I hadn't). I took a taxi to the nearest hospital, was seen in under a half-hour, and was given a prescription for codeine-laced painkillers which I then took to Boots to fill. The whole deal took maybe 2-3 hours and I had great painkillers for, I think, 7 days, at minimal expense.

thursdaysd

I'm not talking about an emergency, in which case I would indeed expect medical care. I am talking about an ongoing requirement for an expensive drug.

StCirq

I'm not sure anything would be different. I didn't present myself as an emergency patient, I just went to the nearest hospital and asked to be seen.