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It is not clear, but these pages appear to be written for residents of one EU country who are travelling to another EU country. The same may apply to non-EU residents.You will need a prescription on paper based on the EU guidelines.
You can find these here:
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/prescription-medicine-abroad/prescriptions/index_en.htm
Liz, different regions within Spain have different rules. Without knowing where in Spain you will be when you want to fill your prescription it is difficult to answer your question definitely.I just read through the more recent threads on refilling international) prescriptions in Spain. I am starting a new thread because I could not sort out fact from fiction on those earlier threads. So PLEASE, (I don't want to be snarky, but ...) I need a real answer -- if you don't have personal experience or actually know what the rules are, please, please don't answer as if you do!
I recently started an injectable medication called Victoza (liraglutide). It comes in an injection pen form, like insulin. It can only be unrefrigerated for 30 days. I am working at an albergue and walking a long camino so I will be in Spain for more than 60 days. Because of the refrigeration, I can't just take enough supply with me.
I checked and this med, in the injection pen, is approved by the EU medicines agency and is generally available in Europe. This appears to be specifically true for Spain also.
So, my question. What do I need to do to refill this prescription? I can bring a letter from my doctor and a US prescription with me. The earlier threads suggest anything form needing to see a Spanish Dr. to get a new diagnosis and new prescription, to shopping around pharmacies until I find a pharmacist willing to fill the prescription.
I should add that I could potentially wean myself off this med and stop taking it during my trip. For various reasons this is my last choice, but it's an available choice. I need to make this decision before going to Spain as I don't want to go through the weaning off process while I am also serving as a hospitalero.
Thanks!
LizB
I have just returned from Spain on Friday, you now need a copy of your prescription, stamped and signed by your doctor to purchase prescription drugs. Prescription drugs are no longer available over the counter. This is my most recent experience in the Valencia region.I just read through the more recent threads on refilling international) prescriptions in Spain. I am starting a new thread because I could not sort out fact from fiction on those earlier threads. So PLEASE, (I don't want to be snarky, but ...) I need a real answer -- if you don't have personal experience or actually know what the rules are, please, please don't answer as if you do!
I recently started an injectable medication called Victoza (liraglutide). It comes in an injection pen form, like insulin. It can only be unrefrigerated for 30 days. I am working at an albergue and walking a long camino so I will be in Spain for more than 60 days. Because of the refrigeration, I can't just take enough supply with me.
I checked and this med, in the injection pen, is approved by the EU medicines agency and is generally available in Europe. This appears to be specifically true for Spain also.
So, my question. What do I need to do to refill this prescription? I can bring a letter from my doctor and a US prescription with me. The earlier threads suggest anything form needing to see a Spanish Dr. to get a new diagnosis and new prescription, to shopping around pharmacies until I find a pharmacist willing to fill the prescription.
I should add that I could potentially wean myself off this med and stop taking it during my trip. For various reasons this is my last choice, but it's an available choice. I need to make this decision before going to Spain as I don't want to go through the weaning off process while I am also serving as a hospitalero.
Thanks!
LizB
Correct. Even when your US doctor follows the instructions and writes a prescription in the required way (note that is says: There is no specific form or format for a prescription you will use in another EU country) it will not be covered by law, ie Spanish pharmacies are not required to give you the pharmaceutical product because your doctor is not accredited in an EU country and you are not someone who lives in an EU country and is on visit in Spain.@MinaKamina , unfortunately I think @C clearly is right -- your link is to a page for EU citizens although its great info to them! I am going to ask my Dr. if she can write the prescription on the EU forms, but I suspect not
It is not clear, but these pages appear to be written for residents of one EU country who are travelling to another EU country. The same may apply to non-EU residents.
I really do think that even if the pharmacy requires a prescription, if you bring your own U.S. doctor’s prescription, maybe a letter from her as well, and bring it to a Spanish doctor, he or she will write you a legal prescription.It can only be unrefrigerated for 30 days.
I recently started an injectable medication called Victoza (liraglutide). It comes in an injection pen form, like insulin. It can only be unrefrigerated for 30 days. I am working at an albergue and walking a long camino so I will be in Spain for more than 60 days. Because of the refrigeration, I can't just take enough supply with me.
The situation in most of Europe is that a Doctor must prescribe controlled medicines. The Doctor issues a prescription which is then filled out by a Pharmacist. If your medicine is not controlled then you should be able to get it over the counter at larger Pharmacies.I just read through the more recent threads on refilling international) prescriptions in Spain. I am starting a new thread because I could not sort out fact from fiction on those earlier threads. So PLEASE, (I don't want to be snarky, but ...) I need a real answer -- if you don't have personal experience or actually know what the rules are, please, please don't answer as if you do!
I recently started an injectable medication called Victoza (liraglutide). It comes in an injection pen form, like insulin. It can only be unrefrigerated for 30 days. I am working at an albergue and walking a long camino so I will be in Spain for more than 60 days. Because of the refrigeration, I can't just take enough supply with me.
Hi Liz,I just read through the more recent threads on refilling international) prescriptions in Spain. I am starting a new thread because I could not sort out fact from fiction on those earlier threads. So PLEASE, (I don't want to be snarky, but ...) I need a real answer -- if you don't have personal experience or actually know what the rules are, please, please don't answer as if you do!
I recently started an injectable medication called Victoza (liraglutide). It comes in an injection pen form, like insulin. It can only be unrefrigerated for 30 days. I am working at an albergue and walking a long camino so I will be in Spain for more than 60 days. Because of the refrigeration, I can't just take enough supply with me.
I checked and this med, in the injection pen, is approved by the EU medicines agency and is generally available in Europe. This appears to be specifically true for Spain also.
So, my question. What do I need to do to refill this prescription? I can bring a letter from my doctor and a US prescription with me. The earlier threads suggest anything form needing to see a Spanish Dr. to get a new diagnosis and new prescription, to shopping around pharmacies until I find a pharmacist willing to fill the prescription.
I should add that I could potentially wean myself off this med and stop taking it during my trip. For various reasons this is my last choice, but it's an available choice. I need to make this decision before going to Spain as I don't want to go through the weaning off process while I am also serving as a hospitalero.
Thanks!
LizB
My view is that this is hardly the 'worst case' - rather it is a very practical suggestion with a relatively low risk if you have the necessary information from your own GP, provided in the knowledge of its proposed use.The worst case scenario, IMO, is that you will have to visit a doctor who will give you the prescription. Baamonde has a “centro médico” and I can’t imagine that the doctor there wouldn’t give you a prescription if you needed it, especially if you bring all the documentatio from your doctor.
Xolair could be like that because you need to have bloodwork every 3 months to monitor your kidneys and liver. It is like that here in the US, too.Your best source of information will be your insurance company if you have one that covers the medications. I just went through this and it was extremely arduous, and in the end they would not allow me more than a 3-month supply of my injectable (omalizumab/Xolair) and I was supposed to be on a 5-month trip to Spain.
Be attentive to the details with your PCP and your insurer. You may be able to transfer your script, but in my case the Canadian regulations on my drug are so stringent that I could not transfer the script to Spain. I was limited to a 3-month supply and then a requirement to return home to acquire another 3-month supply (or else lose the coverage for letting the script lapse for 2 months… even if I were to find a farmacia where I could get my script filled/find a practitioner in Granada to script it for me etc etc).
Injectable’s are no easy matter when you want to go beyond the usual dispensary limits on the script.
You really need to ask your insurer if you have one. If you are paying out of pocket, see if your physician will give you more to take with you (and, as with my drug, you might have to get an airline to accommodate storage of your injectable at a refrigerated temperature, etc etc).
Good luck (and a healthy wish for patience on your side and competence from those whose bureaucratic assistance you will need.
Oh, that sounds a bit extreme on the monitoring side. I’ve been on it for 7 years without *any* such monitoring. But I still wait for an hour after every shot to be observed for sudden anaphylaxis… The drug is so rarely used here that I don’t know anyone else on it in Canada, but as my immunologist is at a major research centre, I don’t think my treatment experience is out of the standard of care for here.Xolair could be like that because you need to have bloodwork every 3 months to monitor your kidneys and liver. It is like that here in the US, too.
Huh. I started Xolair about 3ish years ago, and they have basically made me go get blood work done every 3 months. Like 6 vials each time. I always feel like a donor for a vampire those days!Oh, that sounds a bit extreme on the monitoring side. I’ve been on it for 7 years without *any* such monitoring. But I still wait for an hour after every shot to be observed for sudden anaphylaxis… The drug is so rarely used here that I don’t know anyone else on it in Canada, but as my immunologist is at a major research centre, I don’t think my treatment experience is out of the standard of care for here.
I suspect SOC varies over jurisdictions. Canada does try to play by very conservative numbers for risk management to avoid over-testing on many things. It’s likely not “worth it” here to test the low numbers of people on the drug because it’s statistically more powerful to use the drug to prevent disability and disease than it is to screen for “rare event” possible effects of the medication. I can say that because I have to monitor anemia I do get blood tests done about once a year and my incidental counts on liver and kidney values remain healthy.Huh. I started Xolair about 3ish years ago, and they have basically made me go get blood work done every 3 months. Like 6 vials each time. I always feel like a donor for a vampire those days!
Huh. I've been on Xolair 5 years (since my 2016 Camino where I developed CIU - with one break of a few months which made me realize I still needed it) and I haven't had to have bloodwork done since possibly the beginning..Huh. I started Xolair about 3ish years ago, and they have basically made me go get blood work done every 3 months. Like 6 vials each time. I always feel like a donor for a vampire those days!
Thanks @ebrandt. I also bought the Frio wallet to check it out. My medication is available in Spain (same brand and injection dose) and although it is pricey, it is not as much as I would pay if I had to pay out of pocket in the US.I thought I would report back on what I have figured out so far.
1. Filling foreign prescriptions in Spain. After reaching out to a couple of folks who live in Spain and a friend who is a neurologist in the UK -- they all think that if I have my US prescription containing the information needed for an EU prescription (see the link included above by @MinaKamina) and I go to a walk in clinic, I should be able to get a Spanish prescription. I'll probably have to be a paying patient at the clinic, and I will have to pay for the drug. But I talked to my US health insurer and my travel health insurance provider and I can submit these costs for reimbursement under both policies.
2. I also figured out how I can carry 60 days supply so I will only need to refill my prescription once while in Spain. I found the following two products. A Frio Evaporative Wallet suggested above. This can fit 30 days supply which is the amount of time my medication is allowed outside a refrigerator.
3. I also found the 4AllFamily refrigerated cannister. This cannister holds a 30 day supply of my med. It keeps the medication at refrigerator temps for 33 hours. It has a small refrigeration unit that screws on the top and operates via an USB to plug cord. With the refrigeration unit attached it can keep items cold for 72 hours. I think this will ensure that I will be able to keep the med refrigerated even if I happen on an albergue that does not have a working refrigerator. Its a bit heavy -- unloaded the cannister weighs 2.8 lbs (including the cord). But I travel pretty light so I think I will be OK with this extra weight.
Anyway I thought some of you would be interested in these two products.
LizB
It would be great if you can take an oral formulary! Regarding needles, I bought a small needle clipper. I think someone earlier in this list suggested it. It clips the exposed end of the needle and stores the clipped sharp. I did some research and I’m pretty sure I can dispose of the needle cap in the regular trash. The clipper can store 1500 sharps. The little fridge unit is heavy and with a portable c-pap would be a lot! Hope the plan for oral meds works!I may see if I can be changed to the oral formulation. My medication is similar to the one you take (same class of drug) and I think it might be more convenient for me to transport in my backpack than having to carry the needles and dispose of them as well as worry about whether my medication is getting too warm to be effective.
I should have made clear that I figured that out and it will be a bit of a pain. It was actually hard to find info on the safe disposal of these pen caps. But, we also were not comfortable just disposing of the cap with the internal needle still there. I couldn't find portable sharps cases that hold more than 25 pen caps. And you have to throw the full container away with the caps. SoI would need to carry three containers on the camino. So I went back to the needle clipper idea. I will need to clip the needle that I jab with, unscrew the cap and clip the internal needle. I've been practicing at home using a sewing thimble and tweezers to get to the internal needle. So I feel pretty comfortable with the clipper, which is quite small, and then disposing of the plastic parts in the trash.With those needles you need to clip both sides (the part that sticks into your auto injector and the part that sticks into your skin) They are both sharp! The cover caps can be discarded. I am a nursing professor and it just wouldn't do for me to be leaving some kind of sharp biohazard in the trashso I appreciate the tip on the needle clipper, but I will probably buy a pocket-sized sharps container if I end up taking the injectable medication. We often don't appreciate our health until we start developing health concerns. Its why I need to walk the Camino while I still can, CPAP, medications, and all!
I thought I would report back on what I have figured out so far.
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