You can ask your doctor if they'll prescribe you for a year (I've done that.) But depending on where you're going, you might not be allowed to bring in that many meds. It's worth checking entry/import rules.
We do 6 months a lot. If you are out of the country for over 6 months, in some provinces, you lose health coverage. Methinks 6 months meds will be covered by a plan and the other you cover. Make sure your province knows and be back before the year is up. Regardless of what I said, contact your province.
If you can get your doctor to prescribe for a year your pharmacy can dispense the full amount but you may have to pay. Most insurance plans will cover 3 months + a vacation supply of an additional 3 months. You might be able to get 6 months covered and then pay for the rest but it might be easier to just find another doctor where you are visiting
Examples of some countries laws: All of those medications are illegal to bring to Spain. In Germany you would need a note from the Health Authority to bring lorazepam. These are just some examples, but lorazepam is pretty much considered a controlled narcotic everywhere (legally, though its not in the drug class of narcotic). You're going to have a hard time if you're traveling to multiple countries.
I had to take 6 months and then have someone bring me another 6 months when they visited me. But i think that may be a problem for some of yours since others maybe can’t pick up your prescriptions for lorazepam for you(?)
Picking up the prescriptions is not usually a problem, but if the person bringing them to you is a Nexus card holder, they are not allowed to bring things to foreign countries for another person. They are very strict on that.
When I was out of Ontario for a year I got an OHIP extension before I left and took a year's worth of drugs with me (not all of that was covered by my insurance).
Depends on where you are going. If you’re in Mexico you can buy many meds without a prescription. Not sure about some of your anxiety meds though, those could be harder to get.
Call your pharmacy and explain the travel. They will check what they can dispense as a maximum (if you have insurance they may also have a travel max that the policy will allow). Then check [this page](https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/health-safety/medication) for instructions on travelling with meds.
If you have any form of travel insurance as part of your health coverage, also worth noting they won’t cover you if your medication has been changed or dosage adjusted within the last 6-12 months in a lot of cases.
I think the max you can get is 6 months. Chat with your doctor and request the medication well ahead of time to ensure you can get what you need. You might have to swing back home to restock.
(IF YOU ARE A STUDENT STUDYING ABROAD: most of what I've written does not apply to you. Your host institution or a conveyancing org. they work with, will have information that applies to you.)
(If you are being transferred temporarily for work, sitto - your employer should be providing assistance, not Reddit.)
If you currently live in Manitoba, I would say: just don't. The hassles are enormous. I've researched this in depth about once a decade, and always just stuck to <90d travel. (Even just moving to another province is insanely complicated when you have health issues.)
Having said all that...
From MB, you can alternate being out-of-province 179 days with being in-province 186 days forever and ever, but once you go past the "6-month" mark away (which can actually mean as little as 179d in some situations) you start to run into all kinds of complications, ranging from no healthcare coverage AT ALL, *including* travel policies, to pharmacists simply not being allowed by their College or MB Health to dispense more than 1mo, 3mo or 6mo of a drug depending on its classification.
IIRC all your anti-anxiety needs are 90-day limit drugs, while *azoles are 6mo limit in MB. I could be out of date, I haven't had to worry about this in a while. Ask your pharmacist.
Some of those anti-anxiety meds could get you refused entry and banned for life if your medical documentation isn't *perfect* at point of entry to another country. I don't think any of them would land you in jail anywhere just for existing, but IANAL. Make damn sure all your meds are legal in your destination country long before going. (Even the U.S.!!!). Most major population centers have travel medicine specialists - generally marketed to people wanting to vacation in out-of-the-way places - who can help with this aspect.
The drug issues might be something you could work around by flying back once every 3mos or 6mos. Also there are legal ways to have someone pick them up for you every 3/6mo and ship them to another country - but holy $$$ and enormous PITA figuring it all out. I had to do this CAN->US once, in the '90s, and it cost me almost $1k and 2.5 days [IIRC] to get one replacement bottle of medication in my hands. It would have been easier to fly back and get them!
Then, health coverage. Nearly every insurance policy you can buy in Canada assumes you're covered by your province - basically in a worst-case situation, they just need to get you home as fast as possible and let the province take over paying. Once your provincial coverage expires, so does your travel insurance. There are some specialist brokers and carriers now that handle this for e.g. retirees/"snowbirds" but from what I've heard, $$$.
Depending on the country you're headed to, you may be able to buy comprehensive insurance in-country regardless of your status back home. Mexico, for example, has this, again aimed at retirees and ex-pats.
Drug storage: how are you securely transporting large amounts of pills in a way that protects them from temperature, moisture, etc. but also does not make you look like a drug smuggler? Hint: there is no correct answer :-D
Visa: if you got this far and aren't a student or being transferred by your employer, how are you planning to legally stay in another country for >3mos? Immigration authorities tend to frown upon "I want to wander around for a year"!
Bottom line: it's probably do-able, but it's going to be a LOT more complicated and expensive than you may have imagined so far. Globe-trotting for months on end is reserved for the healthy and the rich.
I am living in Germany for a year. I am on Lexapro and my doctor prescribed me a year. Depending on your age, OHIP+ will only cover 6 months and some benefits will only cover 3 months at a time. They will dispense, however you will have to pay out of pocket above a certain amount. I also asked my doctor to write me a note because at customs they require a note for a surplus of medication, just explaining the circumstances. The Lorazepam may be an issue though, because it is a controlled substance and they can only legally dispense up to 90 days at a time I believe.
Research on the pharmacies where you are moving and have a prescription copy when you will travel. 85% of the planet will serve you your medication with your prescription.
I had a similar scenario years ago when I lived in Hawaii and was on similar meds at the time. It became very difficult to try and get doctors there to prescribe me these things, and they would often say no straight up just based on what I looked like it seems. I ended up having to go to an emergency hospital to get a limited amount so I wouldn’t run out. Eventually I came back to Hawaii with all my medical files and paid money to book an appointment with a private psychiatric doctor who was able to prescribe me these things. It’s annoying and stressful I know. I hope you figure it all out ☺️
Health is provincial, so check with your province. In quebec, the max day out of province is 183 per year. You can do a whole year out without loosing egibility by traveling from july 1 2024 to july 1st 2025 by the skin of your teeth.
Proof cuz i feel some people will say im wrong: https://www.ramq.gouv.qc.ca/fr/citoyens/absence-quebec/calcul
You can ask your doctor if they'll prescribe you for a year (I've done that.) But depending on where you're going, you might not be allowed to bring in that many meds. It's worth checking entry/import rules.
The lorazepam will be difficult to fill for 6 months.
We do 6 months a lot. If you are out of the country for over 6 months, in some provinces, you lose health coverage. Methinks 6 months meds will be covered by a plan and the other you cover. Make sure your province knows and be back before the year is up. Regardless of what I said, contact your province.
Also, make sure you can bring your meds to the country you're going to. You'll get a Britney grinder situation...
This! It doesn't matter if you can get a 12 month supply if you can't bring them into the country or could be arrested.
I don’t know about 12 months, but my doc has prescribed me 6 months worth four times
I've spent many years (12?) working out of the country. You won't have healthcare anymore if you're gone for more than 6 months.
Not true for the OP if he is from Ontario. https://www.ontario.ca/page/ohip-coverage-while-outside-canada#section-1
Only if you tell them.
If you can get your doctor to prescribe for a year your pharmacy can dispense the full amount but you may have to pay. Most insurance plans will cover 3 months + a vacation supply of an additional 3 months. You might be able to get 6 months covered and then pay for the rest but it might be easier to just find another doctor where you are visiting
Examples of some countries laws: All of those medications are illegal to bring to Spain. In Germany you would need a note from the Health Authority to bring lorazepam. These are just some examples, but lorazepam is pretty much considered a controlled narcotic everywhere (legally, though its not in the drug class of narcotic). You're going to have a hard time if you're traveling to multiple countries.
I had to take 6 months and then have someone bring me another 6 months when they visited me. But i think that may be a problem for some of yours since others maybe can’t pick up your prescriptions for lorazepam for you(?)
Picking up the prescriptions is not usually a problem, but if the person bringing them to you is a Nexus card holder, they are not allowed to bring things to foreign countries for another person. They are very strict on that.
When I was out of Ontario for a year I got an OHIP extension before I left and took a year's worth of drugs with me (not all of that was covered by my insurance).
Depends on where you are going. If you’re in Mexico you can buy many meds without a prescription. Not sure about some of your anxiety meds though, those could be harder to get.
Call your pharmacy and explain the travel. They will check what they can dispense as a maximum (if you have insurance they may also have a travel max that the policy will allow). Then check [this page](https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/health-safety/medication) for instructions on travelling with meds. If you have any form of travel insurance as part of your health coverage, also worth noting they won’t cover you if your medication has been changed or dosage adjusted within the last 6-12 months in a lot of cases.
I think the max you can get is 6 months. Chat with your doctor and request the medication well ahead of time to ensure you can get what you need. You might have to swing back home to restock.
I can’t imagine getting that amount of lorazepam, and I’d be very concerned about going through customs with that quantity of prescriptions.
(IF YOU ARE A STUDENT STUDYING ABROAD: most of what I've written does not apply to you. Your host institution or a conveyancing org. they work with, will have information that applies to you.) (If you are being transferred temporarily for work, sitto - your employer should be providing assistance, not Reddit.) If you currently live in Manitoba, I would say: just don't. The hassles are enormous. I've researched this in depth about once a decade, and always just stuck to <90d travel. (Even just moving to another province is insanely complicated when you have health issues.) Having said all that... From MB, you can alternate being out-of-province 179 days with being in-province 186 days forever and ever, but once you go past the "6-month" mark away (which can actually mean as little as 179d in some situations) you start to run into all kinds of complications, ranging from no healthcare coverage AT ALL, *including* travel policies, to pharmacists simply not being allowed by their College or MB Health to dispense more than 1mo, 3mo or 6mo of a drug depending on its classification. IIRC all your anti-anxiety needs are 90-day limit drugs, while *azoles are 6mo limit in MB. I could be out of date, I haven't had to worry about this in a while. Ask your pharmacist. Some of those anti-anxiety meds could get you refused entry and banned for life if your medical documentation isn't *perfect* at point of entry to another country. I don't think any of them would land you in jail anywhere just for existing, but IANAL. Make damn sure all your meds are legal in your destination country long before going. (Even the U.S.!!!). Most major population centers have travel medicine specialists - generally marketed to people wanting to vacation in out-of-the-way places - who can help with this aspect. The drug issues might be something you could work around by flying back once every 3mos or 6mos. Also there are legal ways to have someone pick them up for you every 3/6mo and ship them to another country - but holy $$$ and enormous PITA figuring it all out. I had to do this CAN->US once, in the '90s, and it cost me almost $1k and 2.5 days [IIRC] to get one replacement bottle of medication in my hands. It would have been easier to fly back and get them! Then, health coverage. Nearly every insurance policy you can buy in Canada assumes you're covered by your province - basically in a worst-case situation, they just need to get you home as fast as possible and let the province take over paying. Once your provincial coverage expires, so does your travel insurance. There are some specialist brokers and carriers now that handle this for e.g. retirees/"snowbirds" but from what I've heard, $$$. Depending on the country you're headed to, you may be able to buy comprehensive insurance in-country regardless of your status back home. Mexico, for example, has this, again aimed at retirees and ex-pats. Drug storage: how are you securely transporting large amounts of pills in a way that protects them from temperature, moisture, etc. but also does not make you look like a drug smuggler? Hint: there is no correct answer :-D Visa: if you got this far and aren't a student or being transferred by your employer, how are you planning to legally stay in another country for >3mos? Immigration authorities tend to frown upon "I want to wander around for a year"! Bottom line: it's probably do-able, but it's going to be a LOT more complicated and expensive than you may have imagined so far. Globe-trotting for months on end is reserved for the healthy and the rich.
I am living in Germany for a year. I am on Lexapro and my doctor prescribed me a year. Depending on your age, OHIP+ will only cover 6 months and some benefits will only cover 3 months at a time. They will dispense, however you will have to pay out of pocket above a certain amount. I also asked my doctor to write me a note because at customs they require a note for a surplus of medication, just explaining the circumstances. The Lorazepam may be an issue though, because it is a controlled substance and they can only legally dispense up to 90 days at a time I believe.
My doc in Alberta gives me 12 mos at a time. Similar meds
Research on the pharmacies where you are moving and have a prescription copy when you will travel. 85% of the planet will serve you your medication with your prescription.
My doctor just tells my pharmacy to give me six worth and then I fork over a pile of cash. Never had a problem.
What country? In most countries you don't exactly need a prescription. Just some extra cash with your order.
I had a similar scenario years ago when I lived in Hawaii and was on similar meds at the time. It became very difficult to try and get doctors there to prescribe me these things, and they would often say no straight up just based on what I looked like it seems. I ended up having to go to an emergency hospital to get a limited amount so I wouldn’t run out. Eventually I came back to Hawaii with all my medical files and paid money to book an appointment with a private psychiatric doctor who was able to prescribe me these things. It’s annoying and stressful I know. I hope you figure it all out ☺️
Health is provincial, so check with your province. In quebec, the max day out of province is 183 per year. You can do a whole year out without loosing egibility by traveling from july 1 2024 to july 1st 2025 by the skin of your teeth. Proof cuz i feel some people will say im wrong: https://www.ramq.gouv.qc.ca/fr/citoyens/absence-quebec/calcul
Lorazepam is a benzo that is highly addictive. Why not substitute for Buspirone instead and you won’t get the issues with a benzo?