# Travel abroad



## Martyn22 (Dec 13, 2018)

I have always wanted to travel abroad in my motorhome, and have always traveled for about 3 months, next year I wanted to let my house for a year and go traveling. however, my Doctor told me they can only give me 3 months medication at one time. As I need insulin and a lot of blood testers which I know cost 36 euros for 50 tests, I use 150 per month.  Has anyone found a solution to this problem? The house is now let from the 1st Feb 2019 all help will be welcome. Martyn Holder in Bristol


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## Ljc (Dec 13, 2018)

Hi @Martyn22 , welcome to the forum.  It might help us if you would let us know which countries you were visiting.

You could also phone our helpline 
+443451232399


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## trophywench (Dec 13, 2018)

Must be Europe as Martyn quotes prices in euros.  All of Europe has either a co-pay system, or you have to pay the full price for the drugs.  In France, a visit to a GP costs approx. €30 even for the native French, so the EHIC card doesn't repay that, or the amount of the copay on the drugs, only the excess of the cost that the normal French health service provides for their citizens.

What do other people do?  Build it into their budget plans when planning their trips is the answer.  There are any number of individuals on our motorhome forum who swan off abroad for months on end who have to do it whether it's heart trouble, epilepsy, diabetes, MS - you name it, a member or one of their family travelling with them have most likely needed to cater for it.  A thing that gobsmacked me was - admittedly a couple of years ago now, one of our members living permanently in rural, southern Spain - couldn't get one of the common or garden insulins that shedloads of people here had been on for years (was either Levemir, Lantus, Novorapid or Humalog - nothing at all weird or new) simply was NOT available.

So - we always have to do our homework wherever we're thinking of going - even when it's nowhere all that exotic.


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## Martyn22 (Dec 14, 2018)

Martyn22 said:


> I have always wanted to travel abroad in my motorhome, and have always traveled for about 3 months, next year I wanted to let my house for a year and go traveling. however, my Doctor told me they can only give me 3 months medication at one time. As I need insulin and a lot of blood testers which I know cost 36 euros for 50 tests, I use 150 per month.  Has anyone found a solution to this problem? The house is now let from the 1st Feb 2019 all help will be welcome. Martyn Holder in Bristol


Will be going to Spain, Portugal,  and staying for about 6 months in Morocco then back to Spain and Portugal then back to the UK to renew van MOT. then do it all again


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## trophywench (Dec 14, 2018)

Blimey - ambitious LOL  Do whichever single motor insurer who does the 'full timing' insurance still give cover for Morocco - I thought that alone was a big problem now throughout Europe hence why the 'costas' and popular Portuguese areas are more and more jam packed with European ones and more and more vans everywhere are being targeted by the police and moved on from sites where 'free camping' has been previously tolerated for decades and even 'last year'.

Anyway - this is well 'off topic' entirely for a UK diabetes forum.  I wouldn't even know if there's reasonable access to a pharmacy, let alone medical help - in Morocco - let alone whether insulin or strips are available there.  At all, or your particular brand.


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## Bruce Stephens (Dec 14, 2018)

trophywench said:


> I wouldn't even know if there's reasonable access to a pharmacy, let alone medical help - in Morocco - let alone whether insulin or strips are available there. At all, or your particular brand.



Pharmacies exist, and apparently (and unsurprisingly) there's reasonable healthcare (though I think you should expect to pay for it). No idea about insulin, etc. I'd agree that Morocco is the one to worry about (but that's the place you're in intending to be for the longest, so that's presumably not a surprise). (Though I guess we can't rule out Europe being more of an issue too.)


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## AndBreathe (Dec 14, 2018)

I did a very long trip, well outside Europe (unless you could the French WI, which is actually France in Paradise), just after diagnosis.  Fortunately, I wasn't on any drugs, so that part was simple enough.

In terms of how others handle it in the sailing community, many have friends or family come to visit them, for sailing holidays, or just plain holidays, and who can bring supplies with them.  These days with prescriptions going directly to a  pharmacy, somebody just picks them up, stores the meds and transports when next travelling.

For the first time, ever, ever, ever, I will be travelling with medication.  I'll only be away for a couple of months this time, in SE Asia, but should I run out of my Meds I'll be able to buy them OTC.

One thing I would urge you to check is that you have a spare meter as it'd be a pesky situation to have strips aplenty, but no functioning meter.  On my long trip, I did buy additional strips (which were and remain self-funded) on Guadeloupe, so as I say French WI, so I could buy Sanofi products.  Some of the islands had Bayer products, but things were a bit patchy depending on location. 

In reality, I'd want a spare meter for the one I'd be using, pluse a spare of something where strips etc., would be available locally (even if I had to pay).

For the sailing community, there are lots of fora, and I imaging the motorhome community would be similar.  There's usually a good deal of commaraderie on these places, and somebody usually knows how the land lies where you are heading.

Enjoy!  Life is too short to turn our backs on big adventures.


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## trophywench (Dec 14, 2018)

Well yeah - indeed  the fulltimers section of Motorhome Fun is where Martyn cam probably get a lot of info and expense can't be that much of a prob anyway - annual fulltimers motorhome insurance always costs in 4 figures to begin with even if it's all UK use - so in excess of 4x what it costs for ordinary shorter term 'leisure' use.

What arrangements can a person make for sharps disposal when moving about?  I don't know that either but knowing there are too many things (eg not being able to obtain any travel (ie medical) cover at a price we're willing to pay so we haven't considered going further afield than the EU for 10 years) for me to be concerned about when I'm supposed to be relaxing - stop me even dreaming about visiting Britain in Paradise (ie the Maldives) again, let alone anywhere more 'foreign' !


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## travellor (Dec 14, 2018)

Insurance in Morocco is no problem, you buy it on the border.
I was there last year, it's definitely a civilized country.

You can always get the strips posted out to you, if you can get someone to pick them up. I don't know how well insulin travels.

The other solution is to fly back, pick up your prescription, and fly out again.

When the doctor said he can only give three months medication at one time, did he specify when it could be repeated?
Mine was good with being fairly relaxed om that, so when I was on medication, I could build a stock up of several months.
But it may be too ;ate to do that now.


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