refilling prescriptions

When I was in Austria years ago as a college student, I took enough prescription medication to last the six months I was gone. You will not be able to fill US prescriptions in Europe, so you will most likely have to consult a doctor while you are there if you can't carry enough with you. Your bigger issue is the Schengen Agreement. Throughout most of western Europe you are not allowed to stay longer than 90 days on a tourist visa. That limit is for the whole Schengen area, not per country. Unless you have some kind of extended visa, you will have to plan to be out of the Schengen area for 90 days once you have used up your initial 90 days in the area, so plan carefully.

There is no such thing as wandering Europe for a year without a lot of careful planning related to VISA requirements. You do not want to be an illegal alien.

I've heard in the past that you can get prescriptions written by your physician in this country but in addition to the trade name, add the generic names of the substances of which they consist. This will be recognizable to a European pharmacist or apothecary. You could consult with him/her and then get an appropriate prescription from an MD. Some medications requiring prescriptions in the US are over the counter in Europe. Additionally, there is an American Hospital in Paris, for instance, where you could presumably make an appointment and get refills. You could also get a written doctor's report about your condition and what the medications are for. Get the names of English speaking doctors from American consulates or embassies wherever you find yourself.

A couple of years ago I ran out of one of my prescription meds while in the UK. My US doctor was willing to reorder it over the phone at a UK pharmacy, but the UK pharmacist told me they weren't allowed to accept prescriptions from non-EU doctors. I had to see a local doc, who took care of me without any problem. The rules may be different in different countries, but to be safe if I were you I'd assume I would NOT be able to get refills in Europe on a US prescription. Carry a letter from your US doctor listing your meds and plan on having to see local docs to get your refills. When you need a local doc over there, I'd suggest going to a pharmacy - the pharmacist for sure will know all the local docs and should be able to help you find one.

There are two parts to respond to. First, you may not stay for a day more than 3 months out of any 6 months. The fines are high when you overstay and leave (I paid 550 euros for 3 days overstay by one daughter) and they can lock you out of reentering Europe for up to ten years. You really, really need to read up on Schengen regulations with great care: search for them on this site in the archived files, where there is an extensive discussion. They don't take this lightly when they catch you (and it's all computerized, so they will). Second, as others have said, it's really difficult to get prescriptions refilled in Europe. Two of my daughters live in Europe (Berlin & Zurich) and getting their refills sent to them is difficult, as you can't get them through customs - they will return them, even if they are in original containers marked for the patient. You have to send them as something else (you didn't hear that from me).

Just a small technical point. It is three months only if one of those months is February. It is 90 days, not 91 or 92, out of a continuous 180 days.

Assuming you are actually wandering Europe for the year, one possibility to get the meds is to have someone pick them up at the pharmacy/DR for you (some places will let others pick up meds if you have permission, etc.) and get it FEDEX, UPS, or DHL overnighted to where you are staying. Obviously it has to pass through customs, so there's that pesky issue, as well. Otherwise I suggest you set up with your DR to see a local DR here somewhere who can write a local prescription. I haven't met a DR in Europe yet who didn't speak great English.

Another technical point worth knowing: the "90-day" rule doesn't apply in the UK. US residents with a US passport can visit the UK for up to 6 months without a visa. Details here: http://tinyurl.com/6stat9h