Having medicine delivered to Italy?

Curious - Why couldn't you carry the meds with you? TSA allows it. You only have to declare that you are carrying meds and allow them to inspect it if they request to do so. See the last para. at: http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/3-1-1-carry-ons

Have you asked about the meds at an Italian pharmacy? You might be surprised as the availability and costs can be extremely different in Italy, both better and worse. A pharmacy can direct you to a doctor for the Rx if needed.

There are serious restrictions on shipping medicine overseas. Customs will likely take a look on it. Prescription drugs often require special documents and permits. Certain class of medicines cannot be imported into EU by individual costumers.

Yes, these are injectables, and the length of our travel and our insurance company's policies means we need to be resupplied.

Barbara, in that case, I think you should discuss this with your doctor and with DHL and/or FedEx to try to determine how other people have handled similar situations. USPS.com's website says: "Prescription medications can only be mailed by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registered entities. Similar regulations may apply to over-the-counter medications." There's also the concern that the pharmaceuticals could potentially be exposed to environmental conditions that could damage their viability. I think you would do better to go down the route of finding a way to have the prescription re-filled by an Italian pharmacy. Again, for such an important matter I would seek and only follow the advice of a doctor.

Go to an Italian doctor and show your prescription. The US consulate can suggest names of English speaking doctors. Theycanprescribe the same or an equivalent. You will have to pay out of pocket, but your insurance (although not Medicare) will reimburse you. I used to work for Blue Cross of Calif., most plans will be happy to reimburse you because even the exact same medicines are less expensive in Europe, generally.

I travel for long periods of time and before I leave I get a "vacation override" approved by my insurance company. Then I can take the meds with me.

Roberto- Thats very helpful. We'll call the consulate tomorrow. THanks all