Prescriptions

Garrison,
You should be fine with your pills in the weekly pill boxes. But, to be absolutely positive, if you have the labels from some old prescription bottles, you could stick them with your travel papers. If you don't have those, your pharmacist could likely print out duplicates for you.
I often travel with prescription liquid/gels (one over 3 oz), and I just stick them in a separate zip lock bag from my 3oz liquids and tell the screeners they are my prescription items (for those items, I leave the prescription label on them)........I've never even had anyone look at them. Granted, we are Global Entry for the US, but that doesn't do squat for us outside the US when we are being screened in other countries, but I've had no issues in other countries.

With certain pills for certain countries, there can be HUGE issues. But, for diabetes meds, I could not imagine any sort of problem.

Enjoy your time in Ireland. We loved it there and would like to return someday.

Do put your weekly divider box in a ziplock. SIL didn't on one of our early trips and had pills all over the bottom of her carry on! Make sure you take more than you think you'll need as well just in case you drop one or are some reason delayed getting back home.

I require a small pharmacy full of drugs to maintain a heart beat, but i still travel 3 or 4 times a year. Maggie nailed it.

You should be fine with your pills in the weekly pill boxes. But, to
be absolutely positive, if you have the labels from some old
prescription bottles, you could stick them with your travel papers. If
you don't have those, your pharmacist could likely print out
duplicates for you.

At least i think she did. In 30 trips i have never been questioned. So I am just assuming Maggie and I are correct.....

Following advice from others on this board, I carried my meds for a 4-week trip in one Ziploc bag for each prescription with the label carefully removed from an old bottle and affixed to the bag. All those bags went into my "nightstand bag" and took very little space. (Took 5 weeks worth -- just in case of clumsiness.)
P.S., my husband carried his diabetic testing supplies, no problem.

I use the small Ziploc type bags (Rite aid carries them in their travel section) to hold each of the pills, then put them inside a larger baggie to organize (hubby’s prescriptions in one, mine in another, and otc’s in a third). Takes very little space.

TSA does NOT require that meds be in original bottle or label. Whether or not inspectors in other countries will worry about how you have your pills organized is always a question. Personally, I've never had a problem taking meds into other countries for my personal use (and we've had more than 40 international trips)
It is the INFORMATION that is important- more in case you have a medical emergency, or need a refill (lost meds, trip extended...) You should have the brand name of the medication (ambien, etc.) and the generic name, and if no generic, a "chemical" name as brand names are not always the same.
There are lots of ways to organize your meds. You can ask your pharmacist to print you an extra label (or use the one they give you that is with the 'side effects" printout) and put it on a small Ziploc bag, then put the medication in the bag. Alternatively, some pharmacies will prepare blister packs with all your meds grouped according to when you take them (example, day 1, am in one blister, day 1 lunch next, day 1 pm next, etc)and put all labels on the top of the sheet. You could use a pill organizer as you've mentioned, and put the labels from the pharmacy on one sheet of paper with the organizer.

I carry an information sheet with the above info (one for me , one for hubby)and I also list my Dr's phone #s, pharmacy's #, and emergency contact info as well a list medical conditions, surgeries /dates. If you become ill while traveling, or need a refill because you lost meds, etc. it could be vital. Feel free to private message me if you want a sample copy of the info sheet.

Also, note that liquid meds of more than 3 oz should NOT be placed in your 3-1-1 bag, but should be in their own baggie, and this is one time where an 'official' label is helpful. Diabetic supplies that include sharps (needles, lancets, etc.) should be bagged separately and declared when you get in line at the TSA security point, also.

I purchased tiny zip lock bags meant for medicines at Walgreens, in the area where they sell pill boxes. Counted enough of each for our trip plus a few extra days just in case and labeled each bag with a Sharpie. Used that for vitamins as well. I photocopied labels of each prescription on a single sheet just in case. While TSA always gave me a pass on my tiny prescription eye drops (not in the 3-1-1 bag) security at Gatwick not so. On the way home they pulled my bag and made me put the eye drops in the 3-1-1 bag.

We always poir our pills into baggies and have done this for years all over the world. No problem at all. I carry a pharmacy list of my RXs in case I end up at an MD office or hospital.

No one in TSA has ever questioned me on my prescription meds I need each day, which are stored in a weekly pill box. That's one week's supply. The rest of the pills to last the duration of the trip are in their original plastic bottles which are in my carry on bag. I don't have the original written prescription. This carry on bag is obviously screened since it goes into the bin with you shoes, belt, etc. TSA personnel never asked about it.

In all my international trips, security personnel have never asked about prescriptions medications nor even glanced at same. I've had a corkscrew (outbound from Paris) and dab of toothpaste confiscated though. Maybe I don't appear to meet the profile of a person transporting illegal items.

As long as your are carrying reasonable amounts of medications, you should not have any issues. If you have a bag that is stuffed with prescription medicines and nothing else, you might have someone question why.

I travel often and no one has ever asked about the dozen or so drugs I always have with me, including the injectable with its needles (the drug goes in my liquids bag because it is a liquid; needles separately in the bag with my other prescriptions). I do carry everything in the original pharmacy package and the over the counter stuff in their original packages as well. My last trip to Europe was for 60 days and I had to carry enough drugs to cover that amount of time. Even at that amount, no one asked me what or why about anything.

For our RX pills this is what we do to save space & weight. We have the pharmacist print out extra labels and then put the pills in a freezer zip lock and put an extra label on it. We also take the original data sheet that comes with the RX with us to show that it is for us. We have been to many European countries and have never had a problem. It is always a good idea to take extra pills in a separate container in a purse or personal bag in case your carry on has to be gate checked and goes off on it's own. There are some state laws that require prescription medications be in original containers, but they are rarely enforced and I can only remember reading about two cases in the last 20 years.

Going out of the country, the only thing TSA worries about is something that might look like a bomb or a threat. They care less about the amount of Rx drugs that you are carrying. (Obviously something something super excessive might raise a flag.) Coming back is another issue because Customs gets involves and they do have some concerns about the amount of drugs and type you are carrying. However, by that time you should be down to a handful so that is not a concern. If you still have a few hundred pills, you might have to explain that. You should carry copies of your prescriptions because that would be helpful if you have to replace your medication because it is lost or unlikely - stolen. It would help the local doctor to write the proper prescription for you.

I'm diabetic, so I would sufffer without my pills.

I'm a diabetic traveler too and I travel with metformin and a non-insulin injectable pen. I pack the needles in their own ziplock and the pills in another ziplock as my 1000mg metformin pills are often too large to fit a week's worth in a 7-day pillbox. I also have a 3rd ziplock for vitamins.

My husband travels with many prescription meds. Before we leave home, I take a photo of each Rx bottle (with the camera I'm using on the trip), clearly showing the info in case he loses them en route. Be advised that the generic form of the med may be called a different name in another country.

Know what schedule drugs you have and act responsibly. I bring a medication that I could be arrested for having if I don't have a prescription for it, that's in the US, not taking my chance in a foreign country. Those pills get packed in the original bottle.
I like the idea of taking a picture of the original bottle so you can show it to a pharmacy if you loose them. Mine are generic and I often times forget the name and there are multiple generic names.

Thank you everyone for all of this information - and many helpful suggestions.

I'll be better prepared for our trip now!

Garrison

Remember the source of the info you are getting and also consider where you are going. If any of those drugs ate narcodicts I might be inclined to keep them in the original bottle. if your life relies on any of them, as is my situation, research for English language clinics or doctors where you are going. A pharmacy will not give you a replacement with out a local prescription in most places. if you do get a prescription filled, take time to marvel at and celebrate the cost.

Not exactly an answer to your question, but this is a suggestion for carrying pills - in very little space: go to Hobby Lobby or some other craft store and buy a package of small plastic bags that have a "Ziploc"-type closure. They come in different sizes and are usually used for beads or other jewelry-making items. They're VERY inexpensive and you get about 50 small bags in a package - enough for several trips!
I use the 3 in by 2 in or smaller, depending on the size of the pills - and just use a permanent marker to label each one. I put all our medications, vitamins, etc. in these small bags, then put them all in one small sandwich Ziploc bag. Waterproof, and takes up very little space in carryon. We travel for 3 - 5 weeks at a time and this has worked well.
Have a great trip.

Hi,

If your particular med is a prescription one here, it is a good bet that it is likewise over there. On this summer's trip , I discovered to my temporary shock in Berlin that one of my prescription meds was 20 something tablets short, ie, I didn't count correctly to bring an adequate number of pills. I was told to go to the pharmacy conveniently located at the end of the block of the Pension.

The Apothekerin , woman pharmacist , immediately recognised the name of the med as one requiring a doctor's prescription before she could order it. She told me to go a clinic located a around the corner to see the doc on duty (this was Sat morning) there since only s/he could write out the needed prescription (Verschreibung) I lucked out since these two places were at most 2-4 mins from each other. I saw the doc, told him what happened, he asked a few questions, then wrote out the prescription, which I brought back to pharmacy, In the end I had to pay the pharmacy for the pills and the doc's office because of the visit...only cash accepted, no credit card at all at both places. I realise I was fortunate, lucky that I had brought along the original (Kaiser Pernmente) container of that med