Vitamins, calcium etc….Do you take them or leave them?

I take my vitamins & meds with me. I use pill pouches & dose everything out in advance and then put them in a Ziploc which I carry in my purse.

Well, I have to take a few prescription meds but for OTC. better to be safe than sorry is my attitude.

I take Vitamin D, heartburn OTC, Tylenol for pain and sinus / tension headaches.. I am going on a cruise so I take something for sea sickness. It does not take up that much room and like I said when I need this stuff, I need it.

But I do not take all the supplements you see advertised on television that would cost me my whole social security check.

How many supplements, vitamins and OTC do you take?

I take my prescriptions, vitamins and supplements, enough for the trip plus 10 days. I put them in pill ziplock bags, labeled with either the prescription (ask your pharmacist for a duplicate label) or name tag. I then put morning and night in different colored bags so they are easy to recognize in the pill pouch. No one has questioned what in the bags. Antibiotics and heavy duty pain pills are kept in their original containers.

I take them as I feel it’s even more important to stay healthy when traveling.
I put them in tiny labelled ziploc bags….they don’t take up much room or weight.

If you're worried about the space in your luggage, you can also buy vitamins and minerals in European cities.

We also take OTC vitamins with us. As mentioned above, having them in a zip lock bag simply doesn't take up that much room nor do they weigh very much. You should be able to carefully remove the label(s) from the original container(s) and attaching the label(s) to the bag(s) with clear tape.

I leave supplements at home. Your bones are not going to go soft in a few weeks from not taking calcium or Vit D.

I take OTC meds with me for colds, pain, magnesium for leg cramps after long walking days in Europe, Pepto Bis (not available in Europe) and the most important for me...Airborne. I do take that every day when I'm traveling even though I'm not sure it's efficacy has been proven.

Yes to taking your back up cardiac meds. That is a wise move.

Yea to being down to 2 weeks before travel!!

I’m not worried about space or weight in my luggage per se. I take a multi vitamin aimed at eye health, calcium with and without D, niacin to help with cholesterol. Really not so much but Tuesday in my 7 day pill box died so I have to replace it. I could get 2 weeks in it and then would ziplock the extra 8 days, but it just hit me, maybe you could take a break and would you even notice? I usually eat pretty good when traveling so I’m thinking nutritionally speaking I’d probably be fine. Still pondering…….

Thank you Pam! I don’t think my bones ‘will go soft’ in 3 weeks either😁. Plus talk about weight bearing exercise! All the extra walking I do when traveling, my bones are probably thicker coming home.

I do take just in case minimal OTC for diarrhea and some advil for if my left knee gets cranky and the aforementioned heart stuff. But I’m dropping makeup because even when I took it I didn’t use it 80% of the time and post Covid I just feel like my attitude is less is better these days.

"Plus talk about weight bearing exercise! All the extra walking I do when traveling, my bones are probably thicker coming home."

Oh gosh...laughed out loud because that was the VERY thing I was thinking. Plus going up more steps than I ever do at home has to be good for our bones!

I take almost exactly what Pam mentioned, including the Airborne - their marketing team did a great job! “We can’t prove it, but take it anyway when you’re traveling!” LOL!

Since 2020, I take an extra two weeks of my prescriptions. Fortunately, they’re tiny, and a whole month will fit in the tiniest day-of-week containers.

I find that the breakfast options in some locations give me a chance for a well-rounded vitamin boost. When there’s fresh veggies & fruit among the options, I always select them.

I bring prescription meds, vitamin C, some OTC sleep aids, cymetidine (Tagamet) and naproxen (Aleve). I almost always get a headache in airports, so a little prophylactic naproxen goes a long way. And an antacid before or after a heavy dinner helps. I don't bring the multivitamin or calcium supplements I take at home.

I leave my vitamin D at home when I travel.
Recent studies don't show any outcomes benefit of taking Niacin so I would definitely not take it on the road.

I took vitamins with me on my recent trip to Norway, but I think I would have been fine for 18 days without them.

I also bought a little med container with eight section and brought a variety of meds we have used in the past. We never touched the loperamide (anti-diarrhea), simethicone (gas relief) or mucus relief, but the cetirizine (allergy) was used many of the days. I am also happy to report that my usual, excruciating ear pain when landing, was relieved by taking my cetirizine and flonase just before the flight and a Tylenol an hour before landing. The first time in years that I haven't felt my head was going to explode.

Interesting responses. I googled just for the heck of it:

“By quitting supplements cold turkey, your body will also experience a major change in a short amount of time. As a result, you will most likely experience supplement withdrawal symptoms, which may include: Compromised immune system that is vulnerable to illness. Fatigue or tiredness.”

I’m not sure there’s a direct causation, but there’s definitely been a correlation for me during my trips: A gelato a day keeps the illnesses away! I don’t dare stop while I’m traveling….just in case! : )

I have a pill case that allows plenty of room for a 2-3 week trip's worth of allergy meds, 1 prescription med, Motrin, daily vitamin, and black cohosh, which really does help me with hot flashes. It's slim and fits easily in my carryon so I'd rather have all that stuff together and keep on my daily regimen.

@Jean!!!! Oh yes...that is the best solution, lol!! And although I am not a juice drinker I will have OJ from those squeezer machines a lot of the breakfast rooms in Paris have.

@MNAnnie...I forgot I always have antihistamines. Didn't need them for Orkney or Shetland although the heather was almost in full bloom but last May in Northern England the fields of rape were pretty awful.

Thanks for all the responses and lively input. I did some internet cruising as well and semi official opinions were very diverse on the efficacy of the daily vitamin. I wasn’t too sure about Airborne either and looked it up as well. Yes indeed they have a great marketing campaign evidently. But you can never deny the power of positive thinking so everyone should do what works for them.

I’m going lighten my load this trip and leave my days of the week pill case at home. I’ll report back how I fared. I do think I’ll follow Dr Jean’s advice however: daily application of gelato is recommended. Not sure about how many shops in Prague, Budapest and Vienna will be open in Oct and Nov but I’ll give it my best shot 😉.

I leave my larger than I need days of the week box at home. I bag each med/supplement in its own bag. I make a chart on paper or paper towel or napkin and lay it out in a place it is unlikely to be disturbed and fill each “box” with the pills for the day/days/week - depends on length of stay. We are usually in aparthotels or similar so generally have space for my paper pill box. This could of course be difficult in smaller accommodations.

Obviously, the prescription meds are a "must " to take in their original containers, sufficient for the entire length of the trip plus a few extra days. The OTC vitamins, calcium , etc I only take some of them, ie not for daily consumption (that's more weight) but occasional, say 2-4 times a week vs. daily.

I'm with Fred - I take my prescription medicine as prescribed, but bring calcium and vitamin D along for taking a few times each week.

Like S J, I take my vitamins and meds in tiny ziplock plastic bags that I found on Amazon.

Dollar Stores have the teeny ziploc bags in the crafts section.

Since I usually end up taking the supplements irregularly while travelling, I need to do as Fred and Mardee---only take enough for a few times a week.