Finding medication abroad during long time travel
Hello everyone, I have been diagnosed with Ulcerative colitis in 2011 and have been on Adalimumad (Hyrimoz) since 2013. I have been quite stable since then, without important flare up thankfully.
My partner and I have a dream to go on a long term trip around the world for 9 to 12 months (we only have one life!). I am a bit worried about my medication so if anyone has any past experience on this that would be great.
For example, is there a list of countries where Adalimumad is easily available and how to get it (cost, prescription etc). I currently live in the UK where my medication is covered by the NHS and home delivered. I can't find much information online on this and my IBD nurse hasn't got a lot of information when I ask. They can give me a presciption for 3 months but it would mean travelling with a lot of injections without being able to store them in a fridge for that long (I believe this can be stored 3 weeks maximum outside in ambient temperature).
Thank you
I did a little research on this as I was thinking about doing the same thing years ago and found that adalimumab is available in most EU countries, UK, Italy, Germany, Canada, US and Indonesia but not much else. Unfortunately because of the need for refrigeration, we decided not to do the trip. Yes, it can be stored out of the fridge for up to 3 weeks but with traveling, there are too many temperature changes.
I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful and I hope you are able to do the trip.
Let us know how you get on
Vern - IBD Team MemberThank you Vern. Yes I foudn the same list of countries. I just found out this blog with more information so I'll try to contact them https://kevinandsam.travel/long-term-travelling-with-humira. Thanks That's great. I hope you are able to go with no problems
I cannot seem to find much information on it in Thailand, or for that matter anywhere in Asia, what I suggest is that you join on of the larger expat online forums like https://www.expatforum.com/ and either make a general post in the health section or in the countries you plan on staying in. I would say that anywhere you have to buy it yourself you should expect it to be very expensive.
I've looked further into the availability in Thailand and found that it is a controlled drug. Requires a prescription which in practice usually means it can only be obtained from a hospital.
It is available under these brand names:
Hyrimoz
Amgevita
Exemptia
Info on price here.
https://dir.indiamart.com/impcat/adalimumab.htmlHello, thank you very much for looking into this and sharing these information. I'll definitely keep this website bookmarked. This is the kind of price I was expecting. Do you know if a presciription from the UK would be accepted ? I'd certainly take one to show you needed the drug but you may still have to go through a medical practitioner at one of the hospitals. I'd suggest one of the better private hospitals in developing countries, the waiting time would be a lot shorter.
