Canadian fulltiming prescriptions

[ByTheRvr]

I have searched the forum and couldn't find the answer so if this is a repeat, I'm sorry.

My wife and I are preparing to full-time. We plan to spend 6 months south during the winter and 6 months north during the summer. I'm a Canadian and she has dual Canadian/American citizenship. I believe she can sponsor me for residency in the US, but have not checked that yet, so we may be able to domicile on either side of the border. Due to a serious medical condition I take narcotic pain killers. My Canadian pharmacy can only fill one month at a time and requires a new, doctor signed, prescription each month; apparently that's the law. I asked my doctor and he said some people have someone fill the prescription for them and mail it to the patient; I'm not comfortable with cross border narcotic mailings. There must be others with this situation and I'm wondering how they deal with this.

If you have first hand experience with this I will appreciate your insight. Thanks

[ByTheRvr]

SkiMore wrote:
Call a large chain pharmacy in the US and ask them how it can be done. This type of thing must happen pretty often. Hopefully you won't need to go to a US clinic and pay full price for the meds.

Is there a big chain pharmacy in Canada and the US(CVS, Walgren, costco etc..)? If yes will the US pharmacy give a refill based on the prescription that is located at the Canadian branch?

With narcotics there must be a new signed prescription every time it's filled; no refills are allowed. To fill a prescription in the US I will need a local US doctor to write a prescription every time it's filled. Thank you for your thoughts.

[SkiMore]

Call a large chain pharmacy in the US and ask them how it can be done. This type of thing must happen pretty often. Hopefully you won't need to go to a US clinic and pay full price for the meds.

Is there a big chain pharmacy in Canada and the US(CVS, Walgren, costco etc..)? If yes will the US pharmacy give a refill based on the prescription that is located at the Canadian branch?

[Gruffy]

I hope you have thought all this through. First, can you buy travel health insurance? You need coverage for the 6 months in the USA. Then, a requirement for travel insurance is that your Canadian medicare be in effect and good standing. I am allowed to be out of my province 200 days a year .... know your limit and rules. Some provinces limit you to 183 days, Manitoba issues a permit to travel for 6 months via the pharmacy.

If your wife sponsers you to stay down here you need Obamacare. You won't necessarily be paying taxes here the first year, so tax credits won't ease your pain. My inital look at coverage was $800 a month, 60% coverage (I'd co-pay 40%) and $20,000 deductable. That's why we call it "unaffordable health care" 😉

If you want to get on Medicaid/Medicare after 67, you have to be a resident for 10 years to qualify.

I think my approach would be to get a letter from my doctor detailing my illness and figure out where I plan to winter. Then show up at a local clinic and pay the $50 or so per visit cash and arrange for local prescriptions. Then shop for the best price .... Costco is pretty reasonable, CVS not so much.

[ByTheRvr]

bjcarpetguy wrote:
If you are prescribed Vicodin you can get a 90day script with refills.
At least you can for a while as The FDA is trying to reclassify to the same schedule as Oxycodone and Oxycontin.

If it is something like the latter two I have had my doc actually write out several scripts and post date them so I can get filled as needed.

I am prescribed a buffered, slow release codeine. I don't think it is abused as much as the oxy drugs but I really don't know. It's considered a narcotic so I have to adhere to the rules and regulations. I often hear about prescription drugs being abused and I support the clampdown. It doesn't pose a problem if I stay in one spot but moving around presents a problem. I will need to get my medical records copied so I can have them with me. Thanks for your input.

[bjcarpetguy]

If you are prescribed Vicodin you can get a 90day script with refills.
At least you can for a while as The FDA is trying to reclassify to the same schedule as Oxycodone and Oxycontin.

If it is something like the latter two I have had my doc actually write out several scripts and post date them so I can get filled as needed.

[ByTheRvr]

JEBar wrote:
we are US citizens but have been using Canada Pharmacy Online for some of our prescriptions .... for us they do require a the same doctor's prescription that we would take to a US Pharmacy .... since they are clearly accustomed to legally delivering medications across the border, it might pay you to contact them to see what advice them may have

Jim

Thank you Jim. That sounds like the ticket.

[JEBar]

we are US citizens but have been using Canada Pharmacy Online for some of our prescriptions .... for us they do require a the same doctor's prescription that we would take to a US Pharmacy .... since they are clearly accustomed to legally delivering medications across the border, it might pay you to contact them to see what advice them may have

Jim

[ByTheRvr]

Wrong Lane wrote:
This might no be the answer you are looking for but -- Have you asked your doctor if there is any non-narcotic alternative? Maybe double up on a drug with less restrictions?

I have tried an alternative non narcotic but it negatively impacted my kidneys and I had to stop. I am actively seeking an alternative.

[ByTheRvr]

Clay L wrote:
My wife used to use a controlled substance with the restrictions you mention. Her doctor gave our local pharmacy six appropriately dated prescriptions (for the 6 months we would be in AZ rather than CO). The local pharmacy filled one each month and mailed the drug to us in AZ.

Thanks Clay. I wonder if a pharmacy in AZ would accept a prescription written by a Canadian doctor? Probably not. I'm confident my doctor will give me post dated prescriptions butI'm not really comfortable having anyone mail the drug across the border. I'm not concerned with the legality but rather the logistics. If US or Canadian Customs stops the shipment or if it is delayed it will result in serious problems.

[Clay_L]

My wife used to use a controlled substance with the restrictions you mention. Her doctor gave our local pharmacy six appropriately dated prescriptions (for the 6 months we would be in AZ rather than CO). The local pharmacy filled one each month and mailed the drug to us in AZ.

[Wrong_Lane]

This might no be the answer you are looking for but -- Have you asked your doctor if there is any non-narcotic alternative? Maybe double up on a drug with less restrictions?

[ByTheRvr]

Thanks Beverly&Ken. We currently live in NB. We currently boondock most of the time and expect to spend most of our winters in Arizona. I expect to start we will want to move around a bit and may not be close to the same doctor each month. Even my local pharmacy, that know me well, won't refill my prescription more than 3 days early if we want to travel for a few weeks.

[Beverley_Ken]

You will probably need a signed prescription from a doctor in the province or state that you are currently in. Two years ago, my wife was running low on insulin, went to a big name pharmacy (actually 3). All told us that we needed a current prescription from a Florida doctor. Copies our Ontario scripts we no good in Fl. Before this the insulin was available over the counter. We had to go to a walk-in clinic and get a local Dr for the script.

My advice would be to get a detailed medical history and prescription list from your Dr to carry with you. Then hope that a local walk in clinic doctor will help you. This would include travel to other provinces as well, as an Ontario pharmacy may not recognize a NB prescription, especially for narcotics.

Beverley&Ken

[DianneOK]

Perhaps have a physician in the States? I believe the rules are the same here.