Hi,

[Evergreen]

It seems i have a dilemma looming that i never realised would be so bad until now unfortunately!

To try to give an insight.......I have terminal cancer and was diagnosed 6 months ago.

I still probably have a bit to go yet before i pop my clogs, well hopefully, but this is my first time travelling with my medication back to Thailand. :-)

Now i travel on this coming Monday 24th November but now, after (wrongly) thinking that all i would need was for my Oncologist from my hospital who has been treating me was to provide and official letters detailing my medication my treatment, my fitness ro fly etc and why i am indeed travelling with it, it seems that i am going to have a big big problem now.

Even the hospital officials thought it would be ok for this but on looking more into it out of curiosity i see that for some medications i can only bring in for 30 days.....but i will be on a 60 day stay and will indeed have almost that amount of medication with me to cover my stay. I won't have mega amounts more or anything but now i see this 30 day maximum allowed rule. So i'm. not arriving with like 200 days medication when i only need 60 days if you get what i am meaning.

Has anyone ever encountered this at all? I would've thought that they would surely realise or understand that some people are travelling for longer than only 30 days and seriously need this medication to keep the cancer pain under control.

Sorry this is a bit late you may think but in was supposed to travel a couple of weeks back but got some extra radiotherapy so delayed it all and only now have i realised this situation i could find myself in.

I believe, well, as far as i saw one person post somewhere, that Oxycontin or Oxycodone which is a modified long release painkiller does not even exist in Thailand?

I also have my Chemotherapy pills which i take twice each day as well but i see nothing listed about the name of this which is Axitinib.

So, my big worry is why this only 30 days max....i now do not have the required 2 week in advance notice to apply for some permit anyway.

I thought i was all set to come over and have a relaxing time back up in KPP for a couple of months but now i am worried sick about what i do as i have everything arranged for 60 days!

Anyone any thoughts at all apart from have to never travel longer than 30 days now to Thailand or just have to ruin everything and cut my time in half rendering my tourist visa now a waste of time and money if i can only stay 30 days now!

[Sheryl]

Yes, the limit is 30 days, though in my experience they do not usually count out the number of tablets and as long as the quantity is consistent with personal use and not a controlled substance it is usually no problem. The regulations are aimed at (1) preventing import of pharmaceuticals for resale and (2) controlling illegal use of controlled substances.

However for controlled drugs such as opiates there are other requirements beyond the 30 day limit. You have to get a license from the Narcotic bureau. Please see here http://narcotic.fda.moph.go.th/faq/upload/guidance%20for%20travelers%20version%204.doc._e1a4.pdf Oxycodone is category 2

Axitinib indeed is not available in Thailand so you definitely must bring in enough with you. There is also no brand of oxycodone registered for use in Thailand. The only oral sustained release opiate here is MS Continus and getting it prescribed for outpatient use can be difficult.

For the pain killer the simplest way around the 30 day rule is just to have the prescription read such that the maximum quantity for 30 days will in reality serve you for 60. (For example : "1-2 tabs" or "repeat x 1 as needed").

For the axitinib you really have no choice but to bring in the full quantity you need, however as it is not a controlled substance and the qiuantity would not be that large I doubt you'll have a problem.

Alternatively you might consider coming for a shorter time period. There are other advantages to that as well, i.e. it reduces the risk that you'd worsen in condition and end up stuck here either unable to fly or needing very expensive medical escort to do so. The quality of palliative care in Thailand is very poor, they are literally 50 years behind the times on it so you really, really do not want to end up here in the terminal phase. And there is also the issue of paying for medical care as your insurance might not cover care here (something you should look into).

[Evergreen]

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to reply, much appreciated.

Yes, the way you have said seems to be the way i was kinda thinking as well. Fingers crossed it'll all go ok.

I do have all my Oncologist/Hospital letters detailing my condition and exactly the names and alternative names of all medication as well and exactly why they are required so i'm well documented that's for sure if things do go that way and i get checked.

I do have the amount of medication that i will need for my trip, well, just over, so it's not as if i'm travelling for 30 days but carrying like 150 days worth of medication so here's hoping.

As to the insurance part i'm all insured in full. No way would i even contemplate coming over in my terminal condition and not be fully insured for all circumstances covered. Yes, it's costing a small fortune (well into the £1,000's) but if something did happen and i wasn't covered then i'm not sure my family back home could afford my medical expenses to stabilise me and get me home, no way. I'm only 45yr old and my condition although terminal is good enough for my Oncologists/Doctors to feel perfectly happy for me to travel for 2 months and they don't envisage much problem as to the cancer anyway. They wouldn't even give me the time of day if they thought i was a risk they said and would refuse to give me a "fit to fly" letter along with my medication detail letters either so i should be fine in that sense for staying longer than 30 days.

I've lived in Thailand before in the past and indeed nowadays (well, pre-cancer) i spend about 5 months there relaxing before coming home to work again so i k ow all about the Thai systems in that sense. It was just this airport medication clearance that had me going with this so thought i'd check to see of anyone else's experiences were. Not many granted, only your advice but thanks all the same :-)

Seems like a stigma in the rules that the terminal word or requiring strong medication means you are only capable of lasting 30 days and no longer, ha ha.

Anyway, thanks again for the reply, if i remember when i get there next week i'll try to update here just for info for anyone else who may find themselves in a similar situation as i am in.

[Issangeorge]

Perhaps taking a chance, but in 49 trips clearing Bangkok, customs, I have never had my bags checked. I am sure even if you did have your bags checked they wouldn't so thoroughly check your medication to count the pills and notice it was for more than thirty days. Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but Thailand will be a pretty nice place to spend some of your remaining time.

Edited November 23, 2014 by Issangeorge

[Sheryl]

The 30 day rule is for all medication, nothing to do with the nature of the drug or the diagnosis. It is based on the usual length of stay for a tourist and assumption that long term residents can/should get their medications in country.

The only thing specific to narcotics is the added paper work, need for FDA letter of approval etc.

indeed customs do not usually check but with controlled substances you don't want to take any chances so do get the required authorizations from the FDA. I understand it is not too difficult, just follow the instructions on the website.