CPAP
I have found the best way to get through airport security is to have the CPAP in its own bag with a luggage tag that says, “medical equipment”. I have never been questioned about it or have been stopped to have it searched, this is the tag I use. I also have a Drs note stating I need the equipment, some airlines state they need this, but I have yet to be asked for it. Most airlines will allow you to carry the CPAP bag on for no extra charge nor count it as your carry on or personal item, I suggest you check with the airline you are using before you go. In my opinion, the biggest pain in the rear about traveling with a CPAP is that I need distilled water for the humidifier. The weight of the distilled water is not something I want to add to my luggage, so it is a top priority on our list of things to get right away.
Medicine
I have this bag designed for medicine bottles and I have 4 weekly travel pill organizers. I love the bag because it has a lock and there is enough space for the weekly organizers to fit. The lock feature is very important to me because sometimes there are children living where we stay so knowing they cannot get into it gives me peace of mind. The weekly pill organizers are great because I can easily take a day out and it fits in my purse. I choose to buy 4 weeks’ worth for two reasons 1) I only need to take time to fill them every 4 weeks and 2) it helps me make sure I have enough refills.
My refills are sent to home base then I have someone send them to me. My refills are for 90 days and most of my meds were prescribed at different times so pills were arriving all the time. I worked with the fulfillment center for 6 months to try and get them all on the same 90-day cycle, a complete pain! I talked to so many people, I had to explain what I wanted done every time I called. There were misunderstandings on both sides until I was finally assigned a representative to speak with for each call. There was a lot of back and forth, but I was finally getting somewhere. I found out that the plan I’m on allows vacation overrides once a year, this would send me a full 90 days’ worth of the medicine and then the new renewal date would change accordingly. YAY! This is exactly what I needed! The rep I was working with spent time making sure everything was going to go as planned, but it turns out there are stipulations on the vacation override that she was not aware of. Ug! Turns out that the medicine could not have been filled within a certain timeframe before the vacation override request. I still don’t have all the meds on the same 90-day cycle, I have about half of them, so it is better than it was. With the coverage we have there is only allowance for vacation override every so often so when I am eligible for that again I will hopefully be able to get them all on the same cycle. I wish this was something I’d investigated before traveling full time was even a thought. I’m excited for the day all my meds are on the same cycle.
Why I travel with medical supplies
In March 2015 I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea. Since then, I have gone through tests and procedures, have been prescribed different medicines, and went through cardiac rehab a few times. With heart failure there are different medicine combos you may be put on and it can take a bit to get the right dose, but once you are on them and show improvement you are not taken off the medicine. The reason for this is that it’s impossible to know which drug or drug combinations may have made the improvement and you don’t want to go backwards in treatment! Most of my medications are taken for my heart related issues. My heart condition has improved so much since 2015 and I am so grateful for that! Then in 2021 I was diagnosed with breast cancer, luckily it was found very early, and the cancer was gone with surgery and radiation. The tumor was found to be hormone driven so I also have a medication to help breast cancer not return.
Written by Onalea