They want you to have the prescription bottle with you for date of issue and doctor’s phone #
.I brought a pill 💊 case with me coming home and during a luggage check in the DR coming home they asked about it …
Told them it’s the meds that keep me alive , the man put it right back down and nothing else was said about it……. I think their really looking for the sandwich bag with a few hundred pills in it
- @Tippj
Well, I had a different experience...to some extent, anyway.
We flown from the States into SDQ numerous times since 2018, and never were asked anything about our prescription medications...including some high-grade prescribed pain medications.
But, Flying from Panama into DR/SDQ in March 2020, I was indeed stopped at the X-ray line to look at my meds in my bag. Now, to be frank, I take a whole bunch of prescriptions for various conditions, but then add a bunch more nutritional supplements (which is probably why my wife and I have avoided COVID-19 so far). I could understand why they wanted to look into my meds bag...but it was the very same bag and meds I had used to fly into SDQ probably 6 times previously...I don't know why they were so interested this time, whereas prior trips I didn't see anyone getting their bags searched arriving at SDQ.
- Maybe that answers is as simple as, perhaps there was an inspection that day, and the troops wanted to appear to be on the job.
Anyway, they grabbed my bag and waved it around, asking whose it was. I volunteered my ownership, and they asked for my written list of medications!
- Now, I had read somewhere that I was supposed to fly with that full list of medications, even one prepared by my doctor. And I even did so for our first several trips to the DR.
- But, having never been asked by anyone -- nor seeing anyone else having their medications checked -- I simply stopped requesting that list from my physician. His staff didn't like doing it anyway.
- So, on this day, I didn't have my list.
In response to the female officer's request for my list of medications, I just pointed to my medicine bag (a moderately-sized laptop bag) and said "All of the prescribing information is on the pill bottles."
The lady gave me a double-take -- then looked in the opposite direction at the long line of folks coming behind me...then zipped up my bag, handed it to me, and waved me on.
So, the lessons learned are these;
- The DR folks actually don't check medications very often.
- I've NEVER had my meds checked when flying in from the USA., but the one time I flew into SDQ from Panama, I did get checked along with about 20 others from that flight.
- And that one time I was checked, they DID want to see my List of Medications. Truthfully, I don't think they care whether it is signed by a doctor or not -- they just want a list to make it easier to scan the meds to identify any problematic drugs.
- But, they weren't hard-over on getting that medications list...at least in my case, on that particular flight and day.
What's my ultimate lesson learned? Probably a good idea to have your medications list with you...signed by your doctor if convenient. I've been flying with my personally-prepared list, but haven't ever been asked again. If nothing else, the list is cheap insurance against that one guy having his one bad day, and you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, and you get detained for questioning and calls to verify your prescriptions.
Do the list. Take it with you. Cheap insurance.
Jim
ExpatRusher
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