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Longer trips & medical needs?


StartrainDD
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I've searched and not found a thread on this.  I will be retiring soon and would love to plan longer trips.  Our issue is DW has a medical condition that requires a "Monthly" (every 4 - 5 weeks) medical infusion by I.V.  This is normally done at her Rheumatolgist's office.

I know we could plan back-to-back cruises from Florida or the West Coast and have this done between cruises in the USA, and her Medicare and Medigap policy would cover it, but what about planning longer trips outside the country?

Obviously we would need to pick up the cost ourselves, but medical costs are generally less in most areas compared to the US.  I would genuinely LOVE to plan a "World cruise."  Giving up a port day in a place like Sydney, Buenos Aries, Tokyo, or Athens (as examples) would be a small price to pay for the ability to do this kind of trip.

If anyone has experience with this type of thing, I would greatly love some good advice!  Thank you in advance!

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May I suggest you check w/ the cruise line, you are interested in for a World Tour, to see if the Ship's Medical Team would be able to do the IV?

Potentially your personal Medical Team could ship the required product to the ship?

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On 2/4/2020 at 2:52 PM, Von & John said:

May I suggest you check w/ the cruise line, you are interested in for a World Tour, to see if the Ship's Medical Team would be able to do the IV?

Potentially your personal Medical Team could ship the required product to the ship?

Thank you.  Yes, this would be a potential solution.  The challenge is the "Cash price" in the US is around $6,000/dose and it needs to stay refrigerated and has a shelf life.  In other countries outside of North America (developed countries) we have been told the price is a small percentage of the US price.

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Perhaps, if you know what port you will be in at the time she needs her IV, it could be done at an accredited clinic in that city with an English speaking doctor?  You may be able to get a list of appropriate doctors from your embassy or consulate in each country.  Popular large chain hotels in those cities also often carry a list of appropriate medical facilities and staff.  You could contact the management by phone before you set up your cruise to see if an appointment could be made and what the price might be.  Not certain as to how your Med team might send a scrip if needed, but I'm sure they or the 'foreign' clinic will know what to do.  Taxi/Uber/Lyft to the clinic.  Good luck, fill us in on your experience if you are able to do this.  It would definitely be a useful thread for many, I'm sure.

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  • 1 year later...
On 2/4/2020 at 7:24 AM, StartrainDD said:

I've searched and not found a thread on this.  I will be retiring soon and would love to plan longer trips.  Our issue is DW has a medical condition that requires a "Monthly" (every 4 - 5 weeks) medical infusion by I.V.  This is normally done at her Rheumatolgist's office.

I know we could plan back-to-back cruises from Florida or the West Coast and have this done between cruises in the USA, and her Medicare and Medigap policy would cover it, but what about planning longer trips outside the country?

Obviously we would need to pick up the cost ourselves, but medical costs are generally less in most areas compared to the US.  I would genuinely LOVE to plan a "World cruise."  Giving up a port day in a place like Sydney, Buenos Aries, Tokyo, or Athens (as examples) would be a small price to pay for the ability to do this kind of trip.

If anyone has experience with this type of thing, I would greatly love some good advice!  Thank you in advance!

I wonder about this myself but at the moment I can manage easily and 2 weeks is about the longest I want to be away from home. However as my health changes I might need to make changes to how I travel rather than pushing the envelope with respect to arranging treatments. At some point I think that I will find the extra effort and worry concerning medications and treatments might change my desire to travel.

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For OP or anyone else thinking about something like this, please think very seriously about the "what if's".  And the main "what if's" would seem to be...

 

What if the supply doesn't arrive in time at a port (if one is arranging shipment) or what if there is some change in the itinerary and the port needs to be skipped?  

 

What are the consequences of missing that dose?  Can one "catch up" waiting for the next regularly scheduled dose?  Would you need to fly home relatively quickly?

 

Just have good contingency plans.

 

GC

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