My husband and I are U.S. senior citizens (65yoa). My husband will soon be taking Humira for ulcerative colitis. He and I want very much to walk the Camino de Santiago through northern Spain next April and May 2017.
Because of the difficulty of trying to keep the Humira dosages at a stable temperature while backpacking for 2 months, I'm wondering what the availability of Humira in Spain is and how much it costs. We'll both be on the American Medicare plan, which unfortunately does not cover any overseas medical expenses, so we expect to pay full price for the medicine.
Any help here would be greatly appreciated.
Written by
psychoticparrot
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Firstly well done for even considering walking the Camino de Santiago! I lived in Spain but didn't have Humira & I can't be sure about availability, whether farmacias stock it or will order it for you or whether only hospitals supply it, sorry. A while ago another member was considering moving there & asking about availability of Humira, he received a reply from a member 4 months ago who had priced Humira in Spain at 1127€. I don't know if she's resident in Spain or if she ever started the treatment though. I hope the op won't mind me giving the link to his post, he's not been around since so I doubt he would answer but the replies may be of some help healthunlocked.com/nras/pos...
The other thing you could try is ask if anyone on the HU Crohn's & Colitis UK site can help healthunlocked.com/crohnsan...
I hope you enjoy your trip, it's a great country & the north is especially beautiful, particulary so in late Spring.
How exciting, I very much enjoyed the Camino. And great that you're leaving enough time to plan these things.
It is expensive - the price here in France is 500$ a shot. So I imagine similar in Spain plus as NMH indicates the problems of getting it and organising prescriptions and so on.
Two thoughts. There are a number of expat forums in Spain that might be worth asking (Google will give you links) and also forums for Camino walkers. So they may be able to point you more precisely. The other thing is that there have been quite a few advances in travelling with drugs so there may well be something now on the market that is more reliable for cooling. If you are staying somewhere every night (ie not camping) then it might be possible to find a powered microfridge that is not too heavy. Look at sites for diabetics, as insulin has to be kept cool too. You'd still need a back up plan in case of problems, but might help a bit.
Thanks for the information. I've been posting on a Camino forum, and its members are working hard to help me with this as well. They've already suggested various ways of carrying the Humira along with us to keep it at the right temperature, but ideally, it would be best to purchase it at pharmacies along the way to be sure the medicine is fresh and viable. I haven't yet looked at diabetic sites -- will do that today, and will check expat sites too.
Just called and they have confirmed it's a box containing 2 pens. The pharmacist has just told me that this is not something that they keep in stock and most likely you would have to get it from the hospital pharmacy.
Over here the meds that are really expensive are not usually in stock and they are only ordered when needed. But in the case of humira it sounds ever more complex. In the case of purchasing it here you will have to bring along all your medical paperwork to be able to get a prescription for the meds.
I've been told by members of a Camino forum that most prescription medications can be ordered by the farmacia to have on hand when we arrive, provided we have made arrangements with them well in advance. Humira is taken by self-injection every two weeks, so I'm talking 4-5 doses during our 2-month stay. I'm beginning to think it will be doable, based on the information I'm getting from this and other sites. My husband will see his gastroenterologist in a week or so, and I'll be sure to tell him about our situation and ask for his recommendations as well.
Thank you, sunshinegal, for the current Humira price and how drugs like this are usually dispensed. My husband, though retired, still is covered by his employer's prescription medicine insurance plan. It might turn out that most of the cost of the Humira will be covered by the plan, even if the drug is purchased in Spain.
I'm in the process of helping an 18 year patient who will be studying abroad in Madrid for six months. The company has a very helpful patient support program. I would advise you to contact them through this site m.humiracomplete.com/resources
By the way, I've done a couple of the Camino the Santiago options and you love it. It's the best vacation possible. In March, I'll be walking the Camino in France leaving from Le Puy. Buen Camino
Hi dear i,m an iranian student and i,m going to go spain for studying in the coming month and i need to use humira there due to my disease (AS)Do you know if destination university gives me insurance , i will can to buy humira with low cost ?
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