Planning - Bipolar will travel

As noted in an earlier discussion, I will soon be travelling overseas and have elected to take travel insurance out that doesn’t cover bipolar. This goes on for a while so please hang in there..

This does not mean that in the rest of my planning I didn’t think a great deal about the risks this presented for me. I wanted to share the strategies that are going to be put in place in case anyone out there is thinking their bipolarity (or any mental illness in some respects) will stop them from travelling.

So here’s some of what’s planned noting I’m going overseas for quite a long period of time.

- closer to the dates, my psychiatrist is going to give permission to my pharmacy to fill my scripts for over and above the duration of travel so I have enough upfront

- my psychiatrist is going to write a detailed letter for me that can be shown to customs (confirming my meds are prescribed and legitimate) along with some details of my mental illness and statements about my assessed stability prior to travel (can be shown to other doctors if needed)

- I am taking two bags and am going to put half my meds in each

- if my meds get stolen or bags get lost, I can take my letter to the GP, along with my psychiatrists number and pager (feel there is a good chance they will give me scripts then)

- if I become unwell (worried about this as I may need someone else to notice as I may not notice this within myself) I can go to a hospital to ask for assistance as we have reciprocal heath provisions with the country I’m going to

- if I do need care, it’s also possible that I will be put in a safe house where I will be visited for a period until I stabilise

I am definitely not an expert in this space and any or all of the above may not work for others. I’m sure everyone is different. I have discussed the above with my supports and they are happy with the steps I’m taking.

Given that I have not travelled yet, I’m sure my plans are not perfect or necessarily complete, but the biggest risks are felt to have been addressed at this stage. I would be interested to know others thoughts on what to think about when you’re planning to travel with bipolar.

Also, are there any other bipolars that decided not to travel because they were worried about the risks?