Patient uses 130mls aday.
Off to Morrocco for ten days.Two years ago was given a script for physeptone but the consultant now says we cannot do as the regulations have changed.
Trip in late October.
Any bright ideas other than large plastic bottles?

Methadone tablets are not licenced, however they can still be prescribed, nothing has changed. I reckon would need to check with the embassy that it's ok to take Methadone into the country.

Thank you Simon.
I`m a GP who has a substance abuse clinic in the surgery with help from drug workers.

As a general rule, I`m not keen to prescribe off licence.I`m even less keen if the consultant thinks it`s a bad idea ( it was suggested before from an experienced DAAT manager).
Shoulda/woulda/coulda ?

Tablets are off license but the latest clinical guidelines are a bit more lenient towards them, they say they should not 'normally' be prescribed (the last ones said not at all). Many services do do it for holidays because it is more convenient - however its down to your judgement. I think people will be wary to advise you one way or the other. They are obviously easier to go on holiday with

Hi Chris,
We justify this now due to not being able to carry liquids onto the plane in hand luggage. If the Methadone in the suitcase gets roughly handled or lost then the patient will be in a bit of a mess.
The tablets can be carried on or split half in each. Lot of tablets to take and you'd need to warn the pharmacy to order them in.

I would certainly prescribe tablets for this person, and so would every service I have worked in.

I forget the amount of liquids allowed in hand luggage in these strange days, but certainly he wouldn't be allowed to carry this much, and as Simon says, he would have to keep his medication as hand luggage in case of lost luggage, like everybody else. He certainly needs methadone tablets for his holiday.

I also tend to prescribe tablets for UK based holidays , on the grounds that it is usually easier to keep a smallish bottle of tablets safely away from children, than large bottles of liquid, and I worry about the change of everybodies routines during holidays..

Jim is of course right, the only "change" in the latest Guidelines is that they now allow tablets in some circumstances. and these are exactly the type of circumstance to which they are referring. How can people move back into society if they are not able to go on holiday with their families?

he also needs a letter from you to confirm dose etc. i always advise people keep this in their hand luggage, with the tablets, just in case.
here's a website with info for travel with methadone:
http://www.indro-online.de/morocco.htm

for other countries:
http://www.indro-online.de/travel.htm

Thank you all.

The view seems to we should provide tablets for holiday.......which makes alot of commonsense.

Patients on treatment going abroad on holiday... you won't believe how heart warming that is for a prison nurse!!!! that level of 'normality' makes me realise despite my efforts that i have developed blinkers! Hmmmm now where is that community post application!!!