7 Tips for Traveling With Fertility Medication

Monday, August 8, 2022

While many people take advantage of the relaxed pace and welcoming weather to take a much-deserved summer vacation, fertility issues never go on vacation. This can make summer another season of ongoing physical and emotional challenges for women and men struggling with infertility.
While you and your partner are undergoing fertility treatments, your life doesn’t have to come to a grinding halt. Though fertility treatment often requires a strict schedule that may include medications, appointments, and procedures, that doesn’t mean you have to put your vacation plans on hold.
For many women on their fertility journey, it can be a difficult experience managing and administering your fertility medication when you are at home, but what about when you are traveling?

Here are some helpful tips for traveling with fertility medication:

1- Planning for your trip in advance

As a traveler, you need to do that anyway, but if you’re in the middle of your IVF cycle, you will want to be prepared for the strict timing schedule. Before scheduling your trip, speak with our fertility team to go over your cycle timeline so you know when you’ll need to be monitored. If you are traveling to a different time zone, consult with your fertility specialist about whether adjustments to your medication schedule are needed to accommodate. Since your smartphone should automatically update the time based on your location, you may find it helpful to set reminders or alerts on your phone about when to take your medication. Being away from home and your normal routine can make it easy to forget.

2- Contact Your fertility doctor

Before going on any trip, make sure to meet with fertility specialists to draft out a game plan as to what medications you’ll need, and ask them if any dates are critical to your fertility treatment, also if you’ll need prior authorizations, and for detailed information on how to pack medications that will need to be refrigerated. Bring a letter stating that you need to travel with fertility medications in case anyone questions you.

3- Double-check with your airline before traveling 

Different airlines have varying requirements for transporting medications and medical supplies. Since you may be storing various medications and syringes, learning how to handle them with respect to certain guidelines will eliminate the risk of any setbacks. Typically, airlines are pretty flexible if you inform them upfront, so be safe and knowledgeable by calling well in advance of your trip, so you know what to expect. They can let you know what packing materials are allowed to keep meds cold and what info you’ll need to bring, as such a letter written by the physician and copies of your prescription.

 4- Invest in high-quality, portable cool packs 

 Your injectable fertility medications must be kept at specific temperatures. 

 A high-quality, insulated carrier with cool packs is the best way to maintain ideal temperatures when traveling. You don’t want to wing it, because a delayed or canceled flight may leave you stranded for a day or overnight.

5- Keep Your Medications in Your Carry-On

Make sure to always keep your medications stored in your carry-on bag in case your luggage gets lost. Additionally, remember to pack ancillary materials such as gauze and alcohol wipes, as well as the emergency contact information for your clinic and pharmacy. 

Place fertility meds in a new, sealed, plastic bag. Keep them in their original packing along with your prescription and/or the letter from your fertility center.

6- Create a list for yourself that includes things that can provide relief:

• OTC pain/anti-inflammatories. 

 • Ginger chews or tea to support an upset tummy (ginger also relieves pelvic inflammation). 

 • A heating pad. 

 • Anti-diarrhea medications.

 • Mindfulness apps.

 • Anything else that brings you comfort

7- Know your destination 

 Find a pharmacy, hospital, and/or fertility clinic near your accommodations in case you need to make an emergency visit while you’re away from home. Check with your doctor, as he may have recommendations depending on where you will be traveling. Save the addresses and phone numbers in your phone for quick access.

With a little bit of preparation, you can enjoy a getaway without disrupting your fertility treatment routine.

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