How should I schedule my medication when traveling through multiple time zones?
Suppose that I have to take some medication three times a day; one in the morning, one at lunch and one during dinner.
Now when I take a plane to go on vacation and cross multiple time zones, how should I schedule my medication?
Best Answer
Different medicines have different requirements on when they're taken. Some can be quite general, some very specific (eg a very definite interval). Some have specific requirements about being before / during / after food. All of this means that what works for one medicine won't work for another, and what's safe with one can be dangerous with another!
Your first step can be to read the information leaflet that comes with your medicines, especially the parts on when to take it and what to do if you miss a dose. You may find that that gives you all the answers you need, and you can safely work out what to do from it.
However, the only safe step is to go and speak to your doctor about it. They can look up exactly how it behaves with taking it earlier or later, and then they can advise you on how to change your timings before, during and after the journey.
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How do you adjust medication with time change?
Adjust to time differences: Heading out of town into different time zones over a short span of days requires you to adjust the times to take your pills. The goal is not to take more than you have been prescribed in a 24-hour period. Aim for a bigger gap if you have to, instead of a smaller one between doses.Can I take my meds at different times?
"The body doesn't respond to medications in the same way at different times of the day," he says. "Some drugs are not as effective or as well tolerated if they're taken at the wrong biological time. It's not that they're not effective at all, but they're certainly much less effective."How do you travel with a lot of medication?
Bring prescription medications in their original packaging. Make sure the labels show the name of the medication, dose, prescribing doctor, pharmacy and your name as it appears on your passport. Prefer using a pill organizer box? Take it along and fill it up when you get to your destination.Traveling with Medications ~ #smhTopTips
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Answer 2
The only safe way is to ask your doctor.
Personally I take daily meds, and just half the difference. If the timezone is 8 hours ahead, I take it 4 hours ahead the first night, and then the new normal time the second night. Given I normally vary the take time anyway as I have them just before bedtime, a few hours difference doesn't matter.
However, for time-specific ones - say, tablets that need taking every x hours, this is not advised. In that case, slow adjustments is probably the best, but as I said - your doctor is the definitive judge on this decision.
Answer 3
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