Traveling with Suboxone®: how to plan, pack, and stay on track

Have a flight booked, a road trip in the works, or a visit home coming up? With a little planning, you can bring your Suboxone® (buprenorphine-naloxone) with you and keep your treatment on track throughout the trip. The biggest thing to plan around is your refill date. 

Can you travel with Suboxone?

Yes, you can bring Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone) on most trips. It’s normal if you feel a little uneasy about flying with a controlled medication. But TSA allows passengers to pack medication in both carry-on and checked bags, and Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone) is no different. It is a Schedule III controlled medication, though, so keeping it in the labeled pharmacy packaging is an easy way to prove that it’s yours (if needed). 

You’ll want to focus more on planning your supply: having enough for the whole trip, and timing your refill so it doesn’t run out while you’re away. We can only send your prescription to a pharmacy in a state where you’re physically located and registered with us. If you’re visiting another state, we unfortunately won’t be able to send it to a local pharmacy. So planning ahead will be very important.

Before you leave, talk with your QuickMD doctor about timing your refills around your travel dates. Together, you can make a plan that keeps your treatment on track and leaves you free to enjoy your time away.

Before you go: plan your supply with your doctor

A little planning with your QuickMD doctor now means you won’t have to think about your prescription while you’re away. Here’s the order we recommend.

1. Talk with your QuickMD doctor once your plans are set. Your dates and destination are enough to start, and early notice gives your doctor room to plan your timing.
2. Check when your next refill is due. We can’t approve an early refill for a trip, even if the refill date falls while you’re away, so ask your doctor about adjusting the timing. Your pharmacy may also allow a short grace period, which is worth asking about. 
3. Book your next visit a few days before your supply runs out, so a gap doesn’t open up. Our online Suboxone visits make that easy to do from home.
4. Do the math on your doses. If what you have won’t cover the whole trip, tell your doctor before you leave so you can sort it out together. Making doses last by taking less isn’t safe.
5. Add naloxone to your plan if you don’t already have it. Ask your doctor to help you get a naloxone prescription. It reverses an opioid overdose, and it works best when the people around you know you have it.

How to pack Suboxone for a trip

How you pack your Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone) keeps it safe, easy to identify, and within reach while you travel.

• In its original packaging: Keep your Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone) in the packaging provided by the pharmacy. The label shows it’s yours, and some states have rules about labeling prescription medication.
• In your carry-on: Keep it with you instead of checking it. TSA strongly recommends packing medication in your carry-on so you can reach it quickly if you need it.
• Away from heat and moisture: Store it at room temperature. Take it out of the car when you park, and keep it off the bathroom counter.
• Out of reach of children: Wherever you’re staying, including hotel rooms, rentals, and relatives’ homes, keep it where children can’t get to it. Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone) can cause severe, possibly fatal, breathing problems in a child. A lockbox or a locked bag is safest, and a closed bag on a high shelf is the next-best option.
• With your naloxone: Pack your naloxone alongside your medication so it’s easy to find in an emergency.
• With your paperwork: If you’re traveling abroad, bring a copy of your prescription.

Getting through airport security with Suboxone

Your Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone) goes through airport security with the rest of your bag, and you have a few options at the checkpoint.

• Amounts: Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone) films and tablets count as solid medication. TSA allows solid medication in any amount as long as it’s screened.
• Labeling: TSA doesn’t require medication to be in its original packaging, but keeping it in there helps officers identify it. It also keeps you in the clear with state-specific labeling rules.
• Screening: You don’t have to hand your medication to an officer, though you’re welcome to mention it. Medication is usually X-rayed. If you’d prefer a visual inspection, ask before your bag goes on the belt.
• Naloxone: Naloxone nasal spray is a medically necessary liquid. Tell the officer before screening begins, and take it out of your bag so it can be screened separately.
• Help at the checkpoint: TSA Cares can arrange assistance at 855-787-2227. TSA recommends calling at least 72 hours before your flight. For general screening questions, call the TSA Contact Center at 866-289-9673.

Driving and crossing state lines

Driving gives you more control than flying, but your refill timing still matters when you cross state lines.

• Keep your Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone) in its pharmacy packaging and in the car with you, not in the trunk. A trunk gets hot, and your medication should stay away from heat.
• Bring enough to cover the full drive, including the trip home. If a refill will come due while you’re away, contact QuickMD Patient Support before you leave so we can go over your options.
• If you’re moving: Visiting and relocating are different. If you’re moving to a new state, contact us so we can update your address and make sure your doctor is licensed to treat you there. If they aren’t, you may need to book with a QuickMD doctor who is licensed in your new state instead.

Traveling outside the US with Suboxone

Medication rules change from country to country, and a medication that’s legal here isn’t always legal in another country. The U.S. Department of State notes that bringing some medications into another country can lead to arrest or detention, and some countries require a permit before you arrive.

• Before you book: Check with the embassy of every country you’ll visit or pass through in advance. The embassy is the best source for current rules.
• In your bag: Keep your medication in its original packaging, carry copies of your prescription, and ask your doctor for a letter listing your medications by their generic names: buprenorphine and naloxone. For general packing advice for any medication, see our tips for packing travel medications.
• For the length of your trip: Bring enough for the entire trip, plus a few extra days in case your return is delayed. Talk with your QuickMD doctor about your refill timing well before you leave.

Staying on a dosing schedule across time zones

Crossing time zones can change when your usual dose time falls on the clock. Keep taking Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone) exactly as prescribed, and ask your QuickMD doctor in advance how to time your doses on travel days.

• Your schedule: Once your QuickMD doctor helps you with a plan, set a phone alarm for it so you don’t have to work out the time change in your head.
• A missed dose: Take it as soon as you remember. If it’s almost time for your next dose, skip the one you missed, and never take two doses to catch up. MedlinePlus gives the same guidance.

What to do if you run out or lose your Suboxone while away

Running short or losing your medication while on a trip is a hard spot to be in. If your Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone) is lost, stolen, or running low while you’re away, here’s what you can do.

1. Contact QuickMD Patient Support first. You can chat with us on our website, call 1 (888) 878-4256, or email support@quick.md. Tell us where you are, because your location affects what we can do with a prescription. If you’re only close to running out, our guide on what to do if you are close to running out walks through your options.
2. Know what we can’t do. We can’t approve an early refill for lost or stolen medication, and we can’t send a prescription to a pharmacy in a state where you aren’t located and registered. These limits come from the rules for controlled medications, and they apply to every patient. 
3. Don’t look for a substitute. Don’t use anyone else’s medication or any other opioid to get through withdrawal. Contact us first so we can talk about what’s safe.
4. Get emergency help if needed. If you or someone with you has slow or stopped breathing, or can’t be woken up, call 911, or the local emergency number if you’re abroad, and give naloxone if you have it.