Flying to Budapest next week with Buspirone and Lexapro, will I be fine with just a doctor's note and prescription copy?
Posted by charleadev@reddit | budapest | View on Reddit | 12 comments
I'm flying to Budapest next week to visit my long-distance girlfriend for a month. I'm prescribed Lexapro and Buspirone to deal with anxiety, and I got a copy of my prescription plus note from the doctor who prescribes it to me to bring in case border customs ask me. However, googling it further has given me a panic attack because apparently a doctor's note isn't exactly the same as an "international certificate from my GP." First of all, is the guy prescribing me the medication even my GP? Also, do Lexapro or Buspirone count as psychotropic and/or controlled substances in Hungary? Will I be fine during customs or am I fucked? I only have a week before I go.
lrondberg@reddit
Where are you flying from? I recently went to Budapest, flying through Paris, and we did not go through any customs in Budapest, didn't even have to show a passport.
charleadev@reddit (OP)
it's LAX > Frankfurt > Budapest
LagerBoi@reddit
I'm sure you'll be fine.
When I flew in the other week there was literally nobody at customs. Could have gotten anything into the country.
charleadev@reddit (OP)
i'm new to flying so what do you mean by nobody being there lol. like there was nobody to greet you or review your passport?
Long-Island-Iced-Tea@reddit
I suggest hitting up google or ChatGPT to have a comprehensive understanding of what checks happen at an airport, but basically, the "can I bring X pill / Y plant seeds / whatnot into the country" kind of questions are handled at customs, at the absolute end of the whole process, when you already entered the country.
And, here's the thing. Customs look really lax compared to all the other checks, at least in some airports, but certainly in Budapest. No queues per se, more often than not they don't even care about you and so on. That's because the customs check is intelligence driven, modern customs uses data and profiling to assess risk.
And it can literally look so lax that literally nobody will be there.
This is of course in stark contrast with immigrations check (where your passport is checked), which is impossible to avoid and is mandatory. Basically, your plane lands, you will be somehow escorted to immigrations, you go through it, pick up your baggage, then breeze through customs. And that last part can literally be a breeze - just walking through a corridor without anyone bothering you.
LagerBoi@reddit
You have border control who check passports but they don't ask anything about what's in your bag.
After that is customs and unless what you've got is illegal, you can just go through the green nothing to declare line.
I'm on tons of medication and have traveled to around 20 places... Never once been asked about medication.
chx_@reddit
Neither escitalopram nor azapirone are listed https://technical-regulation-information-system.ec.europa.eu/en/notification/23861/text/D/EN
No one will care. This is not Tylenol 3.
Kobakocka@reddit
Most likely you will be fine. If you have a quantity for personal use and you have some papers about it should be fine. (If you go through nothing to declare (green corridor) you will be not stopped unless you are suspicious. And still you can explain a small dose of medication if questioned about that.
SongBirdExile@reddit
You will be fine - I'm invisibly disabled and have traveled with both and even stronger anti-anxiety meds. They looked at me crazy last time I even asked if I should declare my medication, but I had the paperwork just in case. They aren't considered controlled as far as I last remember.
BluestockingBabe@reddit
Mileage may vary, of course but I flew without a note and just had my things in the prescription bottles in my special carry on for medical devices (had my nebulizer with me) no one asked or even looked manually at it. I was nervous to put them in a pill carrier so I kept them in the bottles. Not sure if that helped
charleadev@reddit (OP)
i just checked and the guy prescribing me is a "nurse practitioner". my insurance card also says PCP instead of GP.
Notnumber44@reddit
Even though most of the time it'll be fine, which people say in the comments. They do pull out people for checks after the baggage claim. I don't know the rules regarding meds myself. Had to put my bags through scanners twice, after baggage claim