Traveling with a carry-on

L

LookingforPeace

New member
So I am traveling from Canada, driving to Buffalo, flying to Philadelphia, then flying about 4 hours to a tropical island :eek:).

Since we have a stop over, to avoid the hassle, we are only bringing carry-ons. In addition to my clothes, I need to bring my meds (not a problem they can all fit in my purse). The issue is my compressor! I am in the process of purchasing one as I am starting pulmozyme. I heard these are about ten pounds.

Do you know if these 10 pounds will be part of my total carry-on weight of 40lbs? Or if, in this case, is e allowed a total of 50lb?

I'm not sure ill even be able to pack 40lbs of clothes into a carry on. I doubt it. Just want to be prepared though:)

IM ALSO WONDERING... If anyone has travelled with this drug. It has to be refrigerated. How does the states deal with this sort of thing? AND has anyone travelled WITHOUT their pulmozyme? Might be spelling it wrong. I may hve to take a week off.
 
R

Ratatosk

Administrator
Staff member
It's exempt from your carry on allotment. We recently flew with a vest, backpack containing a small cooler with gel ice pack and Pulmozyme, all meds, compressor.... Plus I had iPads, books, etc...
 
R

Ratatosk

Administrator
Staff member
Also, the Mobilaire compressor is about 11 pounds, we travel with either a pari vios or another brand I can't remember off the top of my head. Much smaller and compact, but again, Medical equipment and medications are exempt from your carryone allowance. With the exception of the vest, which was in a separate bag, we were able to fit the small cooler, bags with pills, neb cup, compressor all in a single backpack with room for two ipads, a few books, my kindle and some snacks for ds.
 
S

sdeuber

Guest
I am traveling every other week - only carry on- have my roll-on suitcase, my laptop backpack and then a lunch bag with my meds (albuterol, pulmozyme, spiriva, saline, kalydeco), an icepack (one of the blue gel ones) with exact amount of pulmozyme I need for the trip, my PARI TREK compressor (love it - small and great for traveling - I use it actually every day - got rid of large clunky compressor - http://www.pari.com/products/compressors/product/detail/info/trek_s_portable_aerosol_system.html ) and two nebulizers.
I only have the standard version of the PARI TREK without the battery - there is always a power outlet. It comes with a car adapter - so you can even do your stuff while in a rental car.
When I am in the hotel, I fill up the ice bucket 2 x day with ice and stick the pulmozyme in.
Some hotels will refreeze your ice packs (pull the disability act card and they have to do it).
Stefanie
 
L

lilmac1177

New member
so this is a great thread to read right now as I am flying American Airlines from Maryland to Texas next weekend, but i'm still confused...

here's what i need to take:
thAIRapy vest (this is the one i'm most concerned about w/ weight limit for carry-on)
PARI Vios compressor
all the typical CF meds (including Pulmozyme which i've been told can be out of refrigerator for 24 hrs at most and my flight is only 4-5 hours)

it's my understanding that i can only take one carry-on (would be my vest system if not too heavy) and a backpack OR purse but not both. does this sound accurate? in the past, i've always used backpack for compressor and all my medications, Kindle, etc, to have as my one "personal item"; however, i didn't take vest system because there was always someone w/ me who could do manual chest PT, but that won't be the case this time around...
 
T

ToriMom

Guest
When we travel on an airplane I have the CF clinic write me a quick note on a prescription pad which says my daughter needs to travel with her "medically necessary" equipment. I bring the entire rolling luggage thing HillRom provided us for her vest....with her Gtube pump in one side and the compressor in the other side. Then I usually have a few cases of her formula too as well as a soft insulated bag with an ice pack and the Pulmozyme. We have never had an issue with going over the weight or quantity limits for carry on luggage....all the medical supplies DO NOT count. So my kids also bring backpacks, electronics, and I bring my large camera...these are the only items they "count" and the rest comes on with no problem.
Have a safe trip!
Michelle
 
R

Ratatosk

Administrator
Staff member
The vest doesn't count as toward carryon allowance. Check the TSA site and it'll tell you med equipment and meds are exempt. As for the Pari Trek, there are certain meds, such as Tobi, which cannot be used with it as it doesn't have enough PSI.
 
S

sugarcookie

New member
I use an electronic nebulizer called the Trio by Pari. It's small (4-1/2 x 4-1/2), super-lightweight (1 pound) and makes NO noise. It is exactly like the electronic nebulizer called the Altera by Pari that I do my Cayston in.

This post is helpful because I didn't know that a carry-on with medicine doesn't count as a carry-on. The few times I travel, my whole carry-on is medicine. LookingforPeace I hope you bring you Pulmozyme and don't skip it for a week. It's easy to pack, like others have suggested, put it in a freezer bag with an ice-pack. I know you have a long travel day, so when the ice-pack is no longer cool, Pulmozyme is good for up to 24 hours with no refrigeration. Also, if the hotel doesn't have a small refrigerator, you can always ask for one and they bring it to your room with no problems because you have a med that requires refrigeration.
 
R

Ratatosk

Administrator
Staff member
Also, I've found the best ice packs are the ones from the pharmacy that they use to ship drugs. They're white and I believe have the polar pak logo on them. They are the best. We've left early morning and arrived at our destination in the evening and the pack is still pretty much frozen. We usually get a fridge for our hotel room or if we're traveling by car, I've gotten a small thermo electric one which I use to keep pulmozyme & tobi cool, as well as some milk or juice for snacks.
 
2

2roses

New member
All great suggestions from everyone! I too did not know about the med stuff not counting toward the carry on limit. My add-on advice is to find a small lunch size cooler with the foil lining, as it keeps items cold waaaaaay longer than the traditional insulated/plastic liner ones. Have a wonderful trip!!!!
 
L

LookingforPeace

New member
Thanks for all your input everyone. I really appreciate it. I was stressing about the weight limit and fitting everything into my little carry on! I just bought my compressor today. 7lbs!
 
C

CrisDopher

New member
I also use the Altera system when I travel, though not all my meds are cleared for it. I just got tired of compressors or needing an outlet. The Altera system can run on AA batteries - HUGE bonus, IMO. When I fly, I do pack everything (for up to a week) into a single carry-on. I've rarely been hassled about the weight. TSA doesn't give me a problem about my liquid medications, BUT ice packs must be frozen solid - not even partially melted. In the past, when I've really needed to save room (for instance, two weeks on tour living out of a single police-style gear bag), I take all my nebulized medicine vials out of the foil packages, trim off any extra plastic with scissors and cram them all two-by-two into this large Stanley stainless steel thermos I have. I fill the rest of the space with ice cubes and then top it all off with the coldest water I can run. (Unless I'm flying, in which case, I skip the water because the TSA has given me problems about that before.) I've packed as much as a month's worth of nebs into the thermos before, though I couldn't fit much ice in at the beginning of the trip. However, with two weeks or less of medicine in there, and full of ice, the meds will stay cold for up to 24 hours, easy, even in hot weather. (I developed this technique for long motorcycle trips.)

I don't travel with my vest anymore. I (or the airlines) broke it twice on previous trips.
 
S

SaraNoH

New member
I had thought that Dornase could go without refrigeration for a good chunk of time. I know Cayston can for up to a month at room temp.

I'm actually flying to Oregon on Saturday, staying for 2 months, and was just wondering about how I want to take my meds. I think I'm going to put them in an insulated bag, like the foil ones you get Cayston in, maybe throw in a small cold pack or something, and toss it into my checked luggage. I really don't want to have a large carry-on since it's just me traveling.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top