Headed to Australia next week and wondering if I will have any hassels with Customs
 

We are headed to Australia next week and only just found out that one has to declare prescription meds upon entry at Customs. My BP and asthma shouldn't be too much of an issue as they are pretty common but I also take a testosterone hormone treatment because mine became very low.

Come to find out just about all forms of the stuff are illegal there and I am having to apply for an import permit which may or may not arrive before I depart. So I have been told on some travel forums that they may confiscate it which sucks because it is expensive and one needs to taper off of it and avoid suddenly stopping.

Other then that I'm excited about the trip!

I realize the thread is about the trip but how's the treatment working out for you? How did you find out it was low?

It was about a year ago when I had some of the usual signs for a 55 year old male like not as much interest in sex but also some unexpected weight gain, lack of energy, elevated blood pressure. I usually see my urologist annually since my dad had prostate cancer and he suggested a blood test for testosterone. Sure enough it was very low.

So he prescribed this stuff. Overall it has had many positive effects. Probably the only negative is that it is a gel solution and you have to message it on to an area of muscle mass like chest/shoulder area or thighs (my preference) and it's kind of cool from the alcohol in it but it dries pretty fast.

Oh and it is expensive if you don't have insurance, about $900 a month for my dose but I get it for $15 copay!

I understand it's customary for an American to buy a round of drinks for all the Aussies, when you enter a bar. That's what they told me, anyway.

What, not those kinds of customs?

Remember to call everyone Bruce to avoid confusion.

ETA: Try not to die. Everything in Oz will kill ya.

Chris - can you get a Dr's Certificate/Letter to take with you?

Generally, so long as you declare, the label matches your details and the drugs enclosed, and you arent carrying 4kgs for a month stay - you will probably be questioned, but nothing bad should happen (well, I dont see a cavity search as bad, YTMDFM).

Yeah, but you do get to invent funny names for stuff.

"What's that?"

"A sock?"

"No, it's a willigumwuppat!":p:

Here's an Aussie slang list

My personal favorite is - "Mappa Tassie : map of Tasmania - a woman’s pubic area"

I have no idea about the medicine, but you'll get in trouble for any fresh food, meat, cheese, plant material, seeds; anything that could have some kind of agricultural pest that could get established here.

You learned your lesson with the rabbits, eh?

Not quite footie...but the Cane Toads sure woke us up!

Well, that and the goats. And the foxes. And buffalo. Feral cats and dogs, too, camels, horses, donkeys, pigs, pigeons, millipedes... and there are persistent sightings of puma/cougar looking felines allegedly released by USAF shenaniganistas during WWII.

I warned Mum about taking her own tea.
Even in this country, she will generally have a sandwich bag with a couple of teabags in it. The lady is fussy. When I raised the issue she wasn't as dismissive as I expected. I mean after all they are teabags from a known seller, not some loose bark from the garden. But I think she respected my Border Control watching credentials.

And in fact it turned out that boxed, sealed, Twinings or not, they would have been confiscated. I can only assume that the vast majority of Australian weed is homegrown.

Funny, the Americans are similarly strict but they allow tea. That's all banana lady has in her suitcase.

What I find odd is that items like packaged tea, which when boxed and shipped in 40 foot containers, gets passed through with minimal inspection, would be confiscated when a single easily inspected unit in a person's possession.