How much of a headache is it to get my medication (self-injections) if I move to Japan?

2 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **How much of a headache is it to get my medication (self-injections) if I move to Japan?**

   My medication is Cimzea which is an injection I give myself bi-weekly for my psoriatic arthritis, if I’m not medicated my condition gets very bad after like 6-9 months but the longest I’ve went without them anytime recently is about a month and I was fine so a short delay wouldn’t be the end of the world

   I’m going to be studying at university in September and the 3rd year of my course involves spending a year studying at a Japanese university, so in this year I’d have to get my medication prescribed to me, I’ve already checked and my medication is approved for use in Japan so that isn’t an issue

   If I went to a university in japan for a year and got my medication, then moved back to my country for a year to finish my degree before moving back to japan once my degree was done, would the hospital that prescribed me my medication still have my details to simply be able to transfer them to the hospital of wherever I decide to move?

   I’m also aware I’ll have to pay a portion of the costs of my medication, and as far as I can tell my medication is quite expensive so even paying 10% of the cost would be around 700~ a month if I remember correctly but I may be wrong, is the percentage I pay flexible based on my income?

   I’ve also heard of doctors prescribing people multiple months worth of medication at once so they can take advantage of the capped monthly NHI costs, is this a thing that anyone has any experience with?

   Sorry for all the questions this is just the primary annoyance I have about moving there in the future

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2. >if I’m not medicated my condition gets very bad after like 6-9 months but the longest I’ve went without them anytime recently is about a month and I was fine so a short delay wouldn’t be the end of the world

   Would you be able to get a years worth of kits to bring with you before you come? If they’re sealed kits you should be able to get permission from customs to bring them (make sure you apply early enough). Self-injection kits are not impossible to come by here, but most likely doctors would prefer you come to visit them regularly and have the doctor administer the shot for you.

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   There would also be the hassle of finding a doctor to prescribe it for you in the first place. You may find that you have to go through the diagnosis process all over again. Be prepared to have to shop around quite a bit after you arrive (eg, bring as many kits from home as you can to tide you over).

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   >I’m also aware I’ll have to pay a portion of the costs of my medication, and as far as I can tell my medication is quite expensive so even paying 10% of the cost would be around £700~ a month if I remember correctly but I may be wrong, is the percentage I pay flexible based on my income?

   You can expect to pay 30% of the cost, but there is a cap on that. Drug prices are also controlled by the government. You can check it out here: [https://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/2023/04/tp20230401-01.html](https://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/2023/04/tp20230401-01.html)
   I see you’re right, they are rather expensive:

   >注射薬 3999437G1022 セルトリズマブ　ペゴル（遺伝子組換え） ２００ｍｇ１ｍＬ１筒 シムジア皮下注２００ｍｇシリンジ ユーシービージャパン 先発品 57,801
   注射薬 3999437G2029 セルトリズマブ　ペゴル（遺伝子組換え） ２００ｍｇ１ｍＬ１キット シムジア皮下注２００ｍｇオートクリックス ユーシービージャパン 先発品 57,116

   So you could expect each visit to cost around JPY18,000. The monthly cap is income dependent, so you shouldn’t go too broke. When you register with the national health insurance at your city hall make sure you discuss the high expense process with them to get an idea of how much its going to end up costing you each month.

   If you’re able to get self-injection kits here (which outside of daily injections like insulin I wouldn’t expect, happy to be wrong though) then you should absolutely discuss with your doctor about getting larger batches of prescription kits. I’ve no personal experience with that however.