I take a few types of vitamins that work wonders for me on preventing migraines. Since we will be in Europe for some time, I hate to lug a bunch from home as space is already going to be limited.

Are vitamins as popular in Italy as they are in the U.S.? Will they be easy to find and similar to the ones they sell here?

I don't know how popular are vitamins in the US... but it's not difficoult to find vitamins in Italy. You could check exactly which vitamins you're taking and google for the italian version...

You might find Centrum and you will find various vitamins in health food stores or in grocery stores. Buy you cannot find high dosage specific vitamins in Europe like you can in the us at GNC or a like store. High dose vitamins are not used here like they are in the states. If you have a specific need for your migranes, stock up and bring them with you in a plastic bag shoved into an extra purse or something. Keep you labels with you in case you get searched in customs.

Diana

What vitamin is it? It may be hard to find, or require a prescription. We were looking for simple cough syrup and had a time. I don't think I would risk being laid up with a migraine. It would be better to leave out toiletries and take the vitamins.

The vitamins are magnesium and B2 (although a B complex works just as well).

So they only really sell the multi-vitamins, not the individual high dosage ones?

Hi,
I have also been taking magnesium, B2, and feverfew for migraines which has been a great help for me! I started out taking Migrelief, which has all 3 at high doses combined in just 2 pills. This reduced my migraines some but not as much as taking the individual vitamins/herbs, however according to many sources, it takes 3 months for your body to feel the full effects. The reason I switched was due to the inability to find Migrelief for a while here in Hawaii. Because I was afraid to go back to the Migrelief once I found it again since the individual vitamins/herbs were working so well I started out by taking 1 Migrelief and half of the dosage of the other vitamins/herbs. It has been just as effective and so for the next month, I will try just the 2 migrelief pills before I leave for Italy in June. The reason I wanted to go back to the Migrelief was so I wouldn't have to lug so many pills around. The individual doses are cheaper than the Migrelief but not by a huge amount. If you have 3 or more months, you may want to try it as an option. I would think that you probably could find B2 and Magnesium in Italy but I would not chance it as one extra migraine alone is not worth saving a little space in your luggage.
I have found wonderful medicines while in Italy - especially for asthma but I only started taking the magnesium/B2/feverfew last December and so I have not looked for these while there. Good luck! Hope this helps??

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So they only really sell the multi-vitamins, not the individual high dosage ones?

Yes. Buy them in the states and bring them with you.

My wife is really VERY much into vitamins. She generally makes daily packets of what we both should take daily. She puts each "dosage" into aluminum foil and uses a baggy that has seperates each by am,noon and pm.
She does bring a copy of labels to describe what each is, if asked at customs. She assures me that all vitamins aren't the same.
By the way, the wraps my vitamins the same for all my business trips.

I was thinking of similar to the above but why foil? I would just put,them in a plastic sandwitch bag,in daily dosage.Then put them in a jar. I take 12 vitamin pills a day! RR

The plastic bag is used for the foils. Basically, it makes it easy to take what that dosage is. I probably take about 15 per day,but not the same number of each.
My wife takes many more,. Some are specific (help keep blood pressure low, digestive enzime, etc.).
My wife is very much what our kids call a "health nut". A vegetarian that at times does just raw food. She buys her vitamins from a company that ships a good size box to us quite often. I'm pretty much the opposite. I've simply given in to the logic of taking vitamins instead of drugs and because I probably don't eat as healthy as I should.
Traveling with a lot of bottles doesn't work, so this system does it for me.

Thanks all! It looks like I will be stocking up and saving room in the suitcase then. I am a bit surprised that they are not as into vitamins, but I supppose they overall eat healthier and therefore there is less need for them.

The vitamins won't be a problem at customs then?


girasoli - I'm glad the vitamin combination has worked for you as well! I used to take something called Migrahealth, which sounds very similar to Migrelief. It had the magnesium, B2, feverfew combination. It worked wonders for me. Feverfew is not good to take if you are "family planning," though, which we were for some time and will be in the near future, so I have decided for now it is better not to take it at all. It certainly would make for a lighter load traveling, though!

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"family planning,"

It is a perfect place for this kind of planning.

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It is a perfect place for this kind of planning. Big Grin

LOL! That is certainly true!

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We were looking for simple cough syrup and had a time.

There are many types of cough syrup sold in any farmacy: sciroppo per la tosse. Bisolvon is a popular brand.

Magnesium is widely available at different dosages and so is B vitamin, but you might find that medicines are more expensive here than in the US.
Bigger cities have also vitamin stores see e.g. http://www.eurosup.com/ click on "elenco rivenditori"