Hi all,
I take a number of supplements (vitamins/minerals, etc.) that I must take everyday for health issues (e.g., calcium because of my parathyroid). I take approximately 10 different supplements and multiples of each. Rather than carry all the bottles, is it possible to put each day's worth in the little medicine ziplock bags? I would be carrying about 15 little baggies with these supplements.

Last trip I took the bottles (heavy) and was searched at the Amsterdam airport. Security told me they had to "analyze" the vitamins, which took about 20 minutes. We almost missed our connecting flight. Was this a one-off or will the little baggies be even more problematic?

Thanks for all your help.

I have this concern myself, because I prefer to pack vitamins and supplements in small plastic bags, one day's allocation per bag. I've thought that there would be less risk of delay and annoyance if I left them in the original bottles (not necessarily full bottles), but even that is no guarantee when someone wants to be suspicious. I can't help thinking of the time, many years ago, when Jane Fonda was arrested at CLE for attempting to bring vitamin C tablets into the United States from Canada. Well, they turned out to be vitamin C....

Reports elsewhere indicate that French security is especially suspicious of anything not in its original container, but I have no experience with France. I hadn't heard it about Amsterdam.

I keep my thyroid pills in their small original container with prescription label.
My cold mix cure goes in a medium or large sized over the counter bottle (usually my Tylenol sinus one), I measure out how many pills I would need if a cold or flu' symptoms struck and put them all in that bottle. It isn't clear so security don't see several different pills inside. I find little baggies don't protect my pills, I end up with powdery, broken bits.

For my next trip, I bought a long 7 day pill container and divvied up the pills per day, the individual 'day' compartments are large enough to hold more than one week....three weeks in fact.
My husband has to take 10 pills per morning, 5 per evening, 90% are prescription. Neither he nor I have been stopped for our pills, here in Canada or the UK, France or Spain. My liquid/gel bag however, gets wanded and checked almost every time.
My husband takes the small pharmacy print out of his prescriptions........just in case.

My wife travels everywhere with a big wad of supplements in one baggie. She had problems in Ireland (I still can't figure out why), Thailand and Malaysia. Now she puts them in the same size baggie, but she separates the pills in smaller baggies with the labels taped on. No problems yet, but her travels have been all in North America. We'll find out on our trip to France in October (thanks for the tip Paul-in-NYS).

I have a big fat ulcer, so I travel with a lot of prescription pills. I just ask the pharmacist to give me bottles that just fit my allotment for the trip. The customs people in Thailand and Malaysia told me it was a good thing I kept my prescriptions in the original bottle, or they would not have allowed it (I do travel with pain meds which could have been why they said that).

I travel about once a month for work all over the world. I've been carrying my supplements in tiny ziplock bags for about the last year and a half. Prior to that I used a plastic 7 day pill box, but the ziplock bags take much less room and are easier to pack. Plus, one 7 day pill box is often not enough days for me. I have never ever had any problems with security or customs. This includes a trip to Paris, France, several trips elsewhere in Europe (Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic), one trip to India, and multiple trips back and forth from Los Angeles to New York and New Jersey airports.

If one 7-day pill container isn't enough, take more. They aren't that big. I took three for a three week trip to SE Asia. All three fit in one quart size ziploc. The ziploc is added protection, in case a container comes open on route. The spilled ones stay in the ziploc, not crushed/scattered throughout your carryon.

I travel with a ton of supplements as well although only domestically. I originally took the full bottles, but those are big and take up tons of room. I have a small screw top tupperware-like container that I will use for just a 1 or 2 night trip. If it is longer than that, then I use one of the 7 day pill containers. Knock on wood, but I haven't had security say anything no matter how I carry them. I will usually put them in a zip pouch with my EmergenC and some protein bars. I think they are just a lot more strict internationally. You might want to make sure you have the labels with you if you aren't going to carry the original bottles.