Mental Health (ADHD and Anxiety)

I have been taking medication for ADHD on and off (mostly "on") for about 10 years. I am currently 31. I am very interested in teaching and/or studying French in France.  However, I am concerned about the following possible situations:

1) 1) The possibility of not being granted a visa due to

2)  Not being able to find a doctor that will be able to prescribe my medication (currently I take Adderall and Klonopin) or not being able to bring my current supply into the country (I believe that Adderall is not available in Europe, but I would be OK taking something similar).



I have considered (and am still considering) possibly going off the medication, but signing a contract and agreeing to stay in a foreign country without the option of being able to obtain my medications worries me a little. Any information you can provide would be much appreciated!!! :D

Without having anxiety, going abroad is already a challenging experience.

I can,t advice you what to do. I can tell you that in France, if you,ve got a job and if you manage to go through all the paperwork necessary, you can get visits to your g.p, and find your specialist. I am not sure they,ve got the medicines you need...I don,t really know them.

But to tell you the truth, France is not an easy going country. So, before making a move I would check:

Job posibilities
Your own language skills.

I have been in Ireland, where people were a bit more gentle when someone didn,t speak their language, here some people may speak english, but not everybody does. So that,s an aspect to consider.
About your medicines...same, I can,t say anything, I am not a doctor.

And, of course, let,s not forget about the working visa. I am sure there are many topics in this forum related to the american visa.

Good luck!

Sara

Good morning! I also can't provide medicine info, but re your concern about not getting a visa due to health issues - that is very unlikely to happen. What they seem to care about:
1) you have health insurance for the duration of your stay
2) you have had your vaccines
3) your lungs are clear (looking for TB)
For #2 and #3, these are strictly confidential between you and your doctor; immigration officials can't use medical results to refuse your long-term carte. If someone has these problems, they want them addressed.

Re medicines, unfortunately, you can't look on the internet, like you can for some countries. You could try calling a specific pharmacy to ask; many speak English. You would need both the brand name and the generic name. Also, pharmacies are good places to ask about doctors that prescribe the meds you take.

Good luck,
Julie

Thanks Julie!
I had exactly the same question regarding meds.  Asking the Pharmacy to recommend a Doctor who prescribes them is a great idea.  I am going to try and get a three month supply of mine before moving to give me ample time to find a Dr.  there.