This may become more important with drug shortages and massively increasing prices. The latest news is reporting one antibiotic going from $15/month to $1500/month...wow. Heard Congress is investigating.
This may become more important with drug shortages and massively increasing prices. The latest news is reporting one antibiotic going from $15/month to $1500/month...wow. Heard Congress is investigating.
People who do take Rx drugs may want to talk to their doctor or pharmacist and see about taking their Rx every other day, rather than daily, in an emergency situation. Just another possible option.
I am in the same boat with inhalers, Gardenarian, and it is incredibly nerve wracking, especially up here where it gets too lousy to drive, and I am 30 minutes from a hospital. Not a pretty picture, and lifethreatening.
Aha, I can answer this one, being a Type 1 diabetic. Insulin is sold by the 10 ML bottle, not by the individual dose. So, in my case, a bottle lasts between 3 and 4 weeks (this will vary wildly from person to person). My 90-day mail-order prescription is for 4 bottles. Over time, I end up with a surplus. Insulin does expire, so I am careful to use the bottles in the order of their expiration dates.Originally Posted by Gardenarian
Revisiting this thread. Just had my annual visit for my thyroid and will end up having my medication adjusted to an amount that will mean I will not be able to use up my current supply. Fortunately I don't have a significant amount left, but with the price increase in my meds this past year, it's enough that I feel like I'm losing money. Oh, well. Still healthy, still happy!
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown
If you are stockpiling medication, be sure to rotate your med supply so it doesn't expire. A lot of meds are good for quite a bit longer than the expiration date, but not all. This has been a problem for one of my patients, and since he has a number of nurses giving his meds and a parent, as well, we have been running short on one of his seizure meds. It is a liquid, so if there is any spillage, we're short. Mom has several times had to go to the pharmacy because we didn't have enough at the end of the month. If it is too far in advance, the insurance company won't pay for the refill. Mom has offered numerous times to pay, but the pharmacy says they can't refill it. It is a controlled substance, and apparently state law doesn't allow for extra med during the month. Fortunately, his dr. is reasonable, and aware that this child has nursing and we track our meds. He just increased the amount per dose a tiny bit, so we will have enough to get by. Then another dr. did that with another (non-controlled) medication. I think it is terrible when a child, who absolutely NEEDS this medication, is expected to do without. Of course, we have valium for emergencies, and the pharmacists tell us to just use that. So we just let this child have a seizure?! Amazing to me that anyone would think that is an okay thing to do. So we let the child have a seizure and then snow him with valium. Anyway, if it is any comfort, this is not an uncommon problem. Unless you have a very good relationship with your dr. it may continue to be a problem.
I think you should keep checking to see if you can find some extras for an emergency supply and in worst case scenario look into alternative natural medicines that might be helpful and more easily obtainable in case of emergency. I managed to get some back up pills by simply pretending I lost them, they will write you another prescription if you've lost your pills.
For this reason though I decided to wean off my medication a long time ago, however it's not like it was keeping me alive, but weaning off was life threatening in itself, it was a huge ordeal, dealt with many health problems, bruxism, withdrawals and damaged teeth along the way despite weaning off very gradually and I am so much healthier without it now and I use healthy lifestyle changes and naturopathy to be healthy, but obviously that's not the answer for everyone.
I am also on meds that I cannot just go off of cold turkey otherwise I will have seizures. My Dr. Once did give a lot of samples of the one drug to tide me over since the Insurance Co. Gives us a hard time usually one or twice a year and I cannot get the medicine which is also a controlled substance until all of the paperwork goes through. I would like to have enough on hand that I could use in the right time frame to get off of them carefully, in case of an emergency.
My advice? Seriously. Go to Los Algodones, Mexico. The Customs people there are used to people crossing solely to buy meds and will let you cross - I have done it before - with LARGE quauntities of non controlled meds, which is legal for them to do as they have wide discretionary powers. For non controlled meds only, though. Anything controlled you are supposed to have a Mexican doctor's scrip and an American doctor's scrip. I have brought across an entire years supply of my blood pressure meds and my thyroid meds and also Retin A with no problems whatsoever....very inexpensively and very easily. But once again, these are non-controlled meds. I brought them across because I'm no prepper BUT I see a country almost 19 trillion in debt with no plans in place that I can see to pay this back in total and naturally part of my survival instinct is going to kick in - i.e., don't trust and have a stockpile of the legal meds I take lined up just in case.
I have also done this with some (legal) herbs I take (especially when I go to Mexico as these herbs cost less there although they are not priced out of reach here). Examples of such herbs would be passionflower and valerian root and hibiscus flower tea. I'd like to stress once again that I'm no survivalist whacko.....but given the debt loads of the US (and other countries too as it's all interconnected now thanks to globalism) - it seems very practical to me to stock up on some basic legal meds. Also - antibiotics is another - Algodones is a good place to buy something like Amoxycillin, no one is going to demand a scrip for it there while under Mexican law you are supposed to have a scrip for antibiotics and this is enforced sporadically elsewhere. I've heard the reason why is that Algodones is all about catering to seniors and Americans who are insurance challenged so the laws are more lax there on legal meds. Rob
My guess is that if this keeps going - more people are going to vote with their feet and leave the US. If it comes down to corporate profits at the expense of human life so blatantly, more people are going to throw in the towel and vote with their feet, especially since merely crossing a border is all it takes to bring health care costs back down into a much more human range. Rob
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