I was about to ask the same thing!! Excellent post!

The best I could think of is to ask your Doctor for additional amounts for whatever reasons, vacation, moving or something rational to explain the reason for the extra amount.
I do this for my wife's birth control and inhaler bottles every time I PCS.

Of course this may get you patterned recognized for potential drug trafficking, so be prepared to show every empty and full container you ever got (I have a large foot locker).

 

It depends, of course, on what the condition and drug is. There are a lot of homeopathic/herbal remedies for a lot of conditions. This is how diseases were treated before drugs were discovered. My best advice would be to research whether there are any natural alternatives to the necessary medication - then get planting!:thumb:

 

I was thinking along the same lines. Believe it or not there are natural "medicines" found throughout nature. Many of the pharmacuetical companies, of course, don't want that populace to know that due to decreased profits. Most drugs are derived from natural sources. On the downside, not all drugs can be found naturally, so there are a few drugs that we simply will not have stshtf.

Conversely, it is wise to get to know the plants growing around you anyway. This past week my 22month old grabbed some berries off of a plant. We did not know what it was and feared the worst. Luckily, it turned out to be harmless, but it showed me that I have to learn botany anyway, if nothing else than to learn what not to consume.

 

It all depends on how bad the SHF situation is. If its really bad and long term the sad reality is that the out look is none to good. Stock up the best you can, seek any and all alternatives. I have family and friends in this situation. All I can tell them is that we prep for our families not for ourself alone. Main thing is not to let the worse case possiblity keep you from prepping. You just never know. Even if you know your time is limited due to a lack of needed meds, at least you will have time with your family when they need you the most.

 

If they don't have them stockpiled, or have an alternate source, they'll do without. I suggest stockpiling while you can and rotate them. That way at least you can have a few years supply. You can mail order almost anything, and it's usually far cheaper than the pharmacy anyway.

Look into alternative medicines also. That doesn't work for all prescriptions, but sometimes there are remedies that you can make or grow yourself, that will be helpful.

 

Is mail ordering legal?

 

For antibiotics, I buy from Lambert Pet Supply> http://www.lambertvetsupply.com/index.php

Once on the site you will see a menu on the left. Click on "OTC Pet Medications", then click on "Antibiotics", and finally click on "Non-Prescription". I have been using the fish antibiotics for years. I had a doctor write me a Rx for Cephelexin and got it filled. It was the same capsule as the Fish-Flex that they sell ... same color, same manufacturer - Thomas Labratories, same mg. ... the same pill, except I don't pay the doctor $90.00 for a visit, and instead of $55.00 for the prescription, I paid over $10.00 less for and additional 2.3 series of antibiotics. (Reg. RX is for 30 pills, Fish Flex has 100 pills)
I had a vet tech tell me about it years ago. They don't make a different kind of antibiotic for each species, like dog penicillin and cat penicillin, etc. - penicillin is penicillin. I don't use the tetracycline, because that goes toxic after a year, but from my personal experience the others keep fine and just slowly loose a bit of potency. The prices are good too. I get Fish Sulfa (800 mg Sulfamethoxazole / 160 mg trimethoprim) from Valley Vet : http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=ac975db8-15cb-4a62-a6f9-b510396af913 And I don't remember which one I get Doxicycline, but it was a bird biotic.

There is another site you can go to for info on where the cheapest place to get a medication is, but I don't know what I did with the link. Maybe google, how can I find the cheapest meds or something like that. That is where I found the Valley Vet.

A nurse told me about the Lambert Vet place back on one of the Y2K sites years ago.
Hope this helps!

 

Once on the site you will see a menu on the left. Click on "OTC Pet Medications", then click on "Antibiotics", and finally click on "Non-Prescription". I have been using the fish antibiotics for years. I had a doctor write me a Rx for Cephelexin and got it filled. It was the same capsule as the Fish-Flex that they sell ... same color, same manufacturer - Thomas Labratories, same mg. ... the same pill, except I don't pay the doctor $90.00 for a visit, and instead of $55.00 for the prescription, I paid over $10.00 less for and additional 2.3 series of antibiotics. (Reg. RX is for 30 pills, Fish Flex has 100 pills)

I'd like to hear of anyone else's experiences with things like Fish Flex Forte. I found it on Amazon for about $16 for 30 pills.

 

My wife takes Xanax daily for anxiety attacks, I have been doing reasearch on what to do if the meds run out and have decided to use Valerian Root. It is a natural herbal supplament that you can buy at Wally World that is kind of natures version of Valium.

My wife ran low on her prescription last month and I got her to cut her dosage in half and take two of the Valerian Root capsules... she did just fine for about a week, long enough to get her prescription refilled, and said she thinks it makes a fine substitute.

I am know adding a bottle of it to my regular weekly prep run, and plan on having at least 20 bottles on hand at any given time for WSHTF.

Now if I could just find a good substitute for Stadol....

 

You can buy valerian powder in bulk a heckuva lot cheaper. This holds true for almost any herb. A capsule filler block used to be less than $10 but certainly can't be terribly expensive now. Capsules are available in every health food store and pharmacy, probably even Walmart, but are a lot cheaper mail ordered in bulk also. I bought 5,000 of them years ago. They keep well if you keep them dry and don't try to vacuum pack them (Yeah, I'm that dumb).

Remember folks, if you have found alternates that work, you can grow most of the herbs yourself. This gives you a lifetime supply.

 

More herbal remedies, holistic healing, and alternative medicine.

 

I know there are many natural cures to todays ailments, There are some good resources out there.

 

I talked to my doctor about what I was doing with my food storage. I asked him for an extra perscription for my wifes and my BP meds. He had no problem with it. I had my pharmacy fill the yead supply and rotate my monthly refills to the back and use the front. The only drawback was my insurance company would not pay. I use generic drugs so the cost was not that bad.

 

You can by law, go to Mexico, get a doctors note, and even bring back some medicines. Or you can probably use the script here to buy what you need.


Anyone here in Texas? What are the rules on legally bringing medicines across the border?

 

Surprised nobody mentioned it yet....

Self-sufficiency is at the core of a survivalist survival strategy.

Dependency is at the core of the pharmaceutical marketing strategy.

The two are opposite poles.

Most but not all drugs that are taken continuously are designed as an alternative to a more difficult method of reaching the same goal. For instance, blood pressure medications and cholesterol medications are alternative therapies to diet and exercise.

If at all possible take control of your life now and relinquish the addiction to medications.

 

Surprised nobody mentioned it yet....

Self-sufficiency is at the core of a survivalist survival strategy.

Dependency is at the core of the pharmaceutical marketing strategy.

The two are opposite poles.

Most but not all drugs that are taken continuously are designed as an alternative to a more difficult method of reaching the same goal. For instance, blood pressure medications and cholesterol medications are alternative therapies to diet and exercise.

If at all possible take control of your life now and relinquish the addiction to medications.

READ THIS. READ IT AGAIN. THEN ONCE MORE.

I found this to be true as well and am trying to break a cycle of relying on a pill for a "fix".

Does anyone know a good place to study herbal medicines or natural cures? I think this is the only field in which I could truly be happy working..

 

To HowardRoark:

I agree with you to a limit. Not all medical problems can be cured with diet and exercise. My BP problems are not related to lifestyle. People with type 1 diabetes need insulin ot they will die. There is no other alternitive. For the problems lifestyle changes can help this is the best solution.

 

Need natural replacement

My son takes medicine to go to sleep, or he will not sleep. I know eventually he would have to, but that could be 2 days or more, never tried to push it.

I am wondering if anyone knows anything that could be used in replacement. He takes a BP med, and it slows him down enough to go to sleep. Am trying to stock up, but long term, need a replacement.

 

My son takes medicine to go to sleep, or he will not sleep. I know eventually he would have to, but that could be 2 days or more, never tried to push it.

I'm still working on that one. I have the same problem. My formula still needs work, but it's basically valerian, the amino acid tryptophan, and hops. I need to delve more into the nutritional remedies. I know blends of various amino acids can have powerful results, but I just haven't gotten that far yet.

 

In a long term SHTF situation, and in the absence of law enforcement, I suspect many survivors will be growing lots of "herbal medicine".

 

I have been thinking of this for a while and there is good and bad news for me. I have epilepsy, so I have about 1 years worth of seizure meds on had…I worked it out with the insurance company. They said ok, because I get these meds mail order…so I can order more. But, if I run out…I’m SOL. Most seizure patients will go into seizures if they stop taking them.

Here is also more bad news…I also take heavy-duty narcotics every day of the year. I started taking them back in ’85 and like I said everyday…

Just about every doctor will not give a patient narcotics for a year…the FDA will also come down hard. If you don’t know it the FDA monitors individual narcotic use thru the pharmacy

 

I’m going to answer the post about sleep and herbs. I’m an herbalist, and I would never buy any herbs from any drug store…of even bulk at some places. At the drug stores, their herbal products have a lot of fillers, and you do not know when that herb was picked…if it is old it will lose it’s potency. At lot of the producers use even the wrong herb. Like there are many forms of Echinacea, but there is only one to use…Echinacea Purpurea.

Actually, I never use the powder form on herbal medicine…just tinctures. They have the best potency, and last just about forever. I would find a good herbalist and work with them on your sleep issue. I also like Chinese medicine, and cranio work. I'm an Insomniac, I have stayed up for 5 days and herbs do help.

Here is a site where you search in your area for some wonderful herbalist

http://www.americanherbalistsguild.com/

Here are my two favorite mentors in herbal medicine that I learned a lot

http://www.herbalistlisewolff.com/
http://www.matthewwoodherbs.com/

 

Hey tankman

Tankman, if you were interested in herbal medicine, I would check out the site I mentioned before. http://www.americanherbalistsguild.com/

Look on the left side and you will see “find a school”

I’m not sure on where you live in the USA…at least I think you do? There are many ways to approach this. A large number of herbalists have their own classes, there are herbal schools, there are yearly symposiums (4 or 5 days) to help out, and distance learning. In the schools, I have had experiences with David Winston’s, Northeast school of botanical medicine that is run by 7song…yes that is his real name. It depends on what type of herbal medicine you are interested in…yes there are many. There is Eastern, Native American and Western off the top of my head. There are different types of western medicine. There is Modern and traditional…which I know…I also know some Native American…but that involves the animal spirit. Traditional herbalist use herbal medicine that has been around for centuries and most of the time use plants that are local to your region…that would help out when “S” hits the fan. For one medical issue, we can come up with maybe 5-10 herbs that could work. It’s not like saying Echinacea for a cold…I really never use it for a cold.

I know a number of people that went to Bastyr in Washington…it is one of the best for all types of Alternative medicine.

There are a number of great books out there, where you can brief yourself on traditional herbalism. If anybody wants the list…just message me

 

I would be scared to be sedated in a world where people will be looking for our food and supplies.
Karen

 

Stockpile what you can, and learn about the various healing properties of herbs. Start a "medicinal" garden in addition to your "culinary" garden (some plants will actually have a place in both). Do it NOW, so that the perennial plants are well established, and leave plenty of space for the annuals.

 

Attached is a story of Eva Saxyl who during WWII was a Jewish refugee who fled Europe to China (of all places) and could no longer get insulin after the Japanese invasion of China. The short story is that she and her husband (both with no medical background) made their own for Eva and 400 other Diabetics in China.

http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2002/01/01/3495/evas-insulin/

 

Thanks to Texas Pete's post I google "home-made insulin". Top of the list..... good ol' Survivalist Forum....

http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=33479

 

Check out www.unitedpharmacies.com. It's located in New Zealand and I have never had a problem with ordering with them. No prescription required.