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Things often overlooked by preppers
Prudence Not Paranoia ^ | 6/1/12 | rknecht

Posted on 06/01/2012 9:22:45 AM PDT by Kartographer

More Americans are joining the ranks of “preppers” every day.

My last two columns discussed the growing trend of people taking steps to ensure they can be as self-sufficient as possible over the short term in; the event of a natural or manmade catastrophe.

Preppers aren’t necessarily members of groups with a political agenda.

They’re just concerned citizens and sometimes include groups of families, neighborhoods, churches, civic organizations and even entire states.

(Excerpt) Read more at prudence-not-paranoia.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: preparedness; preppers; survival
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To: anonsquared

Those are amazing - what a great idea!

(Although the dork factor is strong in those)


41 posted on 06/01/2012 10:48:16 AM PDT by chrisser (Starve the Monkeys!)
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To: SuziQ

I’m all for pre-stocking meds, but the method of ordering refills as soon as the pharmacy will dispense them won’t always work. Some plans will count the doses dispensed over a period of time and then put a hold on the prescription. But it doesn’t hurt to try and one could accumulate a few weeks supply that way anyway.

I have been ordering cheap generics from overseas for this purpose. I do take them occasionally when I run out of the prescription and to test, and the only deficiency I’ve noticed is that the extended release mechanism is not quite as effective, but it could be a matter of these particular drugs/manufacturers. Recently ordered 600 doses of a drug for the same price as 50 cost at a local pharmacy. I have had good luck with the Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Regardless of how you obtain them, Rare would it be that the usable shelf life is going to be less than five to ten years when stored in cool, dry conditions (except for known perishable stuff). Even rarer is a medication that actually becomes toxic past its usable life (e.g. tetracycline).

I took some some 12 year old hydrocodone a few weeks ago from an old dental prescription and it still worked, but maybe a little less potently. Many, many times I have taken prescription drugs five years old or so that still worked fine. Depending on the type of drug it might not be so easy to determine its potency, but in the vast majority of cases a few years cool storage will make next to no difference in efficacy.


42 posted on 06/01/2012 10:49:45 AM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by nature not nurture TM)
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To: Kartographer

“I myself added two 500 count bottles of acetaminophen and two 500 count bottles of ibuprofen...”

Acetaminophen (Tylenol is acetaminophen) is one of the leading causes of liver failure leading to transplants. Other causes are poison mushrooms, exposure to some solvents and Hepatitis C.

You might want to consider replacing the acetaminophen with aspirin...it is generally safer.


43 posted on 06/01/2012 10:51:25 AM PDT by GGpaX4DumpedTea (I am a Tea Party descendant...steeped in the Constitutional Republic given to us by the Founders.)
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To: Kartographer
I was able to put away 40 - 500MG Amoxicillin caps.
I pay for all my medical services and drugs in cash. Dentist prescribed Amox and I asked if I could have a refill for my emergency kit. She laughed, said sure thing and marked the prescription for a refill. $4.99 at Costco. It's that easy.
44 posted on 06/01/2012 11:02:30 AM PDT by atomic_dog
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear
I would also recommend any sort of antidepressants you can get.

Negative on that unless they are already being prescribed. Typical antidepressants (SSRIs; SNRIs) would take weeks to show much therapeutic benefit, and any improvement in mood is going to occur only if the brain's neurochemistry is deficient in the manner that the drug is designed to treat. Basically, a typical non-clinically depressed person is only going to see the side effects. Even worse are the withdrawal aide effects that can occur with abrupt, unsupervised cessation; these have put people into the ER (which if it is running at all will be busy with more pressing conditions).

When something really bad happens you are supposed to be depressed, and maybe shocked and angry. This is a normal reaction to situational factors. Trying to drug yourself into some kind of anesthesia instead of coping as best you can is not a good idea.

45 posted on 06/01/2012 11:04:15 AM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by nature not nurture TM)
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To: chrisser

But you’ll be a dork who can see! :)


46 posted on 06/01/2012 11:06:48 AM PDT by anonsquared
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To: GGpaX4DumpedTea
You might want to consider replacing the acetaminophen with aspirin...it is generally safer.

That's hardly true and certainly not good advice if the acetaminophen is taken according to proper dosing instructions. I myself have experienced GI bleeding after just modest doses of NSAIDs. No one experiences significant side effects (or any at all?) following normal doses of Tylenol over a reasonable time regimen.

47 posted on 06/01/2012 11:10:16 AM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by nature not nurture TM)
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To: Kartographer

antibiotics, high blood pressure meds, etc.

alldaychemist.com


48 posted on 06/01/2012 11:10:55 AM PDT by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem.)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear
Here are two over the counter suggestions for your notion:

Benedryl is an antihistamine which will aids in drowsiness at 50 mg or higher dosage; vitamin D3 in 10,000 units per day dosage, daily, is an excellent means to stave off depression and increase a sense of well-being; D3 also speeds recovery when injured

Personally, I'm going to stock up the ibuprofen, too, because it is an excellent anti-inflammatory and pain medication, though it is more easy to overdose than folks might think.

49 posted on 06/01/2012 11:15:04 AM PDT by MHGinTN (Being deceived can be cured.)
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To: steve86; Harmless Teddy Bear

Bump that: BAD IDEA.

Going on or off antidepressants without doctor supervision is going to make a very bad situation much much worse. Until the patient gets settled on the drug at proper effective dosages (or off it completely), s/he’s prone to wild mood swings over _mundane_normality_ - doing it over extremely stressful situations will create yet another major liability.

But that is a reminder on the meds subject: if someone IS on antidepressants, and they run out cold turkey, be ready for an onslaught of extreme behavior (severe anxiety, depression, verbal or physical abusiveness, OCD, irrationality, obscenity, etc.) for a week or so, followed by a return to whatever state of mind which was bad enough to prompt prescription of antidepressants in the first place.


50 posted on 06/01/2012 11:23:26 AM PDT by ctdonath2 ($1 meals: http://abuckaplate.blogspot.com)
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To: JRandomFreeper

I knew that would happen. My fault.
That comment was not meant for you and your home brewing.

It was a warning in general to everyone that the State does not like preppers and we are becoming more like the USSR every day. People are being encouraged to snitch on neighbors and almost everything is a crime nowadays.

If I could handle my booze I would be brewing


51 posted on 06/01/2012 11:23:43 AM PDT by winodog
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To: oh8eleven

The prepper threads aren’t as friendly as they used to be, the harsher, exclusionary, hostile tone has driven some of us away from them.

For some of us it is just second nature and something that seems natural to us, especially if we come from regions, and/or generations of practical preparedness and just love the planning and security that results from it, as I do, for a few it has become something else, as a fellow veteran I’m sure you recognize that tone of the somethings else.


52 posted on 06/01/2012 11:30:41 AM PDT by ansel12 (Massachusetts Governors, where the GOP now goes for it's Presidential candidates.)
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To: Kartographer
Spices. Buy them in bulk.

If TSHTF many spices will be virtually impossible to obtain and they will be worth their weight in gold or ammo.

53 posted on 06/01/2012 11:34:00 AM PDT by Mad Dawgg (If you're going to deny my 1st Amendment rights then I must proceed to the 2nd one...)
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To: winodog
Well, I've never been known as a paragon of what was approved by the mainstream. So they get the same answer I give everyone that raises an eyebrow at what I do.

Best not to repeat it here. ;)

/johnny

54 posted on 06/01/2012 11:35:04 AM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: Mad Dawgg
Learn to grow spices.

Historically, in food prices, spices and pure sugars (honey, sucrose) are high value. Meat and starches are fairly cheap historically, because they are easy to find/grow.

Learning how to turn starches into sugars is useful, too. But that takes a bit of study and equipment.

/johnny

55 posted on 06/01/2012 11:38:58 AM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: editor-surveyor
naprosyn and aspirin are my two favorite meds...naprosyn actually works better for arthritic pain than hydrocodones...hydrocodones don't really do much for me...

while we'er talking....over the counter meds can be very dangerous to your health....so use them judiciously....even tylenol....which can affect your liver....

56 posted on 06/01/2012 11:44:03 AM PDT by cherry
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To: oh8eleven
What preppers overlook is that they wasted away their lives in totally unnecessary fear, while making their families suffer from their mental illness.

Say what you like. After October 2008, I lived for well over a year on stored food, without relying on family, friends or you, the taxpayer.

And if you own a TV, you are subjecting your friends and family not only to your mental illness, but that of HollyWeird and the LameStream Media.

And wasting a lot of your life, sitting in front of a tube.

/johnny

57 posted on 06/01/2012 11:44:27 AM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: Kartographer

Ammo. “Enough” ammo is overlooked. See tagline.


58 posted on 06/01/2012 11:44:46 AM PDT by SW6906 (6 things you can't have too much of: sex, money, firewood, horsepower, guns and ammunition.)
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To: Kartographer
I particularly hate reading about "its God's will" if everything goes to hell, or "God will take care of us"...

God gave us brains, and two legs and two arms...HE expects us to use them...and use them we better....above all else,IMO, is that HE expects us to take care of our families...

59 posted on 06/01/2012 11:46:58 AM PDT by cherry
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To: cherry
.hydrocodones don't really do much for me...

They do a lot for me.

They make me itch, they plug me up like having a basketball inserted into the lower intestine, and I get irritable.

Thanks. I'll pass on the morphine derivatives. Every time.

/johnny

60 posted on 06/01/2012 11:48:16 AM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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