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 ...
Those are amazing - what a great idea!
(Although the dork factor is strong in those)
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.
“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.
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.
But you’ll be a dork who can see! :)
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.
antibiotics, high blood pressure meds, etc.
alldaychemist.com
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.
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.
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
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.
If TSHTF many spices will be virtually impossible to obtain and they will be worth their weight in gold or ammo.
Best not to repeat it here. ;)
/johnny
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
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....
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
Ammo. “Enough” ammo is overlooked. See tagline.
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...
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
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