So you are a “Prepper”. You have stockpiled water, food, firearms, ammunition, silver, gold, emergency medical supplies and whatever else that you want, for whatever time period you deemed necessary, 3 months, 6 months a year, more.
However, if you are like most “Preppers”, you never have enough of everything you think you will need. But have you forgotten something that will limit how long you will live in a teotwawki situation.
There is an saying amongst “Preppers”. You can live for 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water and three weeks without food. So what if more important than food and water? What about your daily prescription medicines?
After Hurricane Katrina, there were NO pharmacies open that I could find, in the New Orleans metro area for three (3) months. After any national disaster, how long would it take for the pharmaceutical companies to start to make the drugs that you take? Then they would have to be transported to the pharmacies so you could buy them. Could they even make all of the different medications that you take? Which medications would they make first? Would the government decide where and who gets those drugs first?
You can be the most prepared “Prepper” in the world but if you have a major medical condition such as Diabetes, a Heart Condition, Epilepsy, etc. and have not stockpiled your vital medicines that you need to take on a daily basis, you will only live as long as you have you medicines.
So, you spend a lot of money on other items so that you can survive whatever disaster you are planning for but you do not want to spend $300 or $400 for an extra bottle of medication that you need to keep you living. You had better rethink your strategy.
There is no reason to have a 6 months’ supply of water, food, weapons and ammo but only have a month or two of medication you need to take on a daily basis. Why? If you die or become none functional from not having all of the medications that you need to take on a daily basis, what is the use in having water, food, etc. for longer than the amount of medications you have.
In addition, you then become a liability on the persons in your family or group that now have to take care of you or no longer have you to help them.
First, make a list of all of the medicines that you take on a daily basis.
Second, go talk to the pharmacist that fills your prescriptions. Determine how much each prescription will cost you if you buy them without using your medical insurance. If you cannot afford to purchase a full months’ worth of medication that you need, ask the pharmacist if you can fill a partial prescription? Can you buy a weeks’ worth of your medicine instead of a full months’ worth?
Third, if you do buy partial prescriptions, as you buy them, keep them in the bottles with the labels that they came with. Most pharmacies print the expiration date on the bottles label. This is important. I have been told that some prescriptions can be toxic after their expiration dates.
Fourth, make a large zip lock bag up and as you buy your medicines, place one (1) months’ supply of you medications in that zip lock bag. When you have a full months’ worth of medications that you take, label the bag with the month and year that you purchased them in. I use a Sharpe’. As you start to obtain multiple months of your medications, place the bags in a small box.
Fifth, keep you surplus medications in a dark and cool place. Heat decreases the amount of time your medicine is good.
Sixth, be sure that you rotate them and use those stored medications well before their expiration dates.
Finally, remember that in a pinch, you may be able to use alternatives like Fish Mox or other fish antibiotics in place of prescription antibiotics that you might normally need.