Bug out bag medication?

[AJB]

Hello, a question for other poor people who rely on daily medication!

I’m not a survivalist by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve started to put together a “Bug Out Bag”, just as a fun exercise. The thing that poses me the biggest problem is, how do I cope with the need for my essential daily meds?

It seems the person in my Dr’s surgery, that says whether you can have your prescription filled or not, actually pays for the medicine themselves, as they don’t seem you to be allowed to get more than about twenty minutes ahead of your medication consumption. So how would one build a surplus supply to have a stash ready to go in your bag?

Naturally, if “bugging out” from home you would take your normal supply with you, but if your kit’s in your car and you find yourself trying to get home or running from a remote location, what would you do. What’s the point in bugging out only to snuff it when you get there?

Any thoughts?

Andy

 

[brambles]

Since most medicines have a "use by date" and require cool dry storage, I'd hazard a guess that without an "illicit" ongoing supply of controlled medications, you don't build a surplus supply.

 

[AJB]

Naturally it would require some rigour in rotating stock, but most of my meds have a two to three year shelf life and I could easily cope with that.

 

[Wilderness Dobbie]

I guess it depends on what it is you take as to whether you could get a larger supply, but I work mostly abroad these days, and I just had a discussion with my GP, and as im not on anything like Morphine or the like, he just writes me out a two month prescription!! But as I say it depends on your drugs and gp.... Still with a little forethought it wouldnt be too hard to put your prescription in your bag and get it "accidently stolen", with no meds left your GP would be happy enough to give you a repeat or an emergency prescription a little sneaky perhaps but doable. Then once you have your meds just rotate it every few months with your normal prescrition. Sorted!
Hth.
Mat

 

[wingstoo]

Simples, you get your repeat in early, until you have one month ahead of yourself, and maybe "lose" a batch from your shopping basket or in the wash.

And your Drs surgery does pay towards them out of their annual budget IIRC.

A recent American military check came up with these...

http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updat ... 103a.shtml

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/rea ... s-kill-you

Showing that many drugs last many years past their apparent best before date...But then again the pharmaceutical companies would lose millions if everyone kept their medications past the "use by" dates...

 

[rik_uk3]

Since most medicines have a "use by date" and require cool dry storage, I'd hazard a guess that without an "illicit" ongoing supply of controlled medications, you don't build a surplus supply.

Perhaps you should do a little research on the shelf life of many many medications, over the counter and prescribed. US military research has shown the bulk of drugs being OK for ten years or more after the SBD. Some will loose strength but only by around 10%. There are some exceptions such as Insulin but unless you feel the end of the world is soon just build up stocks slowly.

You are right though about cool dry dark storage.

 

[AJB]

Hi Mat,

That's the conclusion I'd come to, too, I just don't really like the deceit .

 

[santaman2000]

Most of my scripts are for a 90 day supply (the Victoza is the only exception) I refill them all a bit early; perfectly legal here and my insurance actually prefers it that way (with the exception of one particular med that they limit) Therefore I always have a few weeks ahead just in case.

That said, I'm not on any of the narcotics classes of drugs, so I don't know if that would make a difference or not.

 

[Corso]

I would imagine it will take some research some seem a little iffy on the expiry date

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/08/health/throwing-away-expired-meds/

others loose their effectiveness quickly after manufacture


and I believe other still degrade and become toxic

 

[santaman2000]

I would imagine it will take some research some seem a little iffy on the expiry date

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/08/health/throwing-away-expired-meds/

others loose their effectiveness quickly after manufacture


and I believe other still degrade and become toxic

True. But the most common meds are usually good for at least 1 year. I'm not sure how much of an excess the OP wanted to stock, but I assumed it was only a few weeks or a month or so to get through an emergency.

 

[oldtimer]

This is a problem I share. Every year I travel for extended periods and like you I want to be prepared for all eventualities. I go to my GP and ask for a double issue of my medication every time I leave England. This was readily agreed to and I also put in an early request for a repeat prescription, eg a week before the due date every time when I am in England. I can thus build up a buffer of a month or two. I don't think this is deceitful as my GP knows what the problem is. I keep a month's reserve supply in my rucksack, a two-week supply in my possibles pouch and a two-day supply in my EDC as well as the supply for the current month. My daughter-out-law, who is a GP, tells me that that the shelf-life/temperature storage thing is more about long-term warehousing than carrying, but I rotate the medecines and carefully check use by dates.

 

[brambles]

Simples, you get your repeat in early, until you have one month ahead of yourself, and maybe "lose" a batch from your shopping basket or in the wash.

Perhaps not too clever to go advising someone to commit a crime on a public internet forum - a prescription is essentially a licence to possess a specific quantity of medication for use within a prescribed period. If you have excessive amounts and they are controlled drugs you could find yourself being charged with possession, and that's not starting on the fraud charges if you go down the "lost batch" route.

 

[wingstoo]

Perhaps not too clever to go advising someone to commit a crime on a public internet forum - a prescription is essentially a licence to possess a specific quantity of medication for use within a prescribed period. If you have excessive amounts and they are controlled drugs you could find yourself being charged with possession, and that's not starting on the fraud charges if you go down the "lost batch" route.

Lots of "Ifs" in there Brambles, if your life depended on you having a bit extra just in case I bet you would ignore it and prefer to be without...

Also check post 11, maybe old timer needs a ticking off as well...

 

[Wilderness Dobbie]

Every time you take a medication from your gp it comes with a licence to use, that is what the prescrition is if you have two prescriptions it figures that you have two licences, regardless, I very much doubt the crown prosecution would be interested in meds supplied by your own gp for your own personal use with a prescription even if you have more than the prescription quantity written down, a bit like knifes if you have a reasonable cause...... That said if you hoard a two year supply of a prescription drug like morphine then your clearly going to get into more hassle than if it was a say penicillin or the like. As I suggested the best bet is simply to explain it to your gp and they normally ok. Again Im not a lawyer or anything so this is my personal opinion and doesnt reflect anything other than that. But it really depends on what your medications are and how much you wish to keep.

 

[Corso]

Morphine's hardly a life saving daily medication...

 

[rik_uk3]

The decision to hoard or not to hoard medication is up to the individual; looks like this thread has run out of steam and needs closing down.

 

[bearbait]

Back in the early '90s I set off on a long trip (2.5 years) on a yacht with my then partner. We obviously wanted certain prescription-only medications for the FAK and so went to the doctor and explained. I'd also previously qualified with the Ship Captain's Medical Certificate (open to anyone then) to demonstrate some sort of integrity and professionalism. He wrote us a big prescription for everything we wanted and suggested we buy some sort of prescription season ticket, then around £30-40, which covered the much higher cost of the meds.

Maybe an approach similar to this to your GP may help? Probably need to consider carefully the scenario for which you require the meds before approaching the doc to ensure his/her understanding and consequent help.

 

[feralpig]

I have thought about this. I'm asthmatic, and use Ventolin and Becotide, or whatever the new name for it is.
I am actually asthmatic, which seems to seriously upset them in the surgery. They think I should be using a tiny fraction of the drugs I use, despite the fact that I am very fit and active, and my Asthma doesn't prevent me from doing anything, so long as I have the drugs.
Needless to say, they are not going to give me some spare meds.
Getting it from Asdas is simple enough, but I still needed to convince a GP why I wanted it. You can't just go in and buy half a dozen.

Every country I have been to, sells Ventolin straight over the counter, at very reasonable cost, so next time I pop abroad, I'll be bring some back for a BOB.

 

[wingstoo]

Ventoline is OTC these days I have been told, bit like GTN, the Becotide might be a problem though, My old dad is COPD and has been told to get spares in JIC.

 

[wingstoo]

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/asthma-inhalers-2x-7-instore-asda-1288260?page=8