Prescribed medicines

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This question if for anyone working in the medical insurance industry. How will people using medicines that literally keep them alive (insulin, coumadin, etc.) survive? In this State, an average of a 34-day supply is the maximum allowed in a prescription. Therefore, no one is allowed to "stock up." (The enormity of Y2K keeps growing, doesn't it!)

-- Holly Allen (Holly3325@juno.com), June 13, 1998

Answers

Prescription medications could indeed be a big problem because of Y2k chaos. But with a little thought and planning, someone dependent on a medication to sustain their life should be able to come up with a suitable work around.

First of all, talk to your doctor or physcian, and ask them if they are aware or have heard about the Y2k computer glitch. If they have ask them their opinion of it. If they haven't heard of it briefly explain what the problem is, and unless they start heading for the famous river in Egypt...denial, maybe they will keep an open mind. Most doctors are intelligent and curious; offer to give them some more info or direct them to web sites.

Once they seem to understand, tell them your fears, and that you would like to stock up on your meds, "just in case". If there response is good no prob...they may come up with a better plan than any layman could. If you do not get a good response you may have to find another doctor. This may be a difficult thing, but if you life depends on medication what else can you do?

Any ideas from the medical professionals who visit this site?

-- Frank Anderson, Jr. (Zanazaz@Earthlink.net), June 13, 1998.


Holly,

I have been working on this problem for some time, and this week I may have found a possible solution to the problem. I will caution you that you will need to check this site for yourself, and my advice is this -- if you decide to use it, try a small "test" order first. I am planning to do so immediately. My understanding is that you can order *most* prescription drugs from international pharmacies in quantities amounting to a three month personal supply without sending a prescription to the international pharmacy. There is no specific rule against ordering another 3 month supply again immediately [If you are trying to build up a personal supply for a long-term shortage, I think you would need to do so. You should get a professional to tell you how long and how best to store your medications)] Note that NO "controlled" drugs, i.e. narcotics, can be ordered, which would include some folks who need them for severe pain just to function-- they are out of luck as far as I can tell.. The drugs available are the same as those you buy locally as far as their manufacturing quality. The ordering site below has an alphabetical listing of each drug available, both prescription and non-prescription types, name brands and generics. They sell only in 3 month units. [ Also, if you are unsure of your medication's possible generic brand names you may try looking at the website www.rxlist.com -- a non-profit prescription information site I found, which includes a lot of information about each drug. It is not related to the ordering site.] The ordering site address is http://www.vic.com/bajamex1. I hope it works well, given the vast number of people who depend on these drugs for day-to-day living. Suffice it to say that it took a lot of personal research just to come up with this one possible source; I only hope it will be what we need, else I will start looking again. Finally, I probably should state the obvious: I am not a doctor, I don't even play one on TV. I am not a lawyer, God forbid. (Shakespeare was right about them, I think) My understanding on the subject is from my own research. You can call the appropriate government agency if you are worried about having a personal stockpile of Keflex or insulin or whatever without an adequate prescription.

Let me know if it helps, T.J.

-- T.J. Roberts (tj1234567@aol.com), June 13, 1998.


My husband is a diabetic and takes daily injections of insulin. You do not need a prescription for insulin and can buy as much as you would want to store. (A friend is a pharmacist and has told me that humelin insulin does not require refrigeration.) However, you do need a prescription for your syringes.

-- Carol Baum (jbaum@wwtelco.com), June 14, 1998.

May I suggest the natural approach. I am an independent distributor for Young Living Essential Oils. There is no prescription needed for God's Miracle Oils. Please see my site at httpj://www.organicessentialoils.com/members/clohmeyer Thank you Carol Lohmeyer

-- Carol Lohmeyer (pmsnot@doitnow.com), June 14, 1998.

I posted information about insulin a couple of months ago. I had been told by the pharmacist that the humalin insulin will stay good without refrigeration. I called Lilly pharmaceutical company and the pharmacist there said the insulin was good for four weeks without refrigeration, and after that it could no longer be used. If anyone knows more about this subject, I'd really appreciate hearing it. My husband is insulin dependant and will not survive without it. We're currently looking for a source of refrigeration as an alternative. Thanks for any input

-- Carol Baum (jbaum@wwtelco.com), September 06, 1998.


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