I second the suggestion to talk to your doctor. Worst they could do is say no. Just don't be stupid about what you ask for (antibiotics is a lot different than a narcotic pain killers for example) and be straight up with them why you want them (remember, Docs have a lot of experience with people seeking controlled substances). Besides, preparedness isn't something we should be ashamed of.

My Doc actually seemed to perk up at my disclosure about disaster preparedness.

I recall a thread here a long time back where it was asserted that there are only a couple of meds out that when you really need, you really need (individual Rx meds aside) -- EPI pens and antibiotics.

This of course assumes you have an ongoing and good relationship with your doctor. If you don't have one, I'd suggest getting one. Think of it is another exercise in preparedness. :-)

-john

I'm not sure if you're aware of just how condescending you are being. I'm not a child. I'm well aware of the risks involved. But I'm also aware of the risks involved in doing nothing when you're stuck miles away from medical care with a serious illness.

O.k. sorry. Good luck with it!

I have a friend who used to work in the 'novel anti-bacterials' section of a Big Pharma company. This section was shut down because the company couldn't make any money selling curative drugs-you sell a few of them, the patient recovers,and doesn't buy any more of them. Emphasis was switched to anti-depressant drugs, creating a future where the physician says ' We cannot cure your illness, but we have some new drugs you can take so that the illness doesn't make you sad...'. They can sell anti-depressants, anti hypertensives, and cholesterol-reducing meds to the same patient for a long time. So methicillin resistant staph aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin resistant enteroccus (VRE) are becoming more common, and free-market economics doesn't do much to encourage research in this direction.

Intentional use by humans of vet drugs is common enough to be a research topic, and many of the vet drugs are made by the same companies on the same assembly lines as the meds labeled for human use.

We probably should not choose to stop talking about this stuff because readers might make bad decisions based upon the discussion. We spend lots of time discussing firearms and edged tools: bad decisions with either will generally be more harmful quicker than ill-advised attempts at self-medication.

RE Pet Antibiotics...

I always wonder why Vet amoxicillin is still bubblegum flavored. How about making it say, Tuna flavored? I'd bet my cats would fight less

"I always wonder why Vet amoxicillin is still bubblegum flavored. How about making it say, Tuna flavored? I'd bet my cats would fight less."

Why do you THINK it's bubblegum flavored? Yep, it's because it's a human product. Many/most of those animal meds are just relabeled human meds, probably produced in the same factory, just labeled differently. The rip-off pharmaceutical companies probably live in fear that people will figure that out.

Talking to your own doctor about antibiotics and such is a far better idea than guessing. He/She knows what would be a good broad-spectrum antibiotic for a wide range of problems. There are quite a few bacteria-specific ABs out there, and if you're using the wrong one, you're wasting what you've got. Just be prepared to pay for it out of your own pocket, as your insurance probably won't, and the same for regularly-used prescription drugs. I talked to my Mom's doctor about this, and she suggested that she write an extra prescription for each of her meds, we buy them without involving the insurance co. She would rotate her supply and always place an order for her renewal prescriptions at the usual time. This enabled her to have an extra 30-day supply of fresh meds.

And re: medicine expiration dates, here is an interesting article:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/460159

Sue

+1 on talking to your doctor.

Walmart has placed just about every antibiotic that you would ever need (other than azithromycin) on their $4 Prescription Program for a 30-day supply. Since most antibiotics are generally only prescribed for 7, 10, or 14 days, it's not like you're going to need more than that, so $4.00 sounds like a bargain.

If/when they expire, take them back to your doctor for proper disposal (never, ever flush medications down the toilet - especially antibiotics) and ask for a new script at that time.

Jim

To ask a second age old question "do you always answer rhetorical questions?"

People were saying that Vet meds were of lower quality/made with different fillers - wouldn't they then make them Tuna flavored

Silly guys. Bubble gum is cheaper than tuna. Hence, lower quality ingredients. Shesh. And you guys didn't figure that out.

-john

"Bubble gum is cheaper than tuna. Hence, lower quality ingredients."

NOT adding the bubblegum flavor would be even cheaper.

Sue