Does anybody else pack multivitamins in their PSK? It is a must-have for me because of health reasons along with packing other necessary emergency meds. If so, how so, how many, and of what brand/type? I have to take real big horse-chokers and need suggestions on how to pack them in an SAS-size tin.

well being a young health person, i don't take multivitamins with me. Lack of vitamines is primairily a long term issue and not a reall short term survival issue, for healthy people.

I also think that they are to bulky for a small PSK-container.

Maybe they are a good addition for a BOB?

Just a few are already packed -- a few days worth individually in foil (sealed medicine pouches are too large). I am just looking for suggestions on a better way to seal and pack them

These may be bulky, but only two or three times the size of lead fishing shot sinkers already packed. You can get important vitamins and minerals from deer blood and the like for the long term if you have good health, but like I said --- I need them....I get weaker faster without them due to medicine side-effects.

2oz Nalgenes work pretty well for a number of small items like vitamins.

I'm not sure if you want them in a container or packed, or what, but Doug Ritter shows in his own kit that he takes 6 rather large looking antibiotic pills from his doc and lines them up in a row and vacuum seals them into a nice looking little package.

There are some decent pill tubes which are waterproof on the market, I've seen some guys here use some of that new Saran wrap that's "sticky", etc. Maybe you could elaborate on what you are looking for?

Thanks massacre, I'll look at Doug Ritter's kit. That sounds like what I'm looking for. The vials would be too large, and I've been through all of the Saran Wrap routine and found it unsatisfactory for me. I use two small vials for emergency meds in my kit as well as keeping 2 days worth in a pill box on me. The meds are essential for me to actually be "equipped to survive," I will die eventually without them.

Kept handy to throw in my BOB, I keep a couple of weeks' worth of meds in a belt pouch that has six large plastic vials --- it is actually a storage pouch to keep shotgun choke tubes in:

http://www.exploreproducts.com/allen-choketubecarrier.htm

No problem. Here is the link. If you click on the kit picture (light blue background) you can see the vacuum seal plastic on the pills.

To be perfectly honest with you, I would in your shoes make bloody certain that I never got into a situation where I will run out of pill's before being rescued. Right, having said that, and accepting that the Fate's will try and Darwin you. I suggest that you find a container that will go on a dogtag chain around your neck. Just big enough for a couple of day's medication. Put the rest in a separate tin. Put the tin in a pouch on your belt. (picked that idea up off a college who's diabetic). I think being in a situation with someone who is medically vunerable is one of my major worries.

I had a couple of questions about this, so maybe I should chime in. 1) Do you carry anything on your person that identifies the fact that you require meds and multi-vitamin? 2) do you need a full multi or only a few specific vitamins? You might be able to get a smaller pill that satisfies your needs if it doesn't have a bunch of compounds you don't need. I'm assuming these were prescribed by a doctor since some vitamins are contraindicated with various meds. At the very least I would run what you are taking by your pharmacist for any interaction troubles.

I have everything worked out with balancing the meds -- I actually have one of the USA's top seizure-researchers as my doctor (have epilepsy). I carry warnings on my keychain, listing of meds and vitamins in wallet, even warning and meds on sticker on back of driver's license (Yes, I can legally drive now).I list medical requirements in my PSK too. I like Leigh's idea about a capsule/container on a dog-tag chain, I presently carry two day's worth in a pill box in my left front pocket, and that I don't like. I am also orderiing "red dog tags" with medical info on them from U.S. Calvary. Whenever I venture out off the pavement, I do carry two weeks worth of meds in the choke tube pouch.

As for worrying people about my vulnerabilities, I stay prepared so I don't. If in the eventuality I run out of meds in a situation, I guess they can put me down like a lame horse to ease their worries.. I have even looked into emergency beacons which are too expensive, but I'm never out of cell phone range anyhow and others are informed beforehand of where I am when out trapsing around in the Tennessee backwoods. I actually wear a custom-made crash helmet ($400) sometimes, but I haven't had a major episode in 4 1/2 years.

But bear in mind I have an open mind and am always open to more suggestions on how better to be prepared given my condition.
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I take it that you never go walkabout alone? I ask because a dear friend, who was also an epilepsy sufferer, died needlessly because she was alone. She had a fit and died of suffocation. Hence my concern.

I was restricted for years until the right meds came along. What did Clint Eastwood say in Magnum Force? "A man has got to know his limitations." I fortunately do. I can venture alone, and I work doing hard manual labor everyday even though I have a B.S. degree in Basic and Applied Sciences. Therefore, you could actually refer to it as as a B.S. in B.S. with no foul-mouth insinuations intended.

Interesting. I know a fellow who has recently had an electrode sewn up inside his chest with a wire that leads to his brain to help with the siezures. Still has them, I think. He's in Karate with me, so I know that a full life can be lived, but his family is always with him... Glad to hear you can get out and about and more importantly that you are thinking of survival should anything happen to you.

Good luck to your friend, massacre. Sounds like a Vagus nerve stimulator implanted. Wire wrapped around nerve in neck with implant coming from chest. Only works on roughly 50% of persons with epilepsy, then when they have a simple partial or such, they pass a magnet over it and it works about 30% of the time. Many have to have it removed, but meds worked for me in the first place instead of getting the implant.

Thanks for everyone's concerns, suggestions, and I am very grateful to you and glad to answer any more questions.

I'm happy to reply to anyone with a sig like that... <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Simon,
Understand your problem with Med's. Not as bad myself, but serious problem here. Severe Nerve damage to neck and lower back. Two days without med's and I start to go into Withdrawal's!
If anyone else here takes legal narcorics, and has been doing it for a while, will know, 2-3 days and you start to feel it! Look's like I REALLY do need to speak to the local VA Director!

Krell

There are a few transdermal patches out there for vitamins. It's restricted to water solubles, and you have all the wonderful concerns with DSMO (like don't go swimming in gasoline, don't let rattlers spit on you, all that weird stuff), but if they give you the dosage you need they might work for you. I can't image they are temp sensative or bulky.

http://www.supersavermeds.com/vitamins/patchinfo.html

If it's C or B-complex you need with your meds, these might do the trick.

If not, you can get short, plastic test tubes with locking caps that are about the same size a shotshell. I'm not sure if there are Rx vials out there that are the same size, but there are latching test tubes out there this size for things like cryogenics. (Your doc might have a source for them via labs.) If not, ranger bands along the lenth of the tube and over the cap. Label everything properly, slide it into a shotshell holder, and you can have up to 12 tubes in the old-style ALICE carrier. Or go Pancho Villa style with bandolers. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> (and I really hope that was really a joke on my part- if not, I'm sorry)

I tried the Duragesic derm for a while. I finally gave up on it because I could never get it to stay on. I even tried glueing it on with spirit gum. This stuff is supposed to be used for theatrical attachments. That worked better, but still not good enough. Even when on, it tended to bulge up in the middle, causing the membrane to partially lift, impairing the transfer of the med to the skin. I would like to try Mastisol (skin adhesive), but it is expensive.

Pill fobs are probably too small to store many of those. Small ziploc bags might work if you rotate the pills instead of storing them for years at a time.

I use these pill pouches from Walgreens for my PSK meds. They're more like a tiny Ziploc Freezer bag than the usual flimsy small ziploc bags.

I use the tiny zip lock type pill pouches, have been for years. After repeatedly trying, I find the smallest of these hard to pack with the pills in them into my PSK. They just end up taking up room and vacuum packing like Doug's kit looks more efficient. Another problem is, my most important emergency med. gets crushed in these when I store them in kits and bags, etc.

Thanks to you though, that gives me an idea. I'll ask my pharmacist if he can get my meds in blisters. I store antihistamines and immodium in blisters by trimming them down to just the size around the capsule and they don't get crushed. I keep instructions taped on the inside lid of my PSK to tell the uninformed which pill is which and what it is for.