Backup Prescription Meds

I have found a way to build a backup supply of prescription meds. My insurance will allow refills up to 7 days in advance before the last prescription runs out. I don't know if all insurance plans allow this.

You have to be meticulous about refilling all your meds right on the 7th day previous (i.e. refills every 3 weeks). After doing this four times, you will have a one month backup supply which seems like a reasonable amount.

This can be very tedious if you have a number of meds all due for refills on different dates. And after you build up your backup supply, you cannot get lax about when you get new refills or you will end up eating into your backup supply. So, it is a constant effort, however, I think it is worth it even if you only end up with a week or two's backup when a disaster hits.

I keep my 5 bottle backup supply in a Ziplock ready to go. Do remember to rotate out bottles from your backup with any new prescriptions you get.

Also check to see if it's on your pharmacies generic plan. Sam's Clubs have a serious price break for some generics even without insurance. 30 day/90 day refills are $4/$10 IIRC. If your medicine is on the list, pay it yourself for one refill then you can refill it much earlier. I refilled my last one 30 days ahead of time to start the cycle.

My backup people meds are in bottles,mylar vacuum packed with O2 absorbers in a cool place.

The dog and fish meds,some are stored that way,have more I need to package next time doing mylar packing.IN unopened bottles.

Only reasonable price for zithromax was an Indian pharmacy,they seemed to work but who knows? Anyone have a good source for zithromax,maybe vet source like the antibiotics?

Dont want a political argument on vaccines but Im adding pneumonia and shingles vaccs to next MD visit.

I was able to buy my meds,generics, a time back using my AAA card with their discount at Walgrens and it was cheaper than using our insurance with a co pay on those generics.

re: shingles vaccine... as spuds mentioned, if you had chickenpox as a kid, get the shingles vaccine as early as you can... a friend (older gentleman)had a severe case of multi year duration...he had to have a drain implanted to reduce the swelling of his brain....vaccine was $200 at my MD, but was later reimbursed by my insurance...on the pneumonia vaccine...down here the death sequence for us old guys...break hip, enter nursing home, six weeks later contract pneumonia from someone's snotty nosed grandkid, die....

Bud of mine in his 60's got shingles,I mentioned vacc,he said DO IT DO IT DO IT.

200 sounds pricey to me,and money well spent too. Thanks for pricing info.

I turn 60 next year, just got my shingles vaccine yesterday. Checked with Insurance and they covered it. Have had family and acquaintances get shingles. Nasty, horrible and painful. You don't want to get shingles!!!!! Get the vaccine. Many insurance carriers will cover one you get to 55 or within 6 months of 60.

Get the Shingles vaccine! No kidding. My grandfather was living with us when I was a kid. I think I was 9 or 10 when he got it. It made such a lasting impression that when the Doc said it was time for me to consider it, I said YES! Right away!

How bad is it when it made such an impression on me that I clearly remembered it 50+ years later?

Like the TV says, if you had chicken pox, the shingles virus is alteady inside you and just waiting. . .

Even if insurance does not cover it, it is worth the out of pocket expense.

With my insurance, I have a three-day advance. Moreover, one of my medications is a narcotic. I can’t get it earlier by paying out-of-pocket. In a best-case scenario, I can build up a thirty-one-day supply in one year. Fortunately all my medications are due the same day, making it easy.

Other issues:

Sometimes one medication is changed and I go to square-one to build a reserve supply.

After stocking medications for a year, I have a two-month supply at best if there is a sudden supply chain disruption.

Jeanette Isabelle

Thanks for bumping this thread JeanetteIsabelle. One of the great preps that I've learned here was to refill prescriptions as early as my insurance company will allow so that I can have backups in my kits.

New readers this thread is great advice to ensure you and your loved ones always have prescription meds on hand in an emergency.

Update: Working with my mom [she has done some things without my knowledge, in areas I actually know something], we are prepared in perhaps almost every critical area. The critical area I'm short in is prescription medications. The fiascos associated with finding and keeping a psychiatrist in a small town has eaten up my reserves. The good news is I am in the process of getting off of Clonazepam, a controlled medication for treating anxiety. I'm glad I am doing this now, gradually and slowly. I was taking 2 MG a day. If I am having the trouble I am now going from 1.25 MG a day to 1 MG a day, I would hate to see the hell I would go through if I suddenly went from 2 MG to zero in one day.

Jeanette Isabelle

Are they scripts that you can get a three month supply of?

I realize, depending on cost, and type of meds that may not be possible.

I'm on five diabetic meds and with the insurance we just switched from, there was no copay after out of pocket was met, and since there were no controlled meds, it was easy for me to do.

A lot less work than what you're doing, but congrats on getting it done!

Even Mirtazapine, a non-controlled psychiatric medication, has always been a one-month supply. Whereas the last time a primary care doctor prescribed an inhaler, he gave me three. I don't need three. I only need one . . . which I always have on me . . . just in case.

Jeanette Isabelle

+1 per Doug & others as to getting the shingles vaccine in you late 50s - early 60s. Same with pneumonia as per Les' post. After you get one pneumonia shot, get the Previnar shot, as soon as a Doc allows. It broadens the range of pneumonia prevention. Don't forget to get a DPT booster, albeit they call it something else now. Same re flu vaccine , but I recently read that seniors may want to wait until Oct.-Nov. to get the flu shot to insure best immunity during the worst of the flu season. Check with a doctor on this issue. If you travel or like raw seafood, get the Type A & B hepatitis vaccine, as well.

I learned the Hep vaccine lesson the hard way, from a bad raw clam. Almost did me in as result of getting a secondary bacterial infection from being compromised by the Type A Hep infection. Can you say 106.5 fever spikes for ~10 days, a 25lb. weight loss I didn't need and a reduced work schedule for about 6 weeks, because I was "shot" by 2:30pm.

Lastly, if you have kids, who might become sexually active ( yes, entertain the possibility from about age 10), make sure they get the HPV vaccine. Prevention is not an invitation to promiscuity no matter what some zealot may tell you. Same re safe sex education.

Edit/Addition: I think that if I lived in a flood prone area, especially if it's a warm climate, I'd talk to my Doc about getting the Typhus & Typhoid vaccinations.

Make reminder notes on your phone's calendar app - helps

Update: During the last visit, my doctor gave me 90 tablets of Lorazepam, that will last me a year and a half (on average I need a rescue pill once a week), and 180 1 MG tablets of Clonazepam. I need 0.5 MG of Clonazepam. Therefore the bottle of 180 will last me a year. Having this reserve is good because I'm anticipating trouble later this year.

My other doctor is still prescribing Mirtazapine at 30 tablets a month. Therefore I am likely to run out in two months at best if the trouble hits. The good news from the second doctor is, according to him, my issue of being in a car is claustrophobia, not anxiety. He gave me medication for claustrophobia. Let's see how that works.

Jeanette Isabelle

JI... check with your doctor and pharmacist... I believe the State of Florida allows a double prescription fill during hurricane season

First, my doctor gives me a year's supply of Clonazepam and a year and a half's supply Lorazepam. Today, somehow, the pharmacy gives my mom an additional four-month supply of a medication she takes.

I don't know what you believe; it's like YHWH is helping us to prepare.

Edit: The pharmacy didn't provide my mom additional medication, they mislabeled the bottles. My mom was given three bottles. One was labeled thirty tablets. Each of the other two bottles was labeled ninety tablets. However, every bottle had only thirty tablets.

Jeanette Isabelle

"Sounds like a plan, Stan". I only have 2 meds and missing them is hardly life threatening. I take them to avoid the uric acid crystals building up in my feet and knees. The prescription is only enough for 1 month so if I refill a little early I could possibly build up a backup supply in case of unexpected interruption. Thanks for the tip.