Sometime during that first year my mother traded her wedding ring for a months worth of HRT; she was an estrogen junkie.

Etiquette for an Apocalypse

Survival Guide Tip of the week:

Don’t get caught without your meds…

A few years ago Portland had a once in a century ice storm. One of my close friends lived in the hills. She, her husband and two teenager boys couldn’t leave the house for three days. Three days with two human animals who didn’t have access to their computers, Xbox or cellphones. And as if that weren’t bad enough, she ran out of her Wellbutrin. Hopelessness set in quickly. She didn’t kill anyone. She survived. But here is my Tip of the Week…

I’m trying hard not to use fear as a motivator. I try and go for a tone that emphasizes preparedness making your life better, more secure. But it’s hard to imagine a scenario where meds are hard to come by for a long period of time and not be frightened. Food and water seem easier to control than meds.

Recently I was told there was a shortage of a medication I was taking. I went online to find that the shortage wasn’t just my pharmacy, my city, my state, not even my country. The pharmacist told me this was happening more and more for reasons nobody knows (I suspect corporate profit fits in here). In my case I had my doctor put me on another med. It turns out the company making the med stopped making it without notice.

Generally you can refill prescriptions every three weeks. Do it. Keep extras of your critical meds for emergencies. If you can get to Canada or Mexico have your Doctor write a prescription for as many months as you can afford. Rotate them with your monthly refills.