System Crash & End Times, What Happens If Prescription Medications Run Dry?

I was just thinking, I take paxil for anxiety... I notice that when I forget to take my pills I suffer from some strange withdrawal symptoms... I get a throbbing sensation in my head, extreme anxiety and feel faint, sometimes my moods go from fine to really pissed for no reason.. I find it really hard to function... Then I realize, oh I need to take my pills...

Aside from forgetting to take my pills I've had the pharmacy foul up the same RX, paxil, and didn't get it for 2 weeks at one time... I thought I was going to die... It sucked really bad and all the symptoms I mentioned above times 20 is about how I felt... Like I wanted to rip my hair out...

What happens when the end of the world scenario starts to play out and the system crashes and people can't get the pills they need? Are we going to have billions of crazy people running around...? Because I know for a fact I'd go nuts if I just stopped taking my pills cold turkey at least for a couple weeks at least... I'm not sure how long it takes to get back to normal when you're on this type of medication, but it takes a long time... Longer than anyone would want to have to deal with that's for sure... I've also heard some other horror stories about people going off their pills cold turkey and losing it in one form or another...

I mean it's not too far fetched to see something like this happening... If the system crashes and pharmacies stop making pills we're basically screwgied...
I'm sure there are those who can relate with me when it comes to RX pills....

reply to post by ElectricUncleSam


That is an interesting question. If / When the end times come, I think you will have a lot more to be anxious about than your meds. It will be crappy times for everyone, but especially crappy for those people that are dependant on meds.

With this in mind, have you considered talking to your doctor about wanting to stop your dependence on the meds? I was on Paxil, then Lexapro for depression. I just stopped without my doctors consent. All I noticed was my temper flared up more than usual, but I no longer feel like a zombie. I also hate feeling dependant on medicine on a daily basis. I currently have zero prescriptions.

I do not reccomend quitting cold turkey like I did. Not that it was particularly rough for me, I just know that it is not as easy for everyone.

reply to post by Karlhungis


Ya I have considered it.. But Paxil really helps me control my temper... I don't feel like a zombie really, but when I'm off them, like I mentioned before I get a throbbing sensation which is hard to describe... If I didn't have that problem it would be a lot easier... But unfortunately it seems the throbbing feeling just gets worse and worse... I will be in to see my doctor next month I think and will ask him if there is something else maybe... It's funny, everyone I tell this to always says I need to quit them... But there are benefits to taking them as well.. So it's a hard call...

But yes it does affect everyone differently I suppose... I heard of one guy who cried for 4 days and went into an extreme depression when he went off cold turkey... Maybe this is part of the big plan? Crash the system, let everyone on meds crash with it then scoop them up.. who knows, but it would definitely suck... I'm sure I'd be able to handle it, like you said there will be a lot more to be anxious about if/when the end times come... Just have to suck it up for a while I suppose... Just imagine how panic stricken the world would be if one day there were no more medications... It would definitely be a rude awakening...

reply to post by ElectricUncleSam


You should look into natural means of controlling your situation. Make sure you express that to your doctor, although I don't think that doctors today are any help when it comes to natural solutions.

You may want to look into meditation as a means of controlling your temper. If you get in touch with yourself, it should help. Therapy could help as well.

You're um.... you're um.... well...

Uh.....

You're kind of... a little bit...


SCREWED.


Stock up if it's life & death, or learn to live without.

how about if you don't need them to live, don't take them. I have a herniated disk. It hurts like hell. But i don't take pain meds because i sacrifice my comfort to have a clear head and not be dependent on a drug.

When you pop a pill it takes it about 1/2 hour for it to kick in.

What makes you think you will have the time to reach for the bottle?

But really, i have thought the same thing myself. I guess we just go crazy and start doin a lot of praying. I think i could coax my pharmacist into giving me something to tide me over since i worked with him for years,
Or i would just grab him by the neck, and he'd comply.

You do know in cases of extreme emergency some rules will be bent- I dont care who you are.

Good luck.

Personally, I think that a likelier scenario is that people are not in a position to afford the medication. Maybe a black market will start.

The poster who mentioned being able to heal problems organically is correct. Big Pharma are not good for your health.

Originally posted by ianr5741

You're um.... you're um.... well...

Uh.....

You're kind of... a little bit...


SCREWED.


Stock up if it's life & death, or learn to live without.

You can't stock up on RX meds any more than 3 months at a time and most of the time they only give you 1 month at a time... If I could stock up I would just so I could ween myself off of them in case something like this happened... I'm checking into some other remedies currently... Think I might have found one... Don't know yet...

Originally posted by JPhish
how about if you don't need them to live, don't take them. I have a herniated disk. It hurts like hell. But i don't take pain meds because i sacrifice my comfort to have a clear head and not be dependent on a drug.

I understand that, but this post isn't about me... It's about everyone on RX drugs... And what would happen to all the billions of people who are on them if they one day were just gone... Like one mentioned it could be that nobody can afford them, which would be just as bad, but ultimately what would become of all these people if nobody had any access to their med's... ?

reply to post by ElectricUncleSam


im sorry, i hope i didn't offend you . . . i've just known a lot of people addicted to drugs and it emotionally ripped me apart to see them like that.

for people who really can't survive without their medications, or those whom would go through horrible withdrawals (psychological and physical) from having them taken away abruptly . . . im going to guess that things would get ugly real fast. It's actually horrifying to think about.

I doubt any government or the UN would be able to do anything about it.

It's nasty if taking them and going off, even for a short time!

Just don't outsource them to China, next thing you know they'll be loaded up with Led or Antifreeze.

I've been on Cymbalta since my Grandma died 7 months ago. It stopped working completely after 4 months so there is on point in continuing with that. I went into deep high-grade depression before when Carl Segan died (this for some reason was a major stressor) and got better going into a low-grade mode for the last 11 years and now a deep depression again since she passed.

The medicine did work for 4 months and then stopped so am waning myself off. Just one day off and had the worst nightmare ever had. Take one the next day and no bad dream but still feel low.

I want to feel better naturally if possible ..would be nice for a change lol.

I get all sorts of meds from my Dr,if I were to take all that were prescribed to me I'd be popping a pill every hour,so consequently,I have about 60 bottles of each that contain 90 pills,so guess if things go bad I could be a curbside pharmacist ,only bummer they have expiration dates on them

This is something I've thought about a few times since I have a daughter that's dependant on medications to help control seizure (damn brain surgery wasn't 100%).

I've imagined a few different scenarios where we could have problems without access to medication. It's frightening.

Just drink a glass of water. It'll have most of the drugs in it.

Anyone here watch science fiction? I remember when Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was aired. In the later seasons, we got to see a race of warriors, genetically bred for the sole purpose of fighting the enemy of the Founders. They were called the J'em Hadar.

There was this drug, called 'White' that was used to keep them under control. If they didn't get their White daily, they would die in pain from the withdrawals. And since only the Founders had the White, and only the Founders knew how to make White, the J'em Hadar were powerless against their keepers.

"Welcome to the DS9 station. Major Kira will show you to your quarters."

TheRedneck

If prescription medicines become unavailable, then people will just have to do the same thing they do now if they don't have health insurance. They tough it out, or cobble together a lot of questionable herbal treatments and hope for the best.

As for Paxil, I personally think a combination of gin and tonic water (with a squish of lime) works just about as good, and is a lot cheaper if you don't have insurance.

If all pharmaceuticals became unavailable immediately without there being other social factors other than what might have caused the interruption of the supply chain, there are still going to be a lot of things to worry about, at least initially.

A lot of people are going to die quickly or slowly depending on the nature of their disorders--asthma, diabetes, organ transplants, heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's, pulmonary hypertension, etc.

Those who have chronic pain are going to be doing a lot of hurting, experiencing narcotic withdrawal, and looking for whatever other palliatives might be available in nature.

Those who take anti-depressants and anxiolytics are going to react somewhat differently depending on several factors.

Those on the anti-depressants will fall into two categories roughly. One will be those who are chronically clinically-depressed and those who have been prescribed an anti-depressant because they have experienced some situational problem and have never stopped taking the drug, because the MD just keeps renewing the prescription because the patient feels that he still needs it.

Both categories will experience an unpleasant adjustment period. Those who are chronically depressed will return to their depression, some will experience psychotic symptoms, and some will commit suicide or commit violence against others.

Those who are not chronically depressed, after they have physically and emotionally recovered, will find that life is no less difficult or that their situation is just as lousy as it was before, but they will cope, experiencing periodic sadness or perhaps mild depression, or even go on as if nothing ever happened.

Many will self-medicate to one extent or another and will experience all manner of problems as a result.

Those who take anxiolytics will have a harder time, because they will experience genuine withdrawal. After that, there will be those who did not suffer from a chronic disorder who will do pretty well and maybe even better when they were taking the drugs. Others will return to the chronic symptoms that they once had and will more than likely self-medicate, as well.

Those with with bipolar disorders will cycle through mania and depression as they once did and there will be all the problems associated with that--crime-sprees, binge drinking, binge buying, sexual promiscuity, unwise business ventures, fraud, etc.

Those with chronic psychotic disorders will once again become psychotic and there will be even more homeless psychotics than before, because the current laws regarding involuntary commitment will not change overnight and there won't be adequate treatment facilities, anyway.

I think that the biggest change will be that there won't be a lot of griping about Big Pharma.

Otherwise, I think that the vast majority of those who take anti-depressants will get by pretty well, as I believe that anti-depressants are over-prescribed and the literature shows that in the majority of cases depression abates after four to six weeks, whether one is treated or not.

www.mayoclinic.com...

www.mentalhealth.com...

www.medscape.com...

web4health.info...

www.medicinenet.com...

www.helpguide.org...


[edit on 2008/4/22 by GradyPhilpott]

I can suggest buying a GOOD book on herbs (written by someone known and respectable) with pictures of those plants. Then making a "survey" in your area to spot wwhich herbs are growing in your area and remembering their place. Drugs are usually much more effective so as long as nothing happens i would definitely not suggest giving up on current medications, especially with dependence issues. But if pharmaceutical industry will totally collapse some problems could be treated to some extent.
From my own experience on book/survey:
Pictures in the book should be clear and big. I bought book with tiny pictures and only identified a couple of plants.
Data on plants must contain what parts are to be used, when they bloom, and descriptions of extraction methods.
If there is forest/large unsettled wild area - it is better to go for 24 hours. In the spot i camped on (with sunlight) i spotted plants in the morning that i did not see in the noon.
Most important - do not take pictures of wild life - your battery may get too low, and when you (slowly- to not scare the bird) change batteries you can destroy your memory card, with all the photos of unidentified plants. Two days of work......

Originally posted by Nohup
If prescription medicines become unavailable, then people will just have to do the same thing they do now if they don't have health insurance. They tough it out, or cobble together a lot of questionable herbal treatments and hope for the best.

As for Paxil, I personally think a combination of gin and tonic water (with a squish of lime) works just about as good, and is a lot cheaper if you don't have insurance.

I would, but gin isn't my drink... If I want to chill out I'd probably take me a shot of Jose... For some reason it really chills me out... Drink too much and I get sick, though, that's why I don't drink more or less... Haven't had a drink since my buddy took back off to Jersey... I had like 1 beer... lol... I get sick off it if I drink too many, it's strange... I also get a loud mouth...

Also to address a few of the other posts... There are more people dependent and require pills like with seizures... My problem is minute to what some others would go through... Might even die without them... The system does not allow for "stocking up" which to me is a crime in itself... If someone wanted to buy a years or 10 years worth it should be allowed... Especially if someone is going to absolutely need a pill the rest of their lives... Why can't they purchase a life time of pills? I'm sure the pharmaceutical companies could make enough to oblige those who need them... I'm also sure they could figure out a way to make the pills last as well... Seal them in a vacuum sealed pouch... Not too difficult..