Stocking up on Meds

[Midnitemo]

Until quite recently I was in a good position regarding my immediate family group....nobody had any medical conditions requiring long term medication(bit of mild asthma , hay fever , dermatitis , atheletes foot and pet hair allergy, that was about it) sadly that has changed now as a member of my family recently suffered a mild stroke(was originally classified as a TIA but later upgraded to stroke) she has made a good recovery and is fully functioning again now but just a little below par in terms of outright strength/endurance and short term memory , my problem is she will be required to take warfarin probably for life , the quantity dished out on prescription is not huge , no more than three month's worth at any one time at her normal/average dosage(4 mg) I have bought a stock of small size (11mg) enteric coated aspirin as a replacement for when the warfarin runs out(3 years worth) now I know aspirin doesn't do exactly the same job as warfarin but it is the nearest approximation...I plan to reduce her warfarin intake slightly to eke them out a bit longer , have looked at buying generic warfarin in bulk but am a bit concerned about the legalities as warfarin is a controlled drug and requires a prescription....anybody have any experience of importing generic medical use drug's for various application's ?

[Mortblanc]

After my heart attack I was placed on thinners for two years.

After that time they put me on a dosage of one aspirin daily. At 5 years they put me on 1/2 aspirin daily.

Warfarin is given to not only prevent clots, but to dissolve any that are present.

After about a year that use is ineffective because the clots are already gone.

The statistics show a 10% recurrence during the first two years when using Warfarin, dropping to 5% after that.

After those first two years aspirin was just as effective at the prevention roles as Warfarin .

Get he past the one year mark and aspirin should be sufficient if there have been no further incidents. After two years she will be much better off.

And be aware that aspirin has a shelf life.

I am not a doctor so do not take my word for this as medical advice.

[Midnitemo]

She developed DVT's at about the same time left groin which was the major one which then led to two further minor ones back of knee and calf left side(leg) the warfarin is in a clotbusting role and I did question the Reg about it's long term need and was told that warfarin is the prefered anti coagulant for long term prevention....there will be a follow up by a haematologist as there is no obvious cause/ reason for this condition...fit healthy active slim non smoker moderate drinker......have only 3 years of aspirin as that was the longest dates I could obtain.

[Skean Dhude]

Sorry to hear of your health issues. Glad it isn't as bad as you first thought.

Don't know about the shelf life for Warfarin but you should be able to increase your stock by carefully arranging when you apply for the next batch. I have 8 weeks worth of my tablet but reorder again at 6 weeks. You build up a stock that way.

I also have aspirin. Just over three years worth and every few months I buy more and cycle the older stuff out. Keeping my stock levels at just over three years.

[Straight Shooter]

Sorry to hear that Midnite....after my mild stroke....aspirin was prescribed for me ...one daily ..took them for ten years....a side effect of this was minor bleeding of the stomach lining....took me off them....and i am okay at the moment....but still incredibly good looking and stonking.

[bigpaul]

fine, someone has enough meds stocked for 3 years...what happens in year 4 when they cant get any more? not just meds but everything else as well.

[Midnitemo]

dependant on what the haematologist find's I'd hope to wean her off the anticoagulants and eventually go without as many people do , if we have survived the 3 to 5 years after an event on an ever decreasing dose of anticoagulants then I think the change from sedentary to physical and the change in diet should have made us leaner fitter and healthier...alchohol in moderation is another option for blood thinning so I may look at trying out a still(not considered this previously) and I'm looking at other option's in homeopathy.

[Mortblanc]

You might also look into the use of a willow bark tea to obtain the same effect as the aspirin.

That is one of the only herbal remedies I have any faith in.

The stomach irritation thing is a problem with some people, myself included, which is why they reduced the dosage to 1/2, then 1/4.

These long term health issues really do make one reevaluate the "survival plan", and bring realism into the picture.

And they only increase with age, which is one reason why the life expectancy of past times, which we would consider our SHTF situation, was so low. There were a few old people, but most did not make it past their 40s. In fact, most parents never lived long enough to see their children grown.

Probably one reason we have so much family conflict these days. We live long enough to have an extended family.

[MaryN]

Sorry to hear about your problems, and I hope that your family member is recovering. Sadly, there is no real way to forecast such illnesses, but a good plan to include exercise and a healthy diet should go some way to help keep your relative on the road to health. It has been suggested that the Western diet does cause problems, so perhaps doing a bit of research into an alternative diet might help. I have read that the Mediterranean diet can help with heart and vascular problems, and also with the diabetes that often seems to go alongside the risk of a stroke.

In any event, hope things work out for you.