i'm looking for links to lists of med-stuffs to have on hand, esp prescripton painkillers, anti-biotics, etc. my annual physical is coming up in about six weeks, & any info i can garner before talking to the doc would help.

thanx!

btw, i'm going to propose to him that i'll hang onto all of it and give it back to him (or at least bring it in for his inspection) if it's possible 12 months from now.

-- Cowardly Lion (cl0001@hotmail.com), April 12, 1999

Answers

You might just say that you are sailing with friends from LA to Honolulu, and back, and need all sorts of things that might come in handy. (That way you can skip the shots). Or you can say that you are travelling out of the US and need a pack of stuff in case you get sick while you are gone, then they will want to know where you are going to give you the right shots, you could skip those by saying you are getting those at the Public Health Dept (which is what I do when I travel - much cheaper, they give those shots all the time, and the vaccines are fresh). Good luck on the painkillers, he may not write some unless you are suffering pain now. You can always go to canada and get some 222's if you want. (Aspirin + Codeine) It's ok to bring a couple bottles back for yourself. (I declare it when I come back and it's ok). PS. Why would you want to give those meds all back to him in a year? It's not like he would want them, or want to give you your money back.....

-- happy wanderer (nobody@nowhere.com), April 12, 1999.

Here ya go, Cowardly Lion, thanks to another poster a ways back:

http://www.y2kchaos.com/s35p110.htm

An MD Looks At Post Y2K Medicine

xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), April 12, 1999.

i can't lie to him about reasons: he treats half of my extended family (it's a small town), and if it got back to him i *wasn't* going on a trip my credibility would be dead (and rightly should be). my plan is to present him with the fact that i expect a significant possibility of disruptions in medical supply lines starting in dec 99. if all goes well (hardly a blip over rollover) i don't plan on self-medicating.

what i'm looking for is a list of meds and probable dosages so that i can discuss it intelligently with him, as opposed to going in and asking him 'hey doc, what do i need?' without a clue.

i'm only going to offer to bring them in if i don't need them to show i can be responsible with controlled substances (that i don't currently need). believe me, this doc will take all the convincing i can muster.

p.s. if i find out he's y2k aware (a GI), he'd be the kind to help outfit a complete kit. i just don't think (given the reaction i usually get when i bring this up) the chances are all that good.

-- Cowardly Lion (cl0001@hotmail.com), April 12, 1999.

He is not going to want to precribe the narcotics, but the antibiotics shouldn't be a problem. I would suggest having two weeks worth of two unrelated antibiotics. A couple suggestions would be Cipro (ciprofloxacin) and E-333 (a timed release form of erythromycin). I would ask for Cipro, 500 milligrams each, a total of 28 pills. Its taken every 12 hours. The E-333 (333 milligrams) is taken 3 times a day so you need 42 pills. Two other choices would be Bactrim (a combination sulfa drug often given for urinary infections and is a good second choice drug for pneumonias) and Augmentin (a souped up ampicillin). The Bactrim is twice/day, the Augmentin is 3 times day.

Usual disclaimers here of be wary of allergys, other drug interactions, pre-existing health problems. Just as an aside, many antibiotics can inactivate birth control pills so be careful who you give it to! Do discuss your reasons in detail with your doctor.

-- RD. ->H (drherr@erols.com), April 12, 1999.

Cowardly This might be something that you would wish to give to your Doctor. While this is an insulin producer (worlds largest) I am sure it gives an indication of what the Medication supply risks could be.

http://www.novo.dk/ enzymes/test/y2k/y2k.htm

 & nbsp;          & nbsp;          & nbsp;       Novo Nordisk Year 2000 statement

State of Readiness

Software and/or hardware failures due to processing errors arising from using the Year 2000 date are a known risk. A Year 2000 Project in Novo Nordisk was initiated in August 1996 when an overall Year 2000 Co-ordinator was appointed with the responsibility to drive, co-ordinate and report on the progress of each line of business in the Company in resolving any Year 2000 problems. The Company has identified three main areas of Year 2000 risk:

1. Internal information technology ("IT") systems, e.g., for financial, logistics, administration, and other systems;
2. Internal non-information technology ("non-IT") systems, e.g., embedded chips for computer-controlled devices for laboratory equipment, automated production systems, facility systems, such as door locks, alarms, power supplies, etc;
3. IT and non-IT systems of third parties including without limitation, financial institutions, raw material suppliers, clinical research organizations, transportation carriers, water and energy suppliers, other vendors, telecommunications service providers, and customers ("Material Third Parties").

All three of the above areas are susceptible to the Year 2000 risk and could be disrupted and/or fail, causing an interruption or decrease in the Company's ability to continue its operations.

An assessment of all potential problems in all internal IT and non-IT systems is in the progress of being completed. The results of this assessment to date show that approximately half of the Company's potential problem areas are now Year 2000 ready. The potential problems with the remaining IT and non-IT systems have been analyzed, and remediation and final testing of the remaining systems are expected to be completed by the end of third quarter 1999. When possible, tests will include integrated operation of systems and equipment using dates set before and after the year 2000.

The Company has identified its critical Material Third Parties and shall initiate formal communication with these parties to determine their Year 2000 status and any probable impact on Novo Nordisk. In this process, Novo Nordisk, will track and continually evaluate long-term relationships with Material Third Parties based on the responses received and on information learned from other sources.

Costs to Address Year 2000 Issues

Costs incurred by the Company to modify or replace non-compliant systems have not been material to date. Based on current assessment the Company does not foresee the re- mediation costs to be material. The main contributions to such costs have been the acceleration of system migrations and application projects.

Risks of Year 2000 Issues

Based on information known to date, the most reasonably likely worst case year 2000 scenario is as follows: (i) Disruption of non-IT production systems, (ii) Interruption in the delivery of supplies and services from sole source vendors to the Company.

At this point in time, the Company does not have contingency plans to address a Year 2000 disruption, but intends to develop such contingency plans as its evaluation progresses regarding its IT and non-IT Year 2000 plans and as it obtains information regarding the readiness of its Material Third Parties.

While the Company believes its planning efforts are adequate to address its internal Year 2000 concerns, there can be no assurance that the IT and non-IT systems of internal and Material Third Parties, on which the Company's systems and operations rely, will be Year 2000 ready or converted on a timely basis. If a significant number of internal or Material Third Parties experience failures in their computer systems or operations due to Year 2000 non-compliance, such events could materially adversely affect the business and revenues of the Company.

-- Brian (imager@ampsc.com), April 12, 1999.