Hey all,

For what it's worth, I made a trip to my DGI GP (now there's an acronym) to get a flu shot and ask for a broad-spectrum antibiotics prescription to see my family through the rollover.

I told him I was concerned, and promised not to use the drugs w/out consulting a doctor if indeed there was one available. He hit me w/ a big smirk and asked whether I was planning to hide out w/ my AK47 for y2k, and then said he thought my request was a reasonable one and wrote out the scrip.

So. Hope that's helpful to someone.

-- silver ion (ag3@interlog.com), October 25, 1999

Answers

Good for you for facing your DGI MD head on! Maybe I'll work up the nerve to do so as well. Just curious...what antibiotic at what strength and how many tablets did he write the prescrip for?

-- Jill D. (jdance@mindspring.com), October 25, 1999.

I tried that and he laughed me. SO, I've been hitting the vet sites looking for fish/dog meds and they can kiss my ass. I'm still looking out for #1.

-- nine (nine_fingers@hotmail.com), October 25, 1999.

Hey Nine:

Can you update us on the progress of the USPS? What are your thoughts on compliancy? Somw of us think that if USPS can't function, we're in a heap a trouble.

-- Vic (Rdrunner@internetwork.net), October 25, 1999.

Jill,

The prescription is for 20 Biaxin, 250 mg., w/food, 2x/day. So that's one full course of antiboitic for one adult. I may yet get some fish meds as a backup, and I am about to build a colloidal silver generator as *more* backup. Now, let's hope no one needs me to suture a wound w/ super glue...

Short of getting nuked, this has to be the worst part of y2k.

Nine,

You might want to try another MD. I asked a friend who's an emerg MD how to approach my own GP. His suggestion was, give him a 30-second preamble before you pop the Q, so he knows where you're coming from, and be direct. Maybe you just saw a bad doctor. I certainly know enough of those.

-- silver ion (ag3@interlog.com), October 25, 1999.

May I suggest that if you don't want to tell your doctor that the meds are for y2k, tell him you are going on an extended trip to a fairly remote area and want some meds just in case.. I would suggest a broad spectrum antibiotic, a potent pain killer, any other meds you take on a regular basis.

An ED Doc

-- kozak (kozak@formerusaf.guv), October 25, 1999.

What about those fish meds. I have heard conflicting reposrts, one claiming they are the same as the human form of the antibiotics and another claiming that imputitiews and additives in them make them dangerous for humans. Has anybody out there actually TAKEN thsse things or are we all hoping they're OK without any knowlege?

-- Steve A (albrecht@ndak.net), October 25, 1999.

I've got aquarium antibiotics from Drs. Foster & Smith (on the web somewhere), highly reputable folks. If there were impurities in the antibiotics, there would be an outcry by owners of dead aquarium tenants.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), October 26, 1999.

I got antibiotics from www.lambriervet.com -

I have a question that is related - What is the best painkiller that you can get without a prescription? Is there any at a vet site? I didn't see any. Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Etc. will not cover it if you are in bad pain. Any suggestions? Thanks

-- Sammie Davis (sammiex0@hotmail.com), October 26, 1999.

Ok both my husband and myself have taken fish penicillion with no ill effects.. got rid of the infections too. Hubby has taken other kinds too. He got them from the aquarium store.

I wouldn't recommend taking ANY pain killer type drug that was meant for animals tho. Hey if they were fit for humans beleive me the drug companies would have them by now.

-- Stacia (ClassyCwgl@aol.com), October 26, 1999.

Spoke to my doctor about 3 mos ago. He'd never heard of Y2K (!?). I filled him in for about 10 minutes, and promised to send him some info & links via email.

He wrote me a scrip for 250 Erythromycin and 100 Percocet ON THE SPOT. Sure is nice to find a reasonable doc...

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), October 26, 1999.

I had an abcessed tooth infection and my prescription was ampicillian 500mg 3X a day for 7 days. All the infection cleared up. I bought fish meds and I will certainly take them if nothing else is available. Don't buy them from a local pet store, you will pay 3 times the price than if you ordered from any site mentioned above. At least in my area they are very expensive to buy.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), October 27, 1999.

See Carol's post above. If your doctor DGI, try your dentist. They can prescribe both anti-biotics and pain killers. You may be able to talk him out of that stuff they numb your gums with before they give you a shot. Not as good as Novacain, but better than nothing if you have to sew up a cut.

-- sombody (tooth@man.com), October 27, 1999.

i wrote my doctor a letter a couple of weeks before my annual checkup, about my concerns, and i included a copy of dr bill schenker's mini-manual w/scrip recommendations. this is a doc who's excellent with q & a, but i had no idea whether he GI or not, so i was a little nervous going in. marked the envelope to him 'personal but not confidential' and mailed it to his office address.

after my physical, i brought up y2k and he thought some preps were a good idea. we talked about each scrip and he gave me his professional opinion about each. i ended up with a handful of scrips (some the same as schenker's, some different), each with a few refills, he knew i would refill each of them several times before rollover.

thought i'd mention a tactic that worked well for me.

-- Cowardly Lion (cl0001@hotmail.com), October 27, 1999.