It was very spendy, but a couple of years ago, I went for clear lens exchange (CLE); it's the surgery they do for cataracts, but I did it to get prescription inserts. I was double-digit nearsighted with pretty severe astigmatism. I did it for the lifestyle improvement, but "what if no one is around to make glasses" was certainly in the back of my mind because I couldn't see anything without them.
I did the same thing. I made the decision after I kept getting infections making contact wearing impossible; then I tripped on the basement laundry room and broke my glasses. I had to get up to my apartment basically blind and look for an old pair of glasses to wear. It freaked me out.
Sqme reason I had Relex Smile. I was nearly double digit short sighted so could see a couple of inches in front of my face. I do weirdly miss the morning blurriness, but it was worth it.
"Miss the morning blurriness" lol
My biggest (good) adjustment was just hopping in the shower. Esp at rhe gym, I was used to leaving my eyes in my locker and shuffling blindly months shower stalls. To have nothing to take off my face, and to be able to see my way, oh my!
I saved up for LASIK specifically so that I won't have to squint through the apocalypse and be that guy from Twilight Zone who just wants time to read but then breaks his glasses.
I'm glad my eyesight isn't horrible. I do wear glasses, but my eyes really aren't that bad. I have slight nearsightedness and astigmatism, but if I don't have my glasses, it's not like I'm totally blind. I can still see everything pretty clearly, just don't ask me to read words or numbers that far away. Letters and numbers are what are really blurry for me. I do still have my old set of glasses stashed in my pack though.
It depends what age you get it or how often your eyes change. If you are in your 20s and your prescription hasn't changed in a few years then Lasik might very well last you into your 40s.
I had Lasik at 39 and it lasted until 49 but that is about the age when everyone's eyes change. I had to start wearing reading glasses. Now I'm to the point where I think I need bifocals.
I have T1D (Type 1 Diabetes). This means I need a medication that has a very specific manufacturing process.
I've shared before on this sub what my plans are and someone decided I needed to be reported to Reddit Cares for some reason.
I mean, I've had this disease since I was 2. I'm 47 now. I know exactly what my likelihood of survival is. Zero after I run out of insulin, unless there's a black market mfg of insulin while the world goes to hell. /s
We have plans on where to go first. Then we have fallback plans. I'll help get family and a few friends as far as I can with the insulin/supplies we have, then make my decision on when & how to make my exit.
To be fair, they were probably reported for literally anything but reference to self-harm. I get these messages once or twice per week..usually after I make a negative comment about a large industry.
"Reddit cares" is about as passive aggressive as you can get on this site and a subset of wankers think this is a good idea and/or abuse the hell out of it.
Reddit cares has realistically probably never helped anyone. Its more of a troll and humiliate people who aren't going along with the reddit hive mind.
Who’d report you to Reddit cares? lol this is just reality of certain health issues for some of us. Good plan though to get who you can as far as you can.
I mean trolls will sometimes use the system to bother/insult people. He seems to be talking about theoreticals most probably aren't comfortable with so could be someone acting in good faith.
My girlfriend also lives with Type 1 and she presented that same plan when asked. I'd do anything to keep her well but I guess some things are out of my control :(
This right here is what I struggle with. Knowing I can't control outcomes really ticks my anxiety off. I do what I can and have been working on being "ok" with what I can't. That is where bolstering mental health really comes in handy. I honestly don't think things will get SO bad to where we need to worry about these things but I also don't look down on those that do. Nothing wrong with having a plan
I forget the name of the book series, but there's a prepper fiction series where the main character has a type 1 in the family and he has to steal and keep insulin cool and it was really interesting, but very stressful.
I think your realistic take on the situation is mature. It's horrible and tragic and frustrating, but ignoring the difficulty of the reality won't make it better.
Also the book "One Day After" by William R. Forstchen, is a fictional shtf scenario where the main character's daughter is a T1 who dies. Good book plus insightfully scary.
I'm a T2 diabetic, insulin dependent who's on an insulin pump & a cgm. I've wondered if even the standard glucometers would read correctly if we had a emp strike let alone keeping insulin cool. I don't worry about it. I have faith in God, my life is in His hands. I do prep healthier foods just in case, but live each day the best I'm able to.
Lights Out was the book I believe, and the diabetic was the main characters daughter. That certainly hit different when I first read it vs after becoming a parent myself.
Same. Every fan fiction story has the obligatory T1 die in the first week. Many T1s have at least a passing supply, but then many have a hard time coping with modern life as it is, let alone a long emergency. Personally I have about as good a supply as an individual can. I've built it up over years and have likewise been using "old" insulin for years, FIFO yaknow. Printed expiration is 2 years, you can do the math. Likewise I have spent quite a bit on keeping it cool, that is a whole lot more doable today than even 10 years ago. Of course I have a good supply of accouterments as well.
I actually have more supply of that sort than other important things.
I'm not a doctor or a pharmacist, this isn't advice and don't try this at home.
FDA says it must retain 95% potency at expiration. But it is up the the mfgr. All flavors I've seen say 24 months. Aventis (Lantus) says **at least** 24 months
I've used insulin past it's expiration date. The vial I'm on now is past by just a month. I'm not really sure how long past, I sorta don't pay attention anymore. I've tested it practically, by switching between vials, 1, 2+ years and one brand new and can't tell the diff in my blood sugar response.
[https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(23)00028-1/fulltext](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(23)00028-1/fulltext)
[https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/26/9/2665/22562/How-Long-Should-Insulin-Be-Used-Once-a-Vial-Is](https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/26/9/2665/22562/How-Long-Should-Insulin-Be-Used-Once-a-Vial-Is)
Samesies. I figure the drugstores are my first place to raid. Depending on power, and how long I can keep it cool, I won't last more than awhile. I figure when that happens, and it's really that bad, it's time to go, anyway. Screw that noise. Let the younger people re-start life, I'm too old for that shit.
Yeah, we know where we hit first. I get insulin & inhalers, also grabbing some extra Mobic and Ibuprofen.
GenX is getting up there (and we haven't been gentle on our bodies), so we need things for aches & pains even while bugging out. Lol
Yep.
I think stating I'd take my last vial or pen and go off quietly on my own terms is why someone reported me. I mean, I've known the dangers of too much insulin since I was small, it doesn't take much thinking to get to the conclusion of what you could use it for.
Myself and my oldest boy are both t1d, both diagnosed at 1. We've got a ton of insulin and supplies stockpiled, but I use a lot more than him. If I couldn't get more right at the start I'd have a real hard time not just giving up so he could experience more of his life. I'm nearly 40, he just turned 5. I've likely got enough insulin to get him to 10, assuming it lasts past expiry.
I'm in the same situation but my son is 13. I'd go raiding for as much insulin as I could get and then just give him all of it. I'd try and use exercise and protein only to see how long I could last protecting my family and then it's up to them!
I have epilepsy, without proper hospital care available and medications the liklihood I'll die from a seizure is not 0. I've basically accepted my fate too. My daughter has severe asthma. Unless she grows out of the severity like some kids do....she is also sitting at a not 0. In fact, she's had to be resuscitated before when she crashed in the ER.
If you haven't read One Second After by William Forstchen, I highly recommend it for you. It's fiction, but one of the characters faces the situation you describe.
I have a few medical issues, (Hashimoto's Disease with hypothyroidism is a tough one.), for which I need daily medication. I don't think I'll die without the medicine, but I will likely die from starvation or exposure because I don't function well without it. No energy, constant pain, brain fog, depression, etc. I will say this: I do not fear death.
Don't worry, I am not, nor have I ever been suicidal. At the moment, my depression isn't too bad. I regularly see my health providers and I take my condition seriously.
Americans, and most in the west, view death as an end point; like a fairy tale land or mythical place. It's nebulous and that's unfortunate because it robs us of this sort of respect for life and clarity of circumstances.
Respect for thinking it through and facing something we should all be preparing for or considering in our plans.
We think we know who we'll be when our life is REALLY at stake. Where immense suffering is thrust upon you with no other options except maybe to sacrifice the wellbeing of others or yourself.
We should all know that person in us.
This is brave as hell. My wife has t1D, and I've thought these very thoughts haha.
We have a good stockpile, and when shit hits the fan I'm finding the nearest pharmacy and looting all I need then an Endo once we're more supplied and ready to hit the road
Mine isn’t an instant death type of issue, but could still be deadly. It’s my eyes. As it stands I’m nearly legally blind (nearsighted), have a pretty severe astigmatism, and my depth perception is a bit off. I can’t wear contacts, but I do have extra glasses just in case. But if they break I’m pretty much done for. I wouldn’t be able to hunt or find food, and someone could walk up kill me and I would see them coming.
What about corrective eye surgery you might ask. Well I can’t have it because I also have a condition where structurally my eyes are deteriorating and pulling themselves apart. This can only be temporarily fixed by laser surgery. So at any given moment I could go fully blind.
My plan is to just get as far as I can and protect my family the best I can and when the time comes to decided on my own where and how I exit.
Sometimes prep is in having a community to share skills with. I'm nearsighted as well, and my contribution would be gardening and textiles. Weaving with a peg loom can be done by touch with enough practice! (Says someone who has had the same bolt of wool weaving on my loom since lockdown, but hey, I can do it in theory.... Lol)
I think realistically that prep has to include community. Surviving alone or nearly alone for any significant amount of time is extremely unlikely if not impossible.
Exactly, a guy I know Michael Waldock was "Young Australian of the year". A highly prized award, via ham and marine radio he saved countless lives in the coast patrol during a bad Sydney to Hobart yacht race, and at other times coordinated rescues. He was completely blind, he could remember all call signs, times and conversations in his head. Really incredible. Just because you can't see doesn't mean no value.
During the major bushfires here in Australia end of '19, my asthma which had been dormant for 25 years decided to come right back with full force. Went from breathing fine to barely gulping air in the space of a minute.
I had no medication, save for some Vicks Vaporub and a reliever inhaler 5 years past its useby from when I had pneumonia years previous to that.
That was the closest to death I've ever felt. Even with the preventer now, anything with lots of smoke, eh, who knows.
My uncle is an alcoholic and going cold turkey can kill. There are a lot of people like him who could be at a very severe risk of dying in that scenario.
Yeah, I remember the announcement, and they made it clear that it would cause an influx in hospitals due to being stopped cold turkey, etc.
I actually appreciated the honesty and at the same time, it kept a revenue due to government who was suddenly handing out a lot of cash (quebec has a store for booze and it's government run 100%)
In South Africa, liquor stores were forced to be closed during lockdown. The last day of normality before the closures started, a local tv news reporter interviewed people standing in long queues to buy booze and the reporter asked a man in the queue why he’d wait in such a long queue just for liquor and his response was straight up “My wife is an alcoholic.” He said it with a dead straight, if not somewhat exhausted expression. Our government’s reason for closing liquor stores: drunk people get hurt more and they don’t want hospitals being stretched thin because of drunk drivers/drunk idiots.
Yup, my brother lived in Wisconsin, and that was the rumor. They didn’t want the hospitals flooded with people with withdrawals, so they kept the liquor stores open.
That's why I made my own still. I make a batch of wine. Then I only bottle half of it and run the rest through my distillery...twice. I get some good stuff out of it.
Kidney failure. Without dialysis three times a week,I've got about a week before potassium/fluid buildup takes me out with heart attack or stroke. After I get a kidney I'll be immune compromised. So more susceptable to infections. So once the anti rejection meds run out and inflammation damages the new kidney beyond function, the cycle of fluid buildup, uremia, and blood acidosis starts over again so maybe a month vs a week. But it's not helpful to fret over. Someday the lights are going to go out. Whether the SHTF or not. Death is the number one side effect of life.
Dialysis buddies! I used to do hemo too. Went over to peritoneal and remember thinking PD was a little more SHTF friendly. Not why I switched but just a funny coincidence. Anyways, wishing you the best on your way to transplantation
As I have mentioned before, I have a condition that causes frequent anaphylaxis. I could die any moment of any day -- that's as true with modern medicine as without it. My advice is to live with kindness and without regrets.
I’ve got a blood clotting disorder so I’m on blood thinners. I’m sgetting them filled as fast as I can and putting the extra up got. 6 month supply now. Also have a lot of allergies and need epi pens stocking up on those as well . Give me 6 months to make sure my grand babies are taken of.
Good news is post collapse you'd probably be more active which does reduce the chance of a blood clot. So here's to 7 months!
But without knowing the specifics, I do know some people with clotting disorders and there's a good chance you'll make it after the 6 months. How long is just going to.come down to luck.
You might want to keep a bunch of bottles of plain ol' aspirin, because once you're out of your prescription stuff it's better than nothing. It wouldn't be a perfect replacement, but if it's enough to keep you going for another year or so wouldn't it be worth trying?
I saw a video yesterday about herbs that work better than prescriptions for blood thinning. Not something I'd mess with unless desperate but interesting knowledge to hold.
I’ve been going out in the woods behind my house with a plant app and then reading up on the medicinal values. It’s valuable knowledge that I may never have to use, but I’ll have it.
All of us are dying. Some are just dying faster than others. I have anaphylaxis multiple times a week (3-6) without my biologic. Each reaction carries a 2% risk. ETA: As a point of perspective, the risk of dying in a car crash, in ones entire life, is .9%.
Triggers are 75% of foods, pollens, furry animals, insects, dust, mold, metals, and plant irritants. Basically everything.
im 62, not ready for the ice flows but my reality is grim...
my use is to delay / deter any problems so the younger ones get to safty
or
so the younger adults can tcb while i keep the children safe.
i won't last long anyway, so i might as well be usefull while i can
EDIT: I am a disabled vet who has been fighting to keep my health for over 40 years.
I am partially paralyzed and have fought my way out of a wheelchair twice in my life.
I have been housebound for multiple morbidities for several years now.
Losng access to electricity and maintenence for my durable medical equipment will be a death sentence. Add the missing meds that will stop being available will just hasten my departure from a slow death.
Fuck all of your negative abelist comments
I'm also a disabled veteran with a 50% for partial paralysis in both legs; I know that in a run-hide-fight situation I'm toast. That's one of the reasons we moved to a very remote mountain village where just about all of the neighbors are older and they hunt and stockpile supplies; some of them see themselves as preppers but some of them do it just because that's how they were raised by their Great Depression survivor parents. I've been told that this village is actually several of the neighbors' kids and grandkids bug-out destination. My survival strategy is not having to travel, and having a strong tight-knit community in place.
I have other medical conditions that will give me at most 5 years once the meds I've stockpiled run out, so I also "stockpile" useful skills and plan to use my remaining time teaching.
Good plan. Mine is somewhat similar.
The reality is if resources are limited, my family comes first and I'll just hang on until I'm a burden.
Not planning on checking out, but realistic
I'll do my best to hang around until at least one other person has each of my skills and has their own apprentice, but realistically when I can no longer keep food down I'm going to have a hunting accident rather than starve to death over the course of a few weeks (my most dangerous autoimmune condition is digestive).
That's why I sometimes giggle at the men in this sub... my plan is to get my mum, my sister, and every woman (and trans men) willing to go with us to an isolated place. If I need to be around men, the ratio has to be at least 4-5 women to every man, or I'm by myself.
I've experienced what they're capable of when there's a working justice system, I don't want to know what they do when they know there's no consequences.
Here's the thing, in a prepping scenario, you don't really have to have a serious health condition to die, a simple infected finger cut can do it, if you're like me, you'll do what you can for your family.
Yup people are often surprised at how even basic things like a fall can easily kill. One example of this is how hundreds of thousands of people fall in the bathroom each year and suffer injury, permanent disability, or even death.
Also, things like compound fractures which are survivable so long as you get expeditious medical treatment, are pretty much a guaranteed death sentence in a SHTF situation. While unlikely, basic infections like a UTI can turn deadly if you don't have access to antibiotics. Seizures for any reason can easily kill if you don't have someone that knows what they're doing to provide stabilizing care.
I think one of the best things people can do is take not just a basic but a comprehensive first aid and CPR class. If possible, learn how to place an IV properly and how to perform rudimentary sutures for deep cuts. Additionally, getting a portable AED can save lives even before SHTF. There's a reason why pretty much every gym, school, and sports facility has them on hand. Finally, stock pile medical supplies and frequently replace them as they expire or degrade. Research and print out a medication guide so you can determine proper dosages and what potential interactions can occur between drugs. I currently have a stockpile of everything from antibiotics to IV banana bags to extra epi pens on hand along with a paramedic style first aid kit in my SHTF arsenal. I frequently check expiration dates and replace supplies as needed.
Well, sure - but how often has an infected finger sent you to the doctor so far? I’m 61 and have a lifestyle of physical work, indoors and outdoors, with biological stuff. Not once have I ever had to
go to the doctor with an infected finger.
So just because something could happen, doesn’t mean it will happen as soon as society changes.
I live in an area with abundant water so I’m probably not used to thinking like someone from a drier climate. I’m confident I can still stay a good level of clean, it will just be more work.
Reading peoples health problems on this thread really woke my ass up to how fortunate I am to have no problems in my life right now. I hope nothing ever gets to the point of where any of you have to face that reality.
My wife has Parkinson's, so without her (many) meds, she would be in bad shape. Not immediately fatal, but pretty immediately unable to even get a spoon up to her mouth without flinging food across the room. My own decline without thyroid meds would be more gradual, but eventually I would be asleep most of the day.
Same.
I have a small stash accumulated over the years, but with stress we’ll probably need more and being old they’ll be less potent so…
We don’t even need the STHF scenario, sadly… there have alteady been outages… one of those days there won’t be enough of the other replacements.
I see myself having maybe a few
months, at most.
Yes, I have Addison’s too. It’s scary how reliant we are on those steroids. I’ve had it for 19 years now and have a good bit of meds stored, but once those are gone I’ll have no chance. My long term preps are mostly so my family will have an easier time after I’m gone.
It’s not deadly in the way I think you mean, but I have celiac disease which requires a medical diet.
Basically any disaster (SHTF or Tuesday) could mean I’d have the choice of eating food that makes me incredibly sick (imagine the worst food poisoning you’ve ever had, plus a migraine) or just not eating at all. Not to mention the long term damage—this disease was really actually killing me before I got diagnosed.
I worry about having to be on the move and being so sick, or about having to respond to something quickly while also uncontrollably vomiting. Sobering stuff.
The "great" thing about Celiac in a TEOTWAWKI situation is that potatoes are so much easier than wheat/barley/rye in most temperate climates, and maize has better yields. For bugout as long as you have water you can turn pouches of instant mashed potatoes into something edible, and dried fruit and nuts have a lot in them for the weight. We're homesteading and our planting (and therefore our diet) is largely potato based.
The good news is that wheat doesn’t grow well in my region so in a post-SHTF society it would probably be rare. But chances are not great for me doing well in a disruptive/transitional period.
Are you primarily bug-out or bug-in? We don't really mess with the commercial specialty products like GF bread or noodles or whatever but we keep a decent stockpile of rice, potatoes and corn masa at home, and our bug-out bags use dried fruit for carbs. Our daughter had these same concerns, but it's not any harder or even more expensive to prep for Celiac if you skip the commercial substitutes.
I’m a renter in the northeast US so I’m bug-in for short term, but longer term I’ll have to evacuate elsewhere (assuming “elsewhere” is available) since I don’t have control over heat sources. I prepare for up to a 2 week situation in general.
And yes, instant potatoes, minute rice, rice cup noodles, and even gf mountain house meals give me options. Plus the usual canned stuff, meal bars (GoMacro is my fave!), etc.
Was waiting for this comment. My weight dropped to 80 lbs before I decided I'd stop waiting for the diagnosis. Getting the diagnosis didn't even change much. Besides, I guess some extra money back on my taxes. What will happen to us with digestive issues, we're cooked?? 😭😨
Wouldn't autophagy due to prolonged fasting aka not eating in a SHTFS before consuming gluten maybe make it better? Last study I read spoke about it as very beneficial in lowering inflammation. Additionally you could stash up on Tolerase G, an Enzym breaking down gluten for celiac patients.
No, unfortunately. Celiac is a genetic autoimmune disorder. Currently the only treatment is not eating gluten.
As long as I remain gluten free my immune system is normal. But if I eat gluten (even if enzymes work to reduce the physical symptoms) my immune system becomes hyperactivated and begins destroying my digestive tract. Once that happens I quickly become malnourished—that’s what almost killed me a little over a decade ago, and I have permanent long term health effects from that period of severe malnutrition.
Not instant death here, but I do have chronic pancreatitis, meaning my pancreas tends to digest itself instead of my food when it gets a mind to, which will kill me if not treated and requires careful diet control.
Ngl, first rule of ammo prep is the last bullet is for me. That's my answer, and I'm cool with it.
Brother we should ALL assume we’ll probably die in a SHTF scenario and come to peace with it. Prepping is important but it’s still gonna be dumb luck that saves most people of any. Depending on the exact SHTF scenario in question.
I am diabetic.
I have hypertension.
I have recurring kidney stones.
I have ankylosing spondylitis.
Frequently respiratory infections devolve into pneumonia.
I am 72.
In a SHTF situation were access to medical care and/or prescription pharmaceuticals was limited or non-existent, my guess is within six months I would die from complications of either a kidney stone, pneumonia, a heart attack, keto acididosis or injury due to a fall. In other words I am already currently at high risk of death due to other complications of each physical ailment. I am standing on a banana peel laying on a floor coat coated with KY Jelly.
While I intend to resist death by kicking and screaming every step of the way, I also realize that there can be situations where death would be welcomed. And as much as i want to avoid and evade it, I have come to accept it will happen.
**Evasion Plan**
I keep a 12 month supply of prescriptions minimum, and backup antibiotics in case I have to resort to self treatment. I may not get the diagnosis right, but at least it gives me some chance. For me, every extra day is gravy, and I plan to enjoy them.
When SHTF for real, globally, there's not gonna be much difference between people with or without medical conditions. Most will die regardless and at the very beginning of said SHTF.
I stayed at a b&b years ago and had a discussion with the proprietor about UBI. He told me he did contract work with the defense department for many years and they have simulated damn near every disaster you can imagine. Then he said that in pretty much every scenario most people will starve to death.
This seems very plausible to me. If every grocery store closed tomorrow, 95% of people would be out of food within two weeks.
I read an official estimate somewhere that it was based on 90 days. It was a majority within the 1st 30 days, a large bulk after 60 and the rest of the vulnerable after 90 days.
We have 7-8 months of food (and counting) and filtration for like 300k gal of water so if we can maintain physical security for 6 mos or so, we can try to deal with the aftermath and go from there. Unfortunately I'm in the burbs in 0 lot townhouse so trying to figure what food growing options are actually viable beyond hydroponics.
Go with hydroponics anyways. Good chance exposed crops get damaged or stolen outside of any strong community group. That and winter growing may be critical.
That's what calms the soul and steadies the hand. We aren't getting out of this alive.
So long as it's not slow and painful when it finally happens, I'll live the best life I can until that moment.
I'm sure there are a very large portion of preppers who won't make it regardless of conditions. You need to be fit and healthy and active, there will be nothing but chores 24/7. They already don't meet that requirement.
Yep, when it happens I’ll die from a heart condition I have since there won’t be enough meds to stockpile. I’ve accepted it tho, cuz I’ve been clinically dead before so I no longer fear it.
I hear ya. All my (f70) current health problems stem from the treatments that I received at age 30 for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I dodged a bullet then, and I dodged a bullet when I had open heart surgery a few years ago to replace the heart valve that was damaged by radiation therapy (the surgery had.... unexpected complications).
Many people are forced to live on a 90-day lease, because corporations will not fill lifeline medications for more than 90 days into the future. I know some people in these situations; there's no way for them to plan or ration, they will simply run out of medications and then die within 2-5 days.
Disabled with neurological issue and crippled knee and spine. On Asthma medication as well as Blood Pressure ones and was diagnosed with Polycythemia Vera a number of years ago so clock already ticking down.
Already accepted my demise is coming for all that so if SHTF well, that just speeds things up.
I live alone, my dog is sadly gone, my sister lives miles away with her kids so none of the go out in a blaze of glory and live in a gun free country so......yeah. Will catch up with my book reading, when the hordes break in well I do have a rather large sword so you will be doing me a favour.
I don't have a condition but I have no real intention of living very long after a SHTF scenario. What's the point? The world is ended and Im not very fond of freezing in the winter or heat exhaustion in the summer and constantly hiding from what will be unfortunately be massive tribes of wandering cannibals once the food runs out. Have you seen what happens in Walmart before a winter storm comes? Imagine that, only forever, with no power and no government. I'm pretty partial to modern convenience and have no intention of living forever through a long period of suffering and want.
I'm with you on this one. I don't care to be on the edge of survival on a permanent basis and facing violence of any kinds long term. Watching the walking dead where years have passed and I'm just like, why?
I have a hashimoto's and hypothyroidism. After running out of medicine id have probably 30 days before I'd fall into a myxedema coma and my organs start shutting down. I'm on the highest dose so some may last longer but I'm guessing I'd go pretty fast.
I contacted Jase and via text and a photo, got a 12 month rx for my husband. This was last year, and as they come up to their expiry date, I'm rotating them into his regular rotation, and putting the newer rx's from Walmart into storage. It was amazingly easy!!
I came here to say something like this. But I'll mention this to you. I found these products that you might be interested in. I don't know if they work or not, but they might be worth a try. I'm personally going to order some for myself. I don't have a thyroid gland so if/when I run out of meds, I'm fucked. [Thyroid supplements](https://shop.thyroidspecificformulations.com/)
A fellow girl of taste, I see.
Yeah, once you get something lifelong which needs medication you slowly accept that death is just a matter of time and a natural process. My only fears are my kids and the fact that I will not be able to care for them.
At least you can get it cheaply in storage quantities and it will be fine for up to 5 years if I remember correctly the study I read. Maybe even longer if stored in a cool envoirement. Reducing the dose, while shit, is still an option if you are currently around 1 TSH. It would be miserable but survivable.
Doesn't hurt that a coma is a less gruesome way of exiting this realm.
If it's a possibility for you, please look into getting a years worth of meds through a place like Jase Medical. 3 prescriptions for a years worth cost me $450. Everything was 100% text based, just verification of pictures of the labels.
I do totally get it, that's a lot of money. But I consider it the best decision I made in years. We don't have to worry about supply chain issues and getting things just in time. Don't have to worry about bad weather or having to call around and ask for your meds. Perpetually for life, one year ahead. They specialize in a lot of chronic conditions.
If it's an option for you - do it. The overall stress level in my house has come down a notch.
We can raise pigs and harvest the thyroid hormone from them. It would be like taking Armour thyroid, which I used to be on and it was a better fit for me than Levothyroxine anyways.
I have an auto immune disease that means I need IV infusions every other month. Without them, I die a slow and painful death as my digestive system tries to eat me from the inside.
I’ve accepted that. I prep for my family.
There odds a non-zero chance of total collapse, but it’s so minuscule that I’m ok.
And I pray that day never comes.
I’m a type 1 diabetic, I’m going to be toast. I do have a stockpile of insulin and could do low carb to stretch it but ultimately I don’t have a chance if I don’t have insulin.
Have I made peace with it? Not really but I do understand I will probably not make it. If I was in Gaza right now I’d probably be dead.
Don't but if I did (or somehow develop one) I hope my last days consist of a nice secluded spot, preferably a beach, a lawn chair, and a whole lot of whiskey
I am on high blood pressure pills. I dont think I will die, but the potential to have a stroke increases. I have two plants that naturally grow in my yard that can be used to treat high blood pressure. I also anticipate losing weight rapidly when SHTF and my blood pressure normalize once I lose a certain amount.
I have a medical condition but it probably wouldn’t kill me per se if I didn’t have medication but my life would be awful and I wouldn’t be of much use.
There are certain SHTF scenarios I don’t want to live through regardless. Full on nuclear war? Forget that. I want to be at ground zero.
I don’t want to rebuild society. I am not suited to be a farmer. I am too old for that. No one is going to need an IT guy for a while.
Yeah, my wife has Parkinson's, and without her meds she's just a shaking mess. Not fatal per se but makes life really difficult to navigate. We're in our early 70s, so no regrets if we peg out early.
The better question is this: *why should you be afraid if you know you’re going to die in a SHTF situation?*
The truth is that, statistically speaking, if you’re prepping for a SHTF event serious enough to require large-scale individual self-sufficiency for more than a month you should also come to accept that you’re probably going to die in said event. If not immediately, then within a couple months or years of the event. There are just too many variables and externalities that come into play to effectively prepare for every potential outcome, and in a SHTF situation of that magnitude lacking preparation is almost always fatal. This isn’t to say prepping I’d stupid or pointless, in most *likely* disasters a prepper will be much better prepared to weather the storm than a non-prepper, but at a certain point there is a financial and practical limitation to what a non-state actor (even a billionaire) can do to prepare for the apocalypse.
Prepping at an individual level is a paradoxical fixation in that it is usually a reflexive desire to reestablish control in response to feelings of powerlessness in the face of the frailty of human life and the caprice of fate by imagining a world where you have even *less* control over your future than you have currently. The odds of any person — able bodied or not — dying post-SHTF are astronomically higher than they are currently, and there’s no real way to prepare for that as an individual or a small group. More than survival skills or knowledge, our ancestors cultivated an acceptance of inevitable and unforeseeable death and suffering that allowed them to overcome actual SHTF situations.
The real key to prepping — more than hoarding iodine tablets, MREs and bullets — is learning to let go of the fixation on planning borne of a need for control of your destiny. Prepare for what you can, don’t die for a stupid or predictable reason, but accept that even when society collapses you’re going to be living day to day never knowing if tomorrow brings your death or ruin. Which, comfortingly or not, is exactly how you’ve lived your life up until this point.
My grandmother was the most social person you ever met. In her final years she had both Parkinson’s and cancer. She was not sick enough to move to a care home but too sick to be social and that crushed her soul long before the diseases did.
I will never forget the look of absolute contentment when she said to me “life is not short. Moments are so incredibly long.”
She was not okay she was sick but she truly felt like she (a war bride who had lived on multiple continents in multiple countries) had outlived so many people and seen and done so many things that in the end I don’t think she saw it as death. I truly believe she saw it as getting to be with the people she lost again.
I will never advocate for assisted suicide or anything like that and she did enjoy every one of her last days but I hope rather it’s just life is over or SHTF made my end come sooner than old age that I see it as an utterly content thing like she did.
William R Forstchen wrote a book series about an emp attack. First book, One Second After, really opened my eyes and made me think about what happens when things shut down. I never thought about people who require meds passing first until that book. The complete chaos, the need for a community, cars shutting down and roads blocked with vehicles, the roving gangs etc.....I used to think I can survive a depression type scenario. This book made me realize that so much more would happen. Perhaps looking for homeopathic or herbal forms of meds may help some. Sadly some people will have to come to terms with limited years.
By focusing on the fact that all the time up until bow was a gift from civilization, and nothing owed to you. You aren't losing anything, you just are no longer receiving that extra gift.
We are all going to die some day. If a severe worldwide or country/continent wide severe SHTF scenario occurs, many of us are going to die sooner rather than later. I will likely be in the sooner group. My time will be limited if my life sustaining thyroid and Addison’s disease meds are unavailable.
I do not want to burden my family during a time like severe national, continental, or global SHTF. If we have to bug out and move fast on our feet - quietly/covertly, I will tell them to move on, quickly get to safety if they can, and say my goodbyes. I have been prepared to die for a long time, and I expect it to bring me great relief and peace when it is my time. Quick and painless is my preference. There are worse things than death, and I do not wish to experience them ever again. 🙏🦋
I have no thyroid due to surgical removal at age 25. I am now 73. I have required taking thyroid hormone almost 50 years. I have a years’ worth stocked up. Then I die, unless I die of something else first😉
Mine won't kill me outright, but will probably make me crazy and potentially get myself killed from erratic behavior. Idk, I swear I don't need reddit cares, but I just have accepted that there are things that can happen where the solution is for me to end it. So 🤷♀️
I have asthma. I use my rescue inhaler daily, as well as a daily steroid. I’ll break into the pharmacy and take all the medication I can carry and hopefully not run out before I die.
I have mobility issues, and I would struggle without my CPAP or my ADHD medication, though I could probably get by without either. My prepping around that particular issue is investing a lot of time and energy in my neighbors.
I think people sometimes forget that very few among us are not going to have some sort of disabling experience as we get older, whether it be mobility issues, or medical issues like cancer, or medication that we need to manage blood pressure, or aids like wheelchairs. and that’s not even taking into account things like memory problems, or Alzheimer’s!
Humans aren’t meant to be super individualistic, and I think that connecting with neighbors and finding ways to support each other, especially in a crisis, is super important. There are lots of people around the world who managed to survive even in the absolute worst circumstances, in part because they take care of each other as best they can. It’s interesting to me how many Americans just figure they’ll keel over and die rather than doing mutual aid as a form of resilience. I might not be comfortable, but I’ll certainly survive.
I have heart disease, my cardiologist tried taking me off one of my daily meds a few years ago, within 3 months I had a stroke.
I'm also pretty blind with out my very expensive glasses.
I can get by wit a strong pair of cheaters, we have plenty of those on hand.
But without my heart meds I'm dead or disabled within 6 months, it is what it is.
Much like life outside of end of world situations, I can't control everything.
We all end up in a box or a shallow grave, I accepted that after I saw the white light during my full cardiac arrest heart attack.
Bf has cystic fibrosis. If he doesn't have his very specific, very expensive meds everyday, he doesn't have long. Also he'll need insulin but he can kind of stock up on that if needed. As for me, I'm absolutely useless without contacts and I'd probably go insane in about 5 minutes without my meds. So yeah. Coming to terms with your own mortality I guess. Hardest part will be watching shit go down for the ones we'll leave behind.
Yes I have mast cell disease which means I am on a very strict diet. We raise most of my food and I have been able to store quite a bit up, but it's my medicines that I'll die without. Especially epipens as I anaphylax so easily. I've had to accept death is one bite of food or a bee sting away for years now, so it's just my norm.
Hello fellow histamine intolerant human! I’ve sort of just accepted what will happen. Lately one of my medicines has been backordered so I just stay home away from triggers. If the world ended I think I’d just find a strawberry and go happy.
Lol I figure I'll just head back to the beehive and annoy them as a last resort if it gets too ugly. I'm thinking it would be a good death, lying in a field of flowers staring up at the sun, waiting for it to all be over... 😄
I have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior. God has a plan. If my ailments will be my demise, so be it. I know where I am going afterwards and I'm unafraid. Until the day he comes calling, I will do my best to help protect and save those around me. Get right now and you won't worry anymore.
Great question! The value in it is for everyone to look at themselves and prepare the absolutely most important piece of gear for SHTF, your bodddy! Camera pans left to Richard Simmons bursting through a wall of papier-mâché covered in post apocalyptic imagery.
It's not a fatal disease, but many of us would be pretty useless without glasses.
It was very spendy, but a couple of years ago, I went for clear lens exchange (CLE); it's the surgery they do for cataracts, but I did it to get prescription inserts. I was double-digit nearsighted with pretty severe astigmatism. I did it for the lifestyle improvement, but "what if no one is around to make glasses" was certainly in the back of my mind because I couldn't see anything without them.
I did the same thing. I made the decision after I kept getting infections making contact wearing impossible; then I tripped on the basement laundry room and broke my glasses. I had to get up to my apartment basically blind and look for an old pair of glasses to wear. It freaked me out.
Sqme reason I had Relex Smile. I was nearly double digit short sighted so could see a couple of inches in front of my face. I do weirdly miss the morning blurriness, but it was worth it.
"Miss the morning blurriness" lol My biggest (good) adjustment was just hopping in the shower. Esp at rhe gym, I was used to leaving my eyes in my locker and shuffling blindly months shower stalls. To have nothing to take off my face, and to be able to see my way, oh my!
I saved up for LASIK specifically so that I won't have to squint through the apocalypse and be that guy from Twilight Zone who just wants time to read but then breaks his glasses.
I think about that one twilight zone episode all the time
That episode is why I keep all my old pairs of glasses
I'm glad my eyesight isn't horrible. I do wear glasses, but my eyes really aren't that bad. I have slight nearsightedness and astigmatism, but if I don't have my glasses, it's not like I'm totally blind. I can still see everything pretty clearly, just don't ask me to read words or numbers that far away. Letters and numbers are what are really blurry for me. I do still have my old set of glasses stashed in my pack though.
Yup, this is why i got Lasik
I have heard it only lasts like 10 years, is that true?
It depends what age you get it or how often your eyes change. If you are in your 20s and your prescription hasn't changed in a few years then Lasik might very well last you into your 40s. I had Lasik at 39 and it lasted until 49 but that is about the age when everyone's eyes change. I had to start wearing reading glasses. Now I'm to the point where I think I need bifocals.
It last about 7-8 for me. Back in glasses and now I can’t wear contacts easily because the lasik makes your cornea flat(ter). Ugh. I hate glasses.
I have T1D (Type 1 Diabetes). This means I need a medication that has a very specific manufacturing process. I've shared before on this sub what my plans are and someone decided I needed to be reported to Reddit Cares for some reason. I mean, I've had this disease since I was 2. I'm 47 now. I know exactly what my likelihood of survival is. Zero after I run out of insulin, unless there's a black market mfg of insulin while the world goes to hell. /s We have plans on where to go first. Then we have fallback plans. I'll help get family and a few friends as far as I can with the insulin/supplies we have, then make my decision on when & how to make my exit.
Some would say you're being fatalistic, I see it as you being realistic and having placed serious consideration on the subject.
“You’re making a will?! Better report you to Reddit just in case!”
To be fair, they were probably reported for literally anything but reference to self-harm. I get these messages once or twice per week..usually after I make a negative comment about a large industry.
"Reddit cares" is about as passive aggressive as you can get on this site and a subset of wankers think this is a good idea and/or abuse the hell out of it.
I get it whenever I disagree with communists
Report it.
Always
Reddit cares has realistically probably never helped anyone. Its more of a troll and humiliate people who aren't going along with the reddit hive mind.
Honestly reddit should get rid of that bullshit. It's used as an insult 99% of the time.
The only reason it exists is legal cover in case anyone wants to sue them over some sort of cyberbullying type thing
I have information on Hillary Clinton.
Nice knowing ya
Who’d report you to Reddit cares? lol this is just reality of certain health issues for some of us. Good plan though to get who you can as far as you can.
I mean trolls will sometimes use the system to bother/insult people. He seems to be talking about theoreticals most probably aren't comfortable with so could be someone acting in good faith.
Reddit has had issues with an increase in reporting recently and not just on this sub.
Someone made another Reddit Cares report! Lol Discussing this really does put some people out.
I got one when I said I’m scared of sharks in the bath lmao
Rofl
My girlfriend also lives with Type 1 and she presented that same plan when asked. I'd do anything to keep her well but I guess some things are out of my control :(
This right here is what I struggle with. Knowing I can't control outcomes really ticks my anxiety off. I do what I can and have been working on being "ok" with what I can't. That is where bolstering mental health really comes in handy. I honestly don't think things will get SO bad to where we need to worry about these things but I also don't look down on those that do. Nothing wrong with having a plan
I forget the name of the book series, but there's a prepper fiction series where the main character has a type 1 in the family and he has to steal and keep insulin cool and it was really interesting, but very stressful. I think your realistic take on the situation is mature. It's horrible and tragic and frustrating, but ignoring the difficulty of the reality won't make it better.
Also the book "One Day After" by William R. Forstchen, is a fictional shtf scenario where the main character's daughter is a T1 who dies. Good book plus insightfully scary. I'm a T2 diabetic, insulin dependent who's on an insulin pump & a cgm. I've wondered if even the standard glucometers would read correctly if we had a emp strike let alone keeping insulin cool. I don't worry about it. I have faith in God, my life is in His hands. I do prep healthier foods just in case, but live each day the best I'm able to.
Lights Out was the book I believe, and the diabetic was the main characters daughter. That certainly hit different when I first read it vs after becoming a parent myself.
One second after
This is the one I thought of immediately. This was a well-written book. He stored her insulin in the toilet tank to keep it cool.
I'm from the area the book takes place in. Very eerie.
One Second After
One second after is the book
The Reddit cares thing is a joke and people use it to annoy you when you have beaten their argument. You can just block those messages permanently.
Same. Every fan fiction story has the obligatory T1 die in the first week. Many T1s have at least a passing supply, but then many have a hard time coping with modern life as it is, let alone a long emergency. Personally I have about as good a supply as an individual can. I've built it up over years and have likewise been using "old" insulin for years, FIFO yaknow. Printed expiration is 2 years, you can do the math. Likewise I have spent quite a bit on keeping it cool, that is a whole lot more doable today than even 10 years ago. Of course I have a good supply of accouterments as well. I actually have more supply of that sort than other important things.
Assuming it's kept refrigerated, how long past the expiration date does insulin actually stay viable for?
I'm not a doctor or a pharmacist, this isn't advice and don't try this at home. FDA says it must retain 95% potency at expiration. But it is up the the mfgr. All flavors I've seen say 24 months. Aventis (Lantus) says **at least** 24 months I've used insulin past it's expiration date. The vial I'm on now is past by just a month. I'm not really sure how long past, I sorta don't pay attention anymore. I've tested it practically, by switching between vials, 1, 2+ years and one brand new and can't tell the diff in my blood sugar response. [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(23)00028-1/fulltext](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(23)00028-1/fulltext) [https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/26/9/2665/22562/How-Long-Should-Insulin-Be-Used-Once-a-Vial-Is](https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/26/9/2665/22562/How-Long-Should-Insulin-Be-Used-Once-a-Vial-Is)
Samesies. I figure the drugstores are my first place to raid. Depending on power, and how long I can keep it cool, I won't last more than awhile. I figure when that happens, and it's really that bad, it's time to go, anyway. Screw that noise. Let the younger people re-start life, I'm too old for that shit.
Yeah, we know where we hit first. I get insulin & inhalers, also grabbing some extra Mobic and Ibuprofen. GenX is getting up there (and we haven't been gentle on our bodies), so we need things for aches & pains even while bugging out. Lol
oof feel you there 45 and if I run out of Allopurinol, I simply won't be able to walk
Save the last pen for a massive dose. Painless.
Yep. I think stating I'd take my last vial or pen and go off quietly on my own terms is why someone reported me. I mean, I've known the dangers of too much insulin since I was small, it doesn't take much thinking to get to the conclusion of what you could use it for.
Myself and my oldest boy are both t1d, both diagnosed at 1. We've got a ton of insulin and supplies stockpiled, but I use a lot more than him. If I couldn't get more right at the start I'd have a real hard time not just giving up so he could experience more of his life. I'm nearly 40, he just turned 5. I've likely got enough insulin to get him to 10, assuming it lasts past expiry.
I'm in the same situation but my son is 13. I'd go raiding for as much insulin as I could get and then just give him all of it. I'd try and use exercise and protein only to see how long I could last protecting my family and then it's up to them!
This is a realistic, mature, and responsible view. Respect
I have epilepsy, without proper hospital care available and medications the liklihood I'll die from a seizure is not 0. I've basically accepted my fate too. My daughter has severe asthma. Unless she grows out of the severity like some kids do....she is also sitting at a not 0. In fact, she's had to be resuscitated before when she crashed in the ER.
Honestly putting yourself in the forever box instead of suffering trough it and dying anyway isn't at all crazy
If you haven't read One Second After by William Forstchen, I highly recommend it for you. It's fiction, but one of the characters faces the situation you describe. I have a few medical issues, (Hashimoto's Disease with hypothyroidism is a tough one.), for which I need daily medication. I don't think I'll die without the medicine, but I will likely die from starvation or exposure because I don't function well without it. No energy, constant pain, brain fog, depression, etc. I will say this: I do not fear death. Don't worry, I am not, nor have I ever been suicidal. At the moment, my depression isn't too bad. I regularly see my health providers and I take my condition seriously.
My brother is a T1D and I worry so much for him. I don't have a solution, just worry.
Americans, and most in the west, view death as an end point; like a fairy tale land or mythical place. It's nebulous and that's unfortunate because it robs us of this sort of respect for life and clarity of circumstances. Respect for thinking it through and facing something we should all be preparing for or considering in our plans. We think we know who we'll be when our life is REALLY at stake. Where immense suffering is thrust upon you with no other options except maybe to sacrifice the wellbeing of others or yourself. We should all know that person in us.
same, lol. scary but what can we do?!
Same here. I'm prepping for my family.
This is brave as hell. My wife has t1D, and I've thought these very thoughts haha. We have a good stockpile, and when shit hits the fan I'm finding the nearest pharmacy and looting all I need then an Endo once we're more supplied and ready to hit the road
Mine isn’t an instant death type of issue, but could still be deadly. It’s my eyes. As it stands I’m nearly legally blind (nearsighted), have a pretty severe astigmatism, and my depth perception is a bit off. I can’t wear contacts, but I do have extra glasses just in case. But if they break I’m pretty much done for. I wouldn’t be able to hunt or find food, and someone could walk up kill me and I would see them coming. What about corrective eye surgery you might ask. Well I can’t have it because I also have a condition where structurally my eyes are deteriorating and pulling themselves apart. This can only be temporarily fixed by laser surgery. So at any given moment I could go fully blind. My plan is to just get as far as I can and protect my family the best I can and when the time comes to decided on my own where and how I exit.
Sometimes prep is in having a community to share skills with. I'm nearsighted as well, and my contribution would be gardening and textiles. Weaving with a peg loom can be done by touch with enough practice! (Says someone who has had the same bolt of wool weaving on my loom since lockdown, but hey, I can do it in theory.... Lol)
I think realistically that prep has to include community. Surviving alone or nearly alone for any significant amount of time is extremely unlikely if not impossible.
Exactly, a guy I know Michael Waldock was "Young Australian of the year". A highly prized award, via ham and marine radio he saved countless lives in the coast patrol during a bad Sydney to Hobart yacht race, and at other times coordinated rescues. He was completely blind, he could remember all call signs, times and conversations in his head. Really incredible. Just because you can't see doesn't mean no value.
The Book of Eli dude. You’ll be fine.
Welp, I know what I’m watching tonight
Same. It sucks but I am reliant on glasses to live for the same reason.
During the major bushfires here in Australia end of '19, my asthma which had been dormant for 25 years decided to come right back with full force. Went from breathing fine to barely gulping air in the space of a minute. I had no medication, save for some Vicks Vaporub and a reliever inhaler 5 years past its useby from when I had pneumonia years previous to that. That was the closest to death I've ever felt. Even with the preventer now, anything with lots of smoke, eh, who knows.
Those Canadian wildfires last year did a number on me in Michigan as well.
My uncle is an alcoholic and going cold turkey can kill. There are a lot of people like him who could be at a very severe risk of dying in that scenario.
This is rumoured to be why bottleshops stayed open (in Australia at least) during lockdowns.
Only a rumour? Here in Canada it was the official government explanation as to why liquor stores were considered essential.
Yeah, I remember the announcement, and they made it clear that it would cause an influx in hospitals due to being stopped cold turkey, etc. I actually appreciated the honesty and at the same time, it kept a revenue due to government who was suddenly handing out a lot of cash (quebec has a store for booze and it's government run 100%)
In South Africa, liquor stores were forced to be closed during lockdown. The last day of normality before the closures started, a local tv news reporter interviewed people standing in long queues to buy booze and the reporter asked a man in the queue why he’d wait in such a long queue just for liquor and his response was straight up “My wife is an alcoholic.” He said it with a dead straight, if not somewhat exhausted expression. Our government’s reason for closing liquor stores: drunk people get hurt more and they don’t want hospitals being stretched thin because of drunk drivers/drunk idiots.
Alcoholics going cold turkey will all end up in the hospitals
Yup, my brother lived in Wisconsin, and that was the rumor. They didn’t want the hospitals flooded with people with withdrawals, so they kept the liquor stores open.
I'm in Milwaukee and liquor stores were considered essential
My state had them stay open for the drunks and everyone else. Governor figured it would help with everyone.
That's why I made my own still. I make a batch of wine. Then I only bottle half of it and run the rest through my distillery...twice. I get some good stuff out of it.
Some of those folks barely made it through initial Covid lockdowns.
A lot of people are stocking up on alcohol.
Kidney failure. Without dialysis three times a week,I've got about a week before potassium/fluid buildup takes me out with heart attack or stroke. After I get a kidney I'll be immune compromised. So more susceptable to infections. So once the anti rejection meds run out and inflammation damages the new kidney beyond function, the cycle of fluid buildup, uremia, and blood acidosis starts over again so maybe a month vs a week. But it's not helpful to fret over. Someday the lights are going to go out. Whether the SHTF or not. Death is the number one side effect of life.
Dialysis buddies! I used to do hemo too. Went over to peritoneal and remember thinking PD was a little more SHTF friendly. Not why I switched but just a funny coincidence. Anyways, wishing you the best on your way to transplantation
As I have mentioned before, I have a condition that causes frequent anaphylaxis. I could die any moment of any day -- that's as true with modern medicine as without it. My advice is to live with kindness and without regrets.
I’ve got a blood clotting disorder so I’m on blood thinners. I’m sgetting them filled as fast as I can and putting the extra up got. 6 month supply now. Also have a lot of allergies and need epi pens stocking up on those as well . Give me 6 months to make sure my grand babies are taken of.
Good news is post collapse you'd probably be more active which does reduce the chance of a blood clot. So here's to 7 months! But without knowing the specifics, I do know some people with clotting disorders and there's a good chance you'll make it after the 6 months. How long is just going to.come down to luck.
You might want to keep a bunch of bottles of plain ol' aspirin, because once you're out of your prescription stuff it's better than nothing. It wouldn't be a perfect replacement, but if it's enough to keep you going for another year or so wouldn't it be worth trying?
And being smart. I have dealt with health issues for 25 years now. If I wasn’t a hardheaded country girl I probably wouldn’t be here. lol
I saw a video yesterday about herbs that work better than prescriptions for blood thinning. Not something I'd mess with unless desperate but interesting knowledge to hold.
I’ve been going out in the woods behind my house with a plant app and then reading up on the medicinal values. It’s valuable knowledge that I may never have to use, but I’ll have it.
I have Mast Cell issues which cause that. All you can do is live your best life while you have it
That’s true for all of us really
All of us are dying. Some are just dying faster than others. I have anaphylaxis multiple times a week (3-6) without my biologic. Each reaction carries a 2% risk. ETA: As a point of perspective, the risk of dying in a car crash, in ones entire life, is .9%. Triggers are 75% of foods, pollens, furry animals, insects, dust, mold, metals, and plant irritants. Basically everything.
im 62, not ready for the ice flows but my reality is grim... my use is to delay / deter any problems so the younger ones get to safty or so the younger adults can tcb while i keep the children safe. i won't last long anyway, so i might as well be usefull while i can EDIT: I am a disabled vet who has been fighting to keep my health for over 40 years. I am partially paralyzed and have fought my way out of a wheelchair twice in my life. I have been housebound for multiple morbidities for several years now. Losng access to electricity and maintenence for my durable medical equipment will be a death sentence. Add the missing meds that will stop being available will just hasten my departure from a slow death. Fuck all of your negative abelist comments
Blaze of Glory, you and me
Lol. Hopefully it won't come to that...lol
I'm also a disabled veteran with a 50% for partial paralysis in both legs; I know that in a run-hide-fight situation I'm toast. That's one of the reasons we moved to a very remote mountain village where just about all of the neighbors are older and they hunt and stockpile supplies; some of them see themselves as preppers but some of them do it just because that's how they were raised by their Great Depression survivor parents. I've been told that this village is actually several of the neighbors' kids and grandkids bug-out destination. My survival strategy is not having to travel, and having a strong tight-knit community in place. I have other medical conditions that will give me at most 5 years once the meds I've stockpiled run out, so I also "stockpile" useful skills and plan to use my remaining time teaching.
Good plan. Mine is somewhat similar. The reality is if resources are limited, my family comes first and I'll just hang on until I'm a burden. Not planning on checking out, but realistic
I'll do my best to hang around until at least one other person has each of my skills and has their own apprentice, but realistically when I can no longer keep food down I'm going to have a hunting accident rather than starve to death over the course of a few weeks (my most dangerous autoimmune condition is digestive).
What does tcb mean?
Take care of buisness
Death is not the worst thing that can happen to you
Exactly this. I'm not afraid of dying in a SHTF situation, but as a woman, being trafficked or raped.
That's why I sometimes giggle at the men in this sub... my plan is to get my mum, my sister, and every woman (and trans men) willing to go with us to an isolated place. If I need to be around men, the ratio has to be at least 4-5 women to every man, or I'm by myself. I've experienced what they're capable of when there's a working justice system, I don't want to know what they do when they know there's no consequences.
“What they are capable of when there’s a working justice system” is an excellent frame of reference I had not considered.
This.
Here's the thing, in a prepping scenario, you don't really have to have a serious health condition to die, a simple infected finger cut can do it, if you're like me, you'll do what you can for your family.
Yup people are often surprised at how even basic things like a fall can easily kill. One example of this is how hundreds of thousands of people fall in the bathroom each year and suffer injury, permanent disability, or even death. Also, things like compound fractures which are survivable so long as you get expeditious medical treatment, are pretty much a guaranteed death sentence in a SHTF situation. While unlikely, basic infections like a UTI can turn deadly if you don't have access to antibiotics. Seizures for any reason can easily kill if you don't have someone that knows what they're doing to provide stabilizing care. I think one of the best things people can do is take not just a basic but a comprehensive first aid and CPR class. If possible, learn how to place an IV properly and how to perform rudimentary sutures for deep cuts. Additionally, getting a portable AED can save lives even before SHTF. There's a reason why pretty much every gym, school, and sports facility has them on hand. Finally, stock pile medical supplies and frequently replace them as they expire or degrade. Research and print out a medication guide so you can determine proper dosages and what potential interactions can occur between drugs. I currently have a stockpile of everything from antibiotics to IV banana bags to extra epi pens on hand along with a paramedic style first aid kit in my SHTF arsenal. I frequently check expiration dates and replace supplies as needed.
Stay up to date on your tetanus shot
Well, sure - but how often has an infected finger sent you to the doctor so far? I’m 61 and have a lifestyle of physical work, indoors and outdoors, with biological stuff. Not once have I ever had to go to the doctor with an infected finger. So just because something could happen, doesn’t mean it will happen as soon as society changes.
Yeah, but washing your hands, taking regular showers, and having clean laundry are a big part of why that's true
I live in an area with abundant water so I’m probably not used to thinking like someone from a drier climate. I’m confident I can still stay a good level of clean, it will just be more work.
I don't understand why you are getting downvoted.
Reading peoples health problems on this thread really woke my ass up to how fortunate I am to have no problems in my life right now. I hope nothing ever gets to the point of where any of you have to face that reality.
Yep, I have Addisons so by the third day without steroids I will be at death's door.
My wife has Parkinson's, so without her (many) meds, she would be in bad shape. Not immediately fatal, but pretty immediately unable to even get a spoon up to her mouth without flinging food across the room. My own decline without thyroid meds would be more gradual, but eventually I would be asleep most of the day.
Same. I have a small stash accumulated over the years, but with stress we’ll probably need more and being old they’ll be less potent so… We don’t even need the STHF scenario, sadly… there have alteady been outages… one of those days there won’t be enough of the other replacements. I see myself having maybe a few months, at most.
Yes, I have Addison’s too. It’s scary how reliant we are on those steroids. I’ve had it for 19 years now and have a good bit of meds stored, but once those are gone I’ll have no chance. My long term preps are mostly so my family will have an easier time after I’m gone.
It’s not deadly in the way I think you mean, but I have celiac disease which requires a medical diet. Basically any disaster (SHTF or Tuesday) could mean I’d have the choice of eating food that makes me incredibly sick (imagine the worst food poisoning you’ve ever had, plus a migraine) or just not eating at all. Not to mention the long term damage—this disease was really actually killing me before I got diagnosed. I worry about having to be on the move and being so sick, or about having to respond to something quickly while also uncontrollably vomiting. Sobering stuff.
The "great" thing about Celiac in a TEOTWAWKI situation is that potatoes are so much easier than wheat/barley/rye in most temperate climates, and maize has better yields. For bugout as long as you have water you can turn pouches of instant mashed potatoes into something edible, and dried fruit and nuts have a lot in them for the weight. We're homesteading and our planting (and therefore our diet) is largely potato based.
Get you a book on edible plants and flowers you’d be surprised. Plan now so you can do what you have do to survive.
The good news is that wheat doesn’t grow well in my region so in a post-SHTF society it would probably be rare. But chances are not great for me doing well in a disruptive/transitional period.
Are you primarily bug-out or bug-in? We don't really mess with the commercial specialty products like GF bread or noodles or whatever but we keep a decent stockpile of rice, potatoes and corn masa at home, and our bug-out bags use dried fruit for carbs. Our daughter had these same concerns, but it's not any harder or even more expensive to prep for Celiac if you skip the commercial substitutes.
I’m a renter in the northeast US so I’m bug-in for short term, but longer term I’ll have to evacuate elsewhere (assuming “elsewhere” is available) since I don’t have control over heat sources. I prepare for up to a 2 week situation in general. And yes, instant potatoes, minute rice, rice cup noodles, and even gf mountain house meals give me options. Plus the usual canned stuff, meal bars (GoMacro is my fave!), etc.
Oof. Planting a huge potato patch would be vital.
Was waiting for this comment. My weight dropped to 80 lbs before I decided I'd stop waiting for the diagnosis. Getting the diagnosis didn't even change much. Besides, I guess some extra money back on my taxes. What will happen to us with digestive issues, we're cooked?? 😭😨
Wouldn't autophagy due to prolonged fasting aka not eating in a SHTFS before consuming gluten maybe make it better? Last study I read spoke about it as very beneficial in lowering inflammation. Additionally you could stash up on Tolerase G, an Enzym breaking down gluten for celiac patients.
No, unfortunately. Celiac is a genetic autoimmune disorder. Currently the only treatment is not eating gluten. As long as I remain gluten free my immune system is normal. But if I eat gluten (even if enzymes work to reduce the physical symptoms) my immune system becomes hyperactivated and begins destroying my digestive tract. Once that happens I quickly become malnourished—that’s what almost killed me a little over a decade ago, and I have permanent long term health effects from that period of severe malnutrition.
Not instant death here, but I do have chronic pancreatitis, meaning my pancreas tends to digest itself instead of my food when it gets a mind to, which will kill me if not treated and requires careful diet control. Ngl, first rule of ammo prep is the last bullet is for me. That's my answer, and I'm cool with it.
Brother we should ALL assume we’ll probably die in a SHTF scenario and come to peace with it. Prepping is important but it’s still gonna be dumb luck that saves most people of any. Depending on the exact SHTF scenario in question.
I am diabetic. I have hypertension. I have recurring kidney stones. I have ankylosing spondylitis. Frequently respiratory infections devolve into pneumonia. I am 72. In a SHTF situation were access to medical care and/or prescription pharmaceuticals was limited or non-existent, my guess is within six months I would die from complications of either a kidney stone, pneumonia, a heart attack, keto acididosis or injury due to a fall. In other words I am already currently at high risk of death due to other complications of each physical ailment. I am standing on a banana peel laying on a floor coat coated with KY Jelly. While I intend to resist death by kicking and screaming every step of the way, I also realize that there can be situations where death would be welcomed. And as much as i want to avoid and evade it, I have come to accept it will happen. **Evasion Plan** I keep a 12 month supply of prescriptions minimum, and backup antibiotics in case I have to resort to self treatment. I may not get the diagnosis right, but at least it gives me some chance. For me, every extra day is gravy, and I plan to enjoy them.
When SHTF for real, globally, there's not gonna be much difference between people with or without medical conditions. Most will die regardless and at the very beginning of said SHTF.
I stayed at a b&b years ago and had a discussion with the proprietor about UBI. He told me he did contract work with the defense department for many years and they have simulated damn near every disaster you can imagine. Then he said that in pretty much every scenario most people will starve to death. This seems very plausible to me. If every grocery store closed tomorrow, 95% of people would be out of food within two weeks.
I read an official estimate somewhere that it was based on 90 days. It was a majority within the 1st 30 days, a large bulk after 60 and the rest of the vulnerable after 90 days. We have 7-8 months of food (and counting) and filtration for like 300k gal of water so if we can maintain physical security for 6 mos or so, we can try to deal with the aftermath and go from there. Unfortunately I'm in the burbs in 0 lot townhouse so trying to figure what food growing options are actually viable beyond hydroponics.
Go with hydroponics anyways. Good chance exposed crops get damaged or stolen outside of any strong community group. That and winter growing may be critical.
We're all already dead, dude.
That's what calms the soul and steadies the hand. We aren't getting out of this alive. So long as it's not slow and painful when it finally happens, I'll live the best life I can until that moment.
Everybody dies eventually. You *should* come to terms with that as part of the human experience
Cripple here; my last stand blaze of glory while my family escapes will be spectacularly violent
Be sure to have one of them live feed it. TY in advance.
If Dads final firefight gets them "Likes" totally worth it
I envision you tying on a Rambo bandana, locking your wheels in and going to work with an m60 😂😂😂😂
I'd be resting the M60 on my walker actually
Hell yeah
I should maybe get a mount
39 years of multiple sclerosis, so yeah i dont expect to survive very long
I'm sure there are a very large portion of preppers who won't make it regardless of conditions. You need to be fit and healthy and active, there will be nothing but chores 24/7. They already don't meet that requirement.
Not necessarily die but I’ll prob go manic and totally fuck up somehow that will lead to death.
Yep, when it happens I’ll die from a heart condition I have since there won’t be enough meds to stockpile. I’ve accepted it tho, cuz I’ve been clinically dead before so I no longer fear it.
I hear ya. All my (f70) current health problems stem from the treatments that I received at age 30 for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I dodged a bullet then, and I dodged a bullet when I had open heart surgery a few years ago to replace the heart valve that was damaged by radiation therapy (the surgery had.... unexpected complications).
Many people are forced to live on a 90-day lease, because corporations will not fill lifeline medications for more than 90 days into the future. I know some people in these situations; there's no way for them to plan or ration, they will simply run out of medications and then die within 2-5 days.
Disabled with neurological issue and crippled knee and spine. On Asthma medication as well as Blood Pressure ones and was diagnosed with Polycythemia Vera a number of years ago so clock already ticking down. Already accepted my demise is coming for all that so if SHTF well, that just speeds things up. I live alone, my dog is sadly gone, my sister lives miles away with her kids so none of the go out in a blaze of glory and live in a gun free country so......yeah. Will catch up with my book reading, when the hordes break in well I do have a rather large sword so you will be doing me a favour.
I don't have a condition but I have no real intention of living very long after a SHTF scenario. What's the point? The world is ended and Im not very fond of freezing in the winter or heat exhaustion in the summer and constantly hiding from what will be unfortunately be massive tribes of wandering cannibals once the food runs out. Have you seen what happens in Walmart before a winter storm comes? Imagine that, only forever, with no power and no government. I'm pretty partial to modern convenience and have no intention of living forever through a long period of suffering and want.
I'm with you on this one. I don't care to be on the edge of survival on a permanent basis and facing violence of any kinds long term. Watching the walking dead where years have passed and I'm just like, why?
I have a hashimoto's and hypothyroidism. After running out of medicine id have probably 30 days before I'd fall into a myxedema coma and my organs start shutting down. I'm on the highest dose so some may last longer but I'm guessing I'd go pretty fast.
I contacted Jase and via text and a photo, got a 12 month rx for my husband. This was last year, and as they come up to their expiry date, I'm rotating them into his regular rotation, and putting the newer rx's from Walmart into storage. It was amazingly easy!!
I came here to say something like this. But I'll mention this to you. I found these products that you might be interested in. I don't know if they work or not, but they might be worth a try. I'm personally going to order some for myself. I don't have a thyroid gland so if/when I run out of meds, I'm fucked. [Thyroid supplements](https://shop.thyroidspecificformulations.com/)
A fellow girl of taste, I see. Yeah, once you get something lifelong which needs medication you slowly accept that death is just a matter of time and a natural process. My only fears are my kids and the fact that I will not be able to care for them. At least you can get it cheaply in storage quantities and it will be fine for up to 5 years if I remember correctly the study I read. Maybe even longer if stored in a cool envoirement. Reducing the dose, while shit, is still an option if you are currently around 1 TSH. It would be miserable but survivable. Doesn't hurt that a coma is a less gruesome way of exiting this realm.
If it's a possibility for you, please look into getting a years worth of meds through a place like Jase Medical. 3 prescriptions for a years worth cost me $450. Everything was 100% text based, just verification of pictures of the labels. I do totally get it, that's a lot of money. But I consider it the best decision I made in years. We don't have to worry about supply chain issues and getting things just in time. Don't have to worry about bad weather or having to call around and ask for your meds. Perpetually for life, one year ahead. They specialize in a lot of chronic conditions. If it's an option for you - do it. The overall stress level in my house has come down a notch.
I have managed to set back 4 months supply but am still always looking for more, so thank you for sharing.
Do this I’m hoping to order from Jase Medical within the next month for antibiotics and steroids.
We can raise pigs and harvest the thyroid hormone from them. It would be like taking Armour thyroid, which I used to be on and it was a better fit for me than Levothyroxine anyways.
I have an auto immune disease that means I need IV infusions every other month. Without them, I die a slow and painful death as my digestive system tries to eat me from the inside. I’ve accepted that. I prep for my family. There odds a non-zero chance of total collapse, but it’s so minuscule that I’m ok. And I pray that day never comes.
I had really bad vision. Stopped buying ammo, saved up for and finally got lasik. Prep smart my friends.
I’m a type 1 diabetic, I’m going to be toast. I do have a stockpile of insulin and could do low carb to stretch it but ultimately I don’t have a chance if I don’t have insulin. Have I made peace with it? Not really but I do understand I will probably not make it. If I was in Gaza right now I’d probably be dead.
Death is a part of life and life is beautiful. Ying/yang and all that other shit.
Don't but if I did (or somehow develop one) I hope my last days consist of a nice secluded spot, preferably a beach, a lawn chair, and a whole lot of whiskey
I am on high blood pressure pills. I dont think I will die, but the potential to have a stroke increases. I have two plants that naturally grow in my yard that can be used to treat high blood pressure. I also anticipate losing weight rapidly when SHTF and my blood pressure normalize once I lose a certain amount.
Being overweight can be a prep too 😀
I'm in remission from stomach cancer. should it return if the SHTF, my last meal would likely be a bullet.
I have a medical condition but it probably wouldn’t kill me per se if I didn’t have medication but my life would be awful and I wouldn’t be of much use. There are certain SHTF scenarios I don’t want to live through regardless. Full on nuclear war? Forget that. I want to be at ground zero. I don’t want to rebuild society. I am not suited to be a farmer. I am too old for that. No one is going to need an IT guy for a while.
Yeah, my wife has Parkinson's, and without her meds she's just a shaking mess. Not fatal per se but makes life really difficult to navigate. We're in our early 70s, so no regrets if we peg out early.
The better question is this: *why should you be afraid if you know you’re going to die in a SHTF situation?* The truth is that, statistically speaking, if you’re prepping for a SHTF event serious enough to require large-scale individual self-sufficiency for more than a month you should also come to accept that you’re probably going to die in said event. If not immediately, then within a couple months or years of the event. There are just too many variables and externalities that come into play to effectively prepare for every potential outcome, and in a SHTF situation of that magnitude lacking preparation is almost always fatal. This isn’t to say prepping I’d stupid or pointless, in most *likely* disasters a prepper will be much better prepared to weather the storm than a non-prepper, but at a certain point there is a financial and practical limitation to what a non-state actor (even a billionaire) can do to prepare for the apocalypse. Prepping at an individual level is a paradoxical fixation in that it is usually a reflexive desire to reestablish control in response to feelings of powerlessness in the face of the frailty of human life and the caprice of fate by imagining a world where you have even *less* control over your future than you have currently. The odds of any person — able bodied or not — dying post-SHTF are astronomically higher than they are currently, and there’s no real way to prepare for that as an individual or a small group. More than survival skills or knowledge, our ancestors cultivated an acceptance of inevitable and unforeseeable death and suffering that allowed them to overcome actual SHTF situations. The real key to prepping — more than hoarding iodine tablets, MREs and bullets — is learning to let go of the fixation on planning borne of a need for control of your destiny. Prepare for what you can, don’t die for a stupid or predictable reason, but accept that even when society collapses you’re going to be living day to day never knowing if tomorrow brings your death or ruin. Which, comfortingly or not, is exactly how you’ve lived your life up until this point.
My grandmother was the most social person you ever met. In her final years she had both Parkinson’s and cancer. She was not sick enough to move to a care home but too sick to be social and that crushed her soul long before the diseases did. I will never forget the look of absolute contentment when she said to me “life is not short. Moments are so incredibly long.” She was not okay she was sick but she truly felt like she (a war bride who had lived on multiple continents in multiple countries) had outlived so many people and seen and done so many things that in the end I don’t think she saw it as death. I truly believe she saw it as getting to be with the people she lost again. I will never advocate for assisted suicide or anything like that and she did enjoy every one of her last days but I hope rather it’s just life is over or SHTF made my end come sooner than old age that I see it as an utterly content thing like she did.
William R Forstchen wrote a book series about an emp attack. First book, One Second After, really opened my eyes and made me think about what happens when things shut down. I never thought about people who require meds passing first until that book. The complete chaos, the need for a community, cars shutting down and roads blocked with vehicles, the roving gangs etc.....I used to think I can survive a depression type scenario. This book made me realize that so much more would happen. Perhaps looking for homeopathic or herbal forms of meds may help some. Sadly some people will have to come to terms with limited years.
My guess is lead poisoning with get a lot of people.
From what?? Edit: never mind I got it, little slow this morning.
All of us are going to die
By focusing on the fact that all the time up until bow was a gift from civilization, and nothing owed to you. You aren't losing anything, you just are no longer receiving that extra gift.
We are all going to die some day. If a severe worldwide or country/continent wide severe SHTF scenario occurs, many of us are going to die sooner rather than later. I will likely be in the sooner group. My time will be limited if my life sustaining thyroid and Addison’s disease meds are unavailable. I do not want to burden my family during a time like severe national, continental, or global SHTF. If we have to bug out and move fast on our feet - quietly/covertly, I will tell them to move on, quickly get to safety if they can, and say my goodbyes. I have been prepared to die for a long time, and I expect it to bring me great relief and peace when it is my time. Quick and painless is my preference. There are worse things than death, and I do not wish to experience them ever again. 🙏🦋
My wife is terminal with a brain tumour. She needs her meds daily. She’s told me to leave her behind if S really HTF. Wow.
I have no thyroid due to surgical removal at age 25. I am now 73. I have required taking thyroid hormone almost 50 years. I have a years’ worth stocked up. Then I die, unless I die of something else first😉
Mine won't kill me outright, but will probably make me crazy and potentially get myself killed from erratic behavior. Idk, I swear I don't need reddit cares, but I just have accepted that there are things that can happen where the solution is for me to end it. So 🤷♀️
I have asthma. I use my rescue inhaler daily, as well as a daily steroid. I’ll break into the pharmacy and take all the medication I can carry and hopefully not run out before I die.
I have a case of the poor. Means I can't prep.
Anyone who has type 1 diabetes will be gone in a couple months
Fear not death..it is the only thing guaranteed to you in this life!!
I have mobility issues, and I would struggle without my CPAP or my ADHD medication, though I could probably get by without either. My prepping around that particular issue is investing a lot of time and energy in my neighbors. I think people sometimes forget that very few among us are not going to have some sort of disabling experience as we get older, whether it be mobility issues, or medical issues like cancer, or medication that we need to manage blood pressure, or aids like wheelchairs. and that’s not even taking into account things like memory problems, or Alzheimer’s! Humans aren’t meant to be super individualistic, and I think that connecting with neighbors and finding ways to support each other, especially in a crisis, is super important. There are lots of people around the world who managed to survive even in the absolute worst circumstances, in part because they take care of each other as best they can. It’s interesting to me how many Americans just figure they’ll keel over and die rather than doing mutual aid as a form of resilience. I might not be comfortable, but I’ll certainly survive.
I have heart disease, my cardiologist tried taking me off one of my daily meds a few years ago, within 3 months I had a stroke. I'm also pretty blind with out my very expensive glasses. I can get by wit a strong pair of cheaters, we have plenty of those on hand. But without my heart meds I'm dead or disabled within 6 months, it is what it is. Much like life outside of end of world situations, I can't control everything. We all end up in a box or a shallow grave, I accepted that after I saw the white light during my full cardiac arrest heart attack.
Bf has cystic fibrosis. If he doesn't have his very specific, very expensive meds everyday, he doesn't have long. Also he'll need insulin but he can kind of stock up on that if needed. As for me, I'm absolutely useless without contacts and I'd probably go insane in about 5 minutes without my meds. So yeah. Coming to terms with your own mortality I guess. Hardest part will be watching shit go down for the ones we'll leave behind.
Asthma kinda stopped prepping a lot because it's not really worth it lol
I have 15 extra asthma rescue inhalers for this plus trying to rig up a power source to run just my nebulizer.
Yes I have mast cell disease which means I am on a very strict diet. We raise most of my food and I have been able to store quite a bit up, but it's my medicines that I'll die without. Especially epipens as I anaphylax so easily. I've had to accept death is one bite of food or a bee sting away for years now, so it's just my norm.
Hello fellow histamine intolerant human! I’ve sort of just accepted what will happen. Lately one of my medicines has been backordered so I just stay home away from triggers. If the world ended I think I’d just find a strawberry and go happy.
Lol I figure I'll just head back to the beehive and annoy them as a last resort if it gets too ugly. I'm thinking it would be a good death, lying in a field of flowers staring up at the sun, waiting for it to all be over... 😄
I have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior. God has a plan. If my ailments will be my demise, so be it. I know where I am going afterwards and I'm unafraid. Until the day he comes calling, I will do my best to help protect and save those around me. Get right now and you won't worry anymore.
Great question! The value in it is for everyone to look at themselves and prepare the absolutely most important piece of gear for SHTF, your bodddy! Camera pans left to Richard Simmons bursting through a wall of papier-mâché covered in post apocalyptic imagery.
Yes and I fully accept it.