[jayt]

So I'm just starting to learn about peak oil, and while I'm all for learning sustainable farming techniques and so on, my concern is this: I rely on certain medications to keep me going (alive) -- medications that plants and herbs can't replace.

And now I'm starting to wonder -- if de-industrialization really is just around the corner, then why even bother getting prepared? I can help spread the word, contribute to the efforts of others attempting to prepare, but it seems there's little point in perparing *myself* to live beyond the industrialization threshold. Truth be told, a part of me is thinking that I'll wait until the first real crisis hits then end it all myself -- it would be better than dying slowly and painfully.

Needless to say, this is depressing and panicking the hell out of me. I don't want to sound selfish, but as far as my life is concerned, I don't see any possibility of a "silver lining" of relocalized communal living in my future. Should I be as depressed and panicked as I am? Any thoughts/advice?

Thank you in advance.

[gego]

Life is a bitch!

Maybe you can think of it like this. There are many people just this moment fighting losing battles with diseases like cancer (the other grandpa of my precious grandchildren for example). He is going to leave us very soon, and it will break the heart of many people who love him dearly. Yet the system does not provide him with the "cure".

In the future the "cure" will not be available for people who can in fact be "cured" or maintained today. So, if in fact we are going to revert to a lesser technological lever, then you have two choices. The first is easy, and that is to rely on the previous system and exit planet earth. The second is to get your rear in gear and find what alternatives might work.

It is my experience that much disease is self inflicted. You might want to start there and find what changes others have made that have alleviated their suffering. If your disease is a self-inflicted life-style disease and you are willing to change your life-style then you are cured. If you have a disease that is more in the realm of nature pruning her mistakes, then so long when modern medecine is no longer here.

[marek]

Jay,

First of all, the decline will not be immediate. It will be a slow, gradual process. Secondly, when prices are higher, oil will be used for the purposes that have a higher priority, such as medicine. Low priority uses, such as discretionary air travel, will be the first to go. Don't give up hope!!!!!

[spot5050]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jayt', 'S')o I'm just starting to learn about peak oil, and while I'm all for learning sustainable farming techniques and so on, my concern is this: I rely on certain medications to keep me going (alive) -- medications that plants and herbs can't replace.

And now I'm starting to wonder -- if de-industrialization really is just around the corner, then why even bother getting prepared? I can help spread the word, contribute to the efforts of others attempting to prepare, but it seems there's little point in perparing *myself* to live beyond the industrialization threshold. Truth be told, a part of me is thinking that I'll wait until the first real crisis hits then end it all myself -- it would be better than dying slowly and painfully.

Needless to say, this is depressing and panicking the hell out of me. I don't want to sound selfish, but as far as my life is concerned, I don't see any possibility of a "silver lining" of relocalized communal living in my future. Should I be as depressed and panicked as I am? Any thoughts/advice?

Thank you in advance.

[Ludi]

I believe medications will be available for a good long time, they will just be more expensive. So being part of a community will still be a benefit because of pooled resources to provide for members of the community.

[rerere]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jayt', 'I') rely on certain medications to keep me going (alive) -- medications that plants and herbs can't replace.

Any thoughts/advice?

[RonMN]

While i'm not sure what problems you have...DON'T make any drastic decisions at the moment!!! we don't know how this will unfold...it's all a big question mark.

Also...DON'T dis-reguard home remedies! Ya know Vitamin B6 will cure carpel tunnel synd.? but yet i see lots of people complaining about their UNsuccessful surgery.

Same with Glucosamine/Chondroitin for joint pain (hip/elbow/etc) but they have these parts replaced surgically because they just don't know! or extra virgin olive oil for you heart!

Don't JUMP to the conclusion that your problem is UNfixable by nature!!!

[jayt]

Phew. Thanks, all. It was good to be able to air the question among people who don't think I'm crazy, and it was really heartening to get your responses.

I realized, on reading some of the responses, that I'm still in the mode of thinking all of this going to happen to overnight -- like we're going to wake up one morning and find ourselves in a Mad Max movie.

I don't want to go into the specifics of my health issues, but I've done research into natural therapies and while they can help a little, they're not going to help much more than a little in the long run.

But the points about the future being a big question mark with regard to the details of how all of this will play out are good ones - my mind naturally jumps to the worst case scenarios (something I forget from time to time).

Thank you again!

jay

[pea-jay]

I'd worry less that the oil that became the feedstock for your medicine would become unavailable (most meds are oil derived). Oil will in all likelyhood continued to be extracted for a very long time and or reconstituted from something when it is no longer being extracted for energy purposes. The manufacture should be able to continue. What concerns me though, is the economic impacts that would shut down the companies that manufacture the medicines. In a fast crash scenario that would be a concern.

[killJOY]

marek:$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')irst of all, the decline will not be immediate. It will be a slow, gradual process. Secondly, when prices are higher, oil will be used for the purposes that have a higher priority, such as medicine. Low priority uses, such as discretionary air travel, will be the first to go. Don't give up hope!!!!!

[Bubbling_Crude]

jayt, I don't know what your medical condition is. In my case, it's type 1 diabetes. Barring a Mad Max scenario, the production of life-sustaining drugs such as insulin should become a top priority after the peak. I think that in the post-peak world, the basics found in any disaster relief center; food, shelter, and medicine, will take precedence over other non-critical things.

There is no "natural remedy" or "lifestyle change" that would provide a cure for Type 1 diabetics (folks, please don't Google up 'miracle +herbal +diabetes +cure' or other such nonsense). Weight loss and excercise can potentially reduce insulin requirements for some, but can never eliminate the need for daily injections.

[Claudia]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'm')y concern is this: I rely on certain medications to keep me going (alive) -- medications that plants and herbs can't replace.

[savethehumans]

Bubbling_Crude's on target: Type I diabetes requires insulin. Despite the fact that the elite may keep making the stuff, for most people, the supplies will be prohibitively expensive (like it isn't now!) and erratic in availability.

I have Type II diabetes myself. Medicine and diet keep it in line. I don't expect my meds to be available to me. I may still live with diet and exercise, but I'm not fooling myself that my body will have a rough time of it, and my life span will doubtless be shortened. I hope to make the most of each day I have, though, just as I do now.

To the jayts and Bubbling_Crudes out there, all I can say is: as long as you CAN keep going, DO keep going. You KNOW what's coming (and is here, in essence); your input may literally save lives. Face it: we could each be hit by a Mack truck tomorrow. So while you've got the meds you need, make the most of each day. Be a part of whatever community/group starts to form around your area; plan for things. It might even end up including black market contacts, where bartering for pills is a possibility. You never know. . . .

[Doly]

The truth is that nobody here knows the timing of the crisis. And nobody knows when things will get so bad (if they ever do) that you'll have a problem getting your medication.

The situation is similar to a person that has some incurable deadly disease with unpredictable development: you know you may die in a couple of years or you may be alive in twenty. What most people would do in such a case is make the most of what they have while they can. What you do if things start getting really uphill is up to you.