covid-19 (new corona virus)

[MotorVation]

I'm near Ehrenberg and my Rx is gonna be dead empty Sunday when I take the last dose. My Dr in Florida can't call a refill in as he wrote the current one for a year and I have no refills left. I called his office today.

I also called the Doctor in Quartzsite to try to get an appointment there but they don't have anything open until next Monday. They told me to go to the ER in Parker. I asked her what would happen there. She said she didn't know. They're a satellite office for that hospital. Great service.

Anyway, I can't go without this Rx for even one day. In fact the first day would be the worse and I could have seizures if I miss a dose.

FINALLY, I'll get to the point. I've been researching tele doctors. It's in the middle of the night right now so I won't have more info until tomorrow. I know there are a few doctors in Blythe but I really don't want to go to an ER or a doctor's office because that's where the freaking sick people are. I'm not sick. I've been taking this Rx for 25 years. If I have to I'll go to Los Algodones but I don't have a passport, just a drivers license and birth certificate. That will get me back across the border but I understand it can be a hassle.

Anyway, I'm seriously considering a video chat with a doctor to get a freaking refill. That will solve my problem for three months and I won't have to potentially expose myself to this virus. Do I sound just a little bit frustrated?

BTW legislation was just passed that will allow Medicare, which I have, to pay for this service, thereby reducing risk to elderly patients who would otherwise have to physically go to a doctor, hospital etc. 
It's so new that I can't find any practitioners online who are participating in it. 

I'll update after it's all figured out

Here's a url with some info on that legislation. I didn't want to miss the edit deadline so I only skimmed the article:

https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/congress-waives-telehealth-restrictions-coronavirus-screening

 

[maki2]

You may have to drive to Phoenix area to find a walk-in, no appointment, needed clinic. I know that is what I would do in your situation. Yes it will cost more than a regular doctor visit, but going to Mexico is no guarantee of being able to see a doctor immediately and it is going to be exhausting to go through that. You could head out early in the morning and make it to a walk-in clinic to be there in plenty of time.

Is there a risk being around sick people? Yes but if your health is that compromised then inform the staff at the desk about it and arrange to wait in your car and have them call you on the phone when they are ready for you to come into the exam room. You can also sit in your car to fill out the prior to exam forms that are a part of every doctor visit at any clinic.

You can have the prescription sent to the closest pharmacy to the walk in clinic that has a drive up window for picking up prescriptions. They too can call you on the phone when it has been filled and is ready to pick up. It saves going inside of a pharmacy where there might be ill persons present.

So you do have perfectly viable options to get your prescription when you need it without going to a hospital emergency room or to Mexico but you will need to do a bit of research on the internet or your phone to find a walk in clinic. But as I am on a high speed internet connection I can help with that so here are a few options for walk in clinics that I pulled up for you.

1st Care Medical Clinic - Appointment or Walk-in
Medical clinic in Phoenix, Arizona
Address: 1635 W Glendale Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85021
Hours: Opens 8AM
Phone: (602) 544-2273

Family Doctors Office Walk-In Center
Walk-in clinic in Phoenix, Arizona
Address: 7620 W Lower Buckeye Rd #102, Phoenix, AZ 85043
Hours: Opens 7:30AM
Phone: (623) 936-0821

FastMed Urgent Care
Address: 2860 W Peoria Ave B, Phoenix, AZ 85029
Hours: Opens 8AM
Phone: (602) 283-0595
Appointments: fastmed.com

Here is a link to the Akos medical clinics, they have a number of walk in locations so I am posting the link rather than an address. This is one of the clinics that does remote by internet prescriptions as well.
https://akosmd.com/med-clinics/locations/

 

[crofter]

Walk in clinics are supposed to provide refill service, but may not be a long prescription. Sounds like establishing video care with your regular DR is the best option.  I wonder if the local library or hospital would have equipment?    -crofter

 

[maki2]

I was looking at some news reports today regarding Covid 19. Remember I am not in a panic but I am in Seattle and so to speak close to ground zero USA so there is a lot going on locally I need to be aware of.

Anyway the information I saw today came from an interview done with one of the top Doctors who was involved in the situation in China. While there have not yet been formal studies released showing statistical information about the disease's progress for how it effects the body for causing deaths in at risk seniors this physician stated that what seems to be the most significant risk factor in the elderly at risk patients was high blood pressure. So that is just something to keep in mind if you do have extreme high blood pressure issues and you are also elderly.

Good information is important and knowing exactly what that risk factor is certainly helped lower my concern about my own personal risk. Fortunately I do not have high blood pressure although I know many people do as they get older. But that does not mean I could not stand to get it even lower to what it was when I was younger.

Maybe this will be a wake up call to get out there and do more exercise and get some weight off before/if it becomes more widespread. Maybe this is the reason it does not seem as severe in younger people. I don't know but I do know a good incentive is a good incentive for getting healthier and fitter with a healthier heart and arteries and this is as good a reason for doing that as any other. Start your day with a brisk walk if you are able to do so! But for me that is more likely to be mid day than early morning as that is when my energy is better. There is a very pleasant walk to take right outside my door here plus miles of bike trails and even hill climb stairs.

 

[WanderingRose]

I'm near Ehrenberg and my Rx is gonna be dead empty Sunday when I take the last dose. My Dr in Florida can't call a refill in as he wrote the current one for a year and I have no refills left. I called his office today.

Anyway, I can't go without this Rx for even one day. In fact the first day would be the worse and I could have seizures if I miss a dose.

I would take the soonest appointment you can get where you are, explaining the situation, and advising your doctor in Florida so they can transfer information electronically if needed.

Take your current prescription bottle in to a local pharmacy, explain there is going to be a lapse between that prescription running out and your appointment, and ask them to give you enough of your medication to bridge the gap.

Pharmacies will do that.

You don’t say why you are out of this medication before you apparently should be, but be prepared to explain that.

As for Mexico, friends of mine from Canada walk into their pharmacies and get whatever they want, no prescription nor doctors appointment needed. I don’t know if that is true everywhere.

Good luck.

 

[maki2]

apparently in Mexico it depends on the medication. Some things are controlled in Mexico and do require a prescription from your US doctor or a doctor in Mexico and some things that are over counter there but require a prescription here. Some medications even cost the same in both countries. It really isn't quite as simple as some of the reports that come back about how cheap and easy refills are in Mexico. It is a check and see situation.

 

[WanderingRose]

Mmm, that could be.

She is a nurse, and what I know is what they have reported over the years.

They would winter by the Rio Grande, and get their dental work done in Mexico, also she would get prescribed and non prescribed medications without prescriptions. At a fraction of the cost in Canada.

Not to derail this thread, but going into Mexico might be an option.

I do think MotorVation could get enough meds from a local pharmacy to get them thru to a scheduled appointment.

I’ve done it, more than once, when there was a refill snafu needing cleared by my doctor.

 

[MotorVation]

Update
I did an online consultation for refills. 49.00 for 3 months supply, not including the cost of the meds. I picked the Wally World in Parker for them to send the Rx to. I just finished doing this 10 minutes ago so I'll update with the details when it does or doesn't go through. 

I didn't want to derail the topic. I posted in this thread because of the possibility of not having to go physically to a doctor's office or clinic etc, to avoid being around potentially contagious individuals, which in reality probably isn't possible but why not slim down the risks.

I'll be back with more info. I'm sure the doctors at that company are slammed right now so it could take a while to have the Rx sent to Walmart

I appreciate the time you all took to reply

Edited to add:
I didn't run out of meds prematurely. My Dr was on vacation when I left Florida in January. I don't have any refills remaining in the Rx and he couldn't call it without me coming in for an exam. I tried. I called his office

 

[tx2sturgis]

Just FYI, in any thread where I am the OP, as in this one, there is no such thing as off-topic or thread detour...that is, if I was in charge.

But the mods, well they have certain policies to remind us of. 

Ooops, that was off-topic, pardon me...

 

[highdesertranger]

I myself don't care if someone derails one my threads. in fact I am pretty good at it myself. however we do have rules and some members insist that there threads not be derailed. highdesertranger

 

[mjbeam]

It might be smart to get exposed to the virus now if one doesn't have an underlying condition that puts them at high risk. Get it over with.

 

[MotorVation]

Here's another update on the Rx via internet deal. There was a glitch and my Rx didn't make it to Walmart in Parker today. I started a chat on Facebook and that person supposedly straightened it out and I can pick it up tomorrow. It's all gonna be a pretty moot point if the Parker Wally World doesn't have a drive thru pharmacy window. The one I use in Fl does. So, I may have avoided going to a doctors office but I may have to hang out with a couple hundred people in the store. 
I'll update once I have the freaking meds in my hand. 
That of course is assuming that I can get across the wash l had to cross to get up here. It's been raining on and off for over 24 hrs with more rain tonight and showers tomorrow. I'm good with my remaining meds until Monday.

Sorry 'bout the detour Tx. If this all works out I'll start a thread with this info. It's saving my butt and it could be useful for nomads

 

[maki2]

I am in the midst of a personal coronavirus health crisis...I ran out of coffee! I guess I should have gotten into that mash up of hoarders at the grocery stores this last weekend and risked my life. Because is there life without coffee? No sure but I may soon find out

 

[MotorVation]

Yeah, that's serious business. Nothing good will happen in my life without coffee

 

[riptorn]

life without coffee

And tabaco, my 2 monkeys.
 Back on thread, we now have 3 confirmed. All 3 went rite back to work in the local meat packing plant after returning from there home land and were sent home (free plant health nurse). Also a school district near here is shut down for sterilization because 1 sent children to school.
My sweet hart goes to wally world all most every day and does the wall walk thing (bad weather) before she comes over to spend the day, yesterday she said they were disinfecting the shopping carts. And last night I got a call saying the panic buying has begun here. Can you imagine what that must have been like. (can you say little Saigon) Over the last 15 years 68% of the population (public fact as of a news article last summer) here has came from S.E. Asia and refuse to speak English. 
All I can say is. If you have a God, get right with him (her or it) .
If I have offended some one, those weren't my intentions. But the line forms at the rear.  :heart:

 

[crofter]

It might be smart to get exposed to the virus now if one doesn't have an underlying condition that puts them at high risk. Get it over with.

Sounds like we will all be exposed to it eventually, no matter what we do. You can help your body build immunity thru good nutrition & vitamins.   -crofter

 

[riptorn]

It might be smart to get exposed to the virus now if one doesn't have an underlying condition that puts them at high risk. Get it over with.

Also a news report in the beginning said you can become re infected.

 

[maki2]

When I made a light joke about needing to get coffee and there being a risk in doing so I was actually being on topic and underlying that humor is truth.

I am in Seattle, there is estimated to already be more than a thousand cases of active coronavirus in this area and the estimate is that number will double in just a couple of more days. Not scare tactics, this is the educated estimate from the medical research people in Seattle which is a big center for such things.

Watch this video from a young woman who along with 3 girlfriends caught it 3 Tuesdays ago at a weekend party.
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/se...vived-coronavirus/5HKCBI5CKBGZDJJ4RSYAQ5ZLSQ/

So yes the statistics are just showing a very few of the cases that have already occurred.

 

[tx2sturgis]

A case could be made that this is just nature's way of thinning the herd. 

Fine, if you are one of the strong and healthy survivors.

But, you can never be sure what will happen if you are the one the 'experiment' is being performed on.

 

[user 423]

And tabaco, my 2 monkeys.
 Back on thread, we now have 3 confirmed. All 3 went rite back to work in the local meat packing plant after returning from there home land and were sent home (free plant health nurse). Also a school district near here is shut down for sterilization because 1 sent children to school.
My sweet hart goes to wally world all most every day and does the wall walk thing (bad weather) before she comes over to spend the day, yesterday she said they were disinfecting the shopping carts. And last night I got a call saying the panic buying has begun here. Can you imagine what that must have been like. (can you say little Saigon) Over the last 15 years 68% of the population (public fact as of a news article last summer) here has came from S.E. Asia and refuse to speak English. 

There is also a sizable percentage of the population that doesn't communicate in English very well either.