For Sale: Anyone needs an Epi-Pen?

[roland stockham]

Originally Posted by basssears

As another FYI (thread creep, I know), the great expense (other than the profit margin) in epi pens is the delivery mechanism. If you feel comfortable doing so, and your doctor is willing to prescribe it, talk to your doctor about getting a prescription for a vial of epinephrine and syringes and needles to draw it up and inject it. My last vial (30mg, so can be used for extended symptoms, as opposed to the 0.3mg - 0.5mg of an epi-pen which may only help for ~5 minutes at a time) cost me $10.00

(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, take my advice as worth what you paid for it)

-- Bass

While what you say is true drawing up an injectable drug and giving it to someone is, in MOST countries a restricted practice. This is for a good reason as getting the dose OR method wrong can easily be fatal.

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by kentobin

My father was a physician and aside from saying medication loses efficacy with age he had no clinical information as to how any medication aged. His only advice was if kept refrigerated the medication aged more slowly.

With aspirin that's not an issue. If you want to bet your life on how potent an expired epi-pen is sounds more like an act of stupidity or desperation.

While we are drifting (odd how it occurs despite's so much hot wind) aside from the absolutely insane price of the epi-pen, I'll add another personal story to the mix. Some years ago, at a time when my wife was willing to sail, we took a trip from Los Angeles to Mexico -ultimate destination Manzanillo. For reasons now unknown I took an old (as in long expired) "bee sting kit" with us (one of the kids had had an allergic reaction to a bee sting, and the doctor recommended we have it). It had a pre-loaded (epinephrine?) syringe and needle, and a couple of other items, which I think included Benadryl. To shorten the ending, during an at sea cool down dip she had an unwanted encounter with a jelly fish, reacted badly, and started to have real difficulty breathing. I used the syringe content (unrefrigerated, since we had none) and contrary to what I believe was the rapidly approaching alternative, she is sail alive today and we are still married. Desperation counts, and stupidity does too, since I was undoubtedly stupid to bring it, and desperate when I did.