>> So people who need pills actually *shouldn't* be dying off. <<
That depends on what medication(s) is required, what it is made from, how complicated it is to manufacture, and whether there is a natural substitute (e.g. willowbark for aspirin). It also matters whether the user will die, be crippled, or merely be uncomfortable without it; and how long they have to procure a new supply before that happens. You also have to know not only what your medication is but what it's made from, and possibly also some idea of how it's made if can't source a pharmacist-scientist. Consider also that some people depend on multiple medications, not just one. Some of them are not going to make it.
>> Why? Because me, and a lot of other mentally ill people, already have a post-apocalyptic survival plan that goes like this:<<
Planning ahead is an excellent idea.
>>2. Pick favorite scientist who knows--roughly, if need be--how to turn plants into medicine.<<
That will work for plant-based medicines, and also animal-based ones like insulin. For the chemical-based ones, you need a source of refined chemicals and a lab capable of advanced processes. A lot of that won't be available.
Another problem is that few places train to produce "scientists" anymore. Most specialize; many hyperspecialize. You need at least a chemist, because a physicist won't help much; and an industrial chemist will be little use either.
Also, consider the demographics. The Grunge preferentially kills straight, white, male adults: almost the entirety of the scientific community. (This may be less of an issue in other apocalypses. Or not, if people decide that's who is to blame and the mobs kill them.)
>> it makes a lot more sense that they survived the Grunge, since they'd bail into rural areas with the people they're making medicine for. <<
Most chemists live either in a city (e.g. college town) or right outside it (where the factories are). Few if any of the former will survive. Some of the latter might. Botanists, biologists, geologists, etc. on field trips are among the more likely surviving scientists. I've spotted multiple groups, like the girl scouts and the Fairchildren, who survived because they were in the wild when the bombs fell; it's likely that some science teams would do likewise. But that's usually not chemists.
>> (And honestly, even without that, some categories of medicine--like psych meds--aren't for lethal illnesses. You spend more time actively fixing up your brain without them, but it won't kill you to be minus your medications, just make you really hate whoever blew up the f*cking factories.) <<
That's true, but pills aren't the only life-sustaining technology. Anyone who needs breathing assistance has an extremely short fuse and low life expectancy. They routinely die in heat waves, smog waves, and power outages now let alone after the End. Think about pacemakers, seizure suppression implants, and so on -- those have limited batteries and functional parts that assume replacement is an option. Everyone who's had a transplant of any kind is a walking dead man. And so on.
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dancing_serpent
Re: Disagreeing...
Date: 2021-07-30 10:51 pm (UTC)That depends on what medication(s) is required, what it is made from, how complicated it is to manufacture, and whether there is a natural substitute (e.g. willowbark for aspirin). It also matters whether the user will die, be crippled, or merely be uncomfortable without it; and how long they have to procure a new supply before that happens. You also have to know not only what your medication is but what it's made from, and possibly also some idea of how it's made if can't source a pharmacist-scientist. Consider also that some people depend on multiple medications, not just one. Some of them are not going to make it.
>> Why? Because me, and a lot of other mentally ill people, already have a post-apocalyptic survival plan that goes like this:<<
Planning ahead is an excellent idea.
>>2. Pick favorite scientist who knows--roughly, if need be--how to turn plants into medicine.<<
That will work for plant-based medicines, and also animal-based ones like insulin. For the chemical-based ones, you need a source of refined chemicals and a lab capable of advanced processes. A lot of that won't be available.
Another problem is that few places train to produce "scientists" anymore. Most specialize; many hyperspecialize. You need at least a chemist, because a physicist won't help much; and an industrial chemist will be little use either.
Also, consider the demographics. The Grunge preferentially kills straight, white, male adults: almost the entirety of the scientific community. (This may be less of an issue in other apocalypses. Or not, if people decide that's who is to blame and the mobs kill them.)
>> it makes a lot more sense that they survived the Grunge, since they'd bail into rural areas with the people they're making medicine for. <<
Most chemists live either in a city (e.g. college town) or right outside it (where the factories are). Few if any of the former will survive. Some of the latter might. Botanists, biologists, geologists, etc. on field trips are among the more likely surviving scientists. I've spotted multiple groups, like the girl scouts and the Fairchildren, who survived because they were in the wild when the bombs fell; it's likely that some science teams would do likewise. But that's usually not chemists.
>> (And honestly, even without that, some categories of medicine--like psych meds--aren't for lethal illnesses. You spend more time actively fixing up your brain without them, but it won't kill you to be minus your medications, just make you really hate whoever blew up the f*cking factories.) <<
That's true, but pills aren't the only life-sustaining technology. Anyone who needs breathing assistance has an extremely short fuse and low life expectancy. They routinely die in heat waves, smog waves, and power outages now let alone after the End. Think about pacemakers, seizure suppression implants, and so on -- those have limited batteries and functional parts that assume replacement is an option. Everyone who's had a transplant of any kind is a walking dead man. And so on.