Medicine out of stock

[elevenduck]

DD11 relies heavily on Imigran radis (dispersible) to keep her migraines under control.

However this medicine is apparently out of stock with no date when it's due back. I know nothing about the pharmaceutical industry - why would this happen, and how long will it take to resolve (or is that a how long is a piece of string question)?

In the meantime she's been prescribed an alternative thankfully but we're all worried it won't be effective as it's a totally different drug, and it took such a long time to find the Radis that worked well.

In a word, Brexit.
I'm sure there are other reasons too, but DH keeps finding the meds he needs are out of stock.

Brexit

Not Brexit, there was a contaminatiom issue linked to sumatriptan a few weeks ago which has caused a huge gap until they are manufacturing it again.

I can't find the source for that, but l remember reading it!

Can she use the sumatriptan (Imigran) nasal sprays? I had great success with those years. Single dose, click up your nose and snort.

Brexit bur not just Brexit. For some meds there are global shortages.

Hospital pharmacist a couple of weeks ago was telling me there was a global shortage of salbutamol nebules, a standard lifesaving med used every day.

How long shortages take to resolve varies wildly from couple of weeks to years.

She has tried the sprays (they are like a miracle for me!) but said they made her migraine worse. Thanks for the suggestion though.

I wish people would stop jumping on brexit as a reason for everything, it is not helpful. Many countries are having supply issues, including Ireland who weren't involved in brexit at all. It started happening with the Ukraine/Russian war, covid (closing factories/lack of staff), shipping problems etc etc, so multiple reasons. The manufacturers might be having problems sourcing their raw materials.

I think I see OPs medicine listed on the latest Irish one as a known supply issue, along with many other very common drugs that I recognise such as Fybogel. Sorry OP. I hope it gets resolved quickly
https://ipu.ie/members-support/ipu-product-file/medicine-shortages/

There's also rizatriptan wafer (but they are vile!) and zolmitriptan nasal sprays

You could also consider contacting some of the larger online pharmacies - I can't get my frovatriptan tablets or sickness patches anywhere in a 50 mile radius of my home, but I can consistently get them via Chemist4U. I emailed them first to ask whether they had them on the shelf and they confirmed no issues in obtaining them - and 6 months in, I've had no delays!

Rizatriptan wafer is what she's been prescribed. Fingers crossed it works, though worried it's "vile" - is it bearable taken alongside eg a mint? DD can't swallow tablets and as the sprays don't work for her and the dispersibles are out of stock, this is kind of our last hope. 😬

Lets get some facts here

Those claiming its "Brexit," are ignorant how the pharmaceuticals sector operates.

Medicines are complex to make and some are seriously complex to manufacture. Along with this they may be lacking ingredients and or capacity. Some meds takes ar least a couple of weeks to manufacture

Something simple like Fybogel was is seriously short supply and no supply at all. This is readily avialble withop oresecrtion but there were probmes

Then you had the mass shortages of the anti-anaphylactic injects for months last year.

Covid is to blame and the world is still trying to get over it

It is pure igrnace to blame it on anything other than Covid.

The car sector is suffering massively with short supply of parts and the shipping dates could be months or not known

Bricks and cement was also in short supply last year

Yes, prices of all materials plus labour around the world has shot up

The war in the Ukraine is not helpful

I work in pharma manufacturing and the main issue was Covid and getting hold of the raw materials. Brexit has made supply from the EU slightly slower but hasn’t stopped it.
It was a bit like the loo roll issue, there was only so much and manufacturers bought what they needed in bulk and others then couldn’t get hold of it. We’re pretty much back to normal now but it’s a slow process.

I'm not familiar with you DD's meds, but I assume there is no generic version available? There were med shortages long before brexit!
A colleague has a daith ear piercing to help her migraines and so far she had seen a vast improvement. No idea if its placebo effect, but she is grateful for anything that helps. Have you looked into it?

ADHD meds supply problem was supposed to be sorted end of last year. Now supposed to be resolved by April 2024.

Still can’t get hold of them now it’s April 2024

If your DD can cope with [the thought of] needles there are sumatriptan injector pens (tiny needles & you only see it afterwards) but they are vastly more expensive so I don’t know if you’d be able to get a GP to prescribe 🫤

I think the rizatriptan wafer (Maxalt Melt?) is what I had as a teenager - if so it’s like having a big glob of vaguely toothpastey tasting stuff under your tongue. It’s a bit grim; but eg banana amoxicillin & dispersible steroids are far worse 🤢

If you knew how pharma worked then you would know that Brexit has had an impact on the UK

The EU buying power is no longer available to us so we are struggling to get supplies. There are global shortages which is further exacerbating the problem for everyone but we are lower down the priority line now

www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehignett/2024/01/15/uk-drug-shortages-worse-than-ever-as-brexit-continues-to-bite/amp/

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nhs-brexit-medicine-supply-shortage-b2442211.html

Yes there are global issues but Brexit has made it worse for us. I linked some articles earlier. No point denying it. It's a fact.

There are global issues with this and other drugs.
So yes thats not brexit.

But
Other countries who have larger population or buy in groups because they have trading groups negotiate better deals and buy in bulk and stock pile.

That's brexit.

we didn't start getting shortages on any of our meds until right at the beginning of covid, starting with my antacids, various pain relief meds for my husband & my inhalers to start with & it's continued from there. I couldn't get the nasal spray for my hay fever last week, it's happening all the time now. OP how long is a piece of string is pretty much the size of it right now

As someone's said, there are generics available - plenty of sumatriptan currently in the market (DH sells it) - but if she's a child (as some are not indicated for children) and doesn't take some delivery mechanisms well it will be trickier. Try larger pharmacies and ones in bigger towns if you can, op, and good luck

@Neighneigh it's about the preparation of the drug - sumatriptan has several versions, but many of the triptans are only a solid tablet.

OP, I've just seen that zolmitriptan also comes as an orodispersible tablet, might be worth remembering too!

Taste wise for rizatriptan, have a strong flavoured drink or sweet to hand. I struggle with sickly sweet mint flavours and rizatriptan is exactly that. Unfortunately I'm a vomity migraineur and these nauseated me. My mate, however, has no such issues with them.