shortages

[pain-patient]

Fellow philes --

Has anyone else encountered a shortage of hydromorphone 2 or 4 mg tablets? My last two refills of the 4 mg tabs for breakthrough had to rewritten for a bit less than double the number of 2 mg. tablets because of supposed shortages and back order status, and even the hospital pharmacies were out of them....

Also, my doc tells there has a been a shortage of Roxicodone, so I am wondering if I should stay on the hydromorphone or ask for something more easily in stock?

Thanks,

P

[xxanxx]

I filled a script for 2mg and 4mg dilaudids not too long ago and I hadf to go to 4 different pharmacies because they didn't have the 4's....

[Duckfeet]

I have: and it's a horrible decision if you are sick, because once they would fill it, you couldn't, like, "come back and get the rest tomorrow..." And I've wandered around Columbus OH, trying to find a drugstore that had K2s a long time ago, and finally I was too sick to keep trying, and *had* to go back and get like 3-4, rather than my full script at the drugstore that *did* carry them, but was just about out...it's a fucked up decision to have to make, and horrible when you are sick...I think--hell, I *know* some drugstores don't carry the better opiates, because they don't want to get robbed...again...so they'll even put up signs saying, no oxys or dilaudids, and they are allowed to do that...

[feelings of u4ia]

The reason for the shortage was because of the influx on Oxycodone patients being switched to Dilaudid for the time being, until the huge Oxycodone shortage is over. Everything should be fine within less then a month, because Oxycodone IR is already starting to show back up in pharmacies.

[roxi*stardust]

The reason for the shortage was because of the influx on Oxycodone patients being switched to Dilaudid for the time being, until the huge Oxycodone shortage is over. Everything should be fine within less then a month, because Oxycodone IR is already starting to show back up in pharmacies.


u4ia is 100% on target here. Please check these links for more information.

http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/shortages/
http://www.ashp.org/DrugShortages/Current/

[Badly Drawn Girl]

Also, my doc tells there has a been a shortage of Roxicodone, so I am wondering if I should stay on the hydromorphone or ask for something more easily in stock?



P

I can attest to the Roxi shortage. It seems to come and go. Recently went through a period of roughly a month where I was calling pharmacy after pharmacy trying to find Roxis (any mg). I finally found one that had 15 mgs. A week later, I couldn't find any. This week, everyone seems to be back in business. (The only benefit has been that the scripts have been piling up in the absence of pills but it looks suspicious when you start filling multiple scripts of the same med.) Of course I'm only an "expert" on the shortage in my neck of the woods but the pharmacists all said it was a nationwide issue. Hope that helps you make your decision!

[feelings of u4ia]

I can attest to the Roxi shortage. It seems to come and go. Recently went through a period of roughly a month where I was calling pharmacy after pharmacy trying to find Roxis (any mg). I finally found one that had 15 mgs. A week later, I couldn't find any. This week, everyone seems to be back in business. (The only benefit has been that the scripts have been piling up in the absence of pills but it looks suspicious when you start filling multiple scripts of the same med.) Of course I'm only an "expert" on the shortage in my neck of the woods but the pharmacists all said it was a nationwide issue. Hope that helps you make your decision!

Yeah, it was a nationwide issue, there is still a sticky with tons of pages at the top of the Oxycodone sub-forum...

The shortage is basically over IMO.

[Dune]

u4ia is 100% on target here. Please check these links for more information.

http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/shortages/
http://www.ashp.org/DrugShortages/Current/


There is no info that I could find on either site regarding Hydromorphone shortages or resolved shortages. I assume that means that there isn't one. I haven't had any problems filling, but refill day is Monday so now I am concerned as I am in the same area as the OP. Hopefully all is well. Do you have any further info Roxi?

[roxi*stardust]

There is no info that I could find on either site regarding Hydromorphone shortages or resolved shortages. I assume that means that there isn't one. I haven't had any problems filling, but refill day is Monday so now I am concerned as I am in the same area as the OP. Hopefully all is well. Do you have any further info Roxi?


Hey Dune, I don't have any other information. Just because those sites aren't currently listing a shortage does not mean there isn't one. It took them about 45 days to list what many of us were noticing in regards to the Oxycodone IR shortage. I thought i read something on there about Hydromorphone tablets but it may be resolved now. More than likely those parts of the country that were hit hard by the Oxycodone IR shortage (Florida, Maine) are the states having shortages of other IR meds from doctors switching so many patients. I never had to be switched because I was always able to find a pharmacy to fill my script every month, even if I had to drive 40 minutes so it never got to the critical mass here like it did elsewhere.

Good luck Monday with getting your script filled. If I were you I would cal you Pharmacist Friday to verify the availability. He/she may even set them aside for you if you're a regular customer.

[feelings of u4ia]

There is no info that I could find on either site regarding Hydromorphone shortages or resolved shortages. I assume that means that there isn't one. I haven't had any problems filling, but refill day is Monday so now I am concerned as I am in the same area as the OP. Hopefully all is well. Do you have any further info Roxi?

You should be fine...as Oxycodone is already coming back on the shelves pretty quickly...

I think it was just the quick hit of patients being switched over that caused a mini dilaudid shortage....and once the pharmacies noticed this, I am sure they ordered more dilaudid to cover themselves.

[Dune]

FYI

I had no issues with filling them at the regular pharmacy. I didn't call ahead or anything, just went in, waited 15 and walked out. Phew! AFAIK all is well in SE MI.