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Post by danalz on Feb 15, 2024 18:21:40 GMT
DH and I go through this every month with our Ozempic for our blood sugars. It definitely is a life changer for blood sugars but so many people get it for weight loss now that they don't have it in stock.
it's frustrating. last night I had to go to a Walgreens 30 minutes away because they had it in stock. This is a regular thing for us.
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peppermintpatty
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1345
Posts: 3,838
Jun 26, 2014 17:47:08 GMT
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Post by peppermintpatty on Feb 15, 2024 18:38:03 GMT
DH and I go through this every month with our Ozempic for our blood sugars. It definitely is a life changer for blood sugars but so many people get it for weight loss now that they don't have it in stock. it's frustrating. last night I had to go to a Walgreens 30 minutes away because they had it in stock. This is a regular thing for us. People should NOT be allowed to take it for weight loss. It's not like the weight will magically stay off for the rest of their lives. You stop taking it, the weight comes back on or else you have to keep increasing the dose. Weight loss does not have a magic pill (although Oprah would like you to think it does). Diabetes is a real disease that can kill if the meds are not there. The ADD meds that I couldn't find were in short supply because people decided during the pandemic that they all magically had ADD because they were stuck in their homes. Patients like me who have been on it for years and years and need it to be able to focus at work/school all of a sudden had to start rationing their meds. I felt like there should have been priority given to those who have been on it for a long time over those who just "decided" they needed it and were prescribed it by these online docs who did absolutely nothing to verify if someone really needed it. I had to be evaluated by my therapist and then a psychiatrist to be able to get the meds. It took about 6 months to get everything in order and now you can go online and in 15 minutes get a prescription. The same holds true for Ozempic.
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Post by MichyM on Feb 15, 2024 18:43:50 GMT
I’ve had a medication back ordered since September. It is not discontinued. I gave up calling around for it, it got exceptionally frustrating. Thankfully my life doesn’t depend on the med.
If it ever becomes available again, I’m not even sure if I want to take it if it continues to be a problem. One month on, then months without can’t be good for me, KWIM? And it’s not one that I can get several months of if I was ever to find it.
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RedSquirrelUK
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,733
Location: The UK's beautiful West Country
Aug 2, 2014 13:03:45 GMT
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Post by RedSquirrelUK on Feb 15, 2024 20:10:36 GMT
I'm a prescribing clerk in the UK, and we have taken our type 2 diabetics off Ozempic because it is so difficult to get since it has been licensed for weight-loss. Now people who can pay to get it prescribed privately for weight-loss are the only people who are able to get it. Although this is good for prevention of T2DM in the future, I don't believe it should be allowed to be at the expense of the people who are taking it for an existing medical condition.
Novo Nordisk, who developed and manufacture the drug, are expanding as fast as they can to be able to produce enough to keep up with demand. Let's hope this happens quickly.
As for other meds of which we are experiencing shortages: ADHD, Ezetimibe, certain statins, some steroid creams and ointments, HRT, some antibiotics, some antispasmodics - and that's just off the top of my head.
I'm sorry you've been struggling to get your meds as well. It sucks.
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Feb 16, 2024 3:42:38 GMT
I switched from ozempic to trulicity partly for this reason, and now it’s having problems. It really is crazy!
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Post by Zee on Feb 16, 2024 4:35:38 GMT
DH and I go through this every month with our Ozempic for our blood sugars. It definitely is a life changer for blood sugars but so many people get it for weight loss now that they don't have it in stock. it's frustrating. last night I had to go to a Walgreens 30 minutes away because they had it in stock. This is a regular thing for us. People should NOT be allowed to take it for weight loss. It's not like the weight will magically stay off for the rest of their lives. You stop taking it, the weight comes back on or else you have to keep increasing the dose. Weight loss does not have a magic pill (although Oprah would like you to think it does). Diabetes is a real disease that can kill if the meds are not there. The ADD meds that I couldn't find were in short supply because people decided during the pandemic that they all magically had ADD because they were stuck in their homes. Patients like me who have been on it for years and years and need it to be able to focus at work/school all of a sudden had to start rationing their meds. I felt like there should have been priority given to those who have been on it for a long time over those who just "decided" they needed it and were prescribed it by these online docs who did absolutely nothing to verify if someone really needed it. I had to be evaluated by my therapist and then a psychiatrist to be able to get the meds. It took about 6 months to get everything in order and now you can go online and in 15 minutes get a prescription. The same holds true for Ozempic. You are really something. You should be on insurance review panels, you'd be a perfect fit. YOU'RE not worthy! And YOU'RE not worthy! YOU get denied, and you, and you! The Oprah of denials. What an asshole.
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tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,368
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
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Post by tincin on Feb 17, 2024 3:05:43 GMT
I’m sorry, how frustrating. I have been in healthcare for 30 years and I have never seen the medication shortages I’m seeing now. I’m worried it’s going to get worse. We need to bring manufacturing back to the us. I had to change thyroid medication this month because one of the two I take is unavailable. I’ve been on a waiting list to get it but it is still unavailable. I’m out of it so my doc changed me to a medication with both in it. It’s more expensive but I’ve got to have it.
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Post by nightnurse on Feb 17, 2024 3:46:28 GMT
I’m sorry, how frustrating. I have been in healthcare for 30 years and I have never seen the medication shortages I’m seeing now. I’m worried it’s going to get worse. We need to bring manufacturing back to the us. I had to change thyroid medication this month because one of the two I take is unavailable. I’ve been on a waiting list to get it but it is still unavailable. I’m out of it so my doc changed me to a medication with both in it. It’s more expensive but I’ve got to have it. So frustrating! Sometimes finding the right med can be trial and error and take time and no one wants the uncertainty of changing meds every few months because of shortages or insurance coverage. And the costs are ridiculous. The prices consumers pay certainly isn’t covering manufacturing costs, nope, it goes right into executive bonuses. And it isn’t just the popular “designer drugs” on back order, it’s regular old meds we’ve used awhile, as someone before mentioned, including antibiotics. It’s rare that I can’t find a suitable substitute but that doesn’t mean the patient will accept it, that it will work as well, or won’t cause side effects the preferred drug didn’t cause. I really love the work that I do and I appreciate my current employer so much, but some of these systemic healthcare problems just exhaust me and I can’t imagine how much more exhausting it is to be calling pharmacies and driving around trying to get the meds you need.
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Post by Scrapper100 on Feb 17, 2024 4:41:30 GMT
I’m sorry, how frustrating. I have been in healthcare for 30 years and I have never seen the medication shortages I’m seeing now. I’m worried it’s going to get worse. We need to bring manufacturing back to the us. I had to change thyroid medication this month because one of the two I take is unavailable. I’ve been on a waiting list to get it but it is still unavailable. I’m out of it so my doc changed me to a medication with both in it. It’s more expensive but I’ve got to have it. Oh no. I’m on thyroid meds levothyroxine. I’m curious if this is what you are on. I can order more next week and wondering if it might be an issue. I have plenty to last a while but still curious. It’s starting to sound like nothing is safe.
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Post by Scrapper100 on Feb 17, 2024 4:52:52 GMT
After reading this I ordered a few meds that I don’t use daily but occasionally just a bit early just in case. It’s horrible that so many are having trouble getting meds they NEED daily. Switching meds is never ideal. The meds I need daily don’t come up for refill until the end of the month sometimes I wait as I still have some but not this time.
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Post by workingclassdog on Feb 17, 2024 5:38:23 GMT
Update at top...
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Post by Lexica on Feb 17, 2024 17:43:04 GMT
I have been told three times so far since moving to Oregon that they didn’t have my main pain medication in stock. I depend on that medication because it is time released and gives me 12 hours of lower pain levels. I also use Norco to provide pain buffer coverage during the twice a day switch between the main 12-hour meds. I could conceivably get by for a couple of days on extra Norco, taking one every couple of hours, but when they tell me they don’t have the main pain med in stock, I am never offered a temporary alternative. I plan to talk to my doctor about the possibility of prescribing a few days of something else when these shortages occur again.
This has triggered memories of when I first arrived here and learned that my doctor in California, even though both the California and Oregon doctors are with Kaiser, could not prescribe my medications. I went through a couple of very pain-filled weeks and withdrawal. I have started squirreling a pain pill away whenever I can to slowly build up a small stash should the pharmacy run out again for an extended period of time. Every time I do this though, it means giving up a night’s sleep or spending a day in bed. But with my fibromyalgia, I end up spending a day in bed anyway so I am learning to use those days to just suck it up and be miserable in order to put another pill aside. It shouldn’t be like this.
In all the years I have been dependent on heavy pain medication, I only ran into trouble once before when my doctor went on vacation and the doctor covering for him refused to refill my meds because he didn’t know me. I was furious because all he had to do was look at my records and see that I had been taking pain meds for over 10 years and never once “lost” any or tried to refill them too soon. I am very respectful of the process and I really resent when my medical professionals, whether that is a doctor or the pharmacy, don’t fulfill their part. Why are they not ordering sooner or keeping more in stock since I am obviously going to be putting in an order every month? It is my understanding that there is more than one manufacturer of it since I frequently notice a distinct difference in color with some bottles.
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Post by nightnurse on Feb 17, 2024 20:26:12 GMT
I have been told three times so far since moving to Oregon that they didn’t have my main pain medication in stock. I depend on that medication because it is time released and gives me 12 hours of lower pain levels. I also use Norco to provide pain buffer coverage during the twice a day switch between the main 12-hour meds. I could conceivably get by for a couple of days on extra Norco, taking one every couple of hours, but when they tell me they don’t have the main pain med in stock, I am never offered a temporary alternative. I plan to talk to my doctor about the possibility of prescribing a few days of something else when these shortages occur again. This has triggered memories of when I first arrived here and learned that my doctor in California, even though both the California and Oregon doctors are with Kaiser, could not prescribe my medications. I went through a couple of very pain-filled weeks and withdrawal. I have started squirreling a pain pill away whenever I can to slowly build up a small stash should the pharmacy run out again for an extended period of time. Every time I do this though, it means giving up a night’s sleep or spending a day in bed. But with my fibromyalgia, I end up spending a day in bed anyway so I am learning to use those days to just suck it up and be miserable in order to put another pill aside. It shouldn’t be like this. In all the years I have been dependent on heavy pain medication, I only ran into trouble once before when my doctor went on vacation and the doctor covering for him refused to refill my meds because he didn’t know me. I was furious because all he had to do was look at my records and see that I had been taking pain meds for over 10 years and never once “lost” any or tried to refill them too soon. I am very respectful of the process and I really resent when my medical professionals, whether that is a doctor or the pharmacy, don’t fulfill their part. Why are they not ordering sooner or keeping more in stock since I am obviously going to be putting in an order every month? It is my understanding that there is more than one manufacturer of it since I frequently notice a distinct difference in color with some bottles. I remember that debacle, I felt so badly. Trying to navigate that mess, driving back and forth to different pharmacies, all while in pain….its a sin that we allow that to happen in this country. As soon as I take my migraine medicine, I feel a little better. I know that it hasn’t started working yet, but I know that it will and so I unconsciously relax a little. The converse is true. When we anticipate the pain coming, with no relief, we can’t help but tense up physically and emotionally. We should not have a health system so broken that we have to be in fight mode all the time, fighting to get into a doctors office, fighting to be listened to and taken seriously, fighting for insurance coverage and medication access…
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Post by Scrapper100 on Feb 17, 2024 21:51:09 GMT
I have been told three times so far since moving to Oregon that they didn’t have my main pain medication in stock. I depend on that medication because it is time released and gives me 12 hours of lower pain levels. I also use Norco to provide pain buffer coverage during the twice a day switch between the main 12-hour meds. I could conceivably get by for a couple of days on extra Norco, taking one every couple of hours, but when they tell me they don’t have the main pain med in stock, I am never offered a temporary alternative. I plan to talk to my doctor about the possibility of prescribing a few days of something else when these shortages occur again. This has triggered memories of when I first arrived here and learned that my doctor in California, even though both the California and Oregon doctors are with Kaiser, could not prescribe my medications. I went through a couple of very pain-filled weeks and withdrawal. I have started squirreling a pain pill away whenever I can to slowly build up a small stash should the pharmacy run out again for an extended period of time. Every time I do this though, it means giving up a night’s sleep or spending a day in bed. But with my fibromyalgia, I end up spending a day in bed anyway so I am learning to use those days to just suck it up and be miserable in order to put another pill aside. It shouldn’t be like this. In all the years I have been dependent on heavy pain medication, I only ran into trouble once before when my doctor went on vacation and the doctor covering for him refused to refill my meds because he didn’t know me. I was furious because all he had to do was look at my records and see that I had been taking pain meds for over 10 years and never once “lost” any or tried to refill them too soon. I am very respectful of the process and I really resent when my medical professionals, whether that is a doctor or the pharmacy, don’t fulfill their part. Why are they not ordering sooner or keeping more in stock since I am obviously going to be putting in an order every month? It is my understanding that there is more than one manufacturer of it since I frequently notice a distinct difference in color with some bottles. I remember when you went through that. It’s horrible that anyone should go through that. I’m sorry that you are having to do without so as to squirrel away a few extras for when this happens again. You mention Kaiser can you do prescriptions by mail. We do that here of course if they were out you would really be }#^ as they wouldn’t want to transfer it possibly. I don’t know how that would work.
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Post by Lexica on Feb 17, 2024 22:28:02 GMT
I have been told three times so far since moving to Oregon that they didn’t have my main pain medication in stock. I depend on that medication because it is time released and gives me 12 hours of lower pain levels. I also use Norco to provide pain buffer coverage during the twice a day switch between the main 12-hour meds. I could conceivably get by for a couple of days on extra Norco, taking one every couple of hours, but when they tell me they don’t have the main pain med in stock, I am never offered a temporary alternative. I plan to talk to my doctor about the possibility of prescribing a few days of something else when these shortages occur again. This has triggered memories of when I first arrived here and learned that my doctor in California, even though both the California and Oregon doctors are with Kaiser, could not prescribe my medications. I went through a couple of very pain-filled weeks and withdrawal. I have started squirreling a pain pill away whenever I can to slowly build up a small stash should the pharmacy run out again for an extended period of time. Every time I do this though, it means giving up a night’s sleep or spending a day in bed. But with my fibromyalgia, I end up spending a day in bed anyway so I am learning to use those days to just suck it up and be miserable in order to put another pill aside. It shouldn’t be like this. In all the years I have been dependent on heavy pain medication, I only ran into trouble once before when my doctor went on vacation and the doctor covering for him refused to refill my meds because he didn’t know me. I was furious because all he had to do was look at my records and see that I had been taking pain meds for over 10 years and never once “lost” any or tried to refill them too soon. I am very respectful of the process and I really resent when my medical professionals, whether that is a doctor or the pharmacy, don’t fulfill their part. Why are they not ordering sooner or keeping more in stock since I am obviously going to be putting in an order every month? It is my understanding that there is more than one manufacturer of it since I frequently notice a distinct difference in color with some bottles. I remember when you went through that. It’s horrible that anyone should go through that. I’m sorry that you are having to do without so as to squirrel away a few extras for when this happens again. You mention Kaiser can you do prescriptions by mail. We do that here of course if they were out you would really be }#^ as they wouldn’t want to transfer it possibly. I don’t know how that would work. In California, my pain med is a schedule 2 and had to be picked up myself in person with all of my proper ID. I have been picking up the pain meds in person here in Oregon also, assuming that they cannot send schedule 2 meds by mail. Except, a couple of months ago, I logged on to order all of my meds and I screwed it up. I normally have the bulk of my meds sent to my house and then order the pain meds separately to pick up in person like I had been doing in CA for so many years. I accidentally put the pain meds in first and hit the button to have them mailed. As soon as I realized my mistake, I tried to cancel that order and then reorder as a pick up in person order like usual. I could not find any way to cancel or change the order and it was the weekend so I could not call the pharmacy. I figured I would call on Monday and fix it. But on Monday, I looked to see at what stage my order was in to be able to tell the pharmacy when I called. It said they had been mailed already! I was so surprised when they actually showed up at my door and I thought someone is going to be in big trouble for letting those go in the mail. The last time I drove in to the pharmacy to pick them up, I asked if by chance it was actually allowable to send opiates by mail in Oregon. It is! All those times that I wasn’t feeling well, but needed my meds, I forced myself to drive to the pharmacy to get them and it wasn’t necessary! Especially that one day that it was freezing ice/rain coming down. At least they salted the street and walkway into Kaiser so that I didn’t fall on my butt. I am going to try ordering them to be sent by mail for this up coming month. I have a fear that they might go missing somehow though, and that would trigger a huge mess and delay. I am home all the time now though and will be here to bring them into the house immediately so maybe it will work. I am so hopeful. I cannot tell you how much I hate having to drive to the pharmacy in Salem to get them. Although if there is ever one single mess up, I will return to driving to get them again. They are much too important to me.
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Post by Lexica on Feb 17, 2024 22:44:12 GMT
I have been told three times so far since moving to Oregon that they didn’t have my main pain medication in stock. I depend on that medication because it is time released and gives me 12 hours of lower pain levels. I also use Norco to provide pain buffer coverage during the twice a day switch between the main 12-hour meds. I could conceivably get by for a couple of days on extra Norco, taking one every couple of hours, but when they tell me they don’t have the main pain med in stock, I am never offered a temporary alternative. I plan to talk to my doctor about the possibility of prescribing a few days of something else when these shortages occur again. This has triggered memories of when I first arrived here and learned that my doctor in California, even though both the California and Oregon doctors are with Kaiser, could not prescribe my medications. I went through a couple of very pain-filled weeks and withdrawal. I have started squirreling a pain pill away whenever I can to slowly build up a small stash should the pharmacy run out again for an extended period of time. Every time I do this though, it means giving up a night’s sleep or spending a day in bed. But with my fibromyalgia, I end up spending a day in bed anyway so I am learning to use those days to just suck it up and be miserable in order to put another pill aside. It shouldn’t be like this. In all the years I have been dependent on heavy pain medication, I only ran into trouble once before when my doctor went on vacation and the doctor covering for him refused to refill my meds because he didn’t know me. I was furious because all he had to do was look at my records and see that I had been taking pain meds for over 10 years and never once “lost” any or tried to refill them too soon. I am very respectful of the process and I really resent when my medical professionals, whether that is a doctor or the pharmacy, don’t fulfill their part. Why are they not ordering sooner or keeping more in stock since I am obviously going to be putting in an order every month? It is my understanding that there is more than one manufacturer of it since I frequently notice a distinct difference in color with some bottles. I remember that debacle, I felt so badly. Trying to navigate that mess, driving back and forth to different pharmacies, all while in pain….its a sin that we allow that to happen in this country. As soon as I take my migraine medicine, I feel a little better. I know that it hasn’t started working yet, but I know that it will and so I unconsciously relax a little. The converse is true. When we anticipate the pain coming, with no relief, we can’t help but tense up physically and emotionally. We should not have a health system so broken that we have to be in fight mode all the time, fighting to get into a doctors office, fighting to be listened to and taken seriously, fighting for insurance coverage and medication access… You are so right about stress increasing the pain! The very minute that I take a time-released pill, I immediately let out the breath that I had been unconsciously holding, knowing that I will begin to feel better, within 15 to 20 minutes. Normally I take a Norco an hour before the time-released pill wears off so that I have something onboard to lessen the pain during the change over, but because I have been trying to build a small stockpile, I go without the Norco as a buffer and save it to use to take the edge off during the 12 hours that I go without the morphine pill all together. I hate doing this though, because pain is better managed if you stay on top of it by taking your medication before the pain builds. Once I have a few of each kind saved, I will return to my normal routine. I just need to know that I have that emergency med set aside in case they are out of mine again. The longest I have had to wait has been 3 days, at least so far, so I think saving a week’s worth will give me enough peace of mind to go back to my normal routine. I am sorry you deal with migraines. My neighbor got them and it was awful to see her have to lay down in the dark, in agony, until it was gone.
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Post by nightnurse on Feb 18, 2024 1:27:42 GMT
Lexica, I’m so glad you have that same sense of release when you know help is on the way! I worry sometimes people think I’m minimizing the pain or suggesting it’s all in their head and I’m not at all, just acknowledging that it is multifactorial and physical or emotional tension can make it so much worse. Generally speaking, we don’t have a great arsenal of pain relievers (though I will say that in my case I’m lucky and the triptans are magic. Also I’m old and experienced and better able to avoid some of the triggers). I really hope there are no more pharmacy nightmares for you.
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Post by Scrapper100 on Feb 18, 2024 1:46:59 GMT
I remember when you went through that. It’s horrible that anyone should go through that. I’m sorry that you are having to do without so as to squirrel away a few extras for when this happens again. You mention Kaiser can you do prescriptions by mail. We do that here of course if they were out you would really be }#^ as they wouldn’t want to transfer it possibly. I don’t know how that would work. In California, my pain med is a schedule 2 and had to be picked up myself in person with all of my proper ID. I have been picking up the pain meds in person here in Oregon also, assuming that they cannot send schedule 2 meds by mail. Except, a couple of months ago, I logged on to order all of my meds and I screwed it up. I normally have the bulk of my meds sent to my house and then order the pain meds separately to pick up in person like I had been doing in CA for so many years. I accidentally put the pain meds in first and hit the button to have them mailed. As soon as I realized my mistake, I tried to cancel that order and then reorder as a pick up in person order like usual. I could not find any way to cancel or change the order and it was the weekend so I could not call the pharmacy. I figured I would call on Monday and fix it. But on Monday, I looked to see at what stage my order was in to be able to tell the pharmacy when I called. It said they had been mailed already! I was so surprised when they actually showed up at my door and I thought someone is going to be in big trouble for letting those go in the mail. The last time I drove in to the pharmacy to pick them up, I asked if by chance it was actually allowable to send opiates by mail in Oregon. It is! All those times that I wasn’t feeling well, but needed my meds, I forced myself to drive to the pharmacy to get them and it wasn’t necessary! Especially that one day that it was freezing ice/rain coming down. At least they salted the street and walkway into Kaiser so that I didn’t fall on my butt. I am going to try ordering them to be sent by mail for this up coming month. I have a fear that they might go missing somehow though, and that would trigger a huge mess and delay. I am home all the time now though and will be here to bring them into the house immediately so maybe it will work. I am so hopeful. I cannot tell you how much I hate having to drive to the pharmacy in Salem to get them. Although if there is ever one single mess up, I will return to driving to get them again. They are much too important to me. I so hope it works out for you I totally get worrying about an important med and worrying until you get it in your hands snd I’m not in the kind of pain you are in. ETA. It should come with tracking so less likely for them to say it was delivered when it hadn’t been. But still I understand. I would just hope that their central pharmacy would have a better chance of having it than at a local but then again sometimes it’s the little guy that still has stock.
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tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,368
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
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Post by tincin on Feb 23, 2024 2:13:20 GMT
I had to change thyroid medication this month because one of the two I take is unavailable. I’ve been on a waiting list to get it but it is still unavailable. I’m out of it so my doc changed me to a medication with both in it. It’s more expensive but I’ve got to have it. Oh no. I’m on thyroid meds levothyroxine. I’m curious if this is what you are on. I can order more next week and wondering if it might be an issue. I have plenty to last a while but still curious. It’s starting to sound like nothing is safe. Levothyroxine is the one that is in short supply. The Armour seems to be working okay. No blood tests to confirm yet.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Feb 23, 2024 2:35:33 GMT
tincinI have never had an issue with the Levothyroxine over 45 years... Wonder if it could be the dosage? I take 0.100MG/100 MCG.
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Post by Bridget in MD on Feb 23, 2024 12:59:22 GMT
DH and I go through this every month with our Ozempic for our blood sugars. It definitely is a life changer for blood sugars but so many people get it for weight loss now that they don't have it in stock. it's frustrating. last night I had to go to a Walgreens 30 minutes away because they had it in stock. This is a regular thing for us. I was just prescribed Saxenda, which is a daily injectible for weight loss. My dr prescribed it bc she thought I could get it easier. Well, I can't get it anywhere. I've called around and no one has it. There is a nationwide shortage. One pharmacist said that when people couldn't get wegovy, they got saxenda, which according to my research, its not like the meds are interchangeable. You aren't supposed to just switch. I'm worried, if I do get it, should I start it? because what if I can't get the next month's?
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Post by workingclassdog on Feb 23, 2024 14:33:02 GMT
DH and I go through this every month with our Ozempic for our blood sugars. It definitely is a life changer for blood sugars but so many people get it for weight loss now that they don't have it in stock. it's frustrating. last night I had to go to a Walgreens 30 minutes away because they had it in stock. This is a regular thing for us. I was just prescribed Saxenda, which is a daily injectible for weight loss. My dr prescribed it bc she thought I could get it easier. Well, I can't get it anywhere. I've called around and no one has it. There is a nationwide shortage. One pharmacist said that when people couldn't get wegovy, they got saxenda, which according to my research, its not like the meds are interchangeable. You aren't supposed to just switch. I'm worried, if I do get it, should I start it? because what if I can't get the next month's? I am not usually a 'what if' person. I would just try to start it and then figure it out as you go along. It is a pain in the butt to track meds down though. Good luck either way!
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Post by dewryce on Feb 23, 2024 14:53:19 GMT
Oh no. I’m on thyroid meds levothyroxine. I’m curious if this is what you are on. I can order more next week and wondering if it might be an issue. I have plenty to last a while but still curious. It’s starting to sound like nothing is safe. Levothyroxine is the one that is in short supply. The Armour seems to be working okay. No blood tests to confirm yet. Could y’all switch to the brand Synthroid? It is actually one of the brand ones that works better for many people than the generic. Lexica, would you mind sharing what pain med you’re on for the Fibromyalgia? I was on low dose Naltrexone (I think that’s the one) we got compounded and it helped a little, but not like you’re describing. I also used to take Gabapentin, but had pretty bad weight gain. Cymbalta didn’t work. I can’t think of any other meds that have been mentioned to me specifically for fibro pain. And mine is recently getting worse.
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Post by Lexica on Feb 23, 2024 16:09:40 GMT
Levothyroxine is the one that is in short supply. The Armour seems to be working okay. No blood tests to confirm yet. Could y’all switch to the brand Synthroid? It is actually one of the brand ones that works better for many people than the generic. Lexica , would you mind sharing what pain med you’re on for the Fibromyalgia? I was on low dose Naltrexone (I think that’s the one) we got compounded and it helped a little, but not like you’re describing. I also used to take Gabapentin, but had pretty bad weight gain. Cymbalta didn’t work. I can’t think of any other meds that have been mentioned to me specifically for fibro pain. And mine is recently getting worse. There isn’t much that actually works for fibro pain, as you know. I take Gabapentin and generic Wellbutrin for fibromyalgia. I was using Celexa and that worked really well, but when I turned 65 my doctor said it wasn’t good for “senior” patients. He put me on something else that I can’t remember right now and that was the one that robbed me of two yeas of my life and made me feel suicidal. I also take morphine extended release and Norco for the pain from my failed spinal surgery. I thought that would be all the pain medication I would ever need until I learned that traditional pain meds don’t work on fibro pain. I have learned to deal with pain, but I hate that I don’t know if I have another serious issue when I have any pain because I am never sure if it is fibro related or something I should be paying attention to. For example about 2 weeks ago I got up in the middle of the night to pee. When I put weight on my right leg, the pain was so severe that I lost my balance and fell. Fortunately I fell into the empty boxes that were stacked at the foot of the bed that I had just unpacked and needed to flatten. They broke the fall more or less, but it still shocked me. There was severe pain and weakness. Weakness to the point that I brought my mom’s walker into the house to use in the middle of the night so I don’t fall again. It seems to only happen when I have been sleeping or sitting for an extended time, which makes me think fibro pain. And as I continue to walk, it goes away. Normal pain would be there all day long, right? That leg pain was different than the usual fibro pain. It felt like it as deep in the bone. Usually the fibro is more on the surface. I have a phone appointment with my doctor this morning and I had planned to talk to her about it and of course, it went away last night. Pain appearing and disappearing without a known injury is usually my signal that it is fibro related. I have other things to talk to her about and will just email her later if that pain returns. I’m sorry your pain has been increasing lately. Are you doing anything different? I have found that my pain is worse in the winter. **I recently read that there may soon be a blood test to diagnose fibromyalgia. I am hoping that as they learn more about the causes and how to detect it, they will learn how best to treat it too. Fingers crossed. ” Fibromyalgia has historically been diagnosed using the American College of Rheumatology clinical criteria (Table 1).2 The FM/a Test is a cytokine assay of in vitro stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Production of cytokines by stimulated immune cells in patients with fibromyalgia has been shown to be significantly different from that of healthy control patients.3,4 Based on the concentrations of four cytokines, a cytokine/chemokine composite score, calculated as 1 / (1 + e−x) * 100, on a scale of 0 to 100 was developed. A score greater than 50 is considered positive for fibromyalgia.”
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Post by dewryce on Feb 23, 2024 16:30:57 GMT
Lexica Well, dang. I was hoping you knew of another medication that might help. Have you tried the low dose Naltrexone? I take Wellbutrin for my crazy already, so it would be worse without it? Eeesh. I used to take Celexa but…weight gain just like Gabapentin. Yeah, I can’t take anti-psychotics or mood stabilizers for my bipolar because it gives me severe akathisia which leads to scary thoughts. I’m sorry you had to go through that for so long! Oh my gosh, are you okay? Please do ask your doctor about the fall, because I don’t think I’ve ever had severe weakness from fibro. Yes, it’s so frustrating. Especially when doctors want to automatically attribute things to fibro that might not be without looking further into it, they just assume. My deep in the bone pains are from PsA in the joints, the rest of my pain is muscular, skin, headache. Not really doing anything different. There is a little I can go up on the low-dose Naltrexone, and I have a prescription for a Quell machine, have you heard of those? I hope that new pain stays away for you!
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Post by Lexica on Feb 23, 2024 16:52:12 GMT
dewryce, that Quell device sounds interesting. It sounds like a type of TENS unit. I have a TENS unit and use it on my back when I need to drive for a longer amount of time. I don’t like taking more pain meds when I am going to be driving so the TENS unit is a decent alternative. I would love to hear how it works for you. I am interested, but have no desire to pay their cash only fee of $800 per year. I guess you pay $75 to start with for an 30-day supply of electrodes and if it works for you, you then get more at $200 every 3 months. I will wait for them to get approved for insurance to cover it.
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tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,368
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
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Post by tincin on Feb 23, 2024 20:31:37 GMT
tincin I have never had an issue with the Levothyroxine over 45 years... Wonder if it could be the dosage? I take 0.100MG/100 MCG. It may be, or it could have been the other thyroid med I was on. One is for 3 and one is for 4. Armour has them both. dewryce Synthroid is the drug that was prescribed and of course a generic was prescribed. That one was not the issue. It was the second thyroid med I was on. I could tell you what they are but I’ve tossed the bottles and have the pills in the disposal bottle.
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Post by dewryce on Feb 23, 2024 21:31:52 GMT
dewryce , that Quell device sounds interesting. It sounds like a type of TENS unit. I have a TENS unit and use it on my back when I need to drive for a longer amount of time. I don’t like taking more pain meds when I am going to be driving so the TENS unit is a decent alternative. I would love to hear how it works for you. I am interested, but have no desire to pay their cash only fee of $800 per year. I guess you pay $75 to start with for an 30-day supply of electrodes and if it works for you, you then get more at $200 every 3 months. I will wait for them to get approved for insurance to cover it. I thought so too, but my doctor said no. Though because of that I am waiting to start it until after I’ve had my mammogram because I’m paranoid like that. Will let you know! When we got our last vehicle my biggest must have was heated seats for keeping me loose while driving. It helps with the pain so much! I use it every time, even in Texas summer heat. DH doesn’t have to come help me out of the vehicle now when I’ve gone to visit my BFF 1.5 hours away.
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Post by dewryce on Feb 23, 2024 21:33:15 GMT
tincin I have never had an issue with the Levothyroxine over 45 years... Wonder if it could be the dosage? I take 0.100MG/100 MCG. It may be, or it could have been the other thyroid med I was on. One is for 3 and one is for 4. Armour has them both. dewryce Synthroid is the drug that was prescribed and of course a generic was prescribed. That one was not the issue. It was the second thyroid med I was on. I could tell you what they are but I’ve tossed the bottles and have the pills in the disposal bottle. Oh I thought you said you couldn’t get Levothyroxine so I was hoping you could substitute brand for generic.
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