Whatever4 wrote:
listeme wrote:
I have been dizzy ALL DAY. What the heck?
Robitussin in case it's my ears and sleep, I guess, and hope for balance tomorrow!
In my case, it's Cymbalta withdrawal. Ran out, the new supply ran into a snag, had to get an emergency supply from my doctor today. I stoopidly went 3 days without any. Here's my symptoms:
Quote:
In clinical studies, withdrawal symptoms happened in up to 44 percent of people who abruptly stopped Cymbalta.
Dizziness -- up to 12 percent of people. Check.
Nausea -- up to 6 percent. Check..
Headaches -- up to 5.3 percent. Check..
Unpleasant sensations (such as tingling or burning) -- up to 2.9 percent. Check..
Vomiting -- up to 2.4 percent. Not yet..
Irritability -- up to 2.4 percent. Check..
Nightmares -- up to 2 percent. Oh boy, yes. Technicolor, dance numbers, and costumes.
I emailed that to W2 at work. He said: You can’t count the irritability, you started with that. To which I replied: "And that's when i shot him, your Honor."
I'm glad you got an emergency replacement for your med, W4. And I'm glad you kept you sense of humor!
FYI for the general public (I iz not getting on your case, W4, honest!):
Never, ever, go off an anti-depressant cold turkey, accidentally or otherwise. Ever. You could go develop serotonin syndrome, which is potentially fatal. Unless a doc tells ya to go cold turkey and tells you exactly what to do when symptoms occur, this is very dangerous.
Everyone should keep 3-7 days worth of emergency meds in the house. If there is a weather related emergency, a postal service issue, a pharmacy problem, a natural disaster, drug shortage, etc, that emergency stash can literally save your life. Make sure to rotate your emergency stash for expiration dates.
Over the past 3-5 years, there has been an extreme rash of "drug shortages". The
FDA has been working on the issue, and Obama signed an
executive order regarding the issue in Oct, 2011.
Quote:
President Obama today will sign an Executive Order directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take action to help further prevent and reduce prescription drug shortages, protect consumers and prevent price gouging. The President’s order directs FDA to broaden reporting of potential shortages of certain prescription drugs and to further expedite regulatory reviews that can help prevent or respond to shortages. Under the President’s order, FDA will also work with to the Department of Justice, which will examine whether potential shortages have led to illegal price gouging or stockpiling of life-saving medications.
snip.....
A small number of drugs in the U.S. experience a shortage in any given year, but the number of reported prescription drug shortages in the United States nearly tripled between 2005 and 2010. While FDA successfully prevented 137 drug shortages between January 1, 2010 and September 26, 2011, prescription drug shortages continue to threaten the health and safety of the American people.
These shortages could lead to price gouging, which has raised serious concerns. For example, the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reforms, when announcing his investigation into so-called gray markets, expressed concerns about a report that a leukemia drug whose typical contract price is about $12 per vial was being sold at $990 per vial – 80 times higher. A Premier healthcare alliance report released in August estimated that the typical gray market vendor marks up prices by an averaged 650 percent. At the extreme, a drug used to treat high blood pressure that was normally priced at $25.90 was being sold at $1,200 due to a drug shortage.
snip.....
*Sent a letter to drug manufacturers reminding them of their responsibility to report the discontinuation of certain drugs to the FDA. The letter also encourages companies to voluntarily disclose to FDA potential prescription drug shortages in cases where disclosure is not currently required by law.
*Increased staffing resources for the FDA’s Drug Shortages Program to address the increased workload that will result from additional early notification of potential shortages by manufacturers.
*Released a report from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) that assesses the underlying factors that lead to drug shortages, and an FDA report on their role in monitoring, preventing, and responding to these shortages.
One drug that went into shortage is Adderall. My understanding is that the DEA, in a
brilliant response to Adderall abuse (such a college students using Adderall so they can pull all-nighters), decided to limit the amount of Adderall that could be produced. Ya know, because limiting Adderall supply is going to stop people from selling the drug or using it inappropriately.
In response to the DEA regulations, price-gouging occurred. Thus, those who legally and properly used Adderall were paying up to 400% more for the med.
I use Adderall because it is so much cheaper than Nuvigil, a drug used to treat narcolepsy and sleep-disorder related fatigue. When schools opened in Sept, all of the sudden, Adderall was gone. I was pulling out the local phone book each month, calling pharmacy after pharmacy to find someone who could fill my script.
Quote:
Experts say it’s difficult to say where the reason for drug shortage lies.
To manage controlled substances that can potentially be abused, the DEA sets manufacturing quotas for drug ingredients each year to control supplies like Adderall. But Adderall drug manufacturers, which include Shire Plc and Novartis, Teva and CorePharma LLC, say they cannot meet the growing demand for the product without looser limits from the DEA. The DEA questions whether there is actually a shortage of generic supplies, which are at an especially low supply, or whether the drug companies want to sell more of the expensive brand-name drugs.
Despite the growing demand, Special Agent Gary Boggs of the
DEA’s office of diversion control told the New York Times, ”We believe there is plenty of supply.”Barbara Carreno, a DEA spokeswoman, told Reuters that hundreds of drugs that do not require a DEA quota, and those shortages are not caused by quota limits, but marketing ploys by drug makers.
“Any shortage of these products is therefore a result of decisions made by industry regarding manufacturing or distribution,” Carreno told Reuters.
But a Teva spokesperson told Reuters, ”Our production facilities are currently running at maximum capacity for Adderall utilizing all available API (the drug’s active pharmaceutical ingredient).
The catalyst for the problem is the quota system, not the business.”
The DEA is saying that there is "plenty of supply" for legal users. That is not an adequate measure of product supply. Manufacturers of Adderall are abusing the system, but in the long run, they are better off selling a product than price gouging on a drug which has many substitutes and that folks can stop taking if they can't afford the drug. The FDA agrees:
Quote:
snip.....
While the Food and Drug Administration monitors the safety and supply of the drugs, which are sold both as generics and under brand names like Ritalin and Adderall,
the Drug Enforcement Administration sets manufacturing quotas that are designed to control supplies and thwart abuse. Every year, the D.E.A. accepts applications from manufacturers to make the drugs, analyzes how much was sold the previous year and then allots portions of the expected demand to various companies.
snip.....
Officials at the Food and Drug Administration say the shortages are a result of overly strict quotas set by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which, for its part, questions whether there really are shortages or whether manufacturers are simply choosing to make more of the expensive pills than the generics, creating supply and demand imbalances.
snip.....
Some high-priced pills are indeed readily available, and D.E.A. officials said that so long as that is the case, they believe that A.D.H.D. drug supplies are adequate. Agent Boggs attributed any supply disruptions to decisions made by manufacturers.
snip.....
And, Dr. Fox said, while manufacturers sometimes use their limited quotas to ensure adequate supplies of high-priced branded drugs at the expense of low-profit generics,
all of the issues would be resolved if the Drug Enforcement Administration were simply more generous with its quotas, particularly since
sales of A.D.H.D. medicines have risen so rapidly.In
this instance, I place the blame on the DEA. Companies want to sell a product. Those with insurance that will cover Adderall and those who can afford the price increase for the non-generic version are going to get non-generic Adderall wherever is easiest for them; the non-generic isn't as difficult to find. But those who can't afford the non-generic drug are left scrambling for the generic version. While manufacturers are engaging in price gouging on the drug, it is not in their interest to have a wide-spread, severe shortage of the generic. If the generic isn't available anywhere, the manufacturers lose money; those who can't afford the non-generic aren't going to be paying for anything.
In most cases of drug shortages, I do believe that the bulk of the blame lies with manufacturers. With ADHD drugs, the issue is the DEA.
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nice work, herd. 
The "herd" did nothing. A few people expressed frustration. We are a large board. If the "herd" went off, there would have been mass chaos. 
