Ibuprofen Shortage

[Mestral]

For the second time in recent years (about ten years IIRC) we are seeing an Ibuprofen shortage.
(To be honest, I considered putting this under the prepper thread)
The last one lasted several months.

Not sure what it is related to.
Just thought I would pass it along.

[CenTexDave]

All the liberals started getting whiplash last night when they couldn't believe the results they were seeing. You know, a quick double-take, turn of the neck/head caused sprained muscles in their necks. :)

[Mestral]

All the liberals started getting whiplash last night when they couldn't believe the results they were seeing. You know, a quick double-take, turn of the neck/head caused sprained muscles in their necks. :)Good theory, but of course they all took their free medical care cards to the clinic and got prescription drugs.
And a refill on their hallucinogenics (how else do you explain their delusions?)

I have watched this shortage grow over the past 3 or 4 weeks.
I take it like "House" takes Vicodin. Except I have damage in 14 different joints.
I know, I should have said something sooner, but I didn't believe it, at first.

If you see the Ibuprofen you normally buy on the shelf tomorrow,
I would advise to grab a bottle.

(I have almost six months supply, since I stocked up over the past few years.)

[Ludwig]

For the second time in recent years (about ten years IIRC) we are seeing an Ibuprofen shortage.

Ibuprofen is not listed as a shortage drug by the FDA and I can find no reference to such a shortage. Can you provide a source lead?

[Mestral]

Ibuprofen is not listed as a shortage drug by the FDA and I can find no reference to such a shortage. Can you provide a source lead?The bare shelves (and the sign that says "warehouse shortage") at HEB.

[CenTexDave]

Maybe it's just HEB. Have you checked Walgreen's, CVS, Dollar General, etc?
Also - ibuprofen is just a generic name. Motrin is nothing more than expensive ibuprofen. And I have read the more you take the more immune you become to it, i.e., a few years 2 pills twice a day may have done the job, but now it takes 3 pills X 3, etc.

[birdfriend]

If it's the generic brand of ibuprofen, they may be changing suppliers or the packaging at HEB. I had a similar experience there with the warehouse shortage sign recently when I was trying to buy their brand of white wine vinegar. After 2 weeks it was back but with different bottle and label. :)

[Mestral]

Maybe it's just HEB. Have you checked Walgreen's, CVS, Dollar General, etc?
Also - ibuprofen is just a generic name. Motrin is nothing more than expensive ibuprofen. And I have read the more you take the more immune you become to it, i.e., a few years 2 pills twice a day may have done the job, but now it takes 3 pills X 3, etc.I probably need to look into that.

I am pretty much a "stick to one brand" kind of guy because I am allergic to ascorbic acid. It is an allergy so rare (except in dogs) that it is often in things like the candy coating on capsuls.


If it's the generic brand of ibuprofen, they may be changing suppliers or the packaging at HEB. I had a similar experience there with the warehouse shortage sign recently when I was trying to buy their brand of white wine vinegar. After 2 weeks it was back but with different bottle and label. :)I hope this is the reason. And that things are back to normal soon.

I posted it in here because, if one brand isn't available, as Dave suggested, people will switch to another brand, causing a sudden increase in demand for that brand, and causing it to go into shortage. Since HEB is a pretty big supplier, loss of that supply pipeline will soon affect all other brands.

[CenTexDave]

Hell, ask the pharmacist next time you are in HEB.

[siamcat]

I take Ibuprofin too since Vicodin doesn't do a thing for me (well it makes me see spots but nothing really for the pain and it doesn't put me to sleep). For generic pain I take Tylenol, joint pain or migraines it's Ibuprofin.

The prescription I got for my occasional migraines had worth side effects then the migraine. 800 mg takes care of enough of it to make it tolerable. Anti inflammatory steroid medication makes me feel like I have a heart attack, so for my heel spur it's Ibuprofin and comfy shoes.

I haven't noticed a shortage, but I usually get my over the counters at the commissary and occasionally at CVS or HEB.

[Mestral]

Hell, ask the pharmacist next time you are in HEB.Ask them what? My experience is that when talking about the pills that I take, I know as much about them as the pharmacist. Their schooling simply allows them to have a knowledge of a lot of other pills. I only need to understand about two dozen different chemicals. Whatever answers I need, I will find out for myself. No need to bother them.

[CenTexDave]

Am I to understand you two are taking ibuprofen for joint pain?
If so, try glucosamine.

[sojourner truth]

I use Tramadol, or have been, until they moved the goalposts and put it on the narcotics list... even though it isn;t a narcotic.

So I went to the doctor and asked should I switch to an OTC drug like Ibupropin or Tylenol and he said no, they were not good for repeated usage.

So he gave me a prescription for Lyrica... Tried it last night and it works great for pain. Too bad 60 pills costs $259... AND, it puts me to sleep after making me feel like I am back in the 60s....

Sigh... I am considering just sucking up the constant lower back pain and saying to heck with doctors... Whenever you find something that works and doesn't make you goofy, they decide it is bad for you.

[CenTexDave]

Ask them what? My experience is that when talking about the pills that I take, I know as much about them as the pharmacist. Their schooling simply allows them to have a knowledge of a lot of other pills. I only need to understand about two dozen different chemicals. Whatever answers I need, I will find out for myself. No need to bother them.

Ask them why there is a shortage of ibuprofen.

[Grammar Rules]

He's talking about HEB, and they posted a sign there is a warehouse shortage. Luckily there is no such deficiency of aluminum foil.

[Ludwig]

I use Tramadol, or have been, until they moved the goalposts and put it on the narcotics list... even though it isn;t a narcotic.

So I went to the doctor and asked should I switch to an OTC drug like Ibupropin or Tylenol and he said no, they were not good for repeated usage.

So he gave me a prescription for Lyrica... Tried it last night and it works great for pain. Too bad 60 pills costs $259... AND, it puts me to sleep after making me feel like I am back in the 60s....

Sigh... I am considering just sucking up the constant lower back pain and saying to heck with doctors... Whenever you find something that works and doesn't make you goofy, they decide it is bad for you.

OMG! Have you read the literature on Lyrica? I would have to be on death's door before I would take that. Though a good night's sleep sounds very tempting.

[Mestral]

Am I to understand you two are taking ibuprofen for joint pain?
If so, try glucosamine.I have tried glucosamine. It helps a little with some of my joints (my knees), but not others.


Ask them why there is a shortage of ibuprofen.Ahhh, maybe they would know about that.


He's talking about HEB, and they posted a sign there is a warehouse shortage. Luckily there is no such deficiency of aluminum foil.Don't worry, I have a good supply of aluminum foil :)

[sojourner truth]

OMG! Have you read the literature on Lyrica? I would have to be on death's door before I would take that. Though a good night's sleep sounds very tempting.

Yes I have, and wasn't very happy with it.. I asked a few folks, as well as the pharmacist about it, and the bad thing is that everyone recommends it.

But then, this is a trial for me, and I will give it a shot for a bit... But after the first dose or 2 I have just about made up my mind that there must be something better out there that doesn't drug you out so badly...

Problem is, because some folks abuse the stuff that works, they make it impossible for anyone else to use it and it comes up on the list of "do not prescribe but in dire cases" category.

I can't handle any of the contin or codone drugs as they make me feel druggy and they constipate me.

[Night Owl]

I can't handle any of the contin or codone drugs as they make me feel druggy and they constipate me.
So that is your excuse for all the stuff you post. You're loopy and full of it.:bluerofl:bluerofl:bluerofl Couldn't help myself.

[Mestral]

Yes I have, and wasn't very happy with it.. I asked a few folks, as well as the pharmacist about it, and the bad thing is that everyone recommends it.

...I just looked up Tramadol, and see that it is schedule IV.
If it works, I think you should go back to it.
IIRC, they can prescribe schedule IV for 120 days at a time.
(I'll have to look it up, it has been 30 years since I studied that)

The patent expired in May, and it appears to me the movement of the drug to schedule status was to enhance the profit margin of other drugs
(ever since the Demoncrats got their cronies into the management of the FDA and similar agencies, this has become a common practice)
The quickest and easiest was to deal with its movement to the schedule was to quit prescribing it, but if you are the squeaky wheel, who knows.
http://www.fdalawblog.net/fda_law_blog_hyman_phelps/2014/07/dea-controls-tramadol-as-a-schedule-iv-controlled-substance-effective-august-18-2014.html

DEA received 27 comments on the proposed rule; 16 supported scheduling and nine opposed the action. The scheduling action is effective August 18, 2014, which means that the regulated industry has only 45 days to ensure compliance with the registration, security, recordkeeping and reporting requirements. One commenter, a national association that represents healthcare distributors, opined that the agency should provide an extended time period for registrants to comply with security, labeling and packaging and reporting requirements. DEA replied that scheduling actions are generally effective 30 days after the date of publication of the final rule in the Federal Register, and asserted that the 45-day effective period “will provide a reasonable time for registrants to comply with the handling requirements for a schedule IV controlled substance and was established upon a full consideration of the totality of circumstances specific to tramadol.”

DEA appears to underestimate the modifications that the supply chain will need to make to policies and procedures to comply with tramadol scheduling, especially for a drug that has been marketed as a non-controlled substance under federal law for almost 20 years. While DEA and FDA cited to concerns about increased abuse of tramadol as a basis for the need to schedule the drug, there was no compelling evidence of diversion from the supply chain to warrant not providing additional time for the industry to conform its compliance systems to the new requirements.

[Mestral]

OK, I looked up the drug schedule stuff:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act#Schedule_IV_controlled_s ubstances

Control measures are similar to Schedule III. Prescriptions for Schedule IV drugs may be refilled up to five times within a six-month period. A prescription for controlled substances in Schedules III, IV, and V issued by a practitioner, may be communicated either orally, in writing, or by facsimile to the pharmacist, and may be refilled if so authorized on the prescription or by call-in.

I cut and pasted from wikipedia instead of the source, since I don't care to invert the dead :) (look at the address)
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/manuals/pract/section5.htm

[siamcat]

I take Glucosomine and it helps some. I don't take Ibuprofin everyday. Maybe three to five times a month. Mostly for headaches. I learned to live with my back pain and now sleep on the couch so I don't wake up from my back hurting.
Any of the meds advertised on TV are scary. I'm not 100% sure, but I could have swore I saw an ad for med, followed by a lawyer commercial about the same med that I just saw advertised. Don't ask me which one.

[mac]

very few docs, today, will Rx narcotics or opiates for chronic pain. for sudden onset or temporary pain, yeow, they'll Rx for that but not chronic......mac

[Mestral]

...I'm not 100% sure, but I could have swore I saw an ad for med, followed by a lawyer commercial about the same med that I just saw advertised. Don't ask me which one.I too have seen drug advertisements and the same drug in the lawyer commercial, although not back to back.

It could have been any one of several. First, NO drug is 100% safe. Second, those commercials are often
run by ambulance chasers, and sometimes even say so, in the mice type at the bottom of the screen.

[sojourner truth]

I can't remember the name of the drug, but it was one that my doctor had put me on... When I asked him about it, he quickly put me on a different med.

[sojourner truth]

I can't remember the name of the drug, but it was one that my doctor had put me on... When I asked him about it, he quickly put me on a different med.

Januvia... I remembered at 3:30 in the morning and had to get up and jot it down....

A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

[Mestral]

Ummmm, Januvia is a diabetic med.
http://www.drugs.com/januvia.html

Januvia (sitagliptin) is an oral diabetes medicine that helps control blood sugar levels. It works by regulating the levels of insulin your body produces after eating.

Januvia is for people with type 2 diabetes. It is sometimes used in combination with other diabetes medications, but is not for treating type 1 diabetes.

Januvia may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.

Important information
Do not use Januvia if you are in a state of diabetic ketoacidosis (call your doctor for treatment with insulin).

Januvia can cause pancreatitis. Stop using this medicine and call your doctor at once if you have severe pain in your upper stomach spreading to your back, nausea and vomiting, and loss of appetite.

[sojourner truth]

Well, I told I couldn't remember... And I am diabetic. As well as have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sciatic pain.

When you have to take as many meds as I do, it is not hard to understand that one I used to take many moons ago may have slipped my mind.

And my doctor is constantly changing things up too. They are always playing around with "FDA approved" meds that all of a sudden are not good for you.

[CenTexDave]

I was just in Cove's Walgreen's - plenty of ibuprofen.

[Mestral]

Well, I told I couldn't remember... And I am diabetic. As well as have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sciatic pain.
When you have to take as many meds as I do, it is not hard to understand that one I used to take many moons ago may have slipped my mind.
And my doctor is constantly changing things up too. They are always playing around with "FDA approved" meds that all of a sudden are not good for you.I would have understood, just because it was 3AM when you thought of it.
And, I thought you were talking about a new med you were going to be on starting after talking to your doctor about not wanting to revisit the '60's.

[Mestral]

I was just in Cove's Walgreen's - plenty of ibuprofen.
That is good. If anyone takes the stuff regularly and has a favorite brand, I wouldn't wait around too long to get some.
The stuff has been off the shelf at HEB for almost a month, so people who would have bought it will be starting to buy other brands now.

[CenTexDave]

I don't use it. Just thought I'd look when I was in there today.

[Mestral]

Well, enough of us use it that the info should be good for some one.

[siamcat]

Listening to Sojourner is a big reason I haven't been to a doctor in about 2 years.

They always want to give me a med I don't want, yet ignore my complaints as something trivial. I've learned to find ways to fix my own issues and live with the rest.

Chronic Backpain, here's a pamphlet. Migraines that I can handle, since they're only occasional let's give you some drugs.

So what if I have an overactive gland that makes me gag. Stop drinking coffee, it's fine.

A cyst, we better examine it for cancer. Or you better stop wearing ear rings, if it's in my ear. Or it's acne, or too much coffee.

Got it, whatever, I quit seeing doctors other then the dentist and my eye doctor.

[Mestral]

Listening to Sojourner is a big reason I haven't been to a doctor in about 2 years.
They always want to give me a med I don't want, yet ignore my complaints as something trivial. I've learned to find ways to fix my own issues and live with the rest.
Chronic Backpain, here's a pamphlet. Migraines that I can handle, since they're only occasional let's give you some drugs.
So what if I have an overactive gland that makes me gag. Stop drinking coffee, it's fine.
A cyst, we better examine it for cancer. Or you better stop wearing ear rings, if it's in my ear. Or it's acne, or too much coffee.
Got it, whatever, I quit seeing doctors other then the dentist and my eye doctor.
I have run across some really good doctors in this area. Not all of them by any stretch.
Scratch that, they aren't doctors, but somewhere in the P.A. and R.N area of medicine.
Yarborough (of course that might not be the correct spelling, but the best I can do) was great.
Unfortunately he died in a collision on 36 between Gatesville and Temple about 4 years ago.
Then there was Mrs Culpepper, but I suspect she might be retired or have moved.
My wife says there is a Dr.Wheeler at the Darnell clinic that is good.

[Grammar Rules]

For the second time in recent years (about ten years IIRC) we are seeing an Ibuprofen shortage.
(To be honest, I considered putting this under the prepper thread)
The last one lasted several months.

Not sure what it is related to.

All is well.5102

[Mestral]

All is well.[---]Not necessarily. Those are marked at nine times the price of the ones I usually get.
And I haven't read the "other ingredients" to check for ascorbic acid.

[beaver]

You normally get a box of 40 for 53¢?

[Mestral]

You normally get a box of 40 for 53¢?The only reason I would buy a box of 40 would be for a travel pack.
I normally buy in bottles of 500 or the two 100 pill bottles in a single box.

[kantwin]

So that is your excuse for all the stuff you post. You're loopy and full of it.:bluerofl:bluerofl:bluerofl Couldn't help myself. funny stuff...

[sojourner truth]

The standard answer from all doctors is to Eat lettuce, drink water, and exercise 8 hours a day...

The FDA, AMA, and a host of other medical entities has recently gone over the list of available meds and just about put anything that actually works on a banned list that requires all sorts of gyrations to get issued. And if you use OTC meds, there is always some sort of deleterious effects on your liver or Pancreas.

I refer to it as "moving the goal posts" on patients. It has happened to me 5 times in the past 3 years. Oh, and the Tricare folks don't like Lyrica either because it is ultra expensive. Even with the insurance, the co pay for 60 tablets was $45.

And we wonder why health care is so expensive.

My Colonioscopy cost the HMO $1200.. My wife had a Mamagram last week and it cost $2300... The worst part was that they had determined that mamagrams should be done once every 3 years, and some genius decided that they needed to go back to once a year for my wife. Nothing suspicious there right?

[Grammar Rules]

Those are the gel caps. They also have the caplets. No ascorbic acid.

[CenTexDave]

Thank you, Doc. :)

[Grammar Rules]

Oooh, I haven't played doctor in years. This is fun! :))

[CenTexDave]

Wanna play doctor and nurse? :)

[Grammar Rules]

Only if I get to be the foxy doctor and you're the male nurse. Hahahahahaha :))

[CenTexDave]

:)

[sojourner truth]

Allright you 2... No fair playing "find the thermometer"....:))

[kantwin]

Get a room...

[Grammar Rules]

C'mon, we're just two senior citizens kidding around. ;)

[CenTexDave]

Who's kidding around?? :)

[Grammar Rules]

Ummmm....:p

[Night Owl]

Only if I get to be the foxy doctor and you're the male nurse. Hahahahahaha :))
Don't tempt him Granny.:))

[CenTexDave]

Go get your own doctor, Owl!!

[Mestral]

Saw Ibuprofen caplets (not gelcaps) on the shelf again.
Thinly stocked, but there.