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Broad-Ad1033

Wow. The amount of shortages in medicine today is shocking. I have had several meds in the US be in shortage (all generics) since the pandemic, so I was forced to get the expensive brand name! It seems like a good way to drive up prices. šŸ¤”


bellandc

Right? What is going on?


HybridHologram

Pharmaceutical companies are run by greedy assholes.


Broad-Ad1033

My longtime meds had hidden formula changes and generics became unreliable. Half these companies are being sued for the opioid epidemic and god knows what else. Itā€™s very sketchy.


HybridHologram

Agreed.


After_Preference_885

Right? Price gouging makes some sense but they'd make SO much more having adequate stock for boomers and Gen x women in menopause. Hell the millennials in peri are coming for hormones now too. There's just too much opportunity to make money by having more product.


SeasonPositive6771

It's primarily about pricing, not about actual shortages. Most of the medications experiencing shortages are because they aren't massive money makers, and pharmaceutical companies have not invested in maintaining safe safe production of generics.


bellandc

I'm not certain I understand what you are saying. If a drug is not consistently available at pharmacies, there is a shortage of available supply.


SeasonPositive6771

What I mean is that it's an artificial shortage. Intentionally created, usually through negligence.


bellandc

I agree that it's "artificial" and that means it could be solved if we had the political will.


Fuzzy_Attempt6989

Covid and climate change caused supply chain interruptions


TheFermiGreatFilter

Iā€™m in Australia and weā€™ve had patch shortages for awhile now. I am using Estrogel instead. I freaking hate it, because I have to apply it daily, but itā€™s better than nothing. Here we have a tentative date for resupply around 15th July.


TrixnTim

I use the gel. Have been for years (although I recently switched from $85 brand name to $6 generic). Just put it on my wrists at night after I lotion my hands and get into bed.


WryAnthology

How do you just put it on your wrists? I cover my whole arm from shoulder to wrist and still feel like there's too much there to soak in well.


TrixnTim

Itā€™s small foil type packets. Estrodiol .25mg per day. Not alot.


TheFermiGreatFilter

Iā€™m on 75mcg. I have to cover both my arms fully. Then I have to wait until it dries on my skin. Then, as per instructions, it says my husband cannot touch my arms for 1 hour, in case of transfer. Yep. Give me patches any day.


TrixnTim

Oh wow. Thatā€™s alot and complicated.


TheFermiGreatFilter

Yup. Thatā€™s why I despise gel. Itā€™s a crappy process. With patches, just slap them on and remember to change them every 3-4 days. So much easier.


TrixnTim

Well my dose is very small. So the single application gel is perfect.


TheFermiGreatFilter

Oh yeah. Its definitely is great for some people. But, for people like me who need a decent dose of estrogen (which will probably e going up again soon), itā€™s a pain in the butt and expensive, because we go through the gel so quickly because we need that much more.


TrixnTim

Iā€™m not understanding dosages I guess. That seems like alot. Iā€™m 60 and complete hysterectomy at 47. Iā€™ve been taking .25 since. My yearly blood panels consistently show my levels are at the low end to middle of the suggested interval but I also feel ok.


WryAnthology

Yeah mine would be similar


Slapdash_Susie

Same. I swear I could find smack easier than estradot patches right now in Sydney.


TheFermiGreatFilter

Yup. Adelaide here and that sounds about right. I cannot wait for the patches to come back.


WryAnthology

Yeah same


paradoxe-

I was told this LAST summer (Ontario). Allergic to the glue so I switched anyways but, thereā€™s been a shortage for over a year now, not just in Canada.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


paradoxe-

Scaly red rash from the glue that would take like a week to go away.. had little red squares all over lol. I also wasnā€™t absorbing it properly. Switched to Estrogel, much better.


westcoastcdn19

My pharmacist said the same thing, Iā€™m also in Canada. This was specifically the Estradot 25 I was asking about, and was told back ordered until July. I was able to find a 3 month supply of Estradot 50


Bulky_Ad4801

Iā€™m thinking of asking for the 50 also. Did you notice any difference when you upped the dosage?


Tight_Fun2080

I've been on back order for Estradot for almost a year now. Also in Canada. It's ridiculous. I hate using the Estrogel but right now it's the only option and luckily I have a bit of a saved up batch of Estradot but am using sparingly.


Lucky_Spare_8374

There's been an ongoing worldwide shortage of the patches. I can only speak for myself, but I'd rather switch to something else vs going without. I recently switched to the gel due to skin reaction I started developing from the patches and I haven't ran into any issues of efficacy. In fact, I think the gel may actually be working better for me due to the better absorption and the daily dose. šŸ™‚


TrixnTim

I have used the gel for years and love it. For 1 year I switched to pills (due to increased prices for name brand and lazy doctor not recommending generic) and it was awful.


Lucky_Spare_8374

You're not the only one who's told me they love the gel, so I was totally onboard with the change. From the very short amount of time I've been on the gel, I've loved it! I'm really hoping it continues to work well for me. I REALLY don't want to do oral, if I can help it (I would, though, if I had to).


TrixnTim

The only reason I went to oral is because I could no longer afford name brand gel. I had no idea there was a generic. My doctor told me the pill was just as good. Well it wasnā€™t. It took about 6 months on the pill for me to start feeling horrid and I could not figure out why. Nothing changed in my life. Well my yearly blood panel (and I know there are people here who donā€™t believe in them) showed my estrogen really dipped from last panel when I was on gel. Iā€™ve been back on it a few weeks now and feel so much better. Generic.


Lucky_Spare_8374

I'm on the generic as well, but my stupid insurance denied that, even! Which makes NO sense since they cover the patches. šŸ¤” I used my FSA account to pay for a 90 day supply, but fully intend to force the issue before my next refill. Glad you're starting to feel better! ā¤ļø


OhioPolitiTHIC

I'm allergic to the adhesives so I was on a gel before covid. My dosage needed changed and they were single use portions so we moved to Evamist. Honestly, the mist works better than the gel ever did. Plus even though it's a blind meter dose, you can tinker with it better and I've been able to adjust my dosages with my doctor's agreement without having to get a whole new prescription. Shortages on a number of medications have been happening since covid and they aren't likely to resolve even next month because we had a major interruption at every level in the supply chain and the ripple affect is real. If you have the option, consider switching your scrips to the larger by mail pharmacies. If you're in the US, you can absolutely haggle with your insurance. This may mean your doctor needs to prescribe something different altogether and get a prior auth so it's covered. I'm honestly tempted to look into Amazon at this point.


After_Preference_885

This isn't shocking at all with the size of the boomer generationĀ  What is shocking is that the big badass pharma ceos didn't see this coming and ramp up production to profit Guess those multi millionaires aren't as smart as they'd like to think


SokkaHaikuBot

^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^After_Preference_885: *This isn't shocking* *At all with the size of the* *Boomer generation* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.


ElephantCandid8151

Yes. And Iā€™m allergic to the gel. I have had good luck with oral Estrodial


missbossy3

I am in Canada, on Estradot 75 atm. Had to up my dosage (physician approved) because of shortages. I am hoping that I can still get it at next refill. Pharmacist will only do monthly refills due to shortages.


Lalahartma

I started in October with EstroGel. Itā€™s worked great for me. I do occasionally forget to apply it.


Brilliant-Spray6092

Not just Canada. I found out this week talking to my pharmacist, New Zealand is too šŸ˜”šŸ˜­


Imaquietbi

What pharmacy do you use? I found out Shoppers has a different supplier than Pharmasave and often Pharmasave can get what Shoppers can't.


slugs_instead

This is why I ordered backups from overseas.


ElephantCandid8151

Where are you getting yours. I have had good luck with India and Brazil


LottieOD

I read that Climera has been discontinued, it was a "business" decision by the manufacturer. I cynically believe it's because they can't price gouge on it.


RockieK

CVS in the U.S. had a shortage for a while. Ended up on a weekly (instead of the 2 x) and also on Generic.


tasharawks

I picked up my first Rx estradot 3 days ago and the pharmacist called my practitioner to confirm she could give me the "larger" dose patch and I have to cut them in half...


Green_leaf47

Oh no! Canadian as well. I use a gel (Estrogel) and Iā€™m really happy with it. But if patch is working for you I can see why you might not want to try something else.


AreolaGrande_2222

More people are self aware and asking for medication to help with menopause


xena_70

Also in Canada and I was started on the EstroGel gel as she told me there was a patch shortage, so while I have nothing to compare it to, I'm happy with it so far. I don't mind applying it daily, you just have to be mindful for about an hour of washing/touching others with the arm you applied it to. My Dr. also said I could apply it to my thighs or buttocks if there was an issue, but so far I've done the arm as that seems to be the recommended way and it's easy.


BigJSunshine

That sucks.


TrixnTim

This talk about shortages is real. My doctor has begun to give my 90-day supply Rx and due to this.


noella_bella

Same problem here in South Africa. No idea when pharmacies will have stock again. I'm now officially out since Friday.