Article – Drug Shortages Approach an All-Time High, Leading to Rationing

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Remember when things like drug shortages were things that happened in Third World and Soviet satellite countries?

Thousands of patients are facing delays in getting treatments for cancer and other life-threatening diseases, with drug shortages in the United States approaching record levels.

Hospitals are scouring shelves for supplies of a drug that reverses lead poisoning and for a sterile fluid needed to stop the heart for bypass surgery. Some antibiotics are still scarce following the winter flu season when doctors and patients frantically chased medicines for ailments like strep throat. Even children’s Tylenol was hard to find.

Hundreds of drugs are on the list of medications in short supply in the United States, as officials grapple with an opaque and sometimes interrupted supply chain, quality and financial issues that are leading to manufacturing shutdowns.

I’m lucky, I suppose, in that I don’t need any particular medication to keep my quality of life where it is. No insulin, no high blood pressure meds, none of that sort of thing. Sure, there are times I eat ibuprofin like M&M’s, but other than that….

And, fortunately, any meds I do want to keep on hand are all over the counter so I can keep a pretty generous supply around. Sure, maybe they lose a bit of efficacy after a few years but so what? Just up the dosage. I’d rather face a cracked rib with five year old Tylenol and Advil than I would without. Drugs that only deliver 85% of their effectiveness is orders of magnitude better than the 0% afforded by not having drugs at all.

Moral of the story: while you’re stacking up the .223 and 9mm, the freeze drieds and AA batteries, the water filters and toilet paper….stock up on the OTC stuff (and first aid as well) because thanks to Brandon we are, apparently, dipping our toes into the warm water of neo-Soviet supply issues.

21 thoughts on “Article – Drug Shortages Approach an All-Time High, Leading to Rationing”

  1. Read the article, thought “I already knew this 18 months ago”.

    And then thought…”Media makes its money through eyeballs, and fear drives eyeballs. How much is this is fear porn feeding my own confirmation bias? Why should I believe anything Yahoo news ‘reports’?”

    That said, stocking up on the basics is always a good idea. Three years of acetaminophen, Robitussin DM, etc. is cheap insurance.

    • ‘Taint “fear porn”.

      My hospital has run out of tetanus shots, as well as the primary med used to calm down violent psych patients, and several front-line antibiotics are severely rationed.

      It’s what happens when meds fall off of patent protection and become “orphans”.
      Big Pharma shifts production to Viagra and Botox, where the bucks are, and lifesaving stuff gets shunted to “when we feel like it”. If ever.

      And more and more, the Rx stuff most folks rely on is made in China.

      Bonus: People locally scooting down to Mexico for cheap Rx meds are finding out the cartels are lacing everything made there with carfentanil.

      More addicts, more business.

      Try not to notice the occasional fatal overdoses from a hot batch in Grandma’s blood pressure meds.

      We’ve exported manufacturing, and we’re importing Shitholia, and the chickens have come home to roost.

  2. At my most recent visit with my GP (she’s an APRN, not an MD), I told her I was a little concerned by the fact that a high percentage of our prescription drugs come from China. I asked her to look at the meds I take and tell me what would happen if I couldn’t get them. I’m on a pill for early diabetes and she said that likely wouldn’t be a problem because if the SHTF then my calories would likely be reduced anyway.

    After looking at my list of meds and sort of mumbling to herself, I asked if there were any way I could get a longer-term prescription for any meds that might be critical. She thought for a minute and replied, “There are ways, but they’d involve fraud.”

    So, here we are, stuck between the Chinese and our own doctors. CZ’s advice is good: Stockpile the OTC meds, keep your teeth in good shape, and say your prayers (OK, so he didn’t say that last part).

    • No fraud required.

      Ask the doc for 90-day prescriptions of everything, with 3 refills.
      ( a)If the doc is too chickenshit to do this, go to another doc.
      b) do NOT try this with any Schedule narcotics. Period. )
      Take the prescriptions to Big Box retailer (not your regular pharmacy), and pay cash for generics as “self pay”.
      That’s not fraud, that’s preparedness.

      Get all the refills. Sock them away.
      Rotate with your regular stuff.

      Now you’ve got an extra year of your meds.
      Add that to your stockpile of needful OTCs, vitamins/supplements, and any homeopathic stuff you prefer, and you’re good to go.

      Any shortage of your Rx meds that lasts more than a year, you’ve got far bigger problems than refilling your prescriptions.

      • There is no reason you can’t get a prescription for a year ‘s supply of medication, or even longer for that matter, if the prescriber is willing to write for the amount required. The issue is one of payment. The fraud mentioned would only be an issue if you are using falsehoods (e.g. incorrect day supply) to get an insurance company to pay for it. If you are willing to foot the entire bill yourself, this isn’t an issue.

  3. Children’s Tylenol and Ibuprofen. My youngest caught human adrenal virus, COVID and strep throat right as spring break started. It’s a hell of a thing when the doc says you have to keep the fever below 102 when he was pegging 105.4 we made the ER trip. We ended up smoking one and half bottles each of Tylenol and ibuprofen over 5 days. I thought I kept a lot on hand, promptly went and tripled what I keep now.

  4. “I’m lucky, I suppose, in that I don’t need any particular medication to keep my quality of life where it is. No insulin, no high blood pressure meds, none of that sort of thing. Sure, there are times I eat ibuprofin like M&M’s, but other than that….”

    Geez, I could have written that verbatim.

    I have always tried to stay away from Tylenol – using Aspirin & Advil.
    If you don’t mind me asking what is your experience with Tylenol?

    Thanks, BobT

    • I sorta use them interchangeably…..which they are not.
      I had a tooth pulled a few months back and was hoping I could get the doc to write me up for some hydrocodone. He said to take a 500 mg Tylenol and three ibuprofin at the same time instead. Son of a gun if he wasnt right….that combo killed my pain with no complaints. But…I like having a bottle full of hydro around just in case.

      • In nursing we call that The Cocktail; 800mg ibuprofen and 650mg APAP. The ibuprofen can act as an agonist for the APAP.

      • A sister worked for a Stanford research physician back in the 70’s, and he told her he was seeing liver damage in his test subjects/patients that were taking acetaminophen at recommended dosage levels. He recommended that it be avoided.

        It’s annoying to find that when one needs codeine for cough control, it is normally only stocked in the version with Tylenol.

  5. Don’t forget to stock antibiotics. These are available without prescription as ‘fish meds’ and are the same as your doctor would prescribe. Dr. Joe Alton MD highly recommends these for use during austere times and has a great book on their use.

  6. You are lucky. Due to being born with a compromised heart valve, I had to have it replaced. And being a mechanical valve, it requires blood thinner. I’ve learned to keep a several month supply upfront and as long as present supply holds, I should do okay in a short term emergency.

    Long term – I have no idea. I already know foods and OTC medications that would help, but without blood testing, I would have no clue where my number is. Without blood thinner, I would likely die of a stroke. I’ve already made my peace with that thought – I’ve had a good Life.

  7. “Any shortage of your Rx meds that lasts more than a year, you’ve got far bigger problems than refilling your prescriptions.”
    I have an exception to that:
    a handful of years ago, my elderly dog required eyedrop meds. so of course i stockpiled. then all of a sudden, the meds werent available (something about contamination of a precursor iirc). 18 months later i was scraping the bottom of the tubes and planning my 2nd best choice when she died of very old age. somewhere about a year later the meds became available again. and the kicker is that these are VET meds, not human stuff.

    • Vet meds are the same as human stuff, unless it’s something humans simply cannot use.

  8. I recommend the book “Bring Your Own Bandages: Medicines and Supplies to have in hand before disaster strikes” by Jennifer Rader.

    As an historian, I like to remember that many times throughout history, civilians were needed to help mop up the mess. Be ready. Keep your powder dry.

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