- cross-posted to:
- usa@lemmy.ml
- cross-posted to:
- usa@lemmy.ml
Something very very wrong is happening with pharmaceuticals all around the US right now. No one is saying anything and every organization is pointing fingers at each other, but there is a massive shortage of a huge range medication, ranging from Tylenol, Zyrtec, and Advil all the way to antibiotics, Adderall, Chemotherapy drugs, and Diabetes medication. People with debilitating illnesses and disorders like Type 1 Diabetes and ADHD are being left high and dry without any answers other then pharmacies saying that they are on “backorder” (I.e. They’re all out).
Its not just one company either, for example in the case of Adderall-Dextroamphetamine, in a worst case scenario it can be substituted with other drugs of a completely different makeup such as Vyvanse or Ritalin which are produced by different companies. The one problem is that they are ALL out of stock. On top of this, because a vast majority of these drugs are held in copyright, many of them do not have generic forms, and other companies are not legally allowed to try to develop them.
Something is going very wrong and it seems like the US pharmaceutical industry is collapsing. I’m very scared what this means for people that rely on medication. Diabetes? Hormones for transitioning? Heart medication? Chemotherapy? What happens to those people?
Look at the link… 233 medications already are gone.
Unfortunately, I can’t really get around using them. I have an episodic genetic condition that causes extreme pain, inflammation, and fever at the same time during an episode. It has sometimes gotten so bad that I had to go to the ER for morphine because I couldn’t handle the pain, and a few times, the pain caused bradycardia and I lost consciousness due to hypoxia in the ER. I use those pain pills to get through the pain when it isn’t as bad. Without them, I’d have to get morphine (which I really don’t want) injected every time I have an episode, which is not only bad for health, but also extremely expensive here in the US.
You misunderstand me, I was disrespecting the drugs whose risks outweigh their benefit. I specifically named morphine as a vital drug in which a society being without is problematic. Morphine and other prescription pain killers (aside from Oxycotin) are essential in a society despite the recent backlash against the abuse of these medicines. What causes addiction and abuse above all are the material conditions which give reason and stimulation for habits to form and for genetic triggers to activate. The 3 for 1 markup was in reference to the 600MG Prescription only Ibprofen, when one can simply buy the over the counter 200MGs far cheaper and with no prescription. I hope your medicines aren’t currently nor end up on in the future this list or any list like it. Stay strong.
Ah, in that case, I agree with you. I also have medications to stop the episodes from happening in the first place and they have other issues. Some company was somehow able to get a patent on it, suddenly increasing the price by 200 times. It’s gone down since then, but still far more expensive than it used to be. Insurance doesn’t cover it, so we have to pay full price. Each episode is a massive load on my body, and they cause lots of damage to all of my organs that takes a while to recover from. During episodes, protein crystal deposits can also start forming in the blood vessels, which can be fatal if it happens too often. There are also very fun effects if episodes keep happening, such as anhedonia (inability to feel happiness), and sweating blood. I literally rely upon this medication (which works really well and the only side effect is that I can’t eat grapefruit) to avoid a painful death and these capitalists as always think their profits are far more important than some filthy proletarian.
That sounds horrible. I agree wholeheartedly, they jack up the prices as if they don’t manufacture life saving mechanisms, as if they sell teddy bears or luxury watches. I wish I had more than words for you, no one should have to be in such a situation.