Need Your Help With Drug Shortage Information

A lot of us have been shocked by a recent spate of drug shortages for both our dogs and ourselves.

Recently a report came out that Immiticide (the drug used to treat advanced cases of heartworm) is in very short supply, causing veterinarians, shelters, and rescues to rethink heartworm treatment.

The FDA has Web pages exclusively for drug shortage notifications.  Click here for the animal drug shortages, and click here for the human drug shortages.

A friend of mine is a free-lance writer, and recently she asked for story ideas to submit to magazines, and I mentioned to her the concern that pet owners had with recent shortages in drugs to treat diabetes, seizures, and the recent heartworm treatment shortage.  Additionally, some drugs used for humans are also used in animals, so I asked her to check up on human drug shortages as well.

The biggest concern is WHY, and what can we, as pet owners, do to prepare for shortages if the cause is something common and known.  For instance, what if the cause is a shortage in an ingredient to prepare a vaccine or drug.  Can we anticipate that something down the road will be affected so that we can make arrangements for switching to another type of treatment, or even stockpiling that drug in case of shortage later on.

Is the cause from Federal Drug Administration (FDA) bureaucracy, massive rules, regulations, and restrictions that are causing drug companies to change the way the make, distribute, and approve new drugs?  If so, can we raise our individual voices as one to keep an agency from endangering our pets and ourselves with their red tape?

This is where we need your help.

• Have you experienced a drug shortage either for your pet, or for yourself?  
• How did that affect you and/or your pet?  
• Did it endanger yourself or your pet?  
• Did it cause a set back in treatment?  
• How much money did it cost you (seeking alternative treatment, or because a drug was not available a trip to the ER/ER vet)?
• Did you learn about the shortage or discontinuation from your vet or doctor, and if so, did your vet or doctor know why there was a shortage or discontinuation?
• Did your vet or doctor receive notice of the shortage or discontinuation well in advance?
• If you didn't learn it from your vet or doctor, where did you learn of the shortage or discontinuation?

If you have experienced a drug shortage for yourself or your pet, please e-mail us at  Gimpy Dogs (gimpydogscom@gmail.com) and try to answer the questions above to the best of your knowledge, including the type of drug that was either discontinued, or in short supply.  Please use the subject line: Drug Shortage

We will forward your responses to the free-lance writer who may or may not contact your for further information.  If her article is posted online, we will post a link to that article and also follow up on what she finds as the cause for the shortages.

Please forward this link to anyone that you know that might have experienced a drug shortage of any kind and spread the word so that we get as much information as possible to try to find a cause for this very serious issue.

thank you!

Penny
Gimpy Dogs