Posted on 04/13/2013 12:28:46 AM PDT by LibWhacker
I'm just including a few of the replies on ask.com...
AntonioDittmann: 4 months ago
As of this writing, Maalox continues to be scarce. Some time ago, the manufacturer, Novartis, became aware of production problems at their Lincoln, NE plant. Although most of these problems seem related to pills not associated with Maalox, the plant was entirely shut down, affecting the supply of all drugs made at that plant. According to one source, the plant is under renovation and modernization, but I have not found a documented date of re-activation provided by Novartis. Other drugs affected by this shortage/recall include the cold remedy Triaminic, and the combo remedy Theraflu.
The shortage may also effect generic or store label brands of the same type as Maalox (a compound of Magnesium Chloride and Aluminum Chloride). One possible explanation is that many of these generic label brands are actually purchased overstock of the brand name or trademarked original. In other words, a store label compound that says something like, "compare to the active ingredient in Maalox," might actually be Maalox, with perhaps a small variation in texture so as not to advantage the store label product over the trademarked product.
home4sure: 1 year ago | Last edited at 9:18AM on 4/16/2012
Someone I know called Novartis (3/2012). They said that there is no recall on the product, but that they are having a shortage of liquid Maalox because they have shut down the US and Canadian plants that manufature the product, for remodeling. They said that they don't expect to start making it again until later this year. If the store ran out of stock, they will not be getting more for a few months.
TxPatriot: 1 year ago
The Maalox shortage continues, but is NOT limited to liquid forms. I have not seen ANY form of Maalox on the shelves in months, but also the drug store generics which are based on the Maalox formulations have ALSO disappeared from the shelves. This is in liquid or in TABLET form as well.
The fact that the retailers have no information, no contact with their manufacturers, and that nobody has really reported this leads me to believe the hand of government, specifically of Homeland Security MAY be involved here. They are the only agency which can order a company to do something and under pains of NATIONAL SECURITY letters under the "Patriot" Act, hold them criminally responsible for breaking that silence about the existence of the order.
Why would not the wholesaler or manufacturer want to get the word out to their customers to hang on, we're coming back shortly...don't switch to our rivals just yet. The longer this continues, the more likely that I'm correct.
seesthetruth: 7 months ago
Go the Maalox website--you have to google Maalox USA. I think the website is www.maaloxus.com. The website says some BS about insuring the integrity of the product, so they are temporarily suspending production of the product. There is something else going on. They had to pull their absolute BEST product (Maalox Total) off of the shelves because the FDA implied that people can't read and would be taking the wrong product. The government regulates what it wants to regulate. I have a feeling there is some trouble with the government and these products. But, as I said, if you go to the website you will see the explanation.
jimmy813: 5 months ago
Something fishy is going on..The B.S. about remodeling the plants and bits of strange substances being found in the product is the EXACT SAME explanation given when EXECDRIN disappeared.
Yup, I went on a high protein, low carb, low calorie diet once. The changes were amazing. Didn’t need antacids anymore and my blood pressure dropped down to 100 over 60. It wasn’t that low even in my teens. But that diet was impossible!
Not only does Obummer give us heartburn and headaches, he wants to deny us any relief!
When I took chemistry, the prof told us one day to bring our parents' favorite antacid next time and we'd see which one was most effective. Turns out, baking soda is literally, numerically, THOUSANDS of times more effective than anything else on the market. But you've got to be careful. Just a little bit'll do you. Apart from the big shot of sodium you'd be getting, which many people have to be careful about, you don't want to go slamming down three tablespoons at once. The chemical reaction produces lots of gas, fast. A lot faster than you can rid yourself of by burping. I think I'd explode, lol!
Thanks. Wow, the underhandedness seems to be more universal than I imagined.
Thanks, I’ll try it!
I’ve tried it and like it. But I can’t seem to get it anymore around here. Like the Maalox, supplies have dried up. I did order some from one of Amazon’s partners not too long ago, but it arrived with an expiration date just two months out and it tasted funny, so I tossed it.
OMG, no one can tell me they aren’t trying to dumb-down our children. And the surest way you can accomplish that is by hiring dumb teachers.
The mystery deepens. We’ve all seen companies go under, or discontinue certain product lines because profitability has disappeared from the equation. But this situation has a completely different feel.
I know but when she talks about it I can barely breathe for laughing.
“Biped” sounds like “piped”.
I can’t stand it.
LOLOL
The daughter turned out to be extremely intelligent, in spite of her teachers.
Wife got quite a kick out of it, too, lol. Teacher thought it rhymed with ‘shipped?’ Did your friend’s daughter get it right? Or, as I suppose, was the teacher quickly corrected by a smarter teacher (but, oh, boy, it’d be especially juicy if she was corrected by the daughter!)?
Oh, I see... you said piped, sorry.
I asked my doctor about the brands disappearing: Rolaids, Cortaid, and others. He said the drug store chains discovered they could reverse engineer the products and make them themselves in other countries, thereby making much more of a profit than when they sell the well-known brand.
There’s usually some fishy story about recall by the manufacturer or whatever.
The daughter figured it out from context and did get it.
“Bipped “ sounds funnier.
:)
I just found half a bottle of it in the shed. Way past the expiration date but not a real issue here. I've heard that unopened bottles sell for $70-$90 on eBay (haven't verified this).
The Novartis discontinuation that really hurt me (literally) was Nupercainial. Took some time before I found a reliable, affordable source of generic dibucaine.
Meant to add that both Benefiber and Nupercainal product lines supposedly have been sold to other companies.
Keep my updated! So far so good on everyone I told about it. One of my friends kept a small bottle at work and in his car!
He doesn’t get heartburn anymore. NOT saying it’s a cure, just saying he doesn’t have it anymore.
The FDA could cause a snow shortage in Alaska.
I think mine is too severe. Has put me in the ER overnight and got the big GI probe. I take a prescription-strength dose of Prilosec or another PPI. But I am intrigued both by the reports over the years of apple cider vinegar (treating) and carbohydrates (causing). Might try the cider just as an emergency type thing. Have tried baking soda and only got a minute or so of relief from it.
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