Posted on 07/04/2012 4:40:14 AM PDT by GailA
I searched FR and found no notice of the recall, and sure have not seen it on the news.
I know I've been hit and miss due to a lot of health issues this past year, but we do watch the nightly news. And anything this big would have caught my attention because I keep Maalox in the house for occasional mild stomach upset/reflux when I eat something that disagrees with my stomach.
Went to buy a bottle of Maalox and tried several different stores and types, finally one of the gals at a local Kroger's said Maalox had been RECALLED, they were given no reason, just that it was RED flagged for recall.
Does any one else have any knowledge of this? It would have been common decency to let the public know a commonly taken stomach remedy had been pulled from the market.
(Excerpt) Read more at fiercepharma.com ...
My guess as to the reason for the recalls and absence of both Pecid Complete and the Maalox products is that the products contain the same antacid as the regular over the counter product and that the FDA was complaining that people might be too stupid not to take both.
In other words, the FDA wanted people to buy both Tums and another generic brand antacid, separately.
more here
The closing of the plant has affected everything from opioids to pet medications. It was Novartis' largest OTC manufacturing facility, producing its entire Excedrin line, as well as NoDoz, Bufferin and Gas-X Prevention products. The company had to recall millions of products. But it also made drugs like Percoset for Endo Health Solutions ($ENDP) and as well hypertension drugs for GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK).
The FDA raised serious concerns over manufacturing at the plant, which was closed in December. Among other problems, there was a chance that chipped particles of one drug made it into the bottles of other drugs. Investigators found unclean lines and more than 1,300 consumer complaints that had not been addressed. Originally, remediation at the plant was expected to be completed mid-year, but during an earnings call in April, executives said it is taking longer than expected. The company has shifted production of some products to other facilities but Canadians, and others, may have to turn elsewhere for Maalox.
I wondered what was going on. It’s been missing from our local store shelves for about 3 months. At first I thought it was gov’t stockpiling for SHTF.
Have lots of issues with this. Express Scripts is the re-imburser/supplier for mail ordered drugs. They bought out scandal plagued Medco not long ago $29 B...ES is the gov’t’s Medicare and Tricare Life provider...they offered Walgreen’s such a low compensation for their drugs, near to below cost, that WAGS did not renew contract. They will do this with each chain as their contracts come due. They also do BC/BS and several other private health ins.
They want you to mail order your drugs, and they will provide the cheapest generic they can get from any country they can get it from. You will not know from one order to the next what you will get. It is getting that way at the drug store too...one of my drugs keeps getting switched when there is a shortage, and most of them do not work or have horrid side effects. Synthroid is one of those I have to have name brand, generic does not work as well and has side effects the name brand does not have.
And with 0 chasing our drug manufactures OUT of the US drug shortages has become a big thing.
I am hyper sensitive to drug side effects, and it is a night mare dealing with ES. They now reimburse for 1 in 2 health insurances gov’t and private. MONOPOLY here we come.
And a lot of RX drugs are now becoming OTC and are no longer covered by your ins for them. People will begin to treat themselves for what could be serious conditions, because it is easier than getting in to see a doc or get an RX that is usually a high $ co-pay.
Chronic reflux is serious business and not to be treated lightly. My grandmother had chronic acid issues she used baking soda on, and she ended up with a massive stroke that killed her before she hit the floor. This was back in the 70’s.
I for one do not want to be Express Scripts guinea pig. Have had the same pharmacy for 25 years and don’t plan to change.
They are especially trying to force Medicare and ret. Military over 65 Tricare For Life to use their uncertain mail order drugs. Can you imagine your insulin sitting in a hot mail box IF you happen to be gone that day? What about emergency RX for infections we all get from time to time but need treated starting today, not a week from now or more for them to mail it to you.
I’m like you I keep a decent OTC med supply to treat small stuff and find it hard to find some of the brands I like to use that are reliable. More store brands cropping up and they come from the same manufacture, but fillers are different and you react differently to them.
And for all you TFL retired Military people Shingles vaccines are covered with co-pay, you have to get on waiting list...you have to have a RX and get the shot at the drug store, not your doctor’s. And Nexium is done at generic price for those who have acid reflux or GERD.
I have bought the Walmart brand, but not the name brand. I found there was no difference in them except price. Same for Tylenol.
I’m so drug sensitive I can tell the difference in different store brands....fillers mostly I’m told...Can’t take Walgreen’s brand does weird things to me.
I think we will see a lot more shortages of OTC drugs as 0’care rolls into effect. And you can’t stock pile a lot of it as it does have expiration effectiveness dates and some of it is behind the counter and you have to now sign for it...they are tracking it’s usage, due supposedly to it being used to make METH.
FDA needs to be more worried about the approval of those side effect riddled drugs they are approving. A drug with a 50% side effect failure rate does not need approval, but denial. Yet they are expanding the usage of such drugs.
It is a nightmare to try and report a bad drug reaction, and your doctor is not reporting it when you report it to them.
True. It's not on the shelves. Neither is the topical spray Benadryl for poison ivy. The pills and the spray were on my list for the medicine cabinet the other day and couldn't find either one. Had to buy the store brand pills but they didn't even have an empty space for where the spray should be. Thankfully, I bought two bottles because a couple days later a neighbor had gotten into some poisonous plant and couldn't find any at the store so I gave him one of the pill bottles and cautioned him on using the old spray. Is trading out with our friends the future?
This administration is evil.
Codex Alimentarius: Population Control Under the Guise of Consumer Protection
My guess would be that the disappearance of the popular over the counter drugs is just another part of the pressure that Obama used to win concessions with Big Pharma for his health care bill.
Sorry, had to laugh at that. Yeah, it does defeat the purpose. Sort of like one of Gallagher's (?) old jokes about putting a humidifier and a dehumdifier in the same room.
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