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Medication restriction«If I don’t get my medication, I will experience horror nights»
In Switzerland, the list of missing medicines is getting longer and longer. The 20-minute community also suffers from this. Two people tell.
This is why some medicines are not available or only available with great difficulty in pharmacies.
20min / Taddeo Cerletti
It becomes particularly problematic when a failure has an immediately noticeable effect, says Enea Martinelli, Vice President of Pharmasuisse. For example, with diabetes medication. US from the canton of Solothurn also needs a drug for diabetes. Worried regarding the drug shortage.
Tamedia AG
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The 20-minute community is concerned regarding the drug shortage.
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Some readers had to wait a considerable time for their medication or switch to another.
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Especially those who cannot switch to another drug seem scared.
The shortage of medicines in Switzerland is getting worse. It is not only people who are dependent on a drug who are concerned regarding this, doctors and industry experts are also concerned. For patients, the danger is greatest where a failure has an immediately noticeable effect. “These include antiepileptic drugs, drugs for Parkinson’s disease, heart and diabetes drugs and psychiatric drugs,” says Enea Martinelli, Vice President of Pharmasuisse, the association of health insurers.
The 20-minute community also feels this. Getting the medication you need right away is becoming increasingly difficult. Two victims tell.
US from the canton of Solothurn
I inject myself with Ozempic every week for my diabetes. I buy monthly packs for this. A month or two ago I went to the pharmacy to buy another monthly supply. However, it was not available. When I asked, the pharmacist told me it would be available once more soon. When I went to buy another pack of the drug two weeks ago, it was still not available. I found what I was looking for in another pharmacy. A stone fell from my heart. My family doctor also told me that she might not give me this medicine at the moment because none was available. Since I cannot switch to another drug, the bottleneck is a particular concern for me.
Claire G. from the canton of Lucerne
I need to take multiple medications for multiple reasons. Among other things, blood pressure reducers. I have already wanted to buy this drug twice in a pharmacy, but it has been sold out for weeks. I had no choice but to switch to a replacement drug. That actually went quite well. Only: In the beginning, trust suffered quite a bit because it was a new product that I wasn’t familiar with. The situation surrounding the lack of medicines worries me a lot. For example, there is only one medication for my restless leg syndrome. If I don’t get this, I experience horror nights.