Question for Pharmacy Workers: WTF is going on with Pepcid Complete® & generics?!?

[Jack T. Chance]

This is freaking me out right now. I don't use the "C" word (conspiracy) much, because I'm not generally that kind of guy, but something really weird is going on.

First off, let me just say that whenever I have aches & pains (arthritis, bad back, etc.) I take NSAIDs, usually either Aleve or Ibuprofen, because they're the only pain killers that are truly effective for me. The major downside, of course, is that they cause bleeding ulcers and other stomach issues. So for relief from the stomach symptoms, I take Pepcid Complete®, which is a chewable tablet that combines Pepcid AC & a regular antacid. This is what gives me the best relief, and it lasts for hours.

But then, last fall, Pepcid Complete® started disappearing from store shelves, along with the generic equivalents of it. Wal*Mart, Target, Rite Aid, CVS Pharmacy, Walgreen's, Giant Food, Safeway, etc., etc... I've tried any store with a pharmacy in it, and it's the same everywhere. One day, I lucked out and found some generic in stock at a few CVS stores, and stocked up, but now that supply has run out, and now even CVS has none. And when I ask the pharmacists, they can't explain why they're out. Target has now even eliminated the shelf tags on the empty spaces on their shelves, as if admitting defeat.

What... the... FRAK is going on here?!? I mean, I just googled it, and found THIS BLOG POST and THIS ONE and also THIS ONE OVER HERE which have a few answers, but still not enough info. And they all reveal what I already suspected... this is CONTINENT WIDE. It's even gone in CANADA, as well. And again, not just the name brand, but the generics, as well, even though they're made by different companies in different factories!

So, if any of our members work in a pharmacy, could you PLEASE reveal what you know, and fill me in on just what the frak is going on here?!? Thanks in advance.

[Bella_Vixen]

Have you tried contacting the questions/comments/concerns phone number/email address on the products?

[Jack T. Chance]

Have you tried contacting the questions/comments/concerns phone number/email address on the products?

Not yet, but after reading those blogs, it seems there's an FDA action going on, and it's all being kept hush-hush. All that anyone can find out is that the FDA shut down a Merck plant in Lancaster, PA that made Pepcid, but more than that, you can't find. When People contact Johnson & Johnson/Merck, they're given vague answers that tell them nothing. Guess I'm gonna have to take regular Pepcid AC... if I can even still find any... and regular antacid separately.

I hope someone starts a class-action lawsuit over this felgercarb!

[Mikkel]

Strange. I got curious and checked if it is sold in EU. It is in Sweden and Finland under the name Pepcid Duo.
I checked the official Swedish online pharmacy . "Tillfälligt slut" means "sold out at the moment...

[Bella_Vixen]

Not yet

OK, I was just wondering.

I hope someone starts a class-action lawsuit over this felgercarb!

Class action lawsuits are not always a good thing.

[Jack T. Chance]

Strange. I got curious and checked if it is sold in EU. It is in Sweden and Finland under the name Pepcid Duo.
I checked the official Swedish online pharmacy . "Tillfälligt slut" means "sold out at the moment...

Weird. So, this thing's GLOBAL now?!?

Or maybe it's just that the people you see online that still have it to sell are buying up all the supply in the EU and reselling it here?!?

Class action lawsuits are not always a good thing.

True, but they're also not always a BAD thing, either. Sometimes it's the only way you can get these big corporations to pull their heads out of their arses.

[Plaidman]

Long story short: The manfuctor factory that made them were shut down due to numerous violations.

Good news: It'll be back within a month or two.

[AdminAssistant]

It'll be back? Whew! I get really bad heartburn and it's so much better than taking regular Pepcid or popping Tums like crazy.

[telecom_goddess]

I never even noticed cause I take prescription strength prilosec.....it works great for me.

[boringscreenname]

It looks like Pepcid Complete is still available on Amazon, although some of the prices are a bit outrageous. But they do have generic versions at Amazon too, so maybe that would be an option for you.

[Jack T. Chance]

Good News, Bad News...

Good News/Bad News time...

The good news is that I was just in the grocery store next to where I work. I will not name names, nor will I give the location, for reasons that will become clear in a moment.

THEY ACTUALLY HAVE PEPCID COMPLETE® IN STOCK!!! 50 COUNT BOTTLES OF THE MINT FLAVOR!!!

BUT... (oh, come on, you knew there'd be one, hence the "Bad News" part of this tale! ) ...they want $20 a bottle!!!

As soon as my co-worker gets here so he can watch the store for a bit, I'm gonna check a couple other places nearby, within a couple traffic lights of where I work. A drug store, and another grocery store, in the hopes that one of them has either the Real McCoy or the generic in stock for less than $20 a bottle. But if not, I have no choice. I'll go back to the grocery store here and stock up, buying as many bottles as I can afford this week. Hell, if one of the other places has it in stock cheaper, I'll do the same thing there!

I hate having to act like a damn hoarder, but J&J/Merck has forced this situation upon us!

[Sapphire Silk]

To the OP: If you are taking Pepcid Complete due to symptoms caused by NSAID use, please be aware of this:

Masking the symptoms is not a good idea. You could be giving yourself a bleeding ulcer and not know it. Instead of taking an H2 blocker and an antacid, take the NSAID with milk that will coat your stomach and prevent injury in the first place.

Also, talk to your doctor about using a COX 2 inhibitor like Celebrex, which is far gentler on the stomach and also avoids issues with renal failure that ibuprofen and naproxen can cause.

I say this because I learned my lesson with NSAIDs the hard way: overuse has caused me to have problems with edema and my blood pressure. I now can't take any NSAIDs.

[Jack T. Chance]

To the OP: If you are taking Pepcid Complete due to symptoms caused by NSAID use, please be aware of this:

Masking the symptoms is not a good idea. You could be giving yourself a bleeding ulcer and not know it. Instead of taking an H2 blocker and an antacid, take the NSAID with milk that will coat your stomach and prevent injury in the first place.

Also, talk to your doctor about using a COX 2 inhibitor like Celebrex, which is far gentler on the stomach and also avoids issues with renal failure that ibuprofen and naproxen can cause.

I say this because I learned my lesson with NSAIDs the hard way: overuse has caused me to have problems with edema and my blood pressure. I now can't take any NSAIDs.

Hmmm... I'll remember that next time I talk to my doctor.

[trailerparkmedic]

Not yet, but after reading those blogs, it seems there's an FDA action going on, and it's all being kept hush-hush.

I can't speak to this particular situation, but usually FDA action isn't hush-hush. I get email alerts from Medscape every time the FDA makes a statement about meds and I get several each week.

Closing a factory I can see not making the news, but if they pulled it from the shelves, you'd know.

[ReverendBSB]

I don't know if they are the same company and am too lazy to Google at he moment, but there have been lots of recalls on pharmaceuticals in the last year. I work for grocery distributor handling HBC and General Merchandise in grocery stores.

Since I started about a year and a half ago there has been massive recalls of Tylenol pain relieving products, Tylenol and Motrin children's products, Tylenol cold and flu products, and most recently Mylanta products. The Tylenol childrin's, cold anf flu, and Mylanta stuff we completely removed from the system as it is still expected to be some time before we have it back. And some of it has already been out around a year.

We still have the generics though. And I cant tell you about the Pepcid Complete, as we never carried it. We do carry regular Pepcid though, and I had a hard time getting it a few weeks back, but that could have been the weather.