LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – Diabetes affects 29 million Americans and 2 million Michiganders. Imagine going to the pharmacy to get your much-needed medication and it’s not available. That’s happening in some places – including Mid-Michigan.
A lot of people are dealing with empty shelves caused by a nationwide shortage of diabetes injection drugs. Because of a new trend on social media, people who do not qualify for these types of drugs are being prescribed to use them.
“There is for example a YouTube about one of these injections where people share their great experiences with these medications having lost weight and things like that,” said Dr. Saleh Al dasouqi, professor of medicine at Michigan State University and chief of endocrinology at MSU Health Care.
Meijer in Lansing told News 10 that they don’t have any Ozempic in stock and that their Trulicity stock is pretty low. Atlas Med Pharmacy in Lansing said they don’t have any diabetes medications in stock. Their supply of Ozempic and Trulicity has been on backorder for more than a month.
According to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the nationwide shortage of major diabetes injection brands is closely related.
“The patients are struggling and we are struggling because the patients get angry – ‘Oh, I went to this pharmacy, I went to the other pharmacy. It’s not there, it’s in backlog, It’s in back order,’ – yeah, it is quite disrupting to patient medical care,” said Al dasouqi.
Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist Moushumi Mukerjee told News 10 that patients who cannot find medication that manages their blood sugar could have long-term effects on the heart, kidney, or nerves.
“You can always reverse your diabetes, so you would not have to be on the medications – dependent on medications. And diabetes is very much reversible with your food and lifestyle changes. I have seen it happen, even in my 75-year-old clients,” said Mukerjee.
Doctors said generic options are available as long as your insurance can cover the cost. There’s no solution in sight for this global shortage. The government said it is working to improve access.
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