6MP shortage in Canada

Has anyone else been impacted by the shortage of 6MP/purinethol?

I live in Toronto, and when I went to refill my prescription was told that the manufacturer has run out and the drug is back-ordered. Because so few pharmacies have 6MP in stock, even the drug stores that normally have 6MP on the shelf have now run out. Apparently they will not be receiving any more until September. Luckily I found a pharmacy out in BC, where my parents live, that has some, and so I can have it mailed to me.

There have been ongoing shortages of many drugs here in Canada recently, and pharmacists have told me this is primarily due to problems at manufacturing plants in the US. The Globe and Mail ran a story about the issue yesterday: www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/new-health/health-news/health-canada-warns-of-worsening-drug-shortages/article2133739/

If you live in Canada, I suggest calling around to pharmacies asap to find which might have 6MP in stock. Don't wait until you run out, as you might find yourself out of luck.

Is this impacting anyone else here in Canada? Or anyone in the US? Seems like a troubling trend...

Yes, I just got hit with this today too. Went to pick up my 6-MP refill at Safeway in Edmonton and discovered they were completely out. Then I called around town and nobody had any left, except 10 pills at another Safeway. I snapped them up. I was told the same thing about 6-MP not being available until September 5, but the pharmacist said those dates aren't always reliable and it could be even later.

Man, this sucks. I've had occasional troubles in the past getting 6-MP in America when I lived there, but only by a week or so. Never like this, and never system-wide.

For some reason they only seem to get Purinethol here in Canada.

When I lived in the States, it was the generic kind. Not up here. I found another pharmacy that had a spare 20 pills on hand so I snapped them up. Spent all weekend transferring my prescription from one store to the next, grabbing whatever they have on hand. What a major pain in the ass. And they all say the same thing -- Sept. 5 is the earliest there will be a re-stock, but I shouldn't actually believe that date.

Now I'm cutting my dosage in half from two pills a day to just one. It's the only way to make my supply stretch until early September and hope this gets resolved. I figure half a dose is better than none at all.

Same story here in Qc! I went to the pharmacy to pick my 6mp 3 days ago and they were completely out of stock. The pharmacist told me a local company was going to manufacture the drug so I should be able to get some by next week. He said he's going to order pills (actually, it will come in capsules instead of tabs) for several months in advance so that i don't run out of pills again.

I got generic 6MP! It comes in 25mg and 50mg capsules. I'm in Qc and it's a company here that makes the generic (only because the brand name is BO). Maybe you could all get some? If you need more info, let me know.

I am still having no luck in b.c. trying to get purinethol.  Anybody have any ideas have been told maybe September 25th  

Sanity, could you add your email in your profile so that I can send you the name and telephone number of the company? I'm not sure it's legal to put it on here!

Violette

Does anybody know the effect of reducing dosage for a short period? I've run out (nothing to to with the shortage) and so may have to go for up to a week without any. There's a considerable onset time for the treatment, so I'd hope a brief lapse wouldn't matter.

Were any of you forced to reduce/stop for a while and did it cause you problems?

This is horrible news! Thanks for letting us know though.

Hey - did someone say that 6 mp is available in Qc (generic) -- can you tell me who sells it?