Is anyone having difficulty sourcing Ferrous Fumarate at the moment please?

[Jo5454]

Hi, is anyone finding sourcing Ferrous Fumarate 210 mg difficult at the moment? One stockists has announced they're not coming back into stock until August...I've rang around loads. Am getting on ok with it and don't really want to swop types...seems very strange everywhere so far is out of stock? Many thanks

[Hidden]

It was mentioned on here that Lloyds Chemist was a good place to buy it. Have you tried them?

[Jo5454 in reply to Hidden]

No, I'll try them tomorrow, but am sure I've read they'll only give it to your with a prescription, whereas my health centre advised me to buy it at a chemists due to it being cheaper. Thanks very much for your reply

[Hidden in reply to Jo5454]

Lloyds don't require a prescription, it's just over £4 there.

[Jo5454 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you, will keep ringing around today thank you.

[rosypo]

I've tried in 2 or 3 chemists. They all say there is a supply problem but I don't know why.

[Jo5454 in reply to rosypo]

I've rang around loads of them and none except the last Boots I tried, who stated August had any idea...thanks.

[humanbean]

Apparently it is getting difficult to get it anywhere. This recent article (02/04/2015) in Pulse Online refers to the problem :

pulsetoday.co.uk/views/blog...

And one of the comments on it has this to say :

"Today I was duty Dr on returned scripts ...

no gentamicin ear drops..please prescribe an alternative

...no ferrous fumarate ...please prescribe and alternative

...no benzyl peroxide cream...please prescribe an alternative

....no mefenamic acid...please prescribe an alternative

...this is not a joke ...this all happened to me this afternoon ...what's going on??"

[Jo5454 in reply to humanbean]

Thanks for this...really strange for them to be missing out on all those sales! Really annoying when you've got settled on one type. Oh well, if Lloyds can't help tomorrow's fun challenge will be finding an alternative

[humanbean in reply to Jo5454]

Try Tesco Pharmacy. I've bought from there before without being asked for a prescription. The only company that I've read definitely asks for a prescription is Boots. So avoid them, and try any other chain or independent pharmacy. I think you may just have to shop around.

[Jo5454 in reply to humanbean]

Tried some stores yesterday, will try some more today, thank you

[Jodypody in reply to Jo5454]

Amazon 2.80

[helvella Administrator]

There are on-line suppliers, such as:

waltonpharmacy.co.uk/produc...

[Hidden in reply to helvella]

Thanks Rod.

[Jo5454 in reply to helvella]

Thanks, will remember that, have got a bit short this time, naughty me. Always use my local chemist and they thought they'd get some in last week. When they didn't I thought I'd find some in town at the weekend. Didn't realise there was a shortage on!

[Thalia56]

I tried to buy some from my local Sainsburys about a month ago and was told they were couldn't get any and didn't expect to be able to before July. The pharmacist there also said that my only realistic chance of getting any was to try and find a chemist that still had some old stock, from which I inferred that the shortage wasn't related to their supplier only.

[Jo5454 in reply to Thalia56]

Hi, yes I've been told August, July and June for expected back in stock dates. Managed to find some In a different strength in Tescos yesterday, after ringing over 30 chemists! I've been buying them a month at a time locally, wishing I'd stocked up a bit now! thanks for your reply.

[Thalia56 in reply to Jo5454]

Wow - well done on finally tracking some down! It would never have occurred to me to buy more than a month's supply at a time as it seems like such a common product. Obviously that's no guarantee.