DDAVP Drug Shortage (Injection and Rhinal Tube)

Once again I am having heart failure over the national drug shortage of Sweet Pea's medication. Last week I called to get her next shipment and it was scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. Today I got a call from the mail order pharmacy (Curascript - the specialty division of Express Scripts) alerting me that the medication - DDAVP 10mL vials - is on back order until May 31. It had been scheduled to arrive in their warehouse on April 27 but was just pushed back.

I inquired about the rhinal tube as that was our back up plan and was told that they do not carry that in their inventory at all. (Our local pharmacies also do not have either product available.)

We see our pedi endo next week and were supposed to put together a new medication plan at that time but what do we do if both forms of DDAVP are unavailable? Currently the rhinal tube isn't even listed on the FDA drug shortage list - which means no one even knows the problem exists!

There is a nose spray and a pill form but babies cannot take either. If we could break open the nose spray bottle we could make that work by giving it to her under her tongue - but I am not sure how feasible that is. A mom I have befriend online is going to try it out and let me know before the appointment.

And to top off the craziness, DDAVP nose spray is now being sold online as a memory enhancing drug!  Why any healthy person would risk seizures (from hyponatremia) to improve their memory is beyond me... it seems very unsafe.

To report a drug shortage to the FDA you can email drugshortages@fda.hhs.gov. You can also ask your pharmacist to report drugs on back order to the ASHP (prof. organization for pharmacists).

I wish I could end with some sort of call to action but I can't. I have no idea how to fix this problem...