Drug shortage in CH - Contact info for vets in Germany?

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
The drug that controls Robin Goodfellow's seizures is no longer available in Switzerland due to the current widespread shortages.

So - I am trying to find a vet elsewhere that might have this medication in stock.

Before I start just randomly calling practices over the border, do any of you regularly go to a vet in Germany, and if so, could you share the Praxis info?

Many thanks.

2

I have been using this one for some dozen years
https://www.tierarztpraxis-gabrin.de/

3
Is it a drug which is available in Italy?

If you can locate it at any of the veterinary clinics in Luino, I can pick it up for you.

Most of the clinics have staff who can speak English.

When we lived in Aargau, we were able to buy medications over the border in Germany but the veterinarians we saw will only sell you medications if they have seen your dog at least once. There are 2 vets I can recommend if you are okay with this.

4
We use a vet in nearby France- do you want me to ask? Happy to send.

5
Will vets just hand out drugs without seeing the dog?

6
We know our vets really well- and they would trust us- I am quite sure.

7
As I posted earlier, unlikely. In the past I recall when I urgently needed medication I took the box of empty meds with me and the bill from the vet who dispensed them.

I think it really depends on the vet and the meds you require. If you can get your current vet to call on your behalf, this might be the best solution.

8
Vets can write prescriptions. Maybe that’s an option? My vet wrote my dog a prescription for a human drug and I got it at the pharmacy.

9
Thanks for offering to help, Mrs D and Jackie!

I assume that most vets would need to see Robin before prescribing, as the drug in question is Aphenylbarbit (Phenobarbital), which is why I'm first looking in Germany. (My French is abysmal, and Italian non-existant.) Not to mention, if I understand import regs correctly I can only bring a month's worth into Switzerland, so I'll likely need to make regular trips.

But leaving no stone unturned, next time either of you happen to be at your vet, may I ask if you could ask if the drug is even available? From further googling, it seems that much of Europe and North America are affected by the same shortages Switzerland faces.

Many thanks, one and all.

10
This truly complicates matters as phenobarbital is a barbiturate and class B drug- so highly controlled and probably, as you said, not easy to take over the border or send.

Which brand is it?

11
I would be very wary of any vet (or doctor for that matter) who would hand out any medication without seeing the animal (or person) especially for barbiturates.

I suppose they may honour an existing prescription with an explanation from the prescribing vet but I wouldn’t count on it.

12
If you have a prescription, it shouldn't be a problem - that's the purpose of a prescription.

Edit: Is this a drug available/the same for humans? If so you might be able to get it from a pharmacy with prescription.

13
It shouldn’t be but a foreign prescription for an animal they have never seen for a controlled drug being handed over by a third party would definitely set off alarm bells for me and I would hope it would for them too.

14

Did you check ZurRose.ch, a Swiss by-mail pharmacy?

They say Aphenylbarbit is in stock.
https://www.zurrose.ch/de/search?find=Aphenylbarbit

15
Thanks for the ideas and suggestions one and all!

I now have an Rx for the drug, so am looking for an Apotheke willing to sell it to me - since the drug is on the shortage list people take priority over animals. Understandable of course, but frustrating.

Our clinic found a compounding pharmacy able to make a liquid suspension - only problem is that Robin refuses this form, most likely because of the bitter alcohol taste. Robin is a 'challenge', to say the least, so I am using all my wiles to try to get this form into him, three times per day. This suspension does not seem as effective, perhaps there is an uptake issue. But at least this vial has bought me another few weeks.

I think my best bet for the long run may be to find a vet over the border and take Robin to see him/her, along with his medical dossier - assuming that Germany has a more steady supply of the drug in the veterinary tablet form than Switzerland does. Top of my to-do list after the holiday.

Thanks again for all your help everyone!

16
Good to know you have enough for a little while. Yes, the best solution, if Germany is not too too far. We are very close to border, and always use the same vet in nearby France. Much cheaper and they are great too, and have come to our home to pts our ageing dogs and cats since we moved here. Our pets always die in the comfort of their own home.

17
Well I was able to find an Apotheke willing to fill Robin's Rx, so now I have an extra couple weeks' breathing space.

Paid more than twice the normal price from the vet, though.

I guess I can't complain - still cheaper than the liquid compound, which was eight times the price of the tablets.

Anyone want to bet that even when supply problems are resolved drug prices will remain at inflated levels?