As Heidi Everett’s friends celebrated New Year’s Eve, she spent the day driving from pharmacy to pharmacy in search of reliable medication.
The artist and disability advocate considers quetiapine, also known by the brand name Seroquel, to be a form of schizophrenia.
“I was crying in the pharmacy and couldn’t hold myself together because I was scared of what would happen if I didn’t take my medication,” she said.
She tried five pharmacies in her local suburb of Melbourne, but could only get a few days’ supply.
Quetiapine is an antipsychotic drug that people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder rely on.
Pharmacists say they are struggling to procure quetiapine, known by the brand name Seroquel. (ABC News: Nick McBean)
There is currently a nationwide shortage of this drug.
According to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the availability of the 300mg and 25mg versions of quetiapine is limited, and the two 25mg versions are not available.
Between October and December last year, the TGA added these medicines to its shortage database, but many pharmacists told the ABC that they only became unavailable when their suppliers revealed they were out of stock. He said he found out.
Heidi learned that the issue was national when people from all over the country responded to her social media posts about it.
She told the ABC that she had been prescribed many medications to treat her symptoms over the past 30 years, but quetiapine was the only one she could tolerate.
So if she can’t have it, she has few options.
“At the moment of need, we [people with complex mental health] People had to figure out how to get through this,” she said.
Manufacturing issues behind the shortage
Companies with product shortages (Arotex, Sandoz, Accord Healthcare) blame manufacturing constraints and say other generic products are available.
However, many people who use this drug have a hard time finding alternatives, including the brand name version of Seroquel.
Several pharmacies contacted by the ABC said they did not have quetiapine in stock.
Jenna Cormack said many pharmacies are out of stock. (ABC News: Scott Preston)
Pharmacist Jenna Cormack said she hasn’t been able to get any of the brands her customers are most familiar with in stock for the past few weeks.
“We have people calling dozens of pharmacies trying to get desperately needed medicine,” she said.
The TGA said higher doses are available that can be halved or quartered to obtain a smaller dose.
Jenna Cormack said this was not an easy alternative, as the 100mg tablets did not have scoring to allow them to be broken into quarters.
“There is no guarantee that you will get the exact 25 mg dose,” she says.
Pharmacists say it’s difficult to ensure doses are accurate when large tablets are cut into smaller pieces. (ABC News: Scott Preston)
Worry about side effects
People taking quetiapine are advised not to suddenly stop taking it due to the risk of side effects and recurrence.
Stopping the drug suddenly can cause dizziness, nausea, and insomnia, which can worsen mental health symptoms.
Heidi said not being able to find supplies amidst shortages is a very real fear for her and others using the drug.
“I’ve had episodes of suicidal depression and suicidal thoughts in recent months, so if I stop this drug, those can all happen within about two weeks,” she said. .
Doctors also said they didn’t know what was going on with the drug.
Dr Toby Gardner said the consequences of not having access to the drug could be dire. (ABC News: Morgan Timms)
Dr Toby Gardner, Tasmanian president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, said GPs often hear about drug shortages first from pharmacists and then from patients seeking alternatives.
“This just came on our radar,” he said.
Heidi believes health authorities should do more to help people with complex mental health conditions have access to society.
“This includes making medicines available to them and letting them know if they are not available,” she said.
“I don’t want to go back to the psych ward just because I don’t have the medicine.”
Heidi Everett thinks authorities can do more to prepare people for drug shortages. (ABC News: Leonie Thorne)
Dr. Gardner said people can develop acute psychotic symptoms if they don’t have access to the drug.
He said that although there are alternative antipsychotic drugs, it has not been easy for doctors to switch patients’ medications because they cannot suddenly stop one drug and take another.
His view is that quetiapine is one of several medicines that Australia does not stock adequately.
“We want to mandate that a minimum amount of medicines be stored on shore, especially important medicines that people cannot stop at short notice,” he said.
Dr Toby Gardner said there was a need to stockpile enough quetiapine to avoid shortages. (ABC News: Morgan Timms)
Ms Cormack held a similar view, saying drugs like quetiapine were important drugs that people needed to function.
“Ensuring that these things are in stock should be a priority,” she said.
TGA said the shortage of 25mg tablets is expected to be resolved by late January to late February, while the shortage of 300mg tablets is expected to continue until June 20, 2025.
Arotex, Sandoz, and Accord Healthcare have been contacted for comment.
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