ALERT -- sub-q fluids have started to be rationed

pretty much all sub-q fluids are currently being rationed -- both to pet owners and veterinarians. the lactated ringers and sodium chloride are the two that are in short supply, but some vets are switching some cats/dogs over to other types of fluids if they're able to so now pretty much all types of fluids are in short supply/high demand.

i've just been on the phone literally for hours trying to locate fluids. snick is currently on sodium chloride, however we're having to switch to normosol-r 7.4 ph because i cannot locate any more bags of sodium chloride to order. and i'm extremely good (and persistent) at ferreting out the best prices and where supplies are available to be ordered. i talked with my vet, asking if the normosol-r was an acceptable alternative, and she agreed that we have no choice but to switch snick to it. as my vet said, it's better than no fluids (for a ckd cat). please note that the other normosol, normosol-m contains dextrose.

just as a heads up to anyone whose cat is on lactated ringers for ckd, i did find out that thriving pets dot com has a large shipment of them that they just got in. so if you're planning on ordering the lactated ringers, they've got them until their stock runs out again.

i might suggest that this thread be used as a source of info, updated as we all get any new info, about fluids and where they are/are not available.

i would strongly suggest that before placing an order for fluids online, call them to make sure they have them in stock.

Thanks for the heads-up. I recently order a case of NaCl and have 10 bags left (= 3 months).

I order from here: https://www.surgo.com/catalogpc.htm?Category=C-IV BAGS&NBReset=4 (which ships Canada only). The website doesn't say anything about a short supply.

@cocheezie -- i usually order fluids for snick once a year, and order 2-3 cases. i still have 9 more 1000ml bags left, but snick now gets 150cc's every other day so we get 7 days (total period of days) out of each bag. since the fluid shortage is expected to continue to mid-2015 and now that rationing has begun, i'm hoping to buy enough that i won't need to order more until after the shortage has past. the prices are continuing to rise too, so part of my goal is to stock up at current prices so i don't need to buy at even higher prices.

here's a link to some basic info about the 2014 fluid shortage at tanya's website (scroll down to the "2014 fluids shortage" section -- http://www.felinecrf.org/cheap_supplies_usa.htm .there are a couple of links, to hospira and the food and drug administration, in that section too that can give some more details.

i'm not sure how/if the shortage here in the US might effect canadians. i did check out surgo, but they only ship within canada so no help to me.

Yes, in the hospitals we've been experiencing a shortage for some time.  It started with one (LR I think), then when we ran to using something else it became short as well.  We're using D5 1/2 NS a lot these days.

How the heck can there be a shortage of fluids?  Sebastian gets the Plasma-Lyte A. I wonder if that is affected, too.

GoHolistic said:

 
How the heck can there be a shortage of fluids? 

Sebastian gets the Plasma-Lyte A. I wonder if that is affected, too.

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my understanding is that the shortage has to do with hospira upgrading their manufacturing facilities. until they've got their upgrading of those facilities completed (estimate is mid-2015) they are producing much less of the lactated ringers and sodium chloride. this is both for animal use and human use, so it's a very big (huge) problem.

plasma-lyte A is not one of the fluids directly effected. however, since the LR and sodium chloride are in such short supply (they've just started rationing both pet owner orders with prescription, and veterinarian orders) there are those who are switching to the normosol -r or plasma-lyte A because those two are actually available. i'm one of those who is having to switch over to normosol-r because i'm unable to locate any sodium chloride as of today -- looking online, and i'm extremely good at locating supplies online. some online retailers/pharmacies are in such short supply of normosol-r today that they limit how many bags you can order at a time.

my personal opinion is that if your cat gets sub-q's of any sort and you live in the US, it would be a very good idea to lay in some extra bags or cases.

Ah, yes. Good point. The affected now affects the unaffected. 

Okay, I'll see about ordering more bags the next time I place my order. Thanks for the info!

GoHolistic said:

 
Ah, yes. Good point. The affected now affects the unaffected.  

Okay, I'll see about ordering more bags the next time I place my order. Thanks for the info!

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  thank you! you got me laughing, and i really needed that today.

you're welcome! i knew that if i'm having so much trouble ordering fluids, others may have the same trouble.

Going to order another case tonight. 

This company mails to the US. http://www.sands.ca/iv-supplies/09-ns-iv-solutions-6071x

cocheezie said:

 
Going to order another case tonight. 

This company mails to the US. http://www.sands.ca/iv-supplies/09-ns-iv-solutions-6071x

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OMG!!! nothing short of amazing. thank you so very much!

i just ordered some fluids, but i have a question that you may be able to help me with. when i placed the order, i wasn't asked for any vet contact info or info about my snick (the patient). won't sands need a prescription from my vet in order to process the order i placed?

A prescription is not needed for IV fluids in Canada. 

I don't order from Sands because Surgo offers free delivery over $100. Sands wanted to charge me $36 CDN to ship. I don't know what their timeline sending the order is like. I know that ordering cat supplies from the US to Canada takes about two weeks or so. The CDN dollar is currently 90¢ US (that's a 10% discount right there).

Hope the shipping didn't set you back too much.

cocheezie said:

 
A prescription is not needed for IV fluids in Canada. 

I don't order from Sands because Surgo offers free delivery over $100. Sands wanted to charge me $36 CDN to ship. I don't know what their timeline sending the order is like. I know that ordering cat supplies from the US to Canada takes about two weeks or so. The CDN dollar is currently 90¢ US (that's a 10% discount right there).

Hope the shipping didn't set you back too much.

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thank you for that info! i had suspected that that was the case, but had never ordered anything from a canadian pharmacy/medical supply before so wasn't sure.

waiting two weeks or so won't be a problem for me. i still have 9 bags of fluids plus the bag we just started, so i won't run out before the shipment arrives.

the shipping cost looked shocking, however when i calculate the cost per bag including shipping i'll actually be saving $1 USD per bag by buying from sands (compared to the current prices for them in the US as of today).

something that those who are in canada might want to keep an eye out for is if US pet owners start ordering from canada, if that starts to effect your supply of fluids or prices. like if many US pet owners start ordering their fluids from canada. it's hard to know if the current (imo) pretty severe situation in the US with the fluids shortage will continue or get worse. it's scary enough for me right now though, wanting to make sure my snick has the fluids she needs for treating her ckd and finding it very hard/even not possible to obtain them here in the US.