We recently received an email from a patient (Bob) who needs to take large does of potassium (60-80 mEq daily).  To make his potassium supplementation easier and more pleasant, Bob opts to take a few doses of the Unflavored Effer-K 25 mEq each day. The unflavored tablet can be dissolved in any beverage, so every drink provides an opportunity for medicating.

Effer-K 25 mEq is available in a variety of flavors to be dissolved in water.  All flavored varieties of Effer-K are sugar free. Effer-K 25 mEq is also available in an Unflavored form which can be dissolved in a patient’s beverage of choice.   Unflavored Effer-K is sugar free and contains no artificial dyes or flavors.

Unfortunately, Bob was told by his pharmacy that they could not get the 25 mEq because the manufacturer was out of stock.  WHAAAATTTT??? We have plenty of it sitting here on our shelves.   Effer-K 25 mEq is in less demand than our more common 10 and 20 mEq strengths – but it is often preferred for patients who are taking very large doses of potassium daily.  Because of the lower demand, in the past some of the wholesale pharmacy distribution centers had not placed orders for it in the past.

Fortunately the fantastic national buyer at Cardinal Health acknowledged the need to make Effer-K 25 mEq Unflavored and Orange available at all Cardinal pharmacies and bought a case of both for each of her distribution centers throughout the United States.  And the great news for Bob is that he can now go to his local Walgreens and pick up his 25 mEq Unflavored Effer-K whenever he needs it.

Thanks a lot, Cardinal! And thank you, Bob, for bringing this issue to our attention.