![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F7PNQX6PE5B2XF43OSTEA4S76I.png\")
David Speary relies on Panadol Osteo to manage a chronic spinal condition. Photo \/ Panadol<\/p>\n
An Auckland retiree says he is rationing the pain medication he relies on to stay active as pharmacies contend with a nationwide shortage of two popular drugs.<\/p>\n
Panadol Osteo supplier Haleon has apologised after supplies were disrupted across New Zealand, saying the product would progressively return to pharmacy shelves by the end of the month.<\/p>\n
A substitute drug, Paracetamol Osteo-Tab, has also run out, with supplier AFT Pharmaceuticals saying fresh supplies had now been sent to wholesalers.<\/p>\n
Northcote resident David Speary, 82, said he usually takes two Panadol Osteo tablets three times a day to manage pain from a chronic spinal condition he has had for about five years.<\/p>\n
However, he has been forced to halve his usual dose to stretch out his remaining supply after he was unable to find the medication at several North Shore pharmacies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying not to be stressed,\u201d Speary said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2018ve got enough painkillers to last me for a week, I\u2019m just hoping and praying that it doesn\u2019t hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said a pharmacist recommended he take Paracetamol Osteo-Tab, another long-acting paracetamol product, instead. However, he was unable to find further supplies of that either.<\/p>\n
After pharmacists told him the medication was unlikely to be back on shelves for several weeks, Speary contacted the supplier himself and said he was given a similar timeframe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m thinking of all the other people that buy these pills,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2018m careful, I only buy what I need. I have a couple of days in store and then I buy another packet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey cost me but I\u2019m happy because they work.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Independent Pharmacists\u2019 Association of New Zealand told the Herald that Panadol Osteo had been out of stock \u201cfor a while\u201d.<\/p>\n
Association president Jie Choong said regular users were often elderly people managing chronic pain who preferred the long-acting formulation because it required less frequent dosing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will be an inconvenience for them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
David Speary relies on Panadol Osteo to manage a chronic spinal condition. Photo \/ Panadol<\/p>\n
Speary said he had previously tried reducing his medication after his pain appeared to subside, but he described what followed as \u201ccrippling\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy entire neck and shoulders were frozen. I was in pain. I couldn\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speary said he had to take a taxi to the doctors because he couldn\u2019t drive or bend his head.<\/p>\n
After returning to his usual dose, he said he was back to normal within about a week.<\/p>\n
Speary said the medication allows him to maintain a \u201creasonably active\u201d and independent lifestyle.<\/p>\n
He still drives, goes to the gym and aquarobics classes, plays canasta, attends church, and has recently returned to helping with a reading recovery programme at a primary school.<\/p>\n
\u2018Supply disruption\u2019 across NZ<\/p>\n
Haleon confirmed a \u201csupply disruption\u201d had caused limited availability of the pain medication at pharmacies across New Zealand.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson said supply was now improving, with stock expected to progressively return to pharmacy shelves by the end of August.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe expect supply to remain available provided products continue to be purchased in normal quantities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company apologised for the disruption and advised people unable to find Panadol Osteo to speak to a pharmacist or healthcare professional about suitable alternatives.<\/p>\n
AFT Pharmaceuticalssaid it had also briefly run out of stock of Paracetamol Osteo-Tab after demand increased when Panadol Osteo became unavailable.<\/p>\n
Managing director Hartley Atkinson said the surge in demand had exhausted the company\u2019s existing supplies.<\/p>\n
AFT had since urgently airfreighted more of the medication into New Zealand with supplies sent to wholesalers for distribution to pharmacies, Atkinson said.<\/p>\n
What is modified-release paracetamol?<\/p>\n
Panadol Osteo and Paracetamol Osteo contain 665mg of paracetamol in a modified-release formulation, meaning the medicine is released into the body over a longer period.<\/p>\n
Unlike standard paracetamol, which can be bought from supermarkets and pharmacies, modified-release paracetamol is classified as a restricted medicine.<\/p>\n
It does not require a prescription but can only be supplied by a pharmacist following a consultation.<\/p>\n
The restriction is partly aimed at preventing confusion with the dosing requirements for standard paracetamol and reducing the risk of accidental overdose, which can cause severe liver damage, according to Medsafe\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
Pharmac said Panadol Osteo 665mg and Paracetamol Osteo 665mg were not Pharmac-funded medicines, meaning the agency had no visibility of their supply.<\/p>\n
The Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand declined to comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Auckland retiree says he is rationing the pain medication he relies on to stay active as pharmacies…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":599589,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[103,61,60,371,254094,142689],"class_list":["post-599588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-medication","tag-nationalshortage","tag-panadol"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}