Can I save money on potassium using my Missouri drug card?

If you are a resident of the state of Missouri and currently using Effer-K®, we have great news for you. Effer-K® is now part of the Missouri Drug Card Program.

The Missouri Drug Card is a FREE program that any resident of the state of Missouri can use.

This card will provide you with Rx medication savings of up to 75% at more than 56,000 pharmacies across the country including Schnucks, Kmart, CVS/pharmacy, Hy-Vee, Dierberg’s, Shop ’n Save, Pamida, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, and many more.

Go online to www.missouridrugcard.com and register for your drug card in 1 minute.  The card is pre-activated and can be used immediately!

Information provided from www.missouridrugcard.com.

Potassium citrate and uric acid

Managing uric acid is an issue for people with many different medical conditions. High uric acid is caused by gout, kidney stones, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome and patients must take medication to lower their uric acid.  Uric acid can not get too low, however because low uric acid can cause multiple sclerosis (MS)

In the article Successful management of uric acid nephrolithiasis with potassium citrate; which can be read here, http://www.nature.com/ki/journal/v30/n3/abs/ki1986201a.html, researchers describe how eighteen  people with uric acid nephrolithiasis  were treated with potassium citrate for a maximum of 5 years and 4 months. Over this time the dosage was anywhere from 30 mEq to 80 mEq per day.  The result was that no new stones were formed and stones urinary pH increased from low (acidic) to normal. The conclusion drawn from this study is that uric acid nephrolithiasis can be successfully managed with potassium citrate.

We found this article interesting because Effer-K is potassium citrate, therefore it identifies additional benefits of Effer-K beyond increasing potassium levels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uric_acid

http://www.nature.com/ki/journal/v30/n3/abs/ki1986201a.html

Effer-K and Cardiovascular Diseases

Earlier this week we received a sample request for Effer-K from Lisa, a Pennsylvania-based nurse practitioner who works in a heart failure clinic.   We soon realized that this practitioner was one of our first fans of Effer-K. We traced our encounter with Lisa back to 2007, when we attended the 2007 AAHFN (American Association of Heart Failure Nurses) Conference in Miami, FL.

The AAHFN is “a specialty organization dedicated to advancing nursing education, clinical practice and research to improve heart failure patient outcomes. Heart failure is our exclusive interest and passion. Our goal is to set the standards for heart failure nursing care.” In late June of 2011, they will be holding their 7th annual national convention in Seattle, Washington. And we are thinking about exhibiting again.

Our Effer-K advocate, Lisa, is in charge of a large heart failure clinic and has seen the difference that Effer-K can make in a person life who is living with congestive heart failure or other heart failure disease.

“I think you have a fantastic product. I have recommended to my patients”.
Lisa, Heart Failure Nurse Practitioner

A lot has changed since we met Lisa in 2007. Back then, we had only one source of wholesale distribution, now the big 3 phramaceutical distributers (Cardinal, McKessson and AmerisourceBergen) as well as many smaller, regional distributors such as Smith and Kinray Drug all stock Effer-K so virtually any pharmacy can order it.

It’s always nice to see a contact made years ago come back and compliment you on your product. It also gave us an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come.

http://aahfn.org/

Effer-K helps patients recover from hypokalemic periodic paralysis attacks

A few months ago we heard from Wade, who raved about how effective Effer-K has been in managing his HKPP, Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis,  symptoms. In his correspondence with us, he explained how much easier  Effer-K is to take than other potassium solutions and how much faster it helps him recover from an attack.  Read Wade’s testimonial.    Learn more about Wade on his blog.

We didn’t know much about HKPP, before meeting Wade. However, his correspondence brought the condition to our attention and has led us to many other people associated with HKPP who were also interested in trying Effer-K.  For example, a few months after meeting Wade, we came into contact with Jacob Levitt, M.D., F.A.A.D., President and Medical Director of the Periodic Paralysis Association.

The Periodic Paralysis Association is a Non-profit Charitable Corporation founded to foster awareness of the periodic paralyses, promote science-based information regarding this class of disorder, and champion the interests of the Periodic Paralysis Community.

Not only is Dr. Levitt the president of the PPA, he also suffers from HKPP.  Dr. Levitt requested samples of Effer-K for himself as well as his patients. To enhance understanding of horrific a HKPP attack can be, Dr. Levitt posted a video of him having a self induced attack on the PPA website. While going through the attack he is dictating what is going on and how difficult basics things would be. This video/awareness to this condition was a real eye opener.

We are so pleased to be able to offer a product that helps HKPP patients avoid and recover from such an attack.

http://www.periodicparalysis.org/english/view.asp?x=555&mid=181

Word is getting out about Effer-K …

This morning we received an e-mail saying that Effer-K was being mentioned in a medical forum. The patient, who suffers from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus has hypokalemia and is looking for anyone else who has experienced similar issues.

Another user suggested that she ask her doctor about Effer-K.

“Ask your doctor about Effer-K. It is a potassium supplement that dissolves in liquids and is available in several flavors. It is much easier to take than those huge pills”

We couldn’t have said it any better! This goes right along with our slogan: “The great tasting liquid potassium alternative to traditional KCl.”

Thank you for the recommendation.

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/forums/auto-immune/157142

Patient calls Effer-K her “miracle potassium”

We just received a new sample request from a physician in Memphis, TN. We had sent samples to her office in the past.  But a recent interaction with a patient prompted her to seek more.

The physician described the patient as someone who “can’t take anything,” and had been previously non-compliant in taking her potassium.  As a last-ditch effort – she gave her samples of Effer-K and she absolutely loved them.  She calls her Effer-K the “miracle potassium!”

We are so happy to hear that!

Great article on the importance of potassium for the elderly

We discovered this recent article published on-line by writer and nurse, Joyce Good Henderson. She clearly explains the importance of potassium and how it affects the health of the elderly.

Read her article.

Caring for the Frail and Elderly Conference

This past weekend, we exhibited at the University of Missouri sponsored Caring for the Frail and Elderly Conference in Columbia, Missouri.  We were so thrilled to meet  many nurses and physicians who recognized the need for an alternative to difficult-to-swallow KCl tablets and offensive-tasting liquid KCl.  Thank you for visiting our booth and requesting samples! We enjoyed meeting you.

Effer-K for patient with esophageal cancer

Yesterday we received a request for a free one-month supply of Effer-K from a husband of a woman who is suffering from esophageal cancer. Apparently she had been prescribed KCl tablets (or liquid KCl) due to her potassium deficiency caused by her chemotherapy regimen. The KCl was almost unbearable for her to take, so her husband searched on-line for an alternative and voila! he found Effer-K.

Coincidentally, the patient was being treated at the Siteman Cancer Center here in St. Louis – so we actually hand-delivered samples to her physician.

Stay tuned for further updates on how she liked her Effer-K and how it worked for her.

Effer-K has a new distributor: Smith Drug

As we increase our marketing efforts and the word spreads about Effer-K, we are getting demand for product in new geographic areas. We were pleased to hear from Smith Drug Company this week who informed us that many of the independent pharmacies they serve had been requesting Effer-K.  They placed an initial order this week and will now have Effer-K available in their three distribution center primarily servicing independent pharmacies in the South East United States.

We are really excited to work with Smith Drug and have posted the order entry numbers for the product they are carrying on our web site.  See: http://www.efferk.com