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Coloradans Who Use Hydroxychloroquine Concerned About Supply & Demand

APRAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - The prescription medication hydroxychloroquine has been used with other drugs to try and treat COVID-19 patients, but the CDC still does not list it or any other treatment as an option for the coronavirus. Patients already using the medication worry if the interest and demand for it could affect their supply for conditions already proven to improve with the drug.

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"So for me, taking the drug really helps diminish some of those problems that I have," said Gail O'Brien, a patient on the medication. "I'm concerned, but not for this month because I have my supply for this month."

She has sarcoidosis, a condition that can affect multiple organs in the body and in her case, gives her conditions similar to Lupus. Both conditions are treated with hydroxychloroquine with a prescription.

While she's known about it for two years, she only recently started using the medication. It is having a positive impact other drugs did not on her symptoms.

"If they're going to use this drug more for fighting the pandemic then certainly I'm concerned about what the future would hold and not being able to get the drug," she told CBS4 on Wednesday.

O'Brien has the 30-day supply she needs for this month, but has talked to her doctor about getting a 90-day supply in advance of the increase in use for COVID-19. The drug has been paired with azithromycin in some cases to treat the coronavirus and called the "COVID Cocktail," but that remains without approval of any federal agency.

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(credit: CBS)

"It's eliminating some of the problems that I have with stiffness in my bones and pain in my bones," she said. "It would be a concern for me if I wasn't able to get the drug."

While enough testing or trials on hydroxychlorquine cannot prove it will help with COVID-19, it is a commonly used drugs for other illnesses, which patients need on a continuous basis. Just with her condition, O'Brien says the medication is one that requires careful consideration not just for its side effects, but also its interactions with other drugs. She says even over the counter medications can be an issue with it.

"If I should just stop the drug, there would be side effects with that as well," O'Brien said. "It's a serious drug, that you should talk to your doctor first in length about taking the drug."

RELATED: Latest Updates On The Coronavirus Outbreak In Colorado

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