Grumpy Old Lady Time

It's time for a grumpy old lady rant.  For the last couple of months it has been hit or miss as to whether I could get my B-12 shot that I need each month because of a medical condition I have.  The doctor's office has been unable to get enough vials of it to meed their needs.  So the last 2 months I'd taken another shot that contains some B-12, not as much as I should have, but enough to keep me going.
This weekend I tried to track down why my mail order (this is through the military) pharmacy hadn't sent me my Lipitor that my Doctor had called for back in January.  Turns out it too is out of stock and has been for more than 3 months.
These are not esoteric, seldomly used medications, in fact Lipitor is one of the most prescribed medications in the US.
The online pharmacy told me to go back to my doctor and have him send a prescription to a local pharmacy that might have the medication, so that's what I did, but I'm not happy.
Went online to find out how big a problem out of stock medications have become and this is what I found:

Drug shortages have been commonplace for years, but the problem has grown more serious at hospitals and Emergency Medical Service agencies. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 56 drug shortages were reported in 2006; by 2011, the number had climbed to 251. The FDA's list includes drugs that have "the greatest impact on public health."

I then went to look at the current list of drug shortages and it was staggering and scary.

Lots of reasons why:  fewer manufacturers, quality control, product recalls, increased demand, lack of raw materials.

I also learned that most of the quality control issues are with generic drugs-----haven't they been telling us for years that they're just as good as the name brands?

So lots of reasons for the shortages, but all I know is that the medical services and medications use to work well, expensive perhaps, but worth it.  Now it doesn't work as well and at least for us it's more expensive, I'm not a happy lady.