Adderall XR Nationwide Shortage?

[summerrluvv]

Anyone else running into this issue? What is your dr. prescribing as an alternative?

My son cannot function on a daily basis without his medication. Last month I had a hard time filling it and found a store. I didn't think it would be an issue this month as a couple of places said they should have it in a couple of weeks. Now here we are 3 pills left, no one has it, or the generic.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Hm... the knowledge I know about these medications which is more than the general knowledge but less than a non-medical expert. Adderall effects the brain and the cells with respect to the control of dopamine. The main difference with ritalin is that it only goes after the brain and its dopamine regulation. Adderall is overall slightly stronger but ritalin should be effective enough for the short term. For instance, if you take adderall a day, you'd need 3 ritalin. The chemical make up is different but their effects are similar. The strongest dose you can get, I think, for ritalin is 20mg.

But in reality, you should consult your son's diagnosing physician/psychiatrist/whoever prescribed the adderall, for alternatives. I think you'd have to anyway since ritalin/adderall/similar are controlled substances and you can't just ask the pharmacy for a substitute. I've used both myself, as well as concerta and I have found ritalin to work the best for me.

Fwiw, I am sorry that there's a shortage. Lame. It's always a pain when things like this happen. I wonder why there is a shortage on a common medication.

 

[summerrluvv]

Of course I would ask the doctor, I was curious what other people were doing. Thanks for your response.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Of course I would ask the doctor, I was curious what other people were doing. Thanks for your response.

Ha, I assumed you would. Just making sure because it's been one of those days where I keep running into people who are doing silly things.

 

[HsvTeacher]

Anyone else running into this issue? What is your dr. prescribing as an alternative?

My son cannot function on a daily basis without his medication. Last month I had a hard time filling it and found a store. I didn't think it would be an issue this month as a couple of places said they should have it in a couple of weeks. Now here we are 3 pills left, no one has it, or the generic.

In the past few months, my DH has had a couple of problems with our regular pharmacy not having Adderall. Both times, he called around to other pharmacies and was able to get his prescription filled. The big chains were out, but the smaller stores had small quantities. Now we make sure we get the prescription filled a couple of weeks before he is out.

Since he was able to find Adderall, he never talked to the doctor about changing medications. He reacts well with Adderall, but he has had problems with some of the others. I'd be very careful about switching.

 

[AlwaysMoving]

Hm... the knowledge I know about these medications which is more than the general knowledge but less than a non-medical expert. Adderall effects the brain and the cells with respect to the control of dopamine. The main difference with ritalin is that it only goes after the brain and its dopamine regulation. Adderall is overall slightly stronger but ritalin should be effective enough for the short term. For instance, if you take adderall a day, you'd need 3 ritalin. The chemical make up is different but their effects are similar. The strongest dose you can get, I think, for ritalin is 20mg.

But in reality, you should consult your son's diagnosing physician/psychiatrist/whoever prescribed the adderall, for alternatives. I think you'd have to anyway since ritalin/adderall/similar are controlled substances and you can't just ask the pharmacy for a substitute. I've used both myself, as well as concerta and I have found ritalin to work the best for me.

Fwiw, I am sorry that there's a shortage. Lame. It's always a pain when things like this happen. I wonder why there is a shortage on a common medication.

Before I would go switching medications completely, I would suggest the OP find out if the regular Adderall is available if XR is not in stock anywhere. it is safer and easier to take 2 (same strength) regular adderall, one in the morning and one in the afternoon to get the child through the school day than it would be to switch to another medication completely. This is what my son did before XR. There will be a slight low/high between pills, but better than dealing with new side effects and dosage tweaking when taking something else.

Overall use of Ritalin and Adderall might be the same, but they are definitely different drugs and have different effects. As a result, their stengths are different. It is not so cut and dry to say if you take one Adderall XR a day, you can switch to 3 Ritalin a day and be fine. I would be more inclined to say if a child takes 1 Adderall XR a day, they can take the exact same strength of regular Adderall 2 times a day to get through school. Perhaps an additional dose in the evening if the doctor finds it necessary.

Personally, I would make a long distance trip to another pharmacy if I had to before switching medications. My son is due a refill in 2 weeks and I hope there is no shortage in my area.

 

[mamacatnv]

Vyvanse - pretty much the same thing.
I think it is made by the same company too(I am not positive).
Vyvanse has the XR benefits of Adderall.

Warning, it is spendy and not available in generic form.

If I remember correctly(big If!) my DS's Dr. said something about Adderall going generic and so the drug company in order to maintain profits needed to come up with a newer version that costs top dollar.

A 30 supply runs $189 or thereabouts but we have no issue with availability and our insurance does cover a good portion of it.

 

[summerrluvv]

The pharmacy said it's all forms and the generic as well. Guess we have a lot of folks on it where i live. I will talk to the doc about vyanese, insurance covers 100% for these types of meds thankfully. I just found it for this month but dont want to have to worry about next month and insurance does not let you refill 2 weeks in advance. Thanks all

 

[Caradana]

Who's your prescription insurer (Caremark?) - call their 800# and ask if they can source the med. A lot of the prescription insurers get priority access from the pharmas through their mail order pharmacy services.

 

[summerrluvv]

Who's your prescription insurer (Caremark?) - call their 800# and ask if they can source the med. A lot of the prescription insurers get priority access from the pharmas through their mail order pharmacy services.

You can't order controlled substances for mail order.

 

[OHVolunteer]

FYI Caremark mail order is out of Adderall XR as well, you can get them through the mail-order but only a 3-month supply, that's what I do, but this month was unable to get 20 mg so had to get 2 10 mg (from local pharmacy), but had a very hard time filling it. I've been told that the manufacturer will start shipping again in the new year. Good luck.

 

[goofy!]

Anyone else running into this issue? What is your dr. prescribing as an alternative?

My son cannot function on a daily basis without his medication. Last month I had a hard time filling it and found a store. I didn't think it would be an issue this month as a couple of places said they should have it in a couple of weeks. Now here we are 3 pills left, no one has it, or the generic.

Regular Adderall (what my son takes) is also in huge shortage.

It is due to Federal regulations limiting the amphetamine component used to make Adderall. The FDA has a yearly limit of use on this ingredient. The company that makes Adderall has reached it quota. It is supposed to be a safeguard against overuse, but there are so many kids on adderall and such high demand, there is not enough supply.

The company can start making the drug again in January and supplies should be back to normal by May.

The problem is that the alternatives are now starting to also become in short supply as people switch drugs.

There is still some supply out there, but it is hit on what pharmacies get it.

There was just a report on this on our local news and they said people were calling pharmacies hours away to find a supply.

We were lucky. Our pharmacy had just gotten a large supply in (so we were not cleaning them out), so our doctor wrote a prescription for 120 days (what our insurance will allow) rather than the usual 30 days. So, we now have enough to last us till the manufacturer can start producing the drug again.

Just keep calling every pharmacy every day asking if they have had a shipment come in.

 

[Dismom+two]

I too have had a problem with refilling my sons meds. It's so darn frustrating! I go from one place to another hoping to find some. I got them one month at one place and I told them about not being able to find it. They told me that they ALWAYS have it in stock and be sure to come back. I went back next month and they were like...Yeah, we are out of that. GRRRRR

 

[goofy!]

Who's your prescription insurer (Caremark?) - call their 800# and ask if they can source the med. A lot of the prescription insurers get priority access from the pharmas through their mail order pharmacy services.

As of 2 weeks ago, Caremark and Medco were listing Adderall as unavailable. They might have received a shipment since then, but highly doubtful. However, the OP should be calling everybody!

And check to see which suppliers supply the different stores. For instance, our Albertsons, Safeway and Costco pharmacies are supplied by the same supplier. So, if one is out, most likely they are all out.

Walgreens is supplied by a different supplier and we found a few pills there a couple of months ago whereas our normal pharmacy had been out for over a month.

 

[3boymthr]

You can't order controlled substances for mail order.

Actually, yes, you can. Your Dr. has to be willing to prescribe it for 90 days though and you have to be available to show your license and sign for the drug when it arrives (I have express scripts and they ship it via fedex). If they will and you can then you can order via mail.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

I had trouble filling my DS's during the spring but it had been fine lately. Walmart took a month before they were able to fill it but I was able to get one filled at Walgreens with no problems so I've been going there ever since.

 

[goofy!]

You can't order controlled substances for mail order.

Yes you can. Our online pharmacy is Medco. We can get it from them.

However, they were out of everything but 12.5mg. That was too little and 2x was too much for DS, so we couldn't use it.

Luckily we were in the right place at the right time and called exactly when a new shipment arrived at our regular pharmacy. And even better, it was DS's preferred generic, which he says works the best, a generic that they don't usually carry.

We put a hold on it and called the physician right away. They wrote out a prescription and we were picking up the 120 day supply within an hour.

 

[goofy!]

I had trouble filling my DS's during the spring but it had been fine lately. Walmart took a month before they were able to fill it but I was able to get one filled at Walgreens with no problems so I've been going there ever since.

We were able to fill it at Walgreens 3 months ago. Then they ran out and haven't gotten anymore in. Then 2 months ago, we found a supply at WalMart.

Then they were out.

it really is hit or miss on which pharmacies are getting shipments.

The manufacturer cannot start producing again till January and some reports are that distribution levels won't be back to normal until May. And then they will start hitting the FDA limits again, causing the same shortages next year.

DS doesn't take it in the summer, but we are going to continue his prescription over the summer to start stock piling next year.

 

[C.Ann]

Well that's scary.. What are people supposed to do? Is this a medication that can't be stopped abruptly?

Hope you're able to find what you need.. Maybe some independent small drug stores?

 

[goofy!]

Well that's scary.. What are people supposed to do? Is this a medication that can't be stopped abruptly?

Hope you're able to find what you need.. Maybe some independent small drug stores?

There is actually a nationwide shortage of drugs in many sectors. Specific chemo drugs are very affected. A friend has stage 4 ovarian cancer and the doctors are having to pick and choose what people get the best chemo treatments and who gets less effective treatments.

There is a bill somewhere to do something about the shortages, but the government cannot force manufacturers to make more of a drug. (Hopefully that is vague enough to keep out of a political discussion )

With Adderall, it is not going to get better unless the FDA relaxes it restrictions on how much amphetamine can be used in one year by a manufacturer.