ADHD Drug Shortage Expected to Continue Into 2012

What in the world? I have 2 grandchildren one with ADHD & one ADD. Their meds have given these children a whole new world of being able to do well in school & life!

I work in a pharmacy and I'm getting sick and tired of being screamed at by patients cause we can't get Adderall. So is this the reason why no one can get adderall? The DEA is PATHETIC!

I have a problem with the concept of medicating children to get them to behave differently. In my mind the logical first course of action in dealing with an unruly child is to introduce them to Jesus Christ and the power of faith and prayer. If you start getting a child in the habit of taking a pill to alter their basic personality does that not pave the way for future drug and/or alcohol abuse? We teach them from the first minute of life how to deal with life, passing out drugs for everything has never seemed like the right thing to do.

I am 42 years old. I have suffered ADD since I can remember, but never heard of it for most of my life. My sister was always calling me spacey, or saying I was always tripping in the daisies, because my mind would just wonder off. It effected jobs, school, and other areas of my life. I thought I was just not smart or grounded or capable of finishing anything or whatever. Even when ADD became more well known, I didn't pay attention. (I don't like to think I ever have any kind of sickness or anything) Just this past year, I finally went to a dr. over my bouts of off and on depression. Answered all the questions and she said I have allot of symptoms for ADD. I told her she was crazy. I still thought of it as kids that where hyper. It just didn't fit me. So she gave me some info to go over. She was right.. I actually went to another dr. just to be sure and went over allot with her. She put me on Adderal and I didn't hold out much hope. I still thought I was just flaky and would have to keep dealing with that. After just a day or so, I could see a huge difference. I could actually work for more than an hr. or so without just losing track and daydreaming. I have been on it now for about 4 or 5 months, and the biggest problem, is finding it. I have had to go to 3 different locations and 2 different pharmacies just to fill the script. It is bad enough I have to go in every month to the dr. and have the script handed to me. Then I have to drive further out of the way to find it, on top of that. If the D.E.A. has nothing better to do.. let them keep on the dr.'s to make sure they follow strict guidelines before they perscribe it. But keeping it in short supply for those who need it, is not good.

I take Lexapro and Vyvanse and I have ADHD. I have a 3.3 Gpa on my most recent progress report amd only Es and Gs in citizenship.Im in the 10th grade and I see a significant change in my behavior and performance as a student with my medicine. I always get my work done and I never procrastinate. Its easier with my medicine to not have out bursts and I'm less angry.

My grandson has adha and the only drug store that has ritalin is walgreens and they do not take va premier, so I hope the medicine expires and they get stuck with them because they don't have to worry because I will not step back into a walgreens and I hope others wont either.

The DEA seriously needs to back off on this…ADD meds have helped me alot since being diagnosed. I can understand the abuse issue, but if the doctors aren't held responsible for the scripts they write then people who don't need these meds will always find a Dr to write the script. All this is doing is making it incredibly frustrating for people who do actually need these meds to get them and it sucks.

Agree with comments. I can't find 5mg Ritalin and yet Icould get 10mg Ritalin fairly easily. So, I go without a drug that would improve my quality of life because I can't get the right dosage. Why would the the drug companies and the feds want me taking a higher dose than I need and what problem would that solve? I think this whole situation is ridiculous.

cut the tens in half… Also go to bigger chains like walmart.. The ritalin's with the "M" on em work best for me..

You can get ritalin filled at VA pharmacies.

people who are adhd are so quick to be dependent on drug to do well but you what I'm adhd and been free of adderall for several years. I maintain a 3.4 in college right now, so not everyone needs to be looking for an excuse to have something do your life for you. In other words, people should quit blaming drug companies for their dependance on a drug that you have a choice to take. I do realize there are people who cant function without adhd medicine. I blame doctors for drugging up children at an early age because the child is hyperactive. you know what kids are hyper because that's natural but as you get older you become addicted to the adderall. people need to get off this mess because you don't always need a drug to improve your life. I know this for a fact because my mom was drugged for mental illness and was doing poorly but guess what she was able to get off the medications that the doctor prescribed her that was stimulants and the what not.

I am sorry that you "are" adhd. I HAVE adhd. I wasn't diagnosed until I was in high school. With my meds, adhd is a part of me, without them, my adhd is relentless. And having adhd isn't just physical hyperactivity. With me, my hyperactivity is verbal, I can't stop talking. ADHD is different for everyone. So don't spew non truths, "drugging up children at an early age", because often the child does have ad/hd, and girls aren't usually diagnosed until their teens. You know your situation, but don't pretend it applies to everyone.

And often the adults who "out grow" hyperactivity, actually unknowingly self medicate… with coffee, i.e. caffeine (a stimulant)

I have had ADHD since elementary school and I had to change from Adderall to Vyanse due to shortage(excuse my spelling if spelled wrong) Vyvanse works pretty good but its a different release and feeling sorry to say and may get in trouble but the DEA needs to stay the FCK OUT I'm 28 with a career job and severe ADHD.

Well.. This just sucks.. now the pills will cost like 500 bucks a bottle..

Sheila, your story is amazing close to mine! I too just started alderal about 4 – 6 months ago, and it has been the difference between day and night. n I haven't had the shortage effect me yet, but i can not imagine whats gonna happen if i don't get it now. I don't want to start from scratch and i don't wanna give up what i hoped for my whole life, normalcy.

you people are too dependent on DRUGS. I had severe ADHD since before the diagnosis became "trendy." and you know what my parents did? they placed me in SPORTS. its called proper diet and exercise! get a GRIP. no wonder society is so screwed UP. everybody is on DRUGS. oh btw, I'm now a successful chemical engineer and one hell of a triathlete. so put that in your pipes and SMOKE IT. druggies! lol

You probably never had ADHD to begin with.

Sheila you should talk to your doctor about Concerta. It does the same thing and have less side effects. Plus no shortage..

As if the price isnt bad enough already.

Jessica Rocha thats what im saying….

Shelby is right MOST males that have ADHD outgrew it during the teenage years unfortunately females who have more of the "ADD" (not hyper but very inattentive) dont grow out of it. They tend to have for the rest of their lives. You current situation and GPA have nothing to do with it since you probably already outgrew IF you ever had it. A person with ADHD would KNOW that.

OVER PERSCRIBED. If your a grown adult, get yourself a good night sleep and a cup of coffee at 3 pm and get your a$$ back to work. Maybe then there would be the appropriate remaining amount of medication left for the rest of the legitimate add/adhd patients.

Ricky Broom

The other stores are sold out of ritalin except the walgreens and do not know when they will get any more

me too! i just graduated nursing school at 39 with great help from this medicine. After years of denial and living in the dark about my adhd can finally say i see a real life for myself where i can have a career, friends and family. I could never say that before because my brain didn't work right. Even though i have an above average IQ i still could not find lasting success in anything in life until i treated my adhd with medication.

Some people who need Dexedrine have narcolepsy, Kim, and they never feel refreshed no matter how much sleep they get. I'm talking about my adult daughter, but, hey, I should probably expect such imperious behavior from someone who doesn't know the proper spelling of "prescribed" or the distinction between "your" and "you're." Without Dexedrine, my daughter can't function, period.

This represents a very real crisis, and also an occasion to think about the non-medication approaches to managing ADHD: http://goo.gl/2YPW4.

Thanks for your snarky yet informative little comment, Rhosyn. Although I admit my grammar may have been poor, the point of my comment was obviously lost on you. Narcolepsy (and oh, thank god you spelled it for me!) being a serious condition should have medications available to treat it, for people who actually have the condition, not just college kids that want to stay up all night, or anyone for that matter who has been misdiagnosed in the frenzy for people to obtain or divert this class of drug. I want it to be available for people like your daughter. Hows my spelling this time??

I'm 34 years old. I have been on ADHD stimulant medications since I was 10 years old. I am a single mom. I do not have insurance. I was paying between $70/mo and $115/mo for ir adderall, which of course has disappeared from my local pharmacies and the ones that have it charge several times what they used to. I have now been vyvansed. As long as the shire 0.5 off coupon lasts I can afford it, once it runs out I will no longer be able to afford my meds. I really want someone to explain to me how it is that anyone thinks I'm going to start abusing my meds after 24 years on them.

The DEA has NO PLACE in a supposedly free society to begin with. And now they're standing between people and the medicine they need in order to stop idiots from hurting themseves. Not to mention interfering with the ability of workers to BE PRODUCTIVE and KEEP THEIR JOBS! BASTARDS!

I do not know who this dip shit broad is, but I find it hilarious that she is calling your "behavior" imperious when her own post would be considered even more imperious. I would even call her post elitist for using a term like imperious. Rhosyn, the article is about a shortage of the medication your adult daughter so desperately needs to feel refreshed. Of course you missed that point riding around on your high horse throwing stones for all of your 16 facebook friends to see. I guess you just need to feel superior. I am sure your adult daughter struggles with her inability to feel fresh on a daily basis. Perhaps you should take some real action so that your adult daughter can continue to feel fresh daily without the threat of her supply running out. I strongly recommend using your command of grammar and fancy words to write your government officials about this threat to your adult daughters ability to feel refreshed. But you won't do that. You are not interested in actual results, just high horsing around the facebook. Pathetic.

I ♥ Peter Hoose!
Kim, who cares what that ass hat above thinks!

Holy cow we have a grammar nazi in our midst. But she can not seem to operate a dictionary correctly. Her behavior is presumptuous at best. See Rhosyn, we can all use big words, but unlike you I can use these words appropriately.

Leave Kim alone, damn it !

Grammar, John, is about the placement and structure of words and is not synonymous with syntax. Grammar pertains to structure. I do this for a living and your response is sending me into paroxysms of laughter. Thanks for the smile, and thanks for playing! By the way, you need to treat your second statement as a subjunctive clause rather than as a new sentence. I stand by the diction from my last post. Diction pertains to word choice, John, so maybe that will assist you if you assert any further declarations about my postings. This is the way I speak and write, and I make no apologies for exploiting the vibrance and sumptuousness of the language I love. Obviously, you can't do the same or you wouldn't make such a baseless charge.

If you want to talk rudeness, start with Ms. Hoose. As the mother of a beloved only child who will never feel refreshed, I am aghast that she dares make such a heavy-handed generalization. When she admits her faux pas, I will, too. She claims to be a pharmacy technician, so she should know better. Not everyone who uses the same medication is fighting the same physical manifestations. She should know better but she has a virtual mouthpiece (you) so it's strictly a moot point to zero in on the obvious.

As for what I said to Ms. Hoose, well: "The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off" (Gloria Steinem).

Presumptuously,

Rhosyn

It seems to me that you have no idea what you're talking about. Felinau's post makes perfect sense. Sorry about yours, though.

Rhosyn, are you angry?
Cherry, well you are just a dumb ass, too!

wow rhosyn blocked me, and then tried to get the last word in. you are full of win there. and you are still a grammar nazi

for the record, this moron blocked me after her little grammar nazi tirade. so i cant see her post anyway. April told me about it.

John since she went on her little rampage, then made it so you couldn't see it. I will copy and past for you:

Grammar, John, is about the placement and structure of words and is not synonymous with syntax. Grammar pertains to structure. I do this for a living and your response is sending me into paroxysms of laughter. Thanks for the smile, and thanks for playing! By the way, you need to treat your second statement as a subjunctive clause rather than as a new sentence. I stand by the diction from my last post. Diction pertains to word choice, John, so maybe that will assist you if you assert any further declarations about my postings. This is the way I speak and write, and I make no apologies for exploiting the vibrance and sumptuousness of the language I love. Obviously, you can't do the same or you wouldn't make such a baseless charge.

If you want to talk rudeness, start with Ms. Hoose. As the mother of a beloved only child who will never feel refreshed, I am aghast that she dares make such a heavy-handed generalization. When she admits her faux pas, I will, too. She claims to be a pharmacy technician, so she should know better. Not everyone who uses the same medication is fighting the same physical manifestations. She should know better but she has a virtual mouthpiece (you) so it's strictly a moot point to zero in on the obvious.

As for what I said to Ms. Hoose, well: "The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off" (Gloria Steinem).

Presumptuously,

Rhosyn

Rhosyn, where is the faux pas? The statement Kim made is true. ADHD drugs are over prescribed, you would be hard pressed to find someone outside of the industry to tell you otherwise. Abuse is rampant on college campuses. It is part of the culture, not something that is actually needed by that population. In most cases a cup of coffee would suffice. Between both of my younger brothers and myself we have nearly 20 years of college experience and have seen this ourselves. There is no faux pas there.

Clearly there is a problem, otherwise this article would not exist. As a pharmacy technician Kim knows first hand how bad the people who use this type of medication need it. What is sad is that Kim is on your side, but you wanted to make a splash and put words in others mouths. If your adult daughters only problems is feeling fresh, I would contend that she does not need to be on the medication and is part of the problem. Clearly your entire world revolves around your beloved only child adult daughter who struggles with freshness daily, however the real world does not. You need to understand the difference.

The funniest part of all of this, Rhosyn, is your change from calling her Kim to calling her Ms. Hoose in the same conversation. Certainly I do not need to tell you, a teacher and a lover of the language, why that is a problem. Funny how someone who spends so much time calling out other people made an error herself.

I would end with a quote, but I do not find it necessary to hide behind the words of others.

Smooches!

Peter, I agree with your statement 100%. As a Mother of a disabled child with both severe ADHD and OCD, I know my son requires the medicine for school, but AGREE it is overly prescribed and not always necessary. John and I do not give it to him on non school days, weekends or summer. If the only problem he had was not feeling fresh, I certainly wouldn't pump him full of medication. Shit I never feel fresh, the real world is stressful, hectic and a good part of the population is tired. Taking a controlled substance to feel fresh is completely ridiculous.
As for her insulting John and his grammar, he is one of the smartest people I ever met, has been raised by a family of teachers and could run circles around her intelligance.
I'm sure there is a reason why Ms. Felinau has 16 friends and the other genius Ms. Verlaine, has 1.

Thank you.

I think you're all insane.

DEA needs to GTFO… WTH for years ive been doing well, managin my ADHD. Now all of a sudden I can afford my Meds. How is this helping me? Thomas Jefferson was right, and if they keeep it up we need to bring the pain…

Peter Hoose Wild guess: I can't see any alleged "grammar Nazi" post, but I suspect the word "perscribed" is the faux pas, based on the context clues.

Shame on all of you for griping about personal issues, rather than the usurpation of health care choices.

life is what you make it, there is rarely a case in where you can't make it with strength and determination. which in return wikl make yoy stronger. Belive in yourself.and if ever in doubt look to the good book. Its truth is hard but everything good must be earned. Good luck my ftiend!