What’s causing the Adderall shortage?

Prescriptions for Adderall rose more than 30 percent over the last five years, according to data reviewed by The Post. Experts say the rise in prescriptions, which accelerated during the pandemic, and the complications in the supply chain created a tight market. Patients started shopping around to find a pharmacy with their medication in stock, creating these “local bottlenecks,” Wilens said. According to the FDA’s database on drug shortages, two manufacturers expect they’ll recover from shortages of certain formulations of Adderall by the end of this month or next. But experts are hesitant to say when the shortage will end because it has already gone on for months longer than initially expected. On Reddit, in a community dedicated to ADHD of 1.6 million users, people anonymously have written about finding a pharmacy that can fill their prescription or switching medications to a formulation of the stimulant that’s in less demand. In one post, someone asked whether it’s okay to call in sick from work because they’re out of their prescription. Gina Gross, 24, who lives in Seattle, said she started running into issues renewing her prescription last month and regularly calls her pharmacy to check if they have either Adderall or a generic alternative. Gross said she feels bad for pharmacists stuck answering the phone every time someone calls to ask if a medication is in stock. “Everybody is left in the lurch for this, including the pharmacy,” Gross said. “It’s not like the doctors or the pharmacists really have much control over it either.”

What should I do if I can’t get my prescription filled?

Physicians and psychologists say that for their patients, refilling a prescription can sometimes feel like a roll of the dice. Your regular pharmacy may not have Adderall, or a generic amphetamine, in stock but that another across town may. Lenard Adler , the director of the adult ADHD program at NYU Langone Health, said physicians have no way of knowing whether a pharmacy has a certain drug in stock. Patients have to call the pharmacy to find out after their doctor has written a prescription. This can often lead to a back-and-forth where the patient needs to call the doctor’s office to send the prescription to another pharmacy instead. But Adler said he always tells patients to give him a call. “I tell them it’s never a bother,” Adler said. “If they’re having trouble filling a prescription, I need to know about it.” Some pharmacists won’t share whether they have a particular type of Adderall at the store, because the drug is a tightly regulated controlled substance, said Mark Cavitt, the director of pediatric psychiatry services at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla. If that’s the case, you can ask your physician to send the prescription to the pharmacy, and once the store has the note, the staff will tell you whether they can fill your order. “These are cumbersome strategies,” Cavitt said. “But they’re the ones we go through day in and day out. Not just with this shortage, but previous shortages as well.”

Can I stretch my prescription and ration my doses?

Experts say it’s fine to lower your dosage or take a break from Adderall on the weekend to stretch your prescription and use the drug when you need it. Wilens said he tells parents to “cut the dose in half” on the weekend when their children are not in school to save a few extra tablets. That way, they will have a small cushion of medication if it takes a few days to refill the prescription, he said. There’s no risk to taking a day or two off your prescription, but you’ll start to notice some of your ADHD symptoms, including trouble holding attention, fidgeting and impulsiveness, Wilens said. Because of that, if you’re an adult with ADHD, you shouldn’t drive a car when you’re taking a break from Adderall. Wilens said it may increase the likelihood that you’ll be in a car accident. Some people also get headaches when taking a break from Adderall — similar to when coffee drinkers get a headache after skipping a day, said Anish Dube, the chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Children, Adolescents and Their Families.

Should I switch to a different formulation of Adderall?

If you find yourself jumping through hoops, calling pharmacy after pharmacy, every time you have to refill a prescription of Adderall, experts say you may want to consider a different formulation of the medication that’s less in demand. “Sometimes, these shortages have given us the opportunity to actually find better medications for patients,” Cavitt said. “If it’s relatively the same cost, sometimes we end up, serendipitously, finding a better medication.” He added that one challenge is that not all brands of amphetamine are covered by different kinds of insurance, which means you may have to pay more out of pocket. Dube said there are other medications such as the stimulants, methylphenidates, which include the brand-names Concerta and Ritalin, and “nonstimulant options” such as Guanfacine. Experts say you should consult your health-care provider before you switch medications for yourself or your children. A physician will be able to explain the pros and cons of each formulation for a specific patient.

Are there other ways to mitigate symptoms of ADHD?

The pillars of good health always apply. Sleeping enough, eating well, getting good exercise and limiting the amount of screen time can all help mitigate the symptoms of ADHD, Cavitt said. While off medication, you may want to avoid tasks that require “a lot of mental energy,” Dube said. “You might want to put those off until you’ve gotten your supply.” Fenit Nirappil contributed to this report.

Doctors share advice on dealing with the Adderall shortage

There’s a shortage of some types of the drug, but there are other medications for patients, experts say

By Teddy Amenabar

Updated March 14, 2023 at 5:44 p.m. EDT|Published October 21, 2022 at 11:52 a.m. EDT

Ten milligram tablets of the hyperactivity drug Adderall, made by Shire, is shown in a pharmacy on Jan. 19, 2006. (JB Reed/Bloomberg News)

7 min

There’s a continued shortage of certain types of Adderall. Experts say patients are having trouble renewing their prescriptions for various types of amphetamines and methylphenidates, the two stimulants commonly used to treat people with ADHD.

If you’re having trouble renewing your Adderall prescription, you should work with your health-care provider to shop at nearby pharmacies or discuss rewriting your prescription to a version of the medication that isn’t in such high demand, experts say.

The Adderall shortage picked up in the fall because Teva, one of the largest producers of the drug, was experiencing manufacturing delays. The Food and Drug Administration says the current shortage, however, is driven by a rise in consumer demand for Adderall and generic alternatives.

An Adderall shortage hasn’t let up. Here’s why.

Adderall is a highly regulated drug that consists of the stimulant amphetamine, which increases the function of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, helping people to focus their attention and self-regulate. Six million children in the United States have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a survey published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year. About 62 percent of those children are on medication for ADHD.

The Washington Post spoke with physicians who treat children and adults with ADHD and asked for advice on dealing with the shortage.

“There are a number of other amphetamine products that you can convert people to safely, and they’re equally effective,” said Timothy Wilens, an ADHD expert and chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, in October. “So, there is a solution to it.”

Doctors share advice on dealing with the Adderall shortage

There’s a shortage of some types of the drug, but there are other medications for patients, experts say

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