ADHD Medication Shortage Continues to Plague Patients

One man had to call 30 pharmacies before finding one that could fill his prescription, while a woman said she spent weeks looking for the medicine she needed, according to Bloomberg. A mother said she had to drive 40 minutes after working her 10-hour shift once she finally found a pharmacy that had her son's medication in stock.

Those who suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, are struggling with a shortage of prescription medications that began in October 2022, when the FDA announced a nationwide shortage of the drug Adderall.

At the time, the Food and Drug Administration said the problem was due to “ongoing intermittent manufacturing delays” at Teva Pharmaceuticals, the main producer of Adderall. But the scarcity of that drug as well as other ADHD medications such as Vyvanse and Concerta is due also to rising demand for the drugs.

The recent shortage has left people with ADHD, and those who care for them, scrambling to find pharmacies that aren’t depleted of their medications. Children are especially affected, as those with the diagnosis often struggle to focus in school.

Some 6 million kids, or 9.8% of all children in the U.S. ages three to 17, had ADHD diagnoses in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Meanwhile more than 366 million adults, or 6.7% of all people ages 18 and older worldwide had such a diagnosis as of 2020, according to The Journal of Global Health.

Adding to the issue is ADHD medications’ Schedule II designation by the DEA, which means most patients cannot stockpile the medication because they must get new prescriptions every month.

In August, the FDA urged drug manufacturers to fill their quotas; in 2022, they produced only 70% of what was needed. The agency also approved a generic version of Vyvanse to meet the “record-high prescription rates.”

But patients are still struggling, and those who switch medication in hopes of having a more consistent supply can find themselves grappling with side effects.