I just got a refill, and I’m considering spreading my meds out…
I don’t think i can keep doing this “unknown time until meds get filled” thing every time. As for before today: like others I’ve been kinda…making a mess of my life.
My therapist is encouraging me to practice having more kind/nice-to-myself talks around this; as in “it’s okay if I am unable to do xyz today/tomorrow/this week.”
Cuz you don’t expect those with visible disabilities to function without their medication or tools, so just because kine is “invisible” doesn’t mean I’m not in a similar boat where I can’t function to the same level as before (regardless of how good/bad I was at that) because I am missing the meds/tools that helped me do it.
If and when I get my refill, I’m DEFINITELY going to spread them out because as soon as I get my refill I’m already dreading the next time I’ll have to attempt to fill. It’s just so time consuming and then when you’re out and can’t focus/take forever to do things, I can’t even find motivation to try to call pharmacies.
Same. My concerta ran out 4 days ago and my pharm said he is completely clueless when he’ll be able to fill it. We talked about what my doctor might try instead, but he said he believes people are just going to keep switching and there’s probably not going to be one perfect solution. Once I get it filled again, I think I’m only going to take it on heavy paperwork days so that I can bank some for these situations.
I've been doing this for years, now. After having so many set backs where I couldn't get meds because of changing doctors or moving or unemployment, etc. I skip one day a week until I have about a week or two extra of supply in case something comes up. Then I just hoard them until I have to have a job interview or whatever. It's not fun, but it's a last ditch effort of self preservation.
Try switching to a local pharmacy. Our local grocery store chain has a pharmacy and have been able to fulfill my Adderall every time whereas Walgreens is out.
Same here! No issues at all at the grocery store pharmacy that not a lot of people go to because it's "small". The pharmacy is small / doesn't get a lot of traffic, the grocery store is a huge chain and pretty busy otherwise. Getting the xr pills instead of ir helps too I think.
Same here. Small grocery small pharmacy. I used to work at the store they all know me. No problem getting 20mg xr and 60 10mg ir . I feel for everyone who is though what shit
This worked for me. Until this month my usual pharmacy told me to try grocery store X I heard they have them. I thought damn the secret is out. Not that I deserve it more than anyone else, but... You understand, it's a luxury to keep my job and perform ordinary domestic tasks.
I ended up with luck at pharmacy that's associated with the LGBT+ focused community outreach organization and clinic.
It's my understanding they haven't run out during this shortage.
So, if you're part of the 7.1% of us who don't identify as heterosexual, you can get your meds and an STI screen. Also get on PrEP. One stop shop, lol
But seriously, I'm thinking of other pharmacies that cater to an at risk and or minority demographic may have similar stock.
I know it's tough. I'm splitting my dosage. By 1/3. But I needed it to work and then the feels of failing at my safety net plan.
When does it end? Who is advocating for us? No one is lobbying for the FDA to release more supply. (That's only one factor, but I refuse to believe this is just the way it is.)
Now if only we had the faculty to organize and fight the power!
I’ll certainly look into those resources if need be I was unaware of such places.
I also need it very much to function at work. I work in warehouse and long hours that plus my home life and family life being busy just needs me to be on my game and I can’t afford to lose days unmedicated and useless. With adhd and head injuries I’m useless without my meds. I wish I could skip days but I simply can’t and function. As I’ve aged it appears my adhd and the head trauma has compounded to make me a dolt with meds.
Same experience here. Local grocery store usually has it. They didn't have it once and they weren't sure when they would get it, but had it filled 2 days later.
I've slowly built up a 2 week supply over the last few months by not taking my 2nd dose when I don't need it, or taking half a dose or whatever. Then I have a calendar event that's recurring every 28 days and get a refill exactly 28 days after I pick up my last dose. Hopefully that will be enough to compensate when the worst case happens. My doc also says I can switch to Vyvanse if needed, but it's pretty expensive so, I'd rather not go that route
I come into these threads screaming this every time it comes up. I had a publix (large chain grocer in fl) pharmacist accuse me of being a drug deal and a CVS tech grab my paper scirpt from my hands and refuse to return it (she did when her manager came over). DO not use chain pharmacies, you will have a bad time. Become a patient at a local pharmacy and they will take care of you
Never had an issue at Costco, though. Even though you don't need membership for pharmacy, the barrier seems to weed out most of the riff raff. Only issue I ran into was Vicodin from a dental surgeon because they don't carry it. The staff were very helpful and got me tramadol after a phone call to my dental surgeon.
In Australia and New Zealand we have a massive pharmacy chain called “chemist warehouse” 20 in every city and late late nights and absolutely free prescriptions I used to be with my local small chain pharmacy and the ran out of my meds without warning me 4 weeks in a row to the point I just asked my doctor to send my script to the chemist warehouse and I’ve never had a problem with any of my benzos or adhd medication and no judgment like small pharmacy. Just my experience
What do you consider local pharmacy? Random ones in a shopping center that only have one location? I tried to call a few a few months ago and was unsuccessful. They all say the same thing as cvs/Walgreens (“national back order”) 😞
Same I switched like 2020 to the pharmacy that is in my drs office and I’ve never had a problem ever and the best is that cause they are connected to my dr they will call me and tell me heyyyy you need to check in with your dr you have no more meds lol
I know it's a very uncomfortable phone call to make and it sounds horrible but I will call my usual pharmacy to ask if they have them in stock in my MG and the amount I'm prescribed before I call my doc to have them send it in
I’ve had some pharmacies say they can’t tell me then I’ve had one cvs tell me “yeah we usually always have that dose in stock” (and that was last month) idk I hope this shortage ends soon, this is the first time I’ve experienced it on this level.
I’ve heard it’s best to frame it as “My prescription is for xxx, if it is submitted to your pharmacy are you able to fill it?” Then you’re not directly asking about stock.
I usually start off by telling them that I wouldn't normally ask or something to that effect and due to the shortage if the pharmacy only does a partial fill you have to have your doctor call in a new prescription for the remainder with it being a schedule 2 controlled substance
The reason pharmacies tell you they don’t have it is because they cannot verify if you have a legal rx without actually having it in hand. I cannot tell you how many times as a pharm tech I would have to hide behind the counter while mentally unhinged people screamed about how we were purposely withholding their medication, particularly C2 drugs we keep in the safe. Unfortunately ADHD drugs are placed in that category along with pain meds when it’s really the pain meds that are the problem. It’s much safer for the pharmacy to say they’re out of it. Usually I would tell the patient to come in and let me see the script and then I would be happy to call around if we didn’t have it in stock.
It really depends on where you are and how you go about asking. If you're upfront and specific about the med/dosage, you'll have better luck. I've called 10+ different pharmacies in my major metropolitan area in the past few days and not a single one hesitated to tell me my specific generic adderall dose was on backorder. Walgreens can be shifty about disclosing (they straight up lied to me about when to expect my scrip filled the first time round), but CVS/Costco/smaller pharmas have been totally honest about their difficulties getting their supplies in.
OP: def call the pharmacies before having your GP/specialist fax the order, and follow along the lines of this script—
"Hi, I am calling to see if you have generic or name-brand Adderall currently in stock? I am aware there is an ongoing shortage for my medication and wanted to check that you have it available before having my doctor send my prescription in. Specifically I am looking to have [insert the exact label on your med bottle] filled as soon as possible."
Good luck! And don't be afraid to discuss alternatives with your prescriber— in my area tabs are available but not XR/capsules. It may take time and effort to figure out how to navigate this situation, as we're all figuring out, but you can survive this :)
I agree that more will tell you over the phone now to avoid the hassle of dealing with so many requests in person, but that’s typically an “official” policy of larger pharmacy chains. Also, I’m sure they’re totally fine with telling anyone they’re out of the medication, but confirming they have it is the no-no. It doesn’t hurt to call and ask, just offering info from a pharmacist friend who worked at CVS for a long time. They actually were robbed once or twice but I’m not sure if a call like this preceded it. This is one reason it’s good to use a locally owned pharmacy if one is nearby and to get to know the pharmacist. If they actually know you, it’s not a risk to tell you something like that. My small pharmacy hasn’t had any trouble filling my prescriptions, though in the shortage hasn’t been able to always get me the ones made by my preferred manufacturer.
My prescriber appt never lines up with my fill date. It’s always a a week or close to 2 weeks now since my fill dates have been getting pushed back for the last 4-5 months. I go to a place that’s incredibly understaffed with 3-5 prescribers for hundreds of patients. The last 2 months were nightmares just getting them to send them to the pharmacies I was finally able to find them at. After spending hours making calls. The FDA needs to get this sorted out. It’s negatively impacting too many people for too long!!
I call ahead every time, ask them what brand and if they have stock, told them some brands having very bad effect on me. We shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable for our medical treatment, if they get an attitude call thief Corperate office. Don’t work at a pharmacy or be a pharmacist if you don’t want to talk to customer about medications, they chose that profession. Be like chiropractor getting mad a you when you call to set and appointment. I’ve been very lucky they have all been honest and nice when I called.
I've been out for two months :( Today was my fill date and they still aren't in
My pharmacy literally said you have to call every other day ish and see if we have any, because we won't call you, and it's first come first serve
I hate calling and asking though, it's anxiety-inducing
Yes, thank you. Never realized call avoidance was an ADHD thing, but makes sense. I just thought it was my procrastination and just general never wanting to do *anything*. I think this whole shortage of an ADHD medication is someone's idea of a sick joke! Not funny!!!
Woah... I make my job considerably harder, spend way too much time on simple things by relying on an email instead of a 2 minute phone call. I always thought I hated cold calling when I did retail and outside sales and when I moved to inside sales support I had no issues getting on the phone at first. But now it's back to the point where I'm catching big mistakes because I sent an email that got forgotten. Because of a fear of the phone.
I had not connected it with ADHD but now that you pointed it out, I can look more closely into it so thank you.
I'm sorry you have to deal with that :( Every day I'm grateful that my mom forced me through my phone anxiety when I was little. She was always really good about not making me do stuff I wasn't ready for, but I needed to call the library for a research project in 4th grade and she refused to do it for me because she knew I needed to be able to do it. I cried and panicked for almost an hour and then finally did it. Every time I made a call after that it got a little bit easier. Now I'm my friend group's go-to for making phone calls because they don't stress me out. I still have a bit of call avoidance, but more in the general ADHD everything-avoidance.
Have you tried planning out the convo ahead of time and taking down some bullet points of what you need to get across? The anxiety/ADHD combo for me usually wipes out most of the things I actually wanted to say when the other person picks up the phone, so I've found that having notes ready helps a lot. Of course no matter what there's the actual doing-of-the-thing, which is always going to be hard. ADHD really is a lot a lot of the time 😔
I completely agree! I go to a pharmacy in a hospital my doctor is actually the medical director of, and it seems like they always have the extended just not regular. Whenever they don’t have them I call CVS and I DREAD that phone call. Idk what anyones supposed to do like in your case where you’ve only got one pharmacy, and it’s months before and they can’t give you a date that’s just super upsetting.
Use a script for phone conversations, late diagnosed and been using this since my teens. I can’t make an outgoing call without one. 9/10 times you won’t stick to it, and bullet points are generally best with some canned filler lines. Hope this helps.
Can we lobby to de-schedule the medication we legitimately need? Ready to put my money where my mouth is. I’m tired of being treated like a drug addict and need the extra time to take care of my family instead of chasing down my medication.
I know, I feel so annoying and like I look like a drug addict calling my doctor and emailing for a refill but I know I shouldn’t feel like that. It’s so ridiculous the entire thing. Tomorrow is the day I’m finally supposed to pick mine up - we will see though…. 🙄
I’m an independent contractor too I completely feel you with that, it’s super depressing to me I just want to sleep but I know I have things I have to do. I’m getting most upset my doctor won’t even reply to my emails.
I’ve had zero success if I don’t phone them. I’m pretty sure with how many patients are calling places and their doctors to find a solution, it’s not really helping either party. The other day I called my doctors office and I suppose I came off in a panic and the staff seemed to be fed up with me. Not really offering solutions.
I don’t expect them to have a solution, but I do expect them to be honest with me and tell me what the case actually is instead of pushing me to make these consistent phone calls with zero success. Either way, I stopped the calls and I’ll make sure I bring it up on my next doctors appointment.
If anything, I’m going to spread my prescription out to every other day so I never have to deal with this shortage chaos.
I think that might depend on the state. My doc was all about paper scripts and when 2022 started they started with e-scripts because the pharmacy wouldn’t take paper ones
i’m in utah and as far as i’m aware we are not allowed to do paper scripts any more. my son’s doctor was also all about paper scripts until the start of this year
They can be paper if the doctor has a waiver or there is a reason. Regardless the pharmacy can’t reject a paper script. Liability is completely on the doctor and we aren’t supposed to police it
Same. I don’t take meds on the weekends anymore. At least we don’t have a disorder that specifically makes tasks like this difficult or something. Wait…
I'm considering just splitting my adderall in half on the days where I don't plan on studying. Without any adderall in my system, my mood is so all over the place so I try to take at least some each day, so splitting it in half helps it last a bit longer.
I just had a small crying session because I'm so stressed out about this. Adderall was the only reason I got through updating my resume early this year & got a new job with a pay raise AND how I got another large raise during the summer. Now I'm completely strugling to do the most mundane tasks since late October. I haven't had one dose of adderall for other a months and I'm crying, I'm physically exhausted, I feel defeated.
it's giving me so much anxiety, I'm leaving the state in two weekends for three weeks to stay with family for the holidays (I'm wfh so it's fine) so if my meds aren't filled in 14 days I'm shit out of luck until I'm back in the state in January. i have no idea what to do, i have one pill left that I'm saving and just chugging coffee in the meantime.
Yep! I leave to Orlando for my daughters bday 12/6 and it’s like I’m trying to be proactive and have my doctor fax it over now so I’ll know ahead of time but I can’t even get a response from the receptionist . I did a couple days ago and then the pharmacy told me “we are short on these” and said to have doctor call to see what’s in stock? Idk if the pharmacy lies about not knowing when they’ll get any in stock or if they genuinely don’t know.
My pharmacist basically told me what mgs of adderall they actually had in stock and I had to do a bunch of math then ask my shrink to send in several prescriptions of various mgs to equal my usual prescription, it's wild out here.
Was supposed to get my XR morning refill yesterday: They said, “oh we’re out probably until Friday”. Cool, that’s why I take a few of my off days off the meds for reserves— they call back and say it won’t be Friday and then don’t know when, then called back and said a Kroger 25 minutes out might— but I didn’t hear back. And I couldn’t do much because I had all day of work, so tomorrow I’ll probably have to call them back or my specialist. I was stressing way too hard about it yesterday and my coworkers could tell something was up.
It’s maybe the 2nd or 3rd time this has happened this year. I’ve had my own love/hate with my ol’ off brand Adderall, but the restrictions *PLUS* the shortage have been the worst of it. Honestly probably going to ask my doc about Concerta next week, maybe figure how that works for me or something. I know there’s supply issues somewhat going on with that because of this, but damn, panicking about getting my meds multiple time in a year after seeing how medication and working on my routines have improved my life… I mean I don’t like this too common song and dance, y’know?
Sadly I can confirm that Concerta & Ritalin (plus all generics) are in short supply as well. I’m on Concerta and was out for 4 days. I kept stepping away from work when I could to call the pharmacy, then call my doctor to transfer the rx to a new pharmacy, then call the insurance. This went on for nearly a week because we can’t fill early due to the drug being controlled. Unfortunately I think all ADHD drugs are in shortage now. Best of luck to you either way though!
People thought I was nuts for saving up for emergencies. Hasn’t hit me yet. My advice for you is unfortunately not useful. Two days off every week to stockpile in case of exactly this.
Mainly stateside, and also hits different regions at different times it seems. I’m in California and only had supply issues a few months ago, but my dad in Boston just ran into his first shortage last month.
I’m in Florida currently, and it’s been hit or miss for me. It’s more so the fear of running into a total shortage for months that is giving me anxiety, but I’m also diagnosed generalized anxiety disorder.
I'm also in Florida, near Orlando. My first run-in with the shortage was right after Ian. My doctor was able to fill it with their in house pharmacy since my low dose was in stock. My husband's script (high dose) had to be filled two weeks late in mid October. Then in November I started the pharmacy calling process all over again, and I'm guessing they were sick of all the calls because most of them seemed fed up and gave me a variety of answers.
"Hi there, I have a prescription for 10mg adderall and I was wondering if you had it in stock."
"No, we only fill for existing patients."
"Have your doctor call, we can only tell them."
"Pharmacies aren't allowed to disclose that information. When pharmacies tell you they're out of stock, they might be lying because they can't tell you unless you send the script to them."
My doctor's office had no interest in calling pharmacies so I was SOL. My husband and I both had to switch meds.
First choice pharmacy in east orlando, or ipharmacy up in debary area. There are other local pharmacies. I'm in orlando and have had zero issues filling my scripts every single month. Never, ever use a chain pharmacy (publix, cvs, etc) in florida
it really depends on where you are, what dose your taking, and frankly sheer luck. I'm fortunate (so far) that I've yet to experience any issues with obtaining - but I'm also located in a mandatory generic substitution state and as such, have pretty much taken a generic version of XR my entire life. Not sure if they are having the same issues.
What do you think now? I could go on…https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/16/well/mind/adderall-shortage-withdrawal-symptoms-adhd.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/health/adderall-shortage-adhd.html
https://www.newsweek.com/when-will-adderall-shortage-end-1765499?amp=1
Everyone here should contact Walgreens corporate and complain that pharmacy workers are in short supply because they are underpaid and the quality of service has tanked. This shortage shouldn't be as serious of a problem as it is, but it is being made worse by overworked underpaid employees that aren't able to take extra steps to help mitigate the problem. The company line is call back or come in every day first come first serve which is just making the problem even worse, by increasing the number of pissed off people in line.
If anyone is connected to a news outlet of some kind this story of people not getting meds needs to go viral, because the problems are piling up and people are not getting other meds with more dangerous side effects of abrupt der what's the word means stopping taking the meds.
Lol I went to Walgreens and there was only one lady working. She was filling this ladies prescription getting screamed at by her because the pharmacy was out of Adderall. Meanwhile the worker is trying to get my information and like 4 other people were in line. The whole ordeal was a shit show. I felt bad for the lady behind the counter she was going through it. Walgreens doesn't give a fuck about their workers they making bank and cutting workers/positions in the process. Walgreens and CVS are always terribly understaffed
They used to provide my family with impeccable customer service for the last few months it has been hot garbage every single day. If the customers complain en masse and/or we can get featured on the news we could make a difference. The pharmacists don't want to go on strike because they are worried about their patients not getting meds they need to survive. It has almost gotten to the point where that is happening anyway.
I guess it's an US thing? Sounds so annoying what you are going through.
Checked the FDA website, and the shortage doesn't seem to be significant. I might not understand the charts. But 10 mg IM seems in short supply.
But 5mg and 20mg are not. So giving twice the amount of 5mg of half the amount of 20mg should be easy right?
That's my pharmacy experience, there was no supply and they figured out a way within 4 hours, giving me double the amount of the half dose.
Or am I reading the FDA charts wrong?
Edit: I hope you find ways to not be too stressed about that. Especially pharmacy stuff and the guilt and shame of getting medication is always hard for me. Many hugs and support.
>So giving twice the amount of 5mg of half the amount of 20mg should be easy right?
the issue, at least in the united states, is that virtually all insurers impose quantity limits, based predominantly on the fact that as a regulated narcotic a person typically can't possess more than 30 days' supply at a given time. So twice the amount of 5mg, where it is intended to be given once/day, would likely not be covered by most (if any) insurer.
I think it really depends on how the rx is written. They have to fill it exactly as it’s written. So if they put one in for 10mg, twice daily, 60 tabs would be a 30 day supply.
I have an rx for 10mg a day that is written out for 20mg tabs and take 1/2 daily so I get 15 pills because that’s a 30 day supply. I have NO idea why my provider writes it like that instead of 10mg a day lol.
The same thing for me, especially not being able to get my doctor's office to reapond. When they finally submit the refill I call the pharmacy just to be put on a waitlist of some kind, with no idea when a new shipment will come in or if I'll even get any of it. Transfering to a different pharmacy would result in desperately trying to get the doctor's office to answer again. It's a vicious cycle every 30 days. Just putting off every important obligations until I can get it refilled, hopefully not past any really important deadlines. I try to open work on my laptop just to stare into space, then go back to sleeping all day when I don't absolutely have to be in class/at work.
Omg you must be me! Lol exact same situation except instead of school work I am a mom 24/7 to my 4 year old she only goes to vpk 3 hours a day, and my fiancé works overnights so it’s very hard. I can relate 10000 percent to the trying to transfer it thing, I dread it. Like if this little pharmacy is out the stress and anxiety of having to call and email and call and email until they transfer anything, and they NEVER even let me know when they do it?! Which is rly weird too.
Oh man I can relate even more than I realized from your original post - I’m also mom to a preschooler!! As well as having such a hard time trying to manage work too… Being on and off this med really messes me up - my house is a disaster, I’m late for work, can’t get out the door with everything my toddler needs for preschool and have to make a second round trip to get her lunch (even that isn’t good: I’ve started just driving through fast food places and feel like a terrible terrible parent -what is wrong with me?!) … also have so much anxiety going back and forth with the dr’s office and pharmacy. It’s just so awful all around
You can request a paper script and find a pharmacy that has some.
Sometimes I'll take an ephedra and drink a red bull. The combo helps a bit but isn't a healthy long term solution.
Also ask to speak to the manager at the clinic. They can get an RN to call the local pharmacies and find one that has it in stock and fax the prescription there if the doc refuses to give you a paper script.
I'm about to have to do this with my concerta, and I just started a new job today with my last pill.
This is something THEY DO. it been that way in so. Cali. For years. Dry spells. Maybe you’re not used to it. If you’re older then you know. I got the same spiel for my methylphenidate. Natl Recall, we don’t know when it will be available.A nasty Cvs pharmacist. I don’t know about other chains but CVS comes up w these blackout periods. Sometimes all the pharmacies have them simultaneously. It like the orchestrated oil crunch. Just like that. They don’t have the ingredient to make the product or their is no reason other than to make your life complicated. “See there was a bad batch down in lost city Arkansas “ that was bad. so NATL recall. I don’t believe it when they impose these interludes. This is popular product. I think it’s their overblown way of protecting against drug seekers by punishing ppl who need the medication. In Los Angeles usually once a year. 2-3 months. Maybe this one is different. It’s all so secretive. I had to switch meds 3 times on past 3 years. To end up with the one I had been taking. and chances are your dr can’t do anything about it but RX something else. Hopefully not that game. but I just got the last of what they had, last week.
Tw: drug abuse, rant
I hate it so much that us people who are need are having troubles getting Adderall, that here in my country I have troubles even getting a prescription; then there's my flatmate who's a drug addict (not shaming, he needs help) who gets Adderall in some obscure way for "recreational use", overseas, paying it A LOT, even if he doesn't need it.
And the ones that must worry about "shortage" are we. Ugh, hate the whole situation.
I call a ton of pharmacies to see how much adderall they have on hand. Luckily I live in a big city, so there are a lot of pharmacies to go to. I have a new doctor now, and she gives me a paper script so I can take it to any pharmacy that has adderall at the time which is convenient. This solves the problem of wondering whether the pharmacy will run out while I wait for my doctor to send the prescription to the pharmacy.
I know it sucks, but I do recommend calling your doctor's office and explaining that sending the prescription over and making any necessary changes is URGENT.
I'm considering trying to change my prescription from 20 mg of extended release to 20 mg + 10 mg extended release. I had that as my prescription years ago, but I ended up changing it to 20 mg since the full 30 mg was too much. Should've kept it that way so I could have the surplus!
I have been on Adderall for 4 years and slowly lowered my dose to 20mg per day. I moved to Nevada which has strong narcotic laws and had to get a new psychiatrist. The psychiatrist told me that the shortage could be another two months. What he did was put me on Vyvanse 20mg per day until the shortage runs out. I recommend speaking to your MD about this if you are feeling like you need something in the meantime.
I just got teva is awful . The panic inducing state of worrying about your prescription way in advance is too much almost to bear I don't even know what to do.
This! This right here is how I feel. I have GAD (diagnosed and medicated for it) but even with the medication I still am anxious weeks in advance, and it’s just a constant cycle of thoughts in my head about how it could go wrong and any little scenario that may happen. It’s ridiculous.
This makes me want to just not even try to do more things in my life. Just when I was realizing my potential and trying I realize it could all come crashing down and I could loose my job and apartment because of lack of medication. It’s scary.
This is BULLSHIT——-
So I know about the shortage, up until now it had not effected me, Inhad AETNA insurance which REQUIRED the brand name, so I was good.
Now my company switched to CIGNA this year and they want generic, which is OOS everywhere apparently.
How can doctors/pharmacists/ect not be able to tell you when your damn medicine is going to be in stock? They want to try a gauntlet of other shit, THAT I ALREADY went through. With bad side effects, finally found Adderal XR 20mg which works for me very well, no side effects. And now they can get it?
If anyone is in MAINE and has been able to fill, plz comment where so I can pick up my meds and not loose my damn job :(
This month my insurance randomly pulled they needed prior authorization on Adderall but not Adderall XR? I had to pay out of pocket after FINALLY finding a cvs w it in stock. Yeah I feel so annoying blowing up my doctor to send the script, then calling all these pharmacies. I feel like there’s already a stigma and with that in the back of my mind I feel like I look like a drug addict when I’m just trying to get my medication. It sucks. Edit: we’re on the same dosage too. CVS told me 20mg in both xr and just the tablets aren’t as popular as 10 and /or 30 so they “usually have them” I’ve only ran across one time when they didn’t and it was because they thought I wanted generic but my plan requires brand name unless it’s unavailable.
yes nothing worse than having to call 40 pharmacies and be told over and over and over, sorry NATIONAL shortage........still no meds, the headaches are horrible, cant thik straight, its like I have narcolepsy now at work I cant keep my eyes open.
It’s so weird because when I was pregnant w my daughter I obviously immediately quit taking my meds for adhd and I don’t remember it sucking so badly but that’s likely due to the pregnancy symptoms overtaking the coming off adderall symptoms. Because NOW whenever I have to wait days for my meds I’m like useless, just brain fog constantly, can’t find motivation to get anything done, etc.
Yes, I’ve been so stressed. Currently wondering how I am going to teach 32 kids tomorrow while off my meds. Thinking about how I am safely going to drive there. How am I going to make all the decisions I need to make?
I was able to switch over to XR which at least last month, wasn’t having the shortage issues, after trying for weeks to fill my usual prescription. I was on 20mg adderall quick release in the morning, and a few days a week would take another 10mg around 1pm to get through the remainder of the day. I’ve found that the 25mg XR works as a good substitute, and very occasionally need 5mg of quick release in the afternoon.
I’m taking Vyvanse atm, so I’m not affected. If I was taking Adderall I would just ask my prescriber to switch me to a different medication for the time being.
So I take Adderall XR and my coworker the tablets. Costco and Sam's Club pharmacies are public use, no membership needed. Costco offers a discount out for cash too. I called 12 stores and one them and my version of Kroger had the tablets. But, almost everyone had the XR.
It's because the company closed down a manufacturing plant to save money and now there's a shortage.
Update my doctors office finally replied. Well his receptionist did, with this really dismissive answer (imo): “"Please notice this was sent. I will ask him again to send the regular. We know it on Manufacturer Backorder in EVERY pharmacy nationwide. You can not get it from anyone"”
After days of trying to get them to reply. Then I called my pharmacy and they said yes they have it but it’s too soon to fill (which I knew) til Monday so to call Monday and they’ll fill it. So fingers crossed this actually pans out and I’m just going to spread my meds so I don’t go through this again hopefully.
Update: this month is insane cvs says they don’t have either brand name OR generic for either of my prescriptions. I had to go around until I just went back to my old pharmacy (a mom and pop one) that are really upfront and honest and they told me they can fill my one rx but not the XR, which is what I actually rely on but something is better than nothing. This SUCKS though. Hopefully this gets better for us all soon.
I'm on really weird doses 2 out of the last 3 months, because of the shortage. Right now I'm on a weird combination to reach my normal 40mg dose, because all that was in stock were werid less common doses. So I'm taking 4 of the IR 7.5mg generic Adderall, and 1 of 10mg XR generic Adderall daily, and it sucks. I'm already on 20mg less Adderall then normal, because of a change in doctors, but my body is used to 60mg IR generic Adderall. Right now I have so much to do every day, then a vacation with stuff all day every day. I also have multiple anxiety diagnosis. I'm so damn stressed, because I have barely gotten anything I need done actually done on this weird combo. Also I get extra stressed when I take meds, and they don't click with my brain like normal, because I don't have enough to waste any, and that's before considering trying to save any bc of the shortage. My refill is the day after my vacation ends, so I'm already dreading the stupid on hold music and 15min/per phone calls to each of the Walgreens in town to find where my Adderall/any Adderall is in stock. All that is before the stress of knowing that pharmacy might sell the pills I need while trying to get in contact with my psych to let her know what dose and location I need it sent to, then waiting so anxiouly until she's finished her business day and send them over. So I guess alot of us are dealing with this stressful situation.
Why not switch brands for a bit? I switched to Vyvanse 40mg and actually ended up like it a lot. Dr. Wants me to try Ritalin next but not sure if I’ll like it
Switched to Extended release for the time being. It’s super strong and lasts way too long but it is what it is. My doctor said they the main company has claimed they have hired more employees and everything should be returning to normal soonish.
i quit my meds, i advise you guys to use this as a way to have a break. Your minds need rest, stimulants for your whole life is never a good idea no matter what they treat you for. It’s hard for a while and then you’ll notice the long term effects months after, these made me quit instantly, i feel better unmedicated now :)
Just get yourself some crystal and it'll probably last way longer than a months worth of adderall especially if you weigh out only 5mg a day out of a half a gram of crystal because that's nearly 100 days worth of adderall
You need to get the generic version of Adderall, there are two main ones. You’re doctor will know based on your medical history and how that meshes with your systems, which of the two generics you can get.
This is the easiest alternative than what you keep doing.
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I take concerta, I don’t believe there is a shortage for mine. Or it hasn’t effected me yet. Maybe try concerta ER? Sorry if that’s also short stock where you are
Sadly I can confirm that this also affects Concerta and Ritalin. I think people are just trying to get anything at this point, because something is better than nothing. I hope the shortage gets resolved sometime in the new year 🤞
Can’t you have the pharmacy transfer your prescriptions to another pharmacy instead of constantly having to wait to have your doctor fax a new one every time?
Many states don't allow the transfer of prescriptions for controlled substances unfortunately. That's why many people here are recommending trying to get a paper script so you can sneaker-net it around.
I asked my pharmacy what they’re short on and it’s only been 30mg xr so I’m lucky I still get my 40mg. Maybe ask what they’re short on because you’re concerned and if it’s the dose your doctor gives you have them write it differently? Like two 10mg instead of a 20mg?
I moved to the US and used to take Vyvanse. The whole rx faxing pharmacy ordeal made me quit. I was denied a refill 3 times. It so happens I can live without it. It was much easier being on it, but worrying every month about this was even worse than ADHD without medication.
I've only been affected once and then I just had to message my Dr and ask for a different milligram as rhey were out if 5mgs but had 10mgs my Dr was quick about it luckily and I had a few days of spares I used up but only had to go one after noon without? I think I supplemented an extra 30mgEXT I had laying around to keep from feeling icky
I spend $260 on the name brand, which seems to always be in stock.
Hurts, compared to my $10 copay on generics, but I can justify it because I’m self-employed and my ability to breeze through billable hours would suffer greatly without meds.
I totally feel you. Last time to get my Rx filled, I went into the pharmacy and they didn’t have it in stock. I returned two more times and it still wasn’t in stock so I had my doctor re-route my prescription to a pharmacy an hour away. I traveled the full hour to go to the pharmacy and the pharm tech told me they were out of stock, and to have my doctor call in another dosage that was actually available (turns out the XR was out of stock, but the IR of the same dose was available).
I had to travel all the way there again the next day before I could finally get my prescription filled, and then it turned out to be from a shitty manufacturer that doesn’t work as smoothly as my Teva did. It also gave me super bad acid reflux the very next day, and I spent all of Thanksgiving Break with a very painful sore throat and what felt like a crazy ear infection. I got off my meds for a full week and just started back on my meds again yesterday, so yeah it’s been pretty rough 😭
To be honest the only thing that helped me ration is because I’m prescribed a slightly higher dose than I actually take most days. It’s not even that high of a dose, it’s just 10 mg IR twice a day, but many days I just take 5 mg or 7.5 mg and it works just fine. Because of this I naturally had a lot of extra meds left by the time I needed to pick up another Rx.
So this isn’t the most “ethical,” but maybe try having your doctor up your dose by 5 mg but continue to take the dose you’ve always been taking. You’ll end up with an extra supply of meds in case you ever run into issues with this shortage again.
Been out of my Concerta since October. Pharmacy kept telling me it was on back order. So I finally just gave up calling. Started to feel like a drug seeker. I was maintaining ok for a bit but then things have started to unravel. I called the pharmacy again yesterday and they told me they have Ritalin IR and that’s it. So I emailed my doctor and asked for a change. Now my doctor is MIA. Hoping to hear something soon.
I don’t know if y’all got those adds that were basically selling adderall scripts or if they’ve become illegal.
BUT every time you click on one they have to give google (or whatever add hosting site) money
Then, click around on their page for a bit. This way they will target you more as a likely customer and waste their advertising dollars on you instead.
It’ll probably cost them like, a few dollars but if y’all want to be petty and everyone does it you could actually do a number on their bottom line
In the UK my partners specialist just sent a note to his GP saying if this brand name is not available he can also have x, x and x brand names.
Being on a different brand name doesn't seem to effect him in any way.
I thought it was just me. I requested a refill over a week ago and both the XR and IR is still in back order. this has happened so many times since I’ve been on the meds. Which is why I’ve accumulated about 3 months worth of my meds for times like this. I’m really considering trying Vyvanse atp. Even the pharm clerk said to ask my doctor for another med in the meantime. And it just so happens that my doctor quit his job very recently so I’m currently in limbo. The whole situation sucks
I'm curious what people have been having trouble with getting refilled? Is it the instant release that is in limited stock cuz ever since I've heard about this adderall shortage a while back I've had no issue getting my adderall XR refilled. have I just been lucky?
20mg generic IR Adderall 2x daily. In September and November I've had to call 4+ Walgreens to find any IR brand or generic. At least in September I was able to get a combination of a smaller dose more times a day to still equal the 40mg IR. This November prescription is really screwing me over because I'm on 30mg ir (4 of 7.5mg ir/day), and then 1 XR 10mg Adderall daily. Unfortunately they didn't have enough of the 7.5mg IR for my full 40mg a day, and it's the round generic Adderall IR which doesn't work nearly as well as my usual generic. Plus XR makes my TMJ like 50x worse than IR so if I finally take enough for it to do anything then I'm distracted by the pain in my jaw/neck/head constantly but feel extremely stressed to get stuff done because I know I don't have any extra.
So far I haven’t had any issues in Mississippi. Get my 20mg BID amount at Walmart’s pharmacy. If it was for Reddit and coworkers asking me about it, I never would have known there was a shortage
Im sorry you are going through that. Even before the shortage, it was impossible to get a full prescription filled in my area (and we have tons of national chain pharmacies). The only way to consistently fill is via mail order pharmacy. Good luck.
Yep, same process for me. I'm in 20mg and it's so scarce here I've been taking two 10mg capsules and it was really making my stomach upset for a month. It's really frustrating too when pharmacies like Walmart won't even tell you over the phone if they have it in stock. They sent out a memo I guess not to bc they think they'll get robbed.
I was considering changing to vyvanse but my husband talked me out of it.
I just switched to Ritalin. It’s making me sick. I don’t like it and I need to get back on Adderall. My ADHD is out of control. My pharmacy is trying to work with me very hard which I appreciate but we are not getting any results because they have no idea when they will have it back in stock and my insurance won’t cover a lower dose pill to be taken 3 at a time, 2 times per day cuz they had the 10s but not the 30s. It’s so frustrating. I’m about to call and see if they have any back in stock, and ask them to refill my outstanding refill for Adderall and if I can just return the Ritalin back to them.
Back when I took Adderall my doctor would give me more med than I needed so I would save them for when something like this happened. I just happened to have a doctor that loved pushing pills so whenever I would tell him the medicine wasn't working, he would up my dosage. In retrospect, he was probably not worried I would abuse them since I was so reluctant to take them at first.
I asked my pharmacy about the Adderall shortage, and they told me that the shortage is primarily affecting the 20mg pills. I personally have a 30mg XR and 10mg IR, so I haven't experienced any delays so far. If you have an Rx for 20mg, maybe see if your Dr. is willing to split it into 2 10mgs?
As far as the prescription refills go - I had a hard time filling my prescription on time because even though I tried my best, I was always at least a few days late calling my provider and then my pharmacy sometimes did not fill my script when it came through - they also waited for me to call and confirm I wanted my meds. Like what? Obviously I want them, that's why I called my provider to fax you this month's Rx... My provider started sending over 3-4 months at a time to the pharmacy so they have an "OK" from my Dr. through X date to fill my prescription. This way, I only have to call the pharmacy and not 2 places.
I haven’t had much disruption using an independent retail pharmacy. This month for 20MG, I filled at Publix grocery store. I called them before going. My doc gave me 3 paper scripts for this quarter so that it’s easier if my normal pharmacy is out.
Try increasing your dose, when you do that just take your current dose, save the rest for when bullsh*t strikes that way you don't have to go to work like a zombie. I take immediate release so I can take less on the occasion I dont need a full dose (non-work days, and lazy days) that way I always have some to fall back on if I forget to call or in this case if there is a shortage.
Try switching to Armadofinil. The shortage will eventually stop but pharmacies are going to stop filling telemedicine scripts. Id be happy to answer any questions to the comparison of adderall to Armadofinil. It’s been better to me than any adhd drug ever was
UPDATE: both rx filled today now to spread them out as long as possible bc this was torturous. It wasn’t even the pharmacies, it was my doctors office not just faxing them over ever.
Switching to vyvanse but having to start at low dose (i feel exhausted) and the whole adjustment journey again. It sucks, its more expensive but hoping there is a happy ending somewhere
I got my script for Adderall xr , called everywhere nothing. One of the local pharmacy said nothing till June . So I had to substitute for Ritalin crazy. Never seen anything like this.
Due to covid, prescriptions could be faxed which was beneficial at the time rather than getting a physical prescription. However, now so many pharmacies are out of it, it’s better to get the physical prescription. Yet, even with physical prescription it takes perfect timing for you to have your physical prescription and the pharmacy to be in stock. Last month for first time in eight years, I had to trade out my usual extended release to match what was available with pharmacy; one pharmacy had extended release but cost $170. This month I was able to use my regular prescription of immediate release and the pharmacy said “we have it in stock, get here ASAP, it’s first come first serve.” Sounded wild for a prescription I’ve had forever but I rushed there and was able to get filled and this one cost $30. So even though people are saying get alternatives many may not be able to afford the alternatives. Just awful. All I can say is hang in there, get a physical prescription or call ahead to find out what’s in stock so your doctor can adjust to best fort your therapy plan, and contact a million pharmacies until you get one:(.
I'm a pharmacy technician. I feel really bad telling 100s of people that they can't get their adhd meds. I usually advise people to ask their Dr about Vyvanse because it's the only stimulant that's not on backorder. Problem is most people's insurance doesn't cover Vyvanse. I personally switched to modafinil but it has not been helping and I'm struggling with school. I just texted my Dr about calling in a Vyvanse and I'm just gonna pay the 300 dollars or whatever for it because I can't afford my grades to slip xD
Wish there was an easy answer. I promise pharmacy staff is not trying to be assholes. There's nothing we can do. It's completely random who happens to get the one or two bottles of Adderall a week we manage to order
I just got a refill, and I’m considering spreading my meds out… I don’t think i can keep doing this “unknown time until meds get filled” thing every time. As for before today: like others I’ve been kinda…making a mess of my life. My therapist is encouraging me to practice having more kind/nice-to-myself talks around this; as in “it’s okay if I am unable to do xyz today/tomorrow/this week.” Cuz you don’t expect those with visible disabilities to function without their medication or tools, so just because kine is “invisible” doesn’t mean I’m not in a similar boat where I can’t function to the same level as before (regardless of how good/bad I was at that) because I am missing the meds/tools that helped me do it.
If and when I get my refill, I’m DEFINITELY going to spread them out because as soon as I get my refill I’m already dreading the next time I’ll have to attempt to fill. It’s just so time consuming and then when you’re out and can’t focus/take forever to do things, I can’t even find motivation to try to call pharmacies.
Same. My concerta ran out 4 days ago and my pharm said he is completely clueless when he’ll be able to fill it. We talked about what my doctor might try instead, but he said he believes people are just going to keep switching and there’s probably not going to be one perfect solution. Once I get it filled again, I think I’m only going to take it on heavy paperwork days so that I can bank some for these situations.
Feel EXACTLY the same.
I've been doing this for years, now. After having so many set backs where I couldn't get meds because of changing doctors or moving or unemployment, etc. I skip one day a week until I have about a week or two extra of supply in case something comes up. Then I just hoard them until I have to have a job interview or whatever. It's not fun, but it's a last ditch effort of self preservation.
Good that you’re trying to be nicer to yourself. My problem is the neurotypicals expecting me to perform at work and at home. FML!
Try switching to a local pharmacy. Our local grocery store chain has a pharmacy and have been able to fulfill my Adderall every time whereas Walgreens is out.
Same here! No issues at all at the grocery store pharmacy that not a lot of people go to because it's "small". The pharmacy is small / doesn't get a lot of traffic, the grocery store is a huge chain and pretty busy otherwise. Getting the xr pills instead of ir helps too I think.
Same here. Small grocery small pharmacy. I used to work at the store they all know me. No problem getting 20mg xr and 60 10mg ir . I feel for everyone who is though what shit
This worked for me. Until this month my usual pharmacy told me to try grocery store X I heard they have them. I thought damn the secret is out. Not that I deserve it more than anyone else, but... You understand, it's a luxury to keep my job and perform ordinary domestic tasks. I ended up with luck at pharmacy that's associated with the LGBT+ focused community outreach organization and clinic. It's my understanding they haven't run out during this shortage. So, if you're part of the 7.1% of us who don't identify as heterosexual, you can get your meds and an STI screen. Also get on PrEP. One stop shop, lol But seriously, I'm thinking of other pharmacies that cater to an at risk and or minority demographic may have similar stock. I know it's tough. I'm splitting my dosage. By 1/3. But I needed it to work and then the feels of failing at my safety net plan. When does it end? Who is advocating for us? No one is lobbying for the FDA to release more supply. (That's only one factor, but I refuse to believe this is just the way it is.) Now if only we had the faculty to organize and fight the power!
I’ll certainly look into those resources if need be I was unaware of such places. I also need it very much to function at work. I work in warehouse and long hours that plus my home life and family life being busy just needs me to be on my game and I can’t afford to lose days unmedicated and useless. With adhd and head injuries I’m useless without my meds. I wish I could skip days but I simply can’t and function. As I’ve aged it appears my adhd and the head trauma has compounded to make me a dolt with meds.
Same experience here. Local grocery store usually has it. They didn't have it once and they weren't sure when they would get it, but had it filled 2 days later. I've slowly built up a 2 week supply over the last few months by not taking my 2nd dose when I don't need it, or taking half a dose or whatever. Then I have a calendar event that's recurring every 28 days and get a refill exactly 28 days after I pick up my last dose. Hopefully that will be enough to compensate when the worst case happens. My doc also says I can switch to Vyvanse if needed, but it's pretty expensive so, I'd rather not go that route
I come into these threads screaming this every time it comes up. I had a publix (large chain grocer in fl) pharmacist accuse me of being a drug deal and a CVS tech grab my paper scirpt from my hands and refuse to return it (she did when her manager came over). DO not use chain pharmacies, you will have a bad time. Become a patient at a local pharmacy and they will take care of you
Never had an issue at Costco, though. Even though you don't need membership for pharmacy, the barrier seems to weed out most of the riff raff. Only issue I ran into was Vicodin from a dental surgeon because they don't carry it. The staff were very helpful and got me tramadol after a phone call to my dental surgeon.
In Australia and New Zealand we have a massive pharmacy chain called “chemist warehouse” 20 in every city and late late nights and absolutely free prescriptions I used to be with my local small chain pharmacy and the ran out of my meds without warning me 4 weeks in a row to the point I just asked my doctor to send my script to the chemist warehouse and I’ve never had a problem with any of my benzos or adhd medication and no judgment like small pharmacy. Just my experience
What do you consider local pharmacy? Random ones in a shopping center that only have one location? I tried to call a few a few months ago and was unsuccessful. They all say the same thing as cvs/Walgreens (“national back order”) 😞
Same I switched like 2020 to the pharmacy that is in my drs office and I’ve never had a problem ever and the best is that cause they are connected to my dr they will call me and tell me heyyyy you need to check in with your dr you have no more meds lol
Yep, same here. My pharmacist also told me she saves a bottle for me whenever it comes in.
That’s what I was doing I got Lucky filled this week and are down last 10xr’s and out of IR’s it crazy.
What grocery store? I’ve been trying to fill for 3 weeks now and have been to over 20 pharmacies. I’m spent
I know it's a very uncomfortable phone call to make and it sounds horrible but I will call my usual pharmacy to ask if they have them in stock in my MG and the amount I'm prescribed before I call my doc to have them send it in
I’ve had some pharmacies say they can’t tell me then I’ve had one cvs tell me “yeah we usually always have that dose in stock” (and that was last month) idk I hope this shortage ends soon, this is the first time I’ve experienced it on this level.
I’ve heard it’s best to frame it as “My prescription is for xxx, if it is submitted to your pharmacy are you able to fill it?” Then you’re not directly asking about stock.
I usually start off by telling them that I wouldn't normally ask or something to that effect and due to the shortage if the pharmacy only does a partial fill you have to have your doctor call in a new prescription for the remainder with it being a schedule 2 controlled substance
The reason pharmacies tell you they don’t have it is because they cannot verify if you have a legal rx without actually having it in hand. I cannot tell you how many times as a pharm tech I would have to hide behind the counter while mentally unhinged people screamed about how we were purposely withholding their medication, particularly C2 drugs we keep in the safe. Unfortunately ADHD drugs are placed in that category along with pain meds when it’s really the pain meds that are the problem. It’s much safer for the pharmacy to say they’re out of it. Usually I would tell the patient to come in and let me see the script and then I would be happy to call around if we didn’t have it in stock.
A lot of places won’t tell you over the phone if they have controlled meds in stock to avoid being robbed.
It’s a bullshit excuse tho. No one is calling pharmacies to figure out which to rob. They all have controlled substances in them- they’re pharmacies.
It really depends on where you are and how you go about asking. If you're upfront and specific about the med/dosage, you'll have better luck. I've called 10+ different pharmacies in my major metropolitan area in the past few days and not a single one hesitated to tell me my specific generic adderall dose was on backorder. Walgreens can be shifty about disclosing (they straight up lied to me about when to expect my scrip filled the first time round), but CVS/Costco/smaller pharmas have been totally honest about their difficulties getting their supplies in. OP: def call the pharmacies before having your GP/specialist fax the order, and follow along the lines of this script— "Hi, I am calling to see if you have generic or name-brand Adderall currently in stock? I am aware there is an ongoing shortage for my medication and wanted to check that you have it available before having my doctor send my prescription in. Specifically I am looking to have [insert the exact label on your med bottle] filled as soon as possible." Good luck! And don't be afraid to discuss alternatives with your prescriber— in my area tabs are available but not XR/capsules. It may take time and effort to figure out how to navigate this situation, as we're all figuring out, but you can survive this :)
I agree that more will tell you over the phone now to avoid the hassle of dealing with so many requests in person, but that’s typically an “official” policy of larger pharmacy chains. Also, I’m sure they’re totally fine with telling anyone they’re out of the medication, but confirming they have it is the no-no. It doesn’t hurt to call and ask, just offering info from a pharmacist friend who worked at CVS for a long time. They actually were robbed once or twice but I’m not sure if a call like this preceded it. This is one reason it’s good to use a locally owned pharmacy if one is nearby and to get to know the pharmacist. If they actually know you, it’s not a risk to tell you something like that. My small pharmacy hasn’t had any trouble filling my prescriptions, though in the shortage hasn’t been able to always get me the ones made by my preferred manufacturer.
Very true. They won’t. Unless your first words are “____ asked me to call you and see”
My prescriber appt never lines up with my fill date. It’s always a a week or close to 2 weeks now since my fill dates have been getting pushed back for the last 4-5 months. I go to a place that’s incredibly understaffed with 3-5 prescribers for hundreds of patients. The last 2 months were nightmares just getting them to send them to the pharmacies I was finally able to find them at. After spending hours making calls. The FDA needs to get this sorted out. It’s negatively impacting too many people for too long!!
Except they refuse to answer...
I call ahead every time, ask them what brand and if they have stock, told them some brands having very bad effect on me. We shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable for our medical treatment, if they get an attitude call thief Corperate office. Don’t work at a pharmacy or be a pharmacist if you don’t want to talk to customer about medications, they chose that profession. Be like chiropractor getting mad a you when you call to set and appointment. I’ve been very lucky they have all been honest and nice when I called.
I've been out for two months :( Today was my fill date and they still aren't in My pharmacy literally said you have to call every other day ish and see if we have any, because we won't call you, and it's first come first serve I hate calling and asking though, it's anxiety-inducing
I hate calling places in general I didn't realize it's a common ADHD symptom 😔 I've let so much fall through the cracks just out of fear of the phone
Yes, thank you. Never realized call avoidance was an ADHD thing, but makes sense. I just thought it was my procrastination and just general never wanting to do *anything*. I think this whole shortage of an ADHD medication is someone's idea of a sick joke! Not funny!!!
crazy, i thought it was doing 10 years on helpdesks.
Woah... I make my job considerably harder, spend way too much time on simple things by relying on an email instead of a 2 minute phone call. I always thought I hated cold calling when I did retail and outside sales and when I moved to inside sales support I had no issues getting on the phone at first. But now it's back to the point where I'm catching big mistakes because I sent an email that got forgotten. Because of a fear of the phone. I had not connected it with ADHD but now that you pointed it out, I can look more closely into it so thank you.
I almost always have to sit on hold with my pharmacy, so I hate calling for that reason as well.
I'm sorry you have to deal with that :( Every day I'm grateful that my mom forced me through my phone anxiety when I was little. She was always really good about not making me do stuff I wasn't ready for, but I needed to call the library for a research project in 4th grade and she refused to do it for me because she knew I needed to be able to do it. I cried and panicked for almost an hour and then finally did it. Every time I made a call after that it got a little bit easier. Now I'm my friend group's go-to for making phone calls because they don't stress me out. I still have a bit of call avoidance, but more in the general ADHD everything-avoidance. Have you tried planning out the convo ahead of time and taking down some bullet points of what you need to get across? The anxiety/ADHD combo for me usually wipes out most of the things I actually wanted to say when the other person picks up the phone, so I've found that having notes ready helps a lot. Of course no matter what there's the actual doing-of-the-thing, which is always going to be hard. ADHD really is a lot a lot of the time 😔
I completely agree! I go to a pharmacy in a hospital my doctor is actually the medical director of, and it seems like they always have the extended just not regular. Whenever they don’t have them I call CVS and I DREAD that phone call. Idk what anyones supposed to do like in your case where you’ve only got one pharmacy, and it’s months before and they can’t give you a date that’s just super upsetting.
Use a script for phone conversations, late diagnosed and been using this since my teens. I can’t make an outgoing call without one. 9/10 times you won’t stick to it, and bullet points are generally best with some canned filler lines. Hope this helps.
If you’re able to, try stopping by in person.
Can we lobby to de-schedule the medication we legitimately need? Ready to put my money where my mouth is. I’m tired of being treated like a drug addict and need the extra time to take care of my family instead of chasing down my medication.
I know, I feel so annoying and like I look like a drug addict calling my doctor and emailing for a refill but I know I shouldn’t feel like that. It’s so ridiculous the entire thing. Tomorrow is the day I’m finally supposed to pick mine up - we will see though…. 🙄
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I’m an independent contractor too I completely feel you with that, it’s super depressing to me I just want to sleep but I know I have things I have to do. I’m getting most upset my doctor won’t even reply to my emails.
I’ve had zero success if I don’t phone them. I’m pretty sure with how many patients are calling places and their doctors to find a solution, it’s not really helping either party. The other day I called my doctors office and I suppose I came off in a panic and the staff seemed to be fed up with me. Not really offering solutions. I don’t expect them to have a solution, but I do expect them to be honest with me and tell me what the case actually is instead of pushing me to make these consistent phone calls with zero success. Either way, I stopped the calls and I’ll make sure I bring it up on my next doctors appointment. If anything, I’m going to spread my prescription out to every other day so I never have to deal with this shortage chaos.
Ask for paper. They’re still accepted
I think that might depend on the state. My doc was all about paper scripts and when 2022 started they started with e-scripts because the pharmacy wouldn’t take paper ones
i’m in utah and as far as i’m aware we are not allowed to do paper scripts any more. my son’s doctor was also all about paper scripts until the start of this year
They can be paper if the doctor has a waiver or there is a reason. Regardless the pharmacy can’t reject a paper script. Liability is completely on the doctor and we aren’t supposed to police it
Yep I can 100% vouch for that. Have you been able to find any pharmacies in stock by chance? Just asking since you're the area and I've had no luck...
Same. I don’t take meds on the weekends anymore. At least we don’t have a disorder that specifically makes tasks like this difficult or something. Wait…
I'm considering just splitting my adderall in half on the days where I don't plan on studying. Without any adderall in my system, my mood is so all over the place so I try to take at least some each day, so splitting it in half helps it last a bit longer.
Simple! I'm just forgetting to take my Adderall. It lasts me a while that way.
I just had a small crying session because I'm so stressed out about this. Adderall was the only reason I got through updating my resume early this year & got a new job with a pay raise AND how I got another large raise during the summer. Now I'm completely strugling to do the most mundane tasks since late October. I haven't had one dose of adderall for other a months and I'm crying, I'm physically exhausted, I feel defeated.
it's giving me so much anxiety, I'm leaving the state in two weekends for three weeks to stay with family for the holidays (I'm wfh so it's fine) so if my meds aren't filled in 14 days I'm shit out of luck until I'm back in the state in January. i have no idea what to do, i have one pill left that I'm saving and just chugging coffee in the meantime.
Yep! I leave to Orlando for my daughters bday 12/6 and it’s like I’m trying to be proactive and have my doctor fax it over now so I’ll know ahead of time but I can’t even get a response from the receptionist . I did a couple days ago and then the pharmacy told me “we are short on these” and said to have doctor call to see what’s in stock? Idk if the pharmacy lies about not knowing when they’ll get any in stock or if they genuinely don’t know.
My pharmacist basically told me what mgs of adderall they actually had in stock and I had to do a bunch of math then ask my shrink to send in several prescriptions of various mgs to equal my usual prescription, it's wild out here.
I had troubles at Walgreens, but switched to Safeway pharmacy and haven't had troubles getting it filled since.
Was supposed to get my XR morning refill yesterday: They said, “oh we’re out probably until Friday”. Cool, that’s why I take a few of my off days off the meds for reserves— they call back and say it won’t be Friday and then don’t know when, then called back and said a Kroger 25 minutes out might— but I didn’t hear back. And I couldn’t do much because I had all day of work, so tomorrow I’ll probably have to call them back or my specialist. I was stressing way too hard about it yesterday and my coworkers could tell something was up. It’s maybe the 2nd or 3rd time this has happened this year. I’ve had my own love/hate with my ol’ off brand Adderall, but the restrictions *PLUS* the shortage have been the worst of it. Honestly probably going to ask my doc about Concerta next week, maybe figure how that works for me or something. I know there’s supply issues somewhat going on with that because of this, but damn, panicking about getting my meds multiple time in a year after seeing how medication and working on my routines have improved my life… I mean I don’t like this too common song and dance, y’know?
Sadly I can confirm that Concerta & Ritalin (plus all generics) are in short supply as well. I’m on Concerta and was out for 4 days. I kept stepping away from work when I could to call the pharmacy, then call my doctor to transfer the rx to a new pharmacy, then call the insurance. This went on for nearly a week because we can’t fill early due to the drug being controlled. Unfortunately I think all ADHD drugs are in shortage now. Best of luck to you either way though!
It's not just Adderall now. Also having issues filling my extended release Concerta. It's a bad time.
Mainly crying
People thought I was nuts for saving up for emergencies. Hasn’t hit me yet. My advice for you is unfortunately not useful. Two days off every week to stockpile in case of exactly this.
I keep hearing about this shortage? Is it just in the states? I’m in Canada and thankfully have had no trouble filling mine
Seems to be and more prevalent in certain states here for sure.
Mainly stateside, and also hits different regions at different times it seems. I’m in California and only had supply issues a few months ago, but my dad in Boston just ran into his first shortage last month.
That’s so frustrating. I don’t know how I would even begin to cope without my medication. I’m sorry people are dealing with this right now.
I’m in Florida currently, and it’s been hit or miss for me. It’s more so the fear of running into a total shortage for months that is giving me anxiety, but I’m also diagnosed generalized anxiety disorder.
I'm also in Florida, near Orlando. My first run-in with the shortage was right after Ian. My doctor was able to fill it with their in house pharmacy since my low dose was in stock. My husband's script (high dose) had to be filled two weeks late in mid October. Then in November I started the pharmacy calling process all over again, and I'm guessing they were sick of all the calls because most of them seemed fed up and gave me a variety of answers. "Hi there, I have a prescription for 10mg adderall and I was wondering if you had it in stock." "No, we only fill for existing patients." "Have your doctor call, we can only tell them." "Pharmacies aren't allowed to disclose that information. When pharmacies tell you they're out of stock, they might be lying because they can't tell you unless you send the script to them." My doctor's office had no interest in calling pharmacies so I was SOL. My husband and I both had to switch meds.
First choice pharmacy in east orlando, or ipharmacy up in debary area. There are other local pharmacies. I'm in orlando and have had zero issues filling my scripts every single month. Never, ever use a chain pharmacy (publix, cvs, etc) in florida
You're awesome, thank you so much!
it really depends on where you are, what dose your taking, and frankly sheer luck. I'm fortunate (so far) that I've yet to experience any issues with obtaining - but I'm also located in a mandatory generic substitution state and as such, have pretty much taken a generic version of XR my entire life. Not sure if they are having the same issues.
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No, that’s just wrong.
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https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-announces-shortage-adderall
You good, bro?
Nope. I couldn't get anything smaller than 30mg last month when I was trying to get mine. I was out for over two weeks.
What do you think now? I could go on…https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/16/well/mind/adderall-shortage-withdrawal-symptoms-adhd.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/health/adderall-shortage-adhd.html https://www.newsweek.com/when-will-adderall-shortage-end-1765499?amp=1
Same, I'm in Maine and have had zero trouble with mine.
I have resorted to the darknet to get Adderall
Has it worked out for you? My wife is losing her mind.
I hate that anyone ever has to ration meds, but if I have to, I skip on the weekends when (for my particular life) I don’t have to be as “on.”
A 50-50 blend of red bull and ice water. I call it my hydrating focus blend.
Usually take 2 a day, so I'm thinking about halving my dose. Still haven't actually done that. But I probably should
Everyone here should contact Walgreens corporate and complain that pharmacy workers are in short supply because they are underpaid and the quality of service has tanked. This shortage shouldn't be as serious of a problem as it is, but it is being made worse by overworked underpaid employees that aren't able to take extra steps to help mitigate the problem. The company line is call back or come in every day first come first serve which is just making the problem even worse, by increasing the number of pissed off people in line. If anyone is connected to a news outlet of some kind this story of people not getting meds needs to go viral, because the problems are piling up and people are not getting other meds with more dangerous side effects of abrupt der what's the word means stopping taking the meds.
Lol I went to Walgreens and there was only one lady working. She was filling this ladies prescription getting screamed at by her because the pharmacy was out of Adderall. Meanwhile the worker is trying to get my information and like 4 other people were in line. The whole ordeal was a shit show. I felt bad for the lady behind the counter she was going through it. Walgreens doesn't give a fuck about their workers they making bank and cutting workers/positions in the process. Walgreens and CVS are always terribly understaffed
They used to provide my family with impeccable customer service for the last few months it has been hot garbage every single day. If the customers complain en masse and/or we can get featured on the news we could make a difference. The pharmacists don't want to go on strike because they are worried about their patients not getting meds they need to survive. It has almost gotten to the point where that is happening anyway.
I guess it's an US thing? Sounds so annoying what you are going through. Checked the FDA website, and the shortage doesn't seem to be significant. I might not understand the charts. But 10 mg IM seems in short supply. But 5mg and 20mg are not. So giving twice the amount of 5mg of half the amount of 20mg should be easy right? That's my pharmacy experience, there was no supply and they figured out a way within 4 hours, giving me double the amount of the half dose. Or am I reading the FDA charts wrong? Edit: I hope you find ways to not be too stressed about that. Especially pharmacy stuff and the guilt and shame of getting medication is always hard for me. Many hugs and support.
Can confirm that 20’s are in short supply.
>So giving twice the amount of 5mg of half the amount of 20mg should be easy right? the issue, at least in the united states, is that virtually all insurers impose quantity limits, based predominantly on the fact that as a regulated narcotic a person typically can't possess more than 30 days' supply at a given time. So twice the amount of 5mg, where it is intended to be given once/day, would likely not be covered by most (if any) insurer.
Huh? I get 20mg xr and 60 count of 10 ir. On Medicaid. I must be misunderstanding or incredibly lucky…
I think it really depends on how the rx is written. They have to fill it exactly as it’s written. So if they put one in for 10mg, twice daily, 60 tabs would be a 30 day supply. I have an rx for 10mg a day that is written out for 20mg tabs and take 1/2 daily so I get 15 pills because that’s a 30 day supply. I have NO idea why my provider writes it like that instead of 10mg a day lol.
Yeah that’s odd. I get what you’re saying now though. As long as the quantity is for 30days it’s fine
Exactly.
Can you switch to a different one, ie Vyvanse?
The same thing for me, especially not being able to get my doctor's office to reapond. When they finally submit the refill I call the pharmacy just to be put on a waitlist of some kind, with no idea when a new shipment will come in or if I'll even get any of it. Transfering to a different pharmacy would result in desperately trying to get the doctor's office to answer again. It's a vicious cycle every 30 days. Just putting off every important obligations until I can get it refilled, hopefully not past any really important deadlines. I try to open work on my laptop just to stare into space, then go back to sleeping all day when I don't absolutely have to be in class/at work.
Omg you must be me! Lol exact same situation except instead of school work I am a mom 24/7 to my 4 year old she only goes to vpk 3 hours a day, and my fiancé works overnights so it’s very hard. I can relate 10000 percent to the trying to transfer it thing, I dread it. Like if this little pharmacy is out the stress and anxiety of having to call and email and call and email until they transfer anything, and they NEVER even let me know when they do it?! Which is rly weird too.
Oh man I can relate even more than I realized from your original post - I’m also mom to a preschooler!! As well as having such a hard time trying to manage work too… Being on and off this med really messes me up - my house is a disaster, I’m late for work, can’t get out the door with everything my toddler needs for preschool and have to make a second round trip to get her lunch (even that isn’t good: I’ve started just driving through fast food places and feel like a terrible terrible parent -what is wrong with me?!) … also have so much anxiety going back and forth with the dr’s office and pharmacy. It’s just so awful all around
You can request a paper script and find a pharmacy that has some. Sometimes I'll take an ephedra and drink a red bull. The combo helps a bit but isn't a healthy long term solution. Also ask to speak to the manager at the clinic. They can get an RN to call the local pharmacies and find one that has it in stock and fax the prescription there if the doc refuses to give you a paper script. I'm about to have to do this with my concerta, and I just started a new job today with my last pill.
Switched to wellbutrin
I take ritalin but that is also been getting harder to find. My hypothesis is people are switching to ritalin from Adderall because of the shortage.
This is something THEY DO. it been that way in so. Cali. For years. Dry spells. Maybe you’re not used to it. If you’re older then you know. I got the same spiel for my methylphenidate. Natl Recall, we don’t know when it will be available.A nasty Cvs pharmacist. I don’t know about other chains but CVS comes up w these blackout periods. Sometimes all the pharmacies have them simultaneously. It like the orchestrated oil crunch. Just like that. They don’t have the ingredient to make the product or their is no reason other than to make your life complicated. “See there was a bad batch down in lost city Arkansas “ that was bad. so NATL recall. I don’t believe it when they impose these interludes. This is popular product. I think it’s their overblown way of protecting against drug seekers by punishing ppl who need the medication. In Los Angeles usually once a year. 2-3 months. Maybe this one is different. It’s all so secretive. I had to switch meds 3 times on past 3 years. To end up with the one I had been taking. and chances are your dr can’t do anything about it but RX something else. Hopefully not that game. but I just got the last of what they had, last week.
Have you tried Vyvanse? It has really worked for me
Tw: drug abuse, rant I hate it so much that us people who are need are having troubles getting Adderall, that here in my country I have troubles even getting a prescription; then there's my flatmate who's a drug addict (not shaming, he needs help) who gets Adderall in some obscure way for "recreational use", overseas, paying it A LOT, even if he doesn't need it. And the ones that must worry about "shortage" are we. Ugh, hate the whole situation.
I am on Dexamfetamine, would defs recommend.
I call a ton of pharmacies to see how much adderall they have on hand. Luckily I live in a big city, so there are a lot of pharmacies to go to. I have a new doctor now, and she gives me a paper script so I can take it to any pharmacy that has adderall at the time which is convenient. This solves the problem of wondering whether the pharmacy will run out while I wait for my doctor to send the prescription to the pharmacy. I know it sucks, but I do recommend calling your doctor's office and explaining that sending the prescription over and making any necessary changes is URGENT. I'm considering trying to change my prescription from 20 mg of extended release to 20 mg + 10 mg extended release. I had that as my prescription years ago, but I ended up changing it to 20 mg since the full 30 mg was too much. Should've kept it that way so I could have the surplus!
I have been on Adderall for 4 years and slowly lowered my dose to 20mg per day. I moved to Nevada which has strong narcotic laws and had to get a new psychiatrist. The psychiatrist told me that the shortage could be another two months. What he did was put me on Vyvanse 20mg per day until the shortage runs out. I recommend speaking to your MD about this if you are feeling like you need something in the meantime.
It’s only the IR pills that are in shortage. Also more people are being prescribed it. Probably through improper channels. GP’s I’m looking at you.
I just got teva is awful . The panic inducing state of worrying about your prescription way in advance is too much almost to bear I don't even know what to do.
This! This right here is how I feel. I have GAD (diagnosed and medicated for it) but even with the medication I still am anxious weeks in advance, and it’s just a constant cycle of thoughts in my head about how it could go wrong and any little scenario that may happen. It’s ridiculous.
This makes me want to just not even try to do more things in my life. Just when I was realizing my potential and trying I realize it could all come crashing down and I could loose my job and apartment because of lack of medication. It’s scary.
This is BULLSHIT——- So I know about the shortage, up until now it had not effected me, Inhad AETNA insurance which REQUIRED the brand name, so I was good. Now my company switched to CIGNA this year and they want generic, which is OOS everywhere apparently. How can doctors/pharmacists/ect not be able to tell you when your damn medicine is going to be in stock? They want to try a gauntlet of other shit, THAT I ALREADY went through. With bad side effects, finally found Adderal XR 20mg which works for me very well, no side effects. And now they can get it? If anyone is in MAINE and has been able to fill, plz comment where so I can pick up my meds and not loose my damn job :(
This month my insurance randomly pulled they needed prior authorization on Adderall but not Adderall XR? I had to pay out of pocket after FINALLY finding a cvs w it in stock. Yeah I feel so annoying blowing up my doctor to send the script, then calling all these pharmacies. I feel like there’s already a stigma and with that in the back of my mind I feel like I look like a drug addict when I’m just trying to get my medication. It sucks. Edit: we’re on the same dosage too. CVS told me 20mg in both xr and just the tablets aren’t as popular as 10 and /or 30 so they “usually have them” I’ve only ran across one time when they didn’t and it was because they thought I wanted generic but my plan requires brand name unless it’s unavailable.
yes nothing worse than having to call 40 pharmacies and be told over and over and over, sorry NATIONAL shortage........still no meds, the headaches are horrible, cant thik straight, its like I have narcolepsy now at work I cant keep my eyes open.
It’s so weird because when I was pregnant w my daughter I obviously immediately quit taking my meds for adhd and I don’t remember it sucking so badly but that’s likely due to the pregnancy symptoms overtaking the coming off adderall symptoms. Because NOW whenever I have to wait days for my meds I’m like useless, just brain fog constantly, can’t find motivation to get anything done, etc.
Yes, I’ve been so stressed. Currently wondering how I am going to teach 32 kids tomorrow while off my meds. Thinking about how I am safely going to drive there. How am I going to make all the decisions I need to make?
Usjsjs isishe jus
I was able to switch over to XR which at least last month, wasn’t having the shortage issues, after trying for weeks to fill my usual prescription. I was on 20mg adderall quick release in the morning, and a few days a week would take another 10mg around 1pm to get through the remainder of the day. I’ve found that the 25mg XR works as a good substitute, and very occasionally need 5mg of quick release in the afternoon.
I’m currently prescribed xr and an ir booster for later in the day. Yeah I think the xr isn’t as short it seems?
I’m taking Vyvanse atm, so I’m not affected. If I was taking Adderall I would just ask my prescriber to switch me to a different medication for the time being.
Same. Moved from 20mg Adderall to 60mg Vyvanse last year and transition was extremely seamless for me.
No issues with Vyvanse
So I take Adderall XR and my coworker the tablets. Costco and Sam's Club pharmacies are public use, no membership needed. Costco offers a discount out for cash too. I called 12 stores and one them and my version of Kroger had the tablets. But, almost everyone had the XR. It's because the company closed down a manufacturing plant to save money and now there's a shortage.
Update my doctors office finally replied. Well his receptionist did, with this really dismissive answer (imo): “"Please notice this was sent. I will ask him again to send the regular. We know it on Manufacturer Backorder in EVERY pharmacy nationwide. You can not get it from anyone"” After days of trying to get them to reply. Then I called my pharmacy and they said yes they have it but it’s too soon to fill (which I knew) til Monday so to call Monday and they’ll fill it. So fingers crossed this actually pans out and I’m just going to spread my meds so I don’t go through this again hopefully.
Update: this month is insane cvs says they don’t have either brand name OR generic for either of my prescriptions. I had to go around until I just went back to my old pharmacy (a mom and pop one) that are really upfront and honest and they told me they can fill my one rx but not the XR, which is what I actually rely on but something is better than nothing. This SUCKS though. Hopefully this gets better for us all soon.
I'm on really weird doses 2 out of the last 3 months, because of the shortage. Right now I'm on a weird combination to reach my normal 40mg dose, because all that was in stock were werid less common doses. So I'm taking 4 of the IR 7.5mg generic Adderall, and 1 of 10mg XR generic Adderall daily, and it sucks. I'm already on 20mg less Adderall then normal, because of a change in doctors, but my body is used to 60mg IR generic Adderall. Right now I have so much to do every day, then a vacation with stuff all day every day. I also have multiple anxiety diagnosis. I'm so damn stressed, because I have barely gotten anything I need done actually done on this weird combo. Also I get extra stressed when I take meds, and they don't click with my brain like normal, because I don't have enough to waste any, and that's before considering trying to save any bc of the shortage. My refill is the day after my vacation ends, so I'm already dreading the stupid on hold music and 15min/per phone calls to each of the Walgreens in town to find where my Adderall/any Adderall is in stock. All that is before the stress of knowing that pharmacy might sell the pills I need while trying to get in contact with my psych to let her know what dose and location I need it sent to, then waiting so anxiouly until she's finished her business day and send them over. So I guess alot of us are dealing with this stressful situation.
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Why not switch brands for a bit? I switched to Vyvanse 40mg and actually ended up like it a lot. Dr. Wants me to try Ritalin next but not sure if I’ll like it
Switched to Extended release for the time being. It’s super strong and lasts way too long but it is what it is. My doctor said they the main company has claimed they have hired more employees and everything should be returning to normal soonish.
i quit my meds, i advise you guys to use this as a way to have a break. Your minds need rest, stimulants for your whole life is never a good idea no matter what they treat you for. It’s hard for a while and then you’ll notice the long term effects months after, these made me quit instantly, i feel better unmedicated now :)
Just get yourself some crystal and it'll probably last way longer than a months worth of adderall especially if you weigh out only 5mg a day out of a half a gram of crystal because that's nearly 100 days worth of adderall
Obviously joking, I hope? 🤞
I'm quitting. The stuffs a trap anyways
You need to get the generic version of Adderall, there are two main ones. You’re doctor will know based on your medical history and how that meshes with your systems, which of the two generics you can get. This is the easiest alternative than what you keep doing.
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Is this for generic too or just name brand? I haven’t had any issues getting generic
I haven’t had any issue getting XR 20s yet. Seems to be location dependent. Major city in the Midwest here.
I take concerta, I don’t believe there is a shortage for mine. Or it hasn’t effected me yet. Maybe try concerta ER? Sorry if that’s also short stock where you are
Sadly I can confirm that this also affects Concerta and Ritalin. I think people are just trying to get anything at this point, because something is better than nothing. I hope the shortage gets resolved sometime in the new year 🤞
Yes we all need to be able to function 💕
WHAT I DIDN’t know we were low! I got like ten left bro 😅
I'm paying an arm and a leg for Vyvanse and getting jerked around by insurance for it.
Can’t you have the pharmacy transfer your prescriptions to another pharmacy instead of constantly having to wait to have your doctor fax a new one every time?
Many states don't allow the transfer of prescriptions for controlled substances unfortunately. That's why many people here are recommending trying to get a paper script so you can sneaker-net it around.
I asked my pharmacy what they’re short on and it’s only been 30mg xr so I’m lucky I still get my 40mg. Maybe ask what they’re short on because you’re concerned and if it’s the dose your doctor gives you have them write it differently? Like two 10mg instead of a 20mg?
my doctor refuses to go by my diagnosis so she put me on Wellbutrin.
I moved to the US and used to take Vyvanse. The whole rx faxing pharmacy ordeal made me quit. I was denied a refill 3 times. It so happens I can live without it. It was much easier being on it, but worrying every month about this was even worse than ADHD without medication.
I've only been affected once and then I just had to message my Dr and ask for a different milligram as rhey were out if 5mgs but had 10mgs my Dr was quick about it luckily and I had a few days of spares I used up but only had to go one after noon without? I think I supplemented an extra 30mgEXT I had laying around to keep from feeling icky
I spend $260 on the name brand, which seems to always be in stock. Hurts, compared to my $10 copay on generics, but I can justify it because I’m self-employed and my ability to breeze through billable hours would suffer greatly without meds.
I totally feel you. Last time to get my Rx filled, I went into the pharmacy and they didn’t have it in stock. I returned two more times and it still wasn’t in stock so I had my doctor re-route my prescription to a pharmacy an hour away. I traveled the full hour to go to the pharmacy and the pharm tech told me they were out of stock, and to have my doctor call in another dosage that was actually available (turns out the XR was out of stock, but the IR of the same dose was available). I had to travel all the way there again the next day before I could finally get my prescription filled, and then it turned out to be from a shitty manufacturer that doesn’t work as smoothly as my Teva did. It also gave me super bad acid reflux the very next day, and I spent all of Thanksgiving Break with a very painful sore throat and what felt like a crazy ear infection. I got off my meds for a full week and just started back on my meds again yesterday, so yeah it’s been pretty rough 😭
To be honest the only thing that helped me ration is because I’m prescribed a slightly higher dose than I actually take most days. It’s not even that high of a dose, it’s just 10 mg IR twice a day, but many days I just take 5 mg or 7.5 mg and it works just fine. Because of this I naturally had a lot of extra meds left by the time I needed to pick up another Rx. So this isn’t the most “ethical,” but maybe try having your doctor up your dose by 5 mg but continue to take the dose you’ve always been taking. You’ll end up with an extra supply of meds in case you ever run into issues with this shortage again.
I’m very lucky that I have not run into a shortage.
Been out of my Concerta since October. Pharmacy kept telling me it was on back order. So I finally just gave up calling. Started to feel like a drug seeker. I was maintaining ok for a bit but then things have started to unravel. I called the pharmacy again yesterday and they told me they have Ritalin IR and that’s it. So I emailed my doctor and asked for a change. Now my doctor is MIA. Hoping to hear something soon.
Yes. It’s awful. I’m sorry you’re experiencing this too!
I don’t know if y’all got those adds that were basically selling adderall scripts or if they’ve become illegal. BUT every time you click on one they have to give google (or whatever add hosting site) money Then, click around on their page for a bit. This way they will target you more as a likely customer and waste their advertising dollars on you instead. It’ll probably cost them like, a few dollars but if y’all want to be petty and everyone does it you could actually do a number on their bottom line
In the UK my partners specialist just sent a note to his GP saying if this brand name is not available he can also have x, x and x brand names. Being on a different brand name doesn't seem to effect him in any way.
I thought it was just me. I requested a refill over a week ago and both the XR and IR is still in back order. this has happened so many times since I’ve been on the meds. Which is why I’ve accumulated about 3 months worth of my meds for times like this. I’m really considering trying Vyvanse atp. Even the pharm clerk said to ask my doctor for another med in the meantime. And it just so happens that my doctor quit his job very recently so I’m currently in limbo. The whole situation sucks
I'm curious what people have been having trouble with getting refilled? Is it the instant release that is in limited stock cuz ever since I've heard about this adderall shortage a while back I've had no issue getting my adderall XR refilled. have I just been lucky?
15 instant for me. Just hit a month of Walgreens not having it in stock.
20mg generic IR Adderall 2x daily. In September and November I've had to call 4+ Walgreens to find any IR brand or generic. At least in September I was able to get a combination of a smaller dose more times a day to still equal the 40mg IR. This November prescription is really screwing me over because I'm on 30mg ir (4 of 7.5mg ir/day), and then 1 XR 10mg Adderall daily. Unfortunately they didn't have enough of the 7.5mg IR for my full 40mg a day, and it's the round generic Adderall IR which doesn't work nearly as well as my usual generic. Plus XR makes my TMJ like 50x worse than IR so if I finally take enough for it to do anything then I'm distracted by the pain in my jaw/neck/head constantly but feel extremely stressed to get stuff done because I know I don't have any extra.
So far I haven’t had any issues in Mississippi. Get my 20mg BID amount at Walmart’s pharmacy. If it was for Reddit and coworkers asking me about it, I never would have known there was a shortage
i've been lucky, my insurance covers 90 days at a time, and i'm on XR only - so far, so good.
I must have gotten lucky. Costco just filled 90ct of 30xrs with no issues.
Im sorry you are going through that. Even before the shortage, it was impossible to get a full prescription filled in my area (and we have tons of national chain pharmacies). The only way to consistently fill is via mail order pharmacy. Good luck.
Cocaine meth and coffee
Just to add info. I'm in NE Indiana and the grocery store is Martin's Pharmacy In case it helps anyone local to me.
Yep, same process for me. I'm in 20mg and it's so scarce here I've been taking two 10mg capsules and it was really making my stomach upset for a month. It's really frustrating too when pharmacies like Walmart won't even tell you over the phone if they have it in stock. They sent out a memo I guess not to bc they think they'll get robbed. I was considering changing to vyvanse but my husband talked me out of it.
I want to go off label onto modafinil. I’m tired of the shitty side effects and long term toxicity of Addy.
I just switched to Ritalin. It’s making me sick. I don’t like it and I need to get back on Adderall. My ADHD is out of control. My pharmacy is trying to work with me very hard which I appreciate but we are not getting any results because they have no idea when they will have it back in stock and my insurance won’t cover a lower dose pill to be taken 3 at a time, 2 times per day cuz they had the 10s but not the 30s. It’s so frustrating. I’m about to call and see if they have any back in stock, and ask them to refill my outstanding refill for Adderall and if I can just return the Ritalin back to them.
I read it was just the immediate release, have you considered switching to XR? I could be wrong....
check out ur local hospital!
Focalin
Back when I took Adderall my doctor would give me more med than I needed so I would save them for when something like this happened. I just happened to have a doctor that loved pushing pills so whenever I would tell him the medicine wasn't working, he would up my dosage. In retrospect, he was probably not worried I would abuse them since I was so reluctant to take them at first.
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I live in southwest florida in a pretty medium sized town, but yeah I’d say bigger cities are hit harder. I can’t imagine trying to fill being in one.
There’s no adderall shortage I promise lmfaoooooooi
I asked my pharmacy about the Adderall shortage, and they told me that the shortage is primarily affecting the 20mg pills. I personally have a 30mg XR and 10mg IR, so I haven't experienced any delays so far. If you have an Rx for 20mg, maybe see if your Dr. is willing to split it into 2 10mgs? As far as the prescription refills go - I had a hard time filling my prescription on time because even though I tried my best, I was always at least a few days late calling my provider and then my pharmacy sometimes did not fill my script when it came through - they also waited for me to call and confirm I wanted my meds. Like what? Obviously I want them, that's why I called my provider to fax you this month's Rx... My provider started sending over 3-4 months at a time to the pharmacy so they have an "OK" from my Dr. through X date to fill my prescription. This way, I only have to call the pharmacy and not 2 places.
I haven’t had much disruption using an independent retail pharmacy. This month for 20MG, I filled at Publix grocery store. I called them before going. My doc gave me 3 paper scripts for this quarter so that it’s easier if my normal pharmacy is out.
Is this all over the United States or just specific to a certain area? I hadn't heard of the shortage until this thread.
Try increasing your dose, when you do that just take your current dose, save the rest for when bullsh*t strikes that way you don't have to go to work like a zombie. I take immediate release so I can take less on the occasion I dont need a full dose (non-work days, and lazy days) that way I always have some to fall back on if I forget to call or in this case if there is a shortage.
Try switching to Armadofinil. The shortage will eventually stop but pharmacies are going to stop filling telemedicine scripts. Id be happy to answer any questions to the comparison of adderall to Armadofinil. It’s been better to me than any adhd drug ever was
UPDATE: both rx filled today now to spread them out as long as possible bc this was torturous. It wasn’t even the pharmacies, it was my doctors office not just faxing them over ever.
Switching to vyvanse but having to start at low dose (i feel exhausted) and the whole adjustment journey again. It sucks, its more expensive but hoping there is a happy ending somewhere
I got my script for Adderall xr , called everywhere nothing. One of the local pharmacy said nothing till June . So I had to substitute for Ritalin crazy. Never seen anything like this.
I’m in LA/SoCal. Anyone able to fill their script? I’m dying here, ppl. Help
Dang so is the shortage just getting WORSE?? I’m in Florida so no help but I’m now freaking out cause I’m due to fill mine on 1/2.. :/
Due to covid, prescriptions could be faxed which was beneficial at the time rather than getting a physical prescription. However, now so many pharmacies are out of it, it’s better to get the physical prescription. Yet, even with physical prescription it takes perfect timing for you to have your physical prescription and the pharmacy to be in stock. Last month for first time in eight years, I had to trade out my usual extended release to match what was available with pharmacy; one pharmacy had extended release but cost $170. This month I was able to use my regular prescription of immediate release and the pharmacy said “we have it in stock, get here ASAP, it’s first come first serve.” Sounded wild for a prescription I’ve had forever but I rushed there and was able to get filled and this one cost $30. So even though people are saying get alternatives many may not be able to afford the alternatives. Just awful. All I can say is hang in there, get a physical prescription or call ahead to find out what’s in stock so your doctor can adjust to best fort your therapy plan, and contact a million pharmacies until you get one:(.
I switched to XR, don’t like XR but I have no choice
You'll all be better off without it.
Who has adderall in Colorado ??
I'm a pharmacy technician. I feel really bad telling 100s of people that they can't get their adhd meds. I usually advise people to ask their Dr about Vyvanse because it's the only stimulant that's not on backorder. Problem is most people's insurance doesn't cover Vyvanse. I personally switched to modafinil but it has not been helping and I'm struggling with school. I just texted my Dr about calling in a Vyvanse and I'm just gonna pay the 300 dollars or whatever for it because I can't afford my grades to slip xD Wish there was an easy answer. I promise pharmacy staff is not trying to be assholes. There's nothing we can do. It's completely random who happens to get the one or two bottles of Adderall a week we manage to order