Adderall hard to find, pharmacies believe no changes coming

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - The Food and Drug Administration first declared an Adderall shortage last October and today the shortage continues. Adderall is commonly prescribed to treat ADHD. Tara Sage is a pharmacist at Jayhawk Pharmacy in southwest Topeka located near 29th and Urish and says they are sold out.

“As of right now we cannot get any strengths in from our wholesalers,” said Sage. “They are on backorder and we have even put some in on backorder and they were trickling in at one point, but now they’re not even trickling in at all.”

Even suggested substitutes are becoming more scarce.

“The problem was that Concerta isn’t available,” said Sage, “the generic isn’t available on that either anymore and then there is the other option of Ritalin and Vyvanse. The Ritalin is somewhat available, some of those are still on backorder, but Vyvanse seems to still be available as of right now if they need to change.”

And if you can find an alternative to Adderall, Sage says the substitutes may not have the same effect.

“I would suggest calling your regular pharmacies,” said Sage, “and seeing what is available that they have for ADHD and then reach out to your physician and see if they would be willing to try something different. Unfortunately, some people try the other alternatives and they just don’t work for them.”

Sage says there are no signs of supply changes on the near horizon, but keep checking with pharmacies.

“I guess keep on trying to call your pharmacies,” said Sage, “and hopefully, sooner or later, hopefully in the next month or so this gets resolved but its been going on for awhile now so I don’t see it getting better at this point.”

In addition to Adderall, the Jayhawk Pharmacy says there are also shortages in Ozempic which is used to lower blood sugar, and with Amoxicillin which is used to fight against bacterial infections such as strep throat. They said most other medications are seeing limited supply chain issues and should be available.

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