(WXYZ) — An Adderall shortage, initially announced by the Food and Drug Administration in October, continues to be a problem.
“I didn’t recognize there was a shortage until I called and asked for a change of script," Aidan Kilcline said.
Kilcline, a fifth-year senior at Wayne State University, said he learned of an Adderall shortage a week ago. Despite that shortage, he uses a generic version and said he’s managed to treat his ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, without skipping a beat.
“I only take 5 milligrams a day, but I have a prescription for 10 (milligrams) that I cut in half. For me, it just helps me hone in on what I’m doing because otherwise, I get distracted by other people’s conversations and just noises all around me," he explained.
Justin Collings, who lives in the Fenton area, said it’s a night-and-day difference for his 13-year-old daughter’s concentration and performance in school.
Collings said he became aware of the shortage in early December.
“In January, we start to see that she’s running low, the stock we had, unfortunately, at that point ran out. So, I started calling up the pharmacy, putting request in for it every single day for it. We’re out. We’re out. We’re out," he recalled.
Collings said, fortunately, he got a prescription filled this week and he saves money using Good RX.
However, if an Adderall shortage persists he said, “I’d rather take her from a 25 milligram does to a 20 milligram dose, instead of cutting her cold turkey or overnight. Something is better than nothing.”
At iPharmacy in Livonia, the owner said he received 50 calls Tuesday from people asking if he carries Adderall. Pharmacist Rudy Najm said he received one call from as far as Ohio.
Najm told 7 Action News, “Most of them always get that sigh of relief and they tell us, ‘Oh my goodness, I found it. Thank God.’”
While it’s been a problem since the fall, he said the dilemma gained momentum during the pandemic.
“More and more, people are being diagnosed with ADHD and the demand for ADHD medicine really exploded the last few years," Najm explained.
Manufactures aren’t keeping up. Najm said wholesalers are charging more and ultimately, that triggers higher prices for consumers, since co-pays only cover so much.
He said while there are alternatives to Adderall, the shortage could also became a problem for those versions if it continues for another month.
“We don’t know if the Adderall situation lingers if eventually we’re going to also, like I said, a domino effect, we’re going to run out of the other medicine with time," Najm said.
