Adderall Backorder (Page 49)

I take generic Adderall 20 mg for narcolepsy and there is not one local pharmacy that has it in stock. I have never had this problem before. The pharmacies are saying that it's on backorder from the manufacturer. Is anyone else having problems getting their scripts filled?

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Yup. For the past 2 months, every pharmacy within 30 miles of me has been on back order. With the 20 & 30mg generic tablets, 20 & 30mg brand capsules.

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Re: outofadderall20mg (# 960)

A new doctor will want to test you for ADHD. There are no guarantees testing will show ADHD. Even if a previous test by another doctor did. Some doctors start new patients out on non stimulants for ADHD. So don't wait until you are running low to find a face to face doctor because it might take a few months or longer before you are prescribed Adderall. If you have seen a doctor face to face at least once. The doctor can see you using telemedicine and prescribe Adderall or another Schedule II medication. Also some doctors are not accepting new patients. Good Luck

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I’ve been going to the same CVS for 7 years and rarely ever had an issue getting my prescriptions filled. I live in Atlanta. My treatment is to take 40mg adderall XR (two 20mg) in the morning and 1 10mg XR in the afternoon.

As of January of this year I’ve had an issue filling my prescriptions each month. I’ve been out of my 10mg for a month now and they were only able to partially fill my 20mg prescription which I will be out of on Tuesday. The CVS has been completely out of stock for a month now of all adderall. They supposedly get their shipment in this coming week. A google search revealed that a lot of patients throughout the country have had issues starting around January of this year getting their prescriptions refilled at CVS and Walgreens. Someone posted a few weeks ago suggesting that CVS and Walgreens likely implemented some policy limiting the amount of s2 each pharmacy can order each month because they were sued for opioids or something in Ohio. I'm inclined to agree with him.

I’ve been medicated for my ADHD for over 15 years now and there’s been manufacturing shortages in the past but there has NEVER been an issue where pharmacies intentionally fail to order the required inventory due to some arbitrary monthly ordering quota their corporate HQ instituted. This is absolutely ridiculous. We should all start contacting our local news stations and tell them about what we’ve been experiencing. Pharmacy Corporate policies that intentionally prevent pharmacies from stocking the medications needed by patients that have been legally prescribed by licensed physicians is f***ing ridiculous.

We have a physical neurological issue that requires medical intervention to treat so we can function normally. when I don’t have my meds it’s extremely difficult, if not damn near impossible, for me to focus and get the things done that people without ADHD have no problem doing. It severely impacts my daily life. The hoops and laws regarding s2 meds don’t help either… the prescriptions are electronic so I can’t have them transferred. I can’t even call or go around to different pharmacies to find out if they have it in stock because they won’t tell you unless your getting a prescription filled, which means I’d have to have my doctors office call it in first to find out if a pharmacy has it or not. My doctors office has been useless in the matter and I can’t really blame them… they shouldn’t have to sit there and call around to different pharmacies but I’m pissed off that they haven’t made the issue any easier. I’m so frustrated because there’s literally nothing I can do other than switch doctors and hope they hire enough employees on their pharmacy team to compensate for pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens failing to do their jobs.

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Re: outofadderall20mg (# 959)

Hey that's great!

Pay no mind to the wording. They're all the same. There's something like 4 different active ingredients that make up the medication and different places will use different combinations of the ingredients to specify the generic versions.

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So I spent roughly 4-5 hours the other day combing news articles, blogs, and reddit for similar threads and context.

According to some input on reddit, there's a few general sentiments that are consistent.

1) the pharmacists at these chain pharmacies are overworked and terrified of getting in trouble. They're heavily regulated and have regular audits. If they fill a prescription that the DEA deems to be inappropriate, not only will they lose their license but they could possibly go to jail.

2) they have restrictions. As Becky pointed out, they only get so much medication alloted every month. And they also have a limit to how many controlled prescriptions they can fill. Sometimes it's not a stock issue, but more like a limit issue.

3) if you try to get your script filled the day after or day of it being sent in, they prob haven't even checked whether they it and/or whether they have met thier quota. It's best to have it sent a few days before you're out that way they can see it in their system and they should be able to order it if they don't or won't have enough to fill your medication on the day your due to refill it. This mainly applies to those of us having to comply with e-prescription requirements, since your doc can have your e-script sent in early. Most pharmacies will not "hold" paper controlled prescriptions until time to be filled. They will simply give it back and tell you to return at a later date. However, you should be able to still ask if the pharmacy will have your medication and be able to fill it on "xyz" date if you present a valid paper script when you inquire.

4) for those that have found themselves out of meds and are having issues finding a pharmacy with it in stock, many have suggested something called Capsule. If you have one in your area, alot of people have said they've been able to get their script filled through this pharmacy fairly easily and they deliver it as well and have used it as a last resort with good results.

5) your much better off going with a locally owned pharmacy in the long run. They don't have the same constant threat and restrictions from the DEA that the chains have and the cust service is 100 times better. Some pharmacists at non-chain pharmacies will go above-and-beyond to help you as much as they can. However, you may find that a local place might not be able to take on a new adderall client so make sure you call first and ask.

6) be proactive and get your scripts sent in a few days before you run out. Communicate with your doc if you continue to have issues. They can call the pharmacy on your behalf and get to the bottom of the problem should it be necessary.

I hope that helps everyone and gives some clarity into what may be happening behind the scenes.

Fyi, for my FL neighbors, Florida filed opioid lawsuits against the big chains and Teva in 2018. Announced by AG on 30th(march) all parties have settled and agreed to pay settlements EXCEPT for Walgreens who is once again, planning to try their luck in a trial set for April 5th 2022 in Pasco Co. Link to read more: https:/­/­www.news4jax.com/­news/­florida/­2022/­03/­30/­florida-secures-860m-from-cvs-others-to-settle-opioid-case/­

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An update following my Walgreens incident.

I decided it wasn't worth my sanity bothering to call and attempt to get a better answer as to why I was lied to twice.

Instead I just checked my insurance, and starting calling around to any place nearby that was not a chain. But I was SO worked up beforehand my spouse tried to make the first call. Per my therapist's advice I had written out a word-for-word script to use based off of advice from her and from what I have read from others. Spouse did not use my script AT ALL and kind of flubbed his way thru the call before being put on hold for 30 mins and the woman never came back (I suspect she forgot him and went to lunch as this was around noon.) Haha following that debacle, it forced me to take over lol. But I just read from my paper and it worked flawlessly. I called 3 diff places before finding one that agreed to let me fill with them. The first one said he couldn't take any additional adderall clients for now BUT was super polite and respectful about it. The second one was a little weird. The woman told me they could only fill IR tabs of adderall but that they could not accept insurance with it. Odd, but I thanked her and will keep it in mind as a backup should I need to seek another option for that in the future. The 3rd one worked out and I will see how it goes on Monday.

I wanted to include the script I used because it seemed to work perfectly each time and I thought it might be helpful to anyone who wants to change from their current pharmacy but has no idea how to go about it and/or is crippled with anxiety just at the thought. This is what I wrote down and read word-for-word:

"Hi, I'm prescribed Adderall and I'm looking to change from Walgreens(insert your pharm if diff.) I understand if you can't tell me over the phone if you have this medication on hand, but I was wondering if you would be willing or able to fill my next prescription on (insert your next month and day of next-fill) April 4th?"

Following that they asked what dosage and who my doctor was. And that was all. Easy peasy!

That may not apply to most people but I was TERRIFIED to do this so I really wanted to share my process and results should anyone stumble upon it and find it helpful. <3

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Same her in Pennsylvania. I tried 12 pharmacies yesterday.

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Re: outofadderall20mg (# 959)

Great posts, glad everything turned out okay. Those without ADHD cannot grasp its impact on every aspect of our life, and how important it is to have our medication on time.

I'd love to see the breakdown of the CVS shipping schedule, or the link to the reddit thread.

There has been an unbelievable amount of tomfoolery within the last decade, and this has gotten exponentially worse in the last year or so. I'm not only talking about people not receiving their medications on time (or at all due to some clandestine form of blacklisting I've read about on this board), but also the lack of efficacy/unpleasant effects/paradoxical effects of various generics as well as various situations where a once-performing as expected generic (or rarely, even brand) becomes inefficacious or has harmful effects.

As to a probable cause of the latter two examples, many people on this board point to poor production in overseas labs in China or India, and I'd agree in some cases. But another possible cause of all three problems I've listed is a last-minute "formula change" necessitated by increasingly stingy FDA/DEA quotas (once again in 2022, they have decreased the allocation of stimulants, opioids, and benzodiazepines from the previous year despite increases in ADHD/cancer/chronic illness/anxiety diagnoses--while for 2022, hallucinogens will be available in a number eight thousand percent higher than what was permitted in 2021, an unfathomable increase!).

I've also seen a few patents for pharmaceutical inventions specifically designed to stop the reinforcing effects of scheduled medications to "prevent addiction". As one cannot separate the reinforcing qualities of scheduled drugs from their therapeutic ones (ie, there would be no pain/anxiety/ADHD relief without involving agonizing non-kappa opiate receptors/GABA(a) receptors/stimulating dopamine release, respectively), it's easy to see how one of these new patents put into the medication would not only prevent addiction but also limit or prevent the actual purpose of the medication-- pain relief, anxiety cessation, or help with ADHD symptoms.

People who need these medications are already looked down upon and viewed with suspicion, so even valid, well-documented, widespread, ongoing and consistent complaints about efficacy (as seen on this board for over a decade)have been easily dismissed. This in spite of the fact that most people, the more so the older they are, have seen or heard of at least one instance of a decline in the quality and reliability of prescription medications over their lifetime.

Quality control issues, though not availability issues, have even started to trickle down to Schedule IVs, particularly the dirt-cheap and off-patent (i.e. no money in it for pharm companies) benzodiazepines.

I've heard several complaints in the last few weeks about Alprazolam/Xanax--from people who had been prescribed the same low-to-lowish dose of the medication occasionally prn/as needed for panic attacks, so they were neither physically dependent, tolerant, or addicted.

They had the strikingly same problem in the last several months having had none prior, without a switch in manufacturer. Among them, the complaints spanned a few different manufacturers (brand name by Pfizer/Viatris, authorized generic by Sandoz, and the much-maligned generic by Aurobindo), but the exact same story: Their new prescription/s offered no mental anxiety relief and a profound sense of unpleasant heavy-bodied exhaustion and dizziness that they had never experienced from Alprazolam/Xanax or any other benzodiazepine.

I know that certain brands of Adderall made me feel extremely odd. I wonder what the hell is going on with the industry, and the designated thought-stopping excuses like "because of CovID/Ukraine/opioid 'epidemic'" won't put me off my inquries. Anyone have any thoughts? Those on Adderall, Alprazolam/Xanax, or any other scheduled med, have you (or anyone you know) noticed any of these issues?

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I’ve also tried multiple pharmacies…I’ve been out for two weeks. And they’re taking their sweet time on prior authorization when I cannot afford regular adderall! I’m getting so frustrated and have a work trip at the end of the month and don’t know what I’m supposed to do. All my symptoms are back and I’m really struggling here…even the discount codes only take $10 off

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Holy Balls!!!!! This is much, much worse than I had anticipated. The independent place from last week ended up not being able to use my insurance...it's been YEARS since I have had to work this hard and call this many places trying to get my monthly meds. I ended up calling my doc's office bc, you know, e-scribe, and when I told her I was having trouble finding adderall anywhere she told me she had spent all morning calling CVS looking for another patient. It's bad. We better buckle up bc if this is not corrected soon I fear we are going to find ourselves in another shortage just like in 2011. And if you aren't familiar with what happened that time just Google "adderall shortage of 2011/2012." You can also just refer back to the beginning of this thread. It took years for that disaster to finally straighten out. I don't like to exaggerate but this, in my opinion, has officially reached the cause for alarm.

It's also very apparent that the manufacturers are not reporting to the FDA as they are required to do when there are market disruptions so I would implore you to please, PLEASE file a drug shortage report with the FDA and ASHP. The quicker they are alerted to the problem, the quicker it can try to be worked out. I wouldn't worry about whether you know what suppliers your pharmacy uses. If you feel comfortable including the dosage you're prescribed that will give a better look at how widespread the issue is. Otherwise, just report to simply make an alert to your area if nothing else. The more reports they receive, the greater cause for alarm on their part.

The following is an excerpt from the FDA website:

-Yes. Communication between FDA and stakeholders is an essential component of preventing and mitigating drug shortages. While the majority of information in this database comes from the manufacturers, we encourage all stakeholders, including health care professionals, professional groups, and patients, to notify FDA of drug shortage or supply issues.

You can send reports by email to [email protected].

The ASHP has a simple form you can fill out and submit. It can be found here: https:/­/­www.ashp.org/­drug-shortages?loginreturnUrl=SSOCheckOnly

Both agencies collaborate and work together to assess shortages so I would encourage you to submit to both.

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Re: OutOfMedsANdMad (# 963)

I think that was my post you're recalling. I apologize as I just now saw your post. I was mad too at the time, but now I am much more alarmed.
Today, I had a pharmacist from a local place explain to me how the medications are on backorder, and hearing the frustration in his voice that matches all of ours, I feel it's definitely not solely on the chain corporations. They are just more heavily restricted. So in other words, the chains are the first ones to have their stock dry up fast. And I guess the employees at my particular local Walgreens were just really bad at conveying the depth of the situation. They had me thinking it was a case of possible discrimination between me and them because of how weird they acted. But today when I spoke to a pharmacist from an independent store, he said the meds have been backed up for a while and he used the exact phrase, "it has been a roller coaster." To which I can completely sympathize bc now we're all starting to feel that effect.

I know it's exhausting and stressful, and it really doesn't help when the staff from your doctor's practice act like you're inconveniencing them. I've been there. But you are a patient and it's their job to help you, especially when these extra-unfortunate circumstances happen. And you are surely not the only patient that's dealing with it either. As practitioners, they're the ones with the authority to be able to speak to the pharmacist when they call on a patient's behalf. That's just how it is. But don't let them make you feel bad for it. Hang in there.

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Re: bp01 (# 970)

The FDA is not going to do anything because patients say a medication they take is in short supply or does not work as well as it use to. But they will pay attention when doctors and pharmacists say it. Provided there are enough complaints from doctors and/or pharmacist.

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Hi.

I’ve recently read there’s an adderall shortage. Go the FDA's website and you can search the different brands that produce adderall and you can see who is out and why.

TEVA currently makes brand name instant release adderall. Many people aren’t aware that there is a brand name adderall available, but there is. I have type 1 narcolepsy with cataplexy and after years of generic adderall issues, I am now prescribed only the brand name and it is medically necessary so my insurance does cover it. Narcolepsy is a tricky thing to have and it is best that individuals with narcolepsy have the same formula of medication vs often changing generic. It helps to get the same thing every month and long term to manage narcolepsy so that you have an established base point of expectation to know exactly how your body feels and responds to that exact medication so that if you ever try other therapies you can guarantee any side effects aren’t a symptom of a different formula of your baseline medication.
If you have narcolepsy it is essential that you are properly medicated, not only for your safety but the safety of others as I am assuming you operate a motor vehicle. The link shows that TEVA does not currently have shortage of adderall.

I highly suggest you make an appointment with your doctor and have a discussion about the current shortage and ask them if it is possible
For them to call in a brand name only script for you. It is likely your insurance will need it to be medically necessary for them to cover it as they would generic, but I truly believe it helps to know exactly what you’re putting in your body every month as a someone whom has type 1 narcolepsy and I could argue all day about how and why brand name is especially important in the management of narcolepsy, as it is not understood and they are coming out with new narcolepsy drugs that may be beneficial and the only way to truly navigate the trial and errors of medication is to always have a baseline and to go from there. You need each medication to be controlled and to know exactly how each one makes you feel.

I am sure your doctor will be able to help you and I would sincerely stress the importance of the safety risk of yourself and the general public if you are unable to receive your medication.

Good luck

https:/­/­www.accessdata.fda.gov/­scripts/­drugshortages/­dsp_ActiveIngredientDetails.cfm?AI=Amphetamine%20Aspartate;%20Amphetamine%20Sulfate;%20Dextroamphetamine%20Saccharate;%20Dextroamphetamine%20Sulfate%20Tablets&st=c&tab=tabs-1

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Yes I've been having this issue for 3 months now and I'm losing my mind!!

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Problems Every month with getting my prescription ?? filled. Demoralizing and degrading. Everything from the Sherlock Holmes Pharmacists, who treat me like some 74 year-old man who goes to 4th grade recess in order to give stimulants to 9 year-old victims…. To the Walmart pharmacist. who refused to refill my prescription ??, after a demeaning, & abusive lecture on my vile behavior. This was the same week that Walmart was found liable for distribution over 1 Billion opioid pills to initiate the horrific opioid crisis (2012- 2019… ).

My diagnosis was rendered by the leading experts in the field (Dr. John Ratey of Harvard University group & associates, among others. )

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Re: Ben (# 1)

Check the verdict on the Walmart case, which found that the distribution of over 1 BILLION opioid pills to any & all comers was key to initiating the horrific opiod epidemic. Adderall was tossed in by the FDA… just for laughs, I guess. Dr K.

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Re: Cyr (# 948)

Agreed! The obstacles to those with the legitimate diagnosis of ADHD have gratuitous negative consequences to these patients. Long, ridiculous farce. Not in patients' best interests. Dr K.

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Re: Lori (# 967)

I’m having so much filling mine in PA. CVS that I normally use told me that medication has been on a back order for weeks now with no end in site. I gave it a few extra days waiting but I’m trying to get it transferred now.

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Re: Jay (# 978)

I am having trouble with 30mg IR brand Adderall
In SW FLORIDA. It's also on back order with no estimated date.
No pharmacy carries it either. Only XR. And my insurance just approved
covering it.

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Re: OutOfMedsANdMad (# 963)

Amen! This situation is really out of control. The entire process has become a status degradation ritual.
I dread the refill day. Promoting unpleasant & anxiety-provoking experiences is a predatory practice, and it seems to be increasing. A neurological disorder that disrupts the neurotransmitter pathways is bad enough, without the gratuitous parlor game of exploiting the vulnerabilities of patients who are in a bad position. Your essay is very helpful and encouraging. Thanks so much, Outof.

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