United States: Finding ADHD drugs has been a struggle for Americans now. Many children consuming ADHD medications have been facing struggles, as claimed by their parents, according to health officials.
Growth of prescriptions for ADHD medications
In the United States and around the world, there has been a recent growth in the prescription of ADHD medications ever since the COVID-10 pandemic.
Moreover, as per the prediction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the use of amphetamine, methylphenidate, and lisdexamfetamine to treat ADHD and other issues in the United States will climb by 3.1 percent in 2024, CBS News reported.
Difficulty in finding the medications
As an example, Kristin Coronado of Redwood City in Northern California said finding ADHD drugs for her son Dom could be a challenge.
According to CDC News, Coronado said, “I’m a mother looking for my son’s medication,” and, “I’m not a drug dealer. That’s how they make you feel. I tried another pharmacy, and that led to, like, pharmacy to pharmacy…You’re on your own, deal with it.”
Dom, who is a year old, consumes a generic version of the drug dexmethylphenidate, which is sold under the brand name Focalin XR, manufactured by Lannett.
However, as among other ADHD drugs, Focalin XR contains a controlled substance tightly regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
According to CBS News reports Coronado revealed a list of 25 local pharmacies that she regularly tries to contact to fill her son’s prescription.
“Tomorrow, I have to count the pills that I have left, you know, see what day that ends on, and then start the process all over again,” Coronado said.
Possible Problems may arise – Experts
The US drug manufacturers claim that they are making the drugs as all they can. However, patients and doctors’ offices would have to continue doing pharmacy-shopping in order to search and get them.
Child psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Holten, medical director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic at Emory University, stated, “As soon as they’re without medication, you see a return of untreated ADHD symptoms,” and, “They take an action that can harm them, or even take their lives.”
What do the FDA and DEA have to say?
Earlier this year, the FDA blamed “increased prescribing potentially related to the growth in telemedicine, supply chain issues, manufacturing and quality issues, and business decisions of manufacturers,” which contributed to the prevalent shortages.
Since the DEA sets the caps on the limit of production of ADHD treatments per year, the drugmakers say that the DEA needs to let loose more of the controlled substances to increase the supply.
However, the DEA counters by saying that the drugmakers have not utilized their existing drug stock fully.