Parents scramble to find ADHD medication for kids as shortage continues

With kids back in school, many are without their ADHD medication due to the ongoing shortage of multiple medications, such as Adderall and Vyvanse. Families are scrambling to find solutions.

Back-to-school nerves were even more pronounced for moms like Jennifer McClelland this year.

Her son Michael has high-functioning autism.

Two days before returning to the classroom, his Vyvanse went out of stock.

"I was very concerned with what was going to happen," McClelland said. "Because with these kids what happens, is that they can't control some of their behaviors and they're in trouble."

She says it's a process of coming up with an alternative solution.

"It was a lot of phone calls and messages back and forth to his pediatrician trying to find where we can get it," McClelland said.

Melissa Illig, the owner of White Oak Pharmacy in Garner, says despite record high prescription rates of stimulant medication, the DEA didn't up the amount manufacturers could make.

"It was also how much the wholesalers could purchase and how much pharmacies could purchase, so it was really a trickle-down effect," Illig said.

However, a joint letter from the DEA and FDA in August stated that manufacturers only sold a small fraction of their quota for stimulant medications in 2022 and 2023, suggesting that the shortage is not due to increased demand alone.

White Oak Pharmacy recommends planning before running out of pills and trying independent pharmacies.

"We have a lot of wholesalers available to us where we can get a lot more products than the chains can," Illig said.

The DEA and FDA are urging manufacturers to increase production.

The ongoing drug shortage is not limited to ADHD medication. Pharmacies are also seeing empty shelves for pain medication.