Adderall shortage impacting both parents and ADHD children

Natalie Nevares, 52, is desperate.

Last month, she called about 50 pharmacies around her home in Brooklyn to get her 17-year-old son’s Adderall prescription filled.

That has become her new normal.

“It’s been a project just to get the medication every month,” Nevares told The Post.

Nevares’ son has been taking Adderall since he was diagnosed at age 12 with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD. He was struggling to sit still, follow instructions, remember things and finish projects.

“His behavior was really annoying both at home and at school,” said Nevares.

Although quite intelligent, the boy nearly flunked out of the seventh grade and began displaying signs of depression. (In fact, 17% of children with ADHD have also been diagnosed with depression.)

Medication was a life saver.

“The [Adderall] prescription was like night and day for him, he changed his whole personality,” Nevares said, noting that the preteen was finally able to focus.

But, like many, the family is now struggling to get the necessary medication.

The Food and Drug Administration first announced an Adderall shortage in mid-October, citing increased demand and manufacturing delays and supply-chain issues at Teva Pharmaceuticals — the biggest distributor of both generic and branded forms of Adderall. (Teva Pharmaceuticals did not respond to The Post’s request to comment.)

A recent survey found that 97% of independent pharmacy owners reported shortages of Adderall and similar generic medications, an 8% increase from when the FDA initially declared the shortage, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association.

Adderall is a Schedule II stimulant drug that is classified as an addictive controlled substance; there are strict guidelines for how the prescription can be manufactured and refilled.

In January, Nevares had to start spending hours strategically calling pharmacies all across New York City trying to get her son his daily medication.

“I feel like a drug addict,” the mother said, describing how some pharmacists “look down” on her as she makes her monthly plea.

Her son is now a senior in high school with excellent grades, but without his medication, he’s struggling to maintain his energy levels and focus.

His family has resorted to rationing his pills for use on school days only; on weekends and holidays, he goes without.

Nevares is constantly stressed thinking about how her kid is going to make it through the end of his last year of high school, much less adulthood, if he constantly has to strategize how to get his meds.

“It’s really, really kind of scary,” she said.

ADHD is considered one of the most common disorders in childhood neurodevelopment.

As of today, an estimated 6 million (9.8%) American children ages 3 to 17 years old have been diagnosed with ADHD with 62% being medicated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some 41.4 million Adderall prescriptions, both generic and branded, were dispensed in the US in 2021, up more than 10% from 2020, per IQVIA data cited by Axios.

The Adderall supply issue is one of several recent shortages that that have impacted children’s medical needs.

In the past year, parents have had to scramble to find various critical children’s medications — Tylenol, ibuprofen, amoxicillin, Augmentin, albuterol, Robitussin and Tamiflu — as well as baby formula.

Some officials have warned that startups are using TikTok ads disguised ad-lifestyle posts to push prescription medications for ADHD.

TikTok videos discussing the different ADHD symptoms have also been surging in popularity in recent years with a variety of viral hashtags ( #ADHD has 24.5 billion views, #ADHDTikTok has 7 billion watches and #ADHDCheck has 2 billion views).

These videos have led to a surge of self-diagnoses, which some have questioned.

Nevares’ son was diagnosed in-office by a psychiatrist, who also consulted with his family and several teachers.

But, when it comes to actually obtaining the medication these days, physicians have been unable to help.

“The doctors are as stumped as we are,” Nevares said.

“It shouldn’t be so complicated.”