Anyone else still having problems with getting medication refilled regularly?
I'm having such a hard time finding adderral at pharmacies around me. Is there any alternatives that still work well for you? I'm about to have a follow up with my doctor. Might ask about alternatives. I'm on 20mg adderral XR.
Due to the shortage, I switched to Vyvanse after ~18 years of Adderall. I was skeptical, but I figured I'd rather have a medication that worked okay rather than no medication and I could always go back once the shortage subsided. But I've actually been really happy with Vyvanse.
I had been on 50mg IR (taken in 10mg increments throughout the day) to get a smooth rise, level effects throughout the day, and to prevent a hard crash in the evening. And 50mg Vyvanse pretty closely matches that effect, but just with a little slower onset.
At this point, even if the pharmacies were overflowing with Adderall, I wouldn't switch back. The only downside to it is that I used to be able to tailor my doses to last longer in the evening when I was expecting the need to have more focus later than normal by pushing back my latter doses. But this happens less frequently so it isn't much of an issue.
Assuming your insurance covers it, I would say it's definitely worth giving Vyvanse a try. Worst case scenario, you'll have a medication that isn't as effective—but at least you'll have medication.
Thank you. Exactly what I needed to hear. I am pretty sure this was the alternative my Dr. mentioned.
I haven't taken Adderall, but I do really like my Vyvanse. My doctor described it as Adderall that's slow releasing over the day.
Yeah, Adderall is a mixture of dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine (which are the right- and left-handed molecules of amphetamine).
Vyvanse is dextroamphetamine molecule attached to an extra Lysine amino-acid molecule. In this bound state, it doesn't really do anything in the body; the body will, however, metabolize it and break it into its constituent parts of dextroamphetamine and lysine.
Adderall XR (and many extended release medications) rely on adding a coating that will take the body a longer time to break down before releasing the medication, which results in an initial dose with a secondary dose being released later.
Vyvanse is much different in that regard, as the body is continuously breaking the double-molecule medication apart, providing a steady release of the medication throughout the day instead of just two (or, in the case of newer extra-extended release version, three) "bursts".
I’m curious as well, I stopped taking it everyday because of the shortage, I’ve got a small backlog but would like to start taking it everyday again.
Yeah, I started taking weekends off to prolong but alas, I've been out for a week now.
Had the same problem, I gave up on treatment 😔
I called my dr today about switching medications, on vacation till end of july and my nurse is too (make sense). So I am out of luck till they are back.
It’s basically impossible for me to get anything that’s a stimulant. I get Atomoxetine, which works for me, but it’s nowhere near as good as things like Concerta.
Yep. I've been failing to find any XR 25 the last couple of months. Luckily I've been managing to at least get a hold of some 20 mg. Though this month I called half a dozen pharmacies that said they were completely out of all doses of XR. The only upside I've noticed recently is that all the pharacists/pharmacy techs are used to being asked about stock for these now, so you don't really get the "I can't tell you" answer anymore. Sometimes they even just know the answer off the top of their head.
I'm thinking about trying to switch to Vyvanse when I see my doc next. At least a couple of the pharmacies have said they've seen no shortage for that. (I guess that one probably depends on who their distributor is.)
Yeah, I have a dr visit at the end of this moth. I am going to try and switch. I can't keep playing this game every 30 days.
Not sure if this will work where you live but try to find a smaller pharmacy that you can have a more personal business relationship with. Lots of smaller pharmacies will handle 99% of the bs and make sure your meds are regularly stocked (barring a systemic supply issue) and some even deliver.
My spouse uses a local small pharmacy, they haven't had it once and honestly seem annoyed when I call and ask. So milage varies I guess. Good idea though!
Not sure if this will work where you live but try to find a smaller pharmacy that you can have a more personal business relationship with. Lots of smaller pharmacies will handle 99% of the bs and make sure your meds are regularly stocked (barring a systemic supply issue) and some even deliver.