PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A shortage of ADHD medicine has parents worried about whether or not their children will have their prescriptions filled when they go back to school.
Adderall is one of the most popular ADHD medications used today, but it's been in short supply for about a year now. People have been turning to alternatives like Ritalin and Vyvanse but the spillover is leading to a shortage in those pills as well.
"Anytime she gets a new script, it's just... it’s a game,” said Lisa Finley, who lives in Havertown with her 6-year-old daughter Amelia.
“You have to call a bunch of pharmacies. The pharmacies don't know when or if they'll get it in,” she told KYW Newsradio.
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Finley says she's had to change Amelia's ADHD medication several times based on what's available and she worries about side effects. "We did most of the summer unmedicated,” she said, “because we switched to something we could get, and it just had some side effects that weren't worth it."
She hopes it gets easier to find the medicine as the school year begins.
KYW Newsradio reached out to the manufacturers of Vyvanse, Adderall and Ritalin. A representative from Vyvanse responded saying the company believes its pill shortage will continue until the end of September.
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