ADHD medication shortage

[Bruisername]

Hi. I’ve just had my prescription review for dd and they said due to a shortage they are ceasing all prescribing until November at the earliest. Does anyone have more details?

Speak to your GP as they will have been advised what the options are ( I work in this area)

Actually what I should have said is guidance is being sent to GPs, so maybe wait until next week to call them.

The issue is with many different medications. There have been a number of factors causing the issues, supply problems with manufacturing or ingredients, shipping issues (depending on where they have come from) some of it related to brexit. This is punching up the price of drugs and as the NHS hasn't changed the price they give to phamices for the drugs, they actually struggle to aford them.

The situation has been getting worse over recent years, but brexit and the Ukraine war has made things worse as well.

This hasn't just effected drugs but also supplies of other goods to.

Oh God, my now seven-year-old was diagnosed with ADHD via the NHS Right to Choose scheme at the beginning of 2023. The primary recommendation of the two clinical psychologists and the single speech and language therapist who assessed her was medication. We finally have an appointment to see the CAMHS psychiatrist, the only person who can titrate for her, on October 23rd. You will find me rocking in a corner if I cannot get my hands on medication! Her life is fast unravelling: excluded from parties and friendships at school; complained about at every after-school activity; asked to leave other supposedly inclusive activities. She shouts out inappropriately in every setting, is a danger to herself as she has no impulse control or stranger-danger awareness, irritates all the other kids by issuing a stream of consciousness from her mouth from the second she arrives in school to the second she leaves. And then she talks at me non-stop till she finally gets to sleep at about 11pm. I am broken. This is a child who needs more physical exercise than my friend’s young Border Collie dog!

Oh, and I will shoot myself if my teenager cannot get her maximum daily dosage (72mg) of Concerta XL. I think I may have to rewatch a few episodes of Breaking Bad and learn how to manufacture my own amphetamines (a joke, obviously, before I have the police battering down my door).

I have been on methylphenidate for many many years and will struggle so much if I can't take it. Very worried about this but absolutely not surprised with the amount of people being diagnosed with ADHD these days, especially private diagnoses.

My son has been on concerta for years, pharmacy couldn’t get it so he was switched to Xenadate, 2 months later couldn’t get that either so now switched to Xagattin. I know it’s the same active ingredient but he’s also autistic so every time they change it we have to battle to get him to take it. It’s so frustrating!

@Riverlee you would think that this would be the case but unfortunately different brands of the same drug can result in different efficiency.

In September 2022 the MHRA advised caution if switching between modified release methylphenidate preparations due to differences in formulation meaning that the release and absorption of the immediate and modified release element of the methylphenidate tablet are not equivalent across the brands.

It’s not just methylphenidate that this relates to. Prescribers are also advised to stick to the same brand of anti epileptic drugs too.

Not all drugs are equal, even if the active ingredient is the same / in the same quantity.

We’ve definitely seen a reduction in effect with the different brand of methylphenidate in our child and that’s with no other variation - same dose, same time of day, no growth spurt etc.

It’s really frustrating BUT thank goodness we haven’t been unable to get it in some form.

Information sent to us today from a private practice we once used whose mailing list we are still on. It has a link to this website Adhd prescribing advice which list what medications have supply issues. The private practice also gave indicative dates when shortages may be resolved. They advise as a few options: try and source from a pharmacy who may still have some, get a medication review and be prescribed an alternative unil your current one is back in stock,or wait till its back in stock. My son is now with NHS so not sure how it will work. However I don't see a need for no prescribing at all when there are alternatives available. Hope you find this useful and are not stuck without.

Thanks. That is useful.

i think because we are only 8 weeks in we are easy to cut off.

Oh gosh .. I have ordered my Ds’s Equasym XL today … hopefully Chemist have them as he has just started college and all is going well for now 🫣

irritates all the other kids by issuing a stream of consciousness from her mouth from the second she arrives in school to the second she leaves. And then she talks at me non-stop till she finally gets to sleep at about 11pm

This is interesting to me. My DH was initially sceptical when I started investigating the possibility I might have ADHD. Now he says he can tell whether I’m on the meds or not, because when I’m not, I talk too much and give people long-winded stories and tons of irrelevant detail.

Most ADHD meds are stimulants. In an NT person, they make them high energy and a bit hyper. With us, they calm us down.

Oh, it’s probably the same with my SM interactions as well - loads of detail. Long winded posts.

I am currently unmedicated. Sorry.

DD just slipped in under the wire, getting her first prescription on last Friday as the ban on new patients was issued. The prescription is post-dated until the end of the month to let some other meds bed in.

On the day of prescription becomes ‘live’, still a month away so I guess hard to say, I was going to leave a day free to cycle round lots of pharmacies, we’re in North London, Finsbury Park way, but I can cover quite a large area on my bike.

Are there regional variations (know it’s hard to say) just wondered how London was - lots of pharmacies but lots of demand too. Sorry for anyone struggling with this on top of the demands of being ND or having an ND child.

I had a routine GP appointment (phone) this morning and I asked him if he knew anymore information about the shortages.

They are aware but the pharmacy will know more and to check with them .

Sorry , not very helpful I know 😂!

But could I ask on this thread about your DC's or yours heart rates while on ADHD medication.

I know it can increase it ,but just wondering what people's go upto ?

Didn't want to start a new thread as there are so many on here that may be able to help me .

Thanks .

Regarding heart rate mine goes up to about 102bpm resting when the medication peaks and I've been on it for years. It does cause palpitations sometimes especially if I haven't eaten before.

Here’s a share token to a story about the medication shortage in The Times today.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ec09f526-6480-11ee-977c-44b3e2b54888?shareToken=06bb6dc73baf34c84750995c8e9f4fc7

@Ollifer thank you so much for that info, especially about the eating bit.

That really helps.
ds's is all over the place !
But I realized we were not taking BP/heart at the same time each day ,so of course will affect the results .

GP not happy...but can tell me why they don't want his heart to go over 100.
He is anything from 89-111.

DS is 19 ,so I suppose classed as an adult ., as opposed to child heart rate. ( even though he is the weight of a 10 year old !)

Oops a bit of a disservice to ds there ...13/14 year old !!😁

The situation is quite complex, it seems there's a shortage impacting the prescribing of medication until at least November. Unfortunately. I read this blog and than searched on mumsnet for any additional information. Hopefully, it can be helpful:
https://youngmindsapp.co.uk/blog/adhd-medication-shortage-uk/