Vyvanse Shortage

[Anonymous]

Has anyone had success in the DMV finding Vyvanse, specifically in MoCo? Have tried calling around to different Walgreens and CVS and it's on backorder everywhere. Any smaller pharmacies that might have this? Completely crazy that we can't get access to it right now.

[Anonymous]

No luck here either and I use a mail order pharmacy. Sucks.

[Anonymous]

Uh oh, my kid was newly prescribed this. Is there an equivalent drug that can be used if we can’t find it?

[Anonymous]

Haven’t had an issue at our Safeway pharmacy in Rockville but we switched to the generic when it became available.

[Anonymous]

I was able to get the generic chewable vyvanse at the safeway pharmacy at 14th st SE over the weekend.

[Anonymous]

I got some yesterday at the Safeway on sangmore. 40mg.

[Anonymous]

Not just Vvyanse. Also Focalin. Sigh. I don't know when we'll ever find it again..

There is a really cool article I found on the web that talks about ADHD shortages and how you can figure out meds to sub if needed. Keep in mind that while the ingredients may be similar, it's hard to match in real life to more than 1 med for some. The body processes meds differently so for us, the only thing that's worked for DS without side effects is generic Focalin. I don't know any advice for you but just know it's not just Vvyanse..

I found the article for you: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/1-2-3-adhd/202311/substituting-adhd-medications-during-the-stimulant-shortage#:~:text=If%20it%20works%20for%20you,available%2C%20you%20might%20try%20Vyvanse.

[Anonymous]

PP above - so FYI it talks about Vvyanse and Ritalin - so we did poorly with Ritalin and while Dexmethylphenidate should be key ingredient in Vyvanse, it did not work the way generic Focalin which is Dex hydrochloride extended release did for us. We tried Aystarys which is supposed to be as similar to Dex as you can get but it did work as anxiety side effects were much much more severe than Dex, and we had to stop. Just FYI.

My new strategy is looking at alternative nootropics which some ADHD Rx fall into but not all.

[Anonymous]

This is a great site for 411 on shortage of meds: https://www.ashp.org/drug-shortages/current-shortages/drug-shortage-detail.aspx?id=961

I ran the key ingredient of Vyvanse for you there. As you can see, most of the manufacturers are out of stock. I reached out to the manufacturers of Dex and had them send me the pharmas they stock. They can't tell you ETA of stock there as they sell direct via wholesaler but you can at least know where the manufacturers who have stock are selling to. Keep calling those pharmas to check in to see if they have.

The other thing if you're not aware is that the ADHD meds shortage in large part is due to the controlled substance it is and being on the same list as opioids which is why so many manufacturers can't process - there's a specific volume set by government for making and delivering these meds. There's countless articles and PBS recently did a story about this. It's so many ADHD meds and COVID made it so that everyone has been diagnosed with ADHD so you have different subs for meds making it that much harder to find your Rx.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the links … you are all a wealth of good information!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Haven’t had an issue at our Safeway pharmacy in Rockville but we switched to the generic when it became available.

+1 this is where we get ours. We have two kids with ADHD and they take two different meds, which we get at two different pharmacies. Redland Safeway and Rockville Target are the two that work for us but it depends what your kid is taking.

[Anonymous]

Wegmans in Germantown has it

[Anonymous]

I use Costco. They have access to multiple manufacturers

[Anonymous]

I went without my 40mg generic vyvanse for 2 weeks waiting for it to be filled, then my kid ran out of their 50mg and it hasn’t been filled. So now I’m on week 3 of my kid taking my lower dosage and week 5 without. I call every day or two and have them check the entire dmv area. No dice.

The generic is the problem. They have name brand in stock, but our insurance took it off the formulary mid year when the generic was released.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went without my 40mg generic vyvanse for 2 weeks waiting for it to be filled, then my kid ran out of their 50mg and it hasn’t been filled. So now I’m on week 3 of my kid taking my lower dosage and week 5 without. I call every day or two and have them check the entire dmv area. No dice.

The generic is the problem. They have name brand in stock, but our insurance took it off the formulary mid year when the generic was released.

This is our problem too except I live in an area where there is zero generic available. None. Nada. Vyvanse is available but it’s now $200 for a 30 day supply. I’ve been going back and forth with insurance about it.