Adderall shortage hitting Hawaii puts patients at risk
By Kristen Consillio
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HONOLULU (KITV) — “This is the pill that saves my life and allows me to keep working,” said Victoria Flournoy, who’s relied on Adderall since 2010 to help her focus in her job as an auditor with the Marine Corps. and to keep her from spiraling into depression.
“If I don’t take Adderall, I probably have the ability to focus for maybe 45 minutes, and then I’ll lose my train of thought and it’s like chasing rabbits,” she said.
Her doctor Denis Mee-Lee says a nationwide shortage of the drug used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — or ADHD — is putting dozens of his patients at risk.
“Some patients get very depressed, very even suicidal when they don’t have this medication,” he said. “So there’s a danger, risk with not having it.”
The shortage — at least in Hawaii — has been ongoing for the past six months now, as manufacturers scramble to resolve supply-chain issues amid increasing demand for the drug.
Health care leaders expect the shortage to last at least until early next year.
“We keep hoping that the shortages will dissipate, but right now we’re still dealing with a number of products that are in short supply,” said Hilton Raethel, president and CEO of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii.
The state’s already doesn’t have enough doctors to treat patients suffering from mental illness and other disorders.
“So when you combine a shortage of healthcare workers and a shortage of the prescription drugs that the psychiatrists use or other physicians may use to treat depression or ADHD or stress, that is problematic,” Raethel added.
In the meantime, doctors are trying to switch patients to other ADHD medicines or treat Adderall withdrawal symptoms with other drugs for sleeplessness, anxiety and depression.
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