Current:Home > MarketsIndexbit-Parents struggle to track down ADHD medication for their children as shortage continues -Wealth Evolution Experts
Indexbit-Parents struggle to track down ADHD medication for their children as shortage continues
TradeEdge Exchange View
Date:2025-04-06 19:16:01
Redwood City,Indexbit California — For Kristin Coronado of Redwood City in Northern California, finding the ADHD drugs her son Dom needs can be a challenge.
"I'm a mother looking for my son's medication," Coronado told CBS News. "I'm not a drug dealer. That's how they make you feel. I tried another pharmacy, and that led to like, pharmacy to pharmacy…You're on your own, deal with it."
Dom, age 6, takes a generic version of the drug dexmethylphenidate, sold under the brand name Focalin XR, made by Lannett. Focalin XR, like other ADHD drugs, contains a controlled substance that is tightly regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
U.S. drugmakers claim they are manufacturing all they can, yet patients and doctor's offices still have to keep pharmacy-shopping to find it.
"As soon as they're without medication, you see a return of untreated ADHD symptoms," said child psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Holten, medical director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic at Emory University. "…They take an action that can harm them, or even take their lives."
Coronado showed CBS News a spreadsheet with 25 local pharmacies she regularly contacts as she tries to fill her son's prescription.
"Tomorrow, I have to count the pills that I have left, you know, see what day that ends on, and then start the process all over again," Coronado said.
Prescriptions for ADHD medications have grown in the U.S. and around the world in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Food and Drug Administration predicts that medical use of amphetamine, methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine to treat ADHD and other issues in the U.S. will climb 3.1% in 2024.
The FDA said earlier this year it blamed "increased prescribing potentially related to the growth in telemedicine, supply chain issues, manufacturing and quality issues, and business decisions of manufacturers" for contributing to the ongoing shortages.
The DEA sets caps on the production of ADHD treatments each year.
Drugmakers say the DEA needs to release more of the controlled substances. The DEA counters that drugmakers have not used up their supply.
Lannett and the DEA both had no comment to CBS News.
Caught in the middle are children like Dom.
"It has to be addressed," Holten said. "These children, these families, deserve better."
Coronado finally tracked down a refill for Dom's medication. He is set, at least for another month.
— Alexander Tin contributed to this report.
- In:
- ADHD
- Drug Enforcement Administration
Mark Strassmann has been a CBS News correspondent since January 2001 and is based in the Atlanta bureau.
veryGood! (464)
Related
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Alec Baldwin is indicted in fatal shooting of cinematographer after new gun analysis
- Nearly 75% of the U.S. could experience a damaging earthquake in the next 100 years, new USGS map shows
- Hale Freezes Over
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- Two young children die in Missouri house explosion; two adults escape serious injury
- 'Origin' is a story of ideas, made deeply personal
- 'Sports Illustrated' lays off most of its staff
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- Trump urges Supreme Court to reject efforts to keep him off ballot, warning of chaos in new filing
Ranking
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Bill seeking to end early voting in Kentucky exposes divisions within Republican ranks
- Scott Peterson Case Taken on by L.A. Innocence Project to Overturn Murder Conviction
- Salad and spinach kits sold in 7 states recalled over listeria risk
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Atlanta Opera will update Puccini’s ‘La Bohéme’ for the coronavirus pandemic
- Could China beat the US back to the moon? Congress puts pressure on NASA after Artemis delayed
- Selena Gomez, David Henrie returning for Wizards of Waverly Place reboot
Recommendation
Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
Largest deep-sea coral reef discovery: Reef spans hundreds of miles, bigger than Vermont
Wayfair cuts 13% of employees after CEO says it went overboard in hiring
More than 580,000 beds sold at Walmart, Wayfair and Overstock recalled because they can break or collapse
What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
'Testing my nerves': Nick Cannon is frustrated dad in new Buffalo Wild Wings ad
U.S. House hearing on possible college sports bill provides few answers about path ahead
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the Bridgeport, Connecticut, do-over mayoral primary