<p>"Doctors wrote 51.5 million prescriptions for A.D.H.D. drugs in 2010, with a total sales value of $7.42 billion — an increase of 83 percent from the $4.05 billion sold in 2006, according to IMS Health, a drug information company.</p>
<p>Agent Boggs of the Drug Enforcement Administration said his agency was concerned that A.D.H.D. drug abuse was on the rise. “We see people abuse it in college and then continue to abuse it nonmedically once they leave,” he said.</p>
<p>Since the drugs have been shown to improve concentration, and not just in people with A.D.H.D., they have become popular among students who are seeking a study aid. And since they can impart a euphoria that users have likened to a cocaine high, the pills are sometimes ground up by people who snort them for a thrill.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there are people like Sheryl Greenfield of Bryn Mawr, Pa., an A.D.H.D. patient who spent days calling dozens of pharmacies to find a generic substitute for Adderall XR. She finally gave up and bought the brand, and her co-pay went to $200 from $10. “I can afford the difference, but I know some people who can’t,” she said. "</p>
<p>I have a hard time finding “brand”, now that the generic is available. My D swears she can tell the difference. Maybe it’s our insurance, but the price difference is only about 10%.</p>
<p>My son can tell the difference between the generic and brand. My husband ( who takes it for MS) cannot. Two weeks ago, for the first time ever, our local Walgreens was out of both. They did get some in last week. Hope this is not going to be an ongoing issue. Many people rely on these medications for legitimate health issues.</p>
<p>My H who is over 70 says that he can tell the difference and has been paying for Ritalin while the insurance will only pay for the generic. When he was diagnosed about 10 years ago, it took about a year to find the right drug and combination which the insurance paid for. Then, about 5 years ago, his insurance changed. He tried the generic which either didn’t work or gave unpleasant side effects. His pharmacy rarely has enough ritalin on hand to fill a month’s prescription, so multiple trips are necessary. For the past 3 months, our co-pay has been higher but they are once again covering brand necessary.</p>
<p>Of course, a person should never feel the difference between brand and “generic” Adderall XR. The brand makes them all. They supply the capsules to the generic manufacturers, Global and Shire. If a person says there is a difference, it is psychological not real.</p>
<p>^^Post 6–That isn’t always true, is it? Our Dr. says that sometimes generics work for some people, but not all, and that the “fillers” can be different. I know brand Allegra works much better for me than generic. D says she can tell the difference between brand Adderrall and generic. I have given her them w/o her knowing which one, and she always can tell me it was the generic.</p>
<p>Obtaining Adderrall XR and non-XR has been a nightmare in my area since October. It involves calling many pharmacies to see if they have some that day. Anthem doesn’t care if they don’t have it and you get it 2 weeks late, but if the next month you actually find it and want to fill it 2 days early (pharmacy gets it in the morning/out by afternoon), it’s a no go. So, it’s pay cash or hope they have it in 2 days. </p>
<p>Walmart won’t even release if they have it via phone. Gee, I hate driving 25 miles to find out they don’t have it! D also had a secondary insurance; Walmart and some private pharmacies won’t bill the secondary. That makes our cost $10 vs $200.</p>
<p>If they partially fill a C2 script, the rest of it is no good. You can’t go back in several days and get the rest of the pills they owe you. If you have a script for 10 mg, they can’t fill it with double the 5 mg. You have to call the dr. and get a different script. It’s a C2, scripts have to be manually picked up at Dr. and delivered to pharmacy.</p>
<p>It has been a nightmare. Some pharmacists and dr. say it should be better after Jan 1st. I surely hope so. It’s very frustrating. Itf there’s a shortage, why can’t they ramp up production within 6 months?</p>
<p>From the article–
Still, Special Agent Gary Boggs of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Office of Diversion Control, said in an interview, “We believe there is plenty of supply.” </p>
<p>He is not in touch with reality!</p>
<p>“Some high-priced pills are indeed readily available, and D.E.A. officials said that so long as that is the case, they believe that A.D.H.D. drug supplies are adequate.”</p>
<p>Brand name Adderall, in addition to generic Adderall, has been basically non-existent in my state, since Sept./Oct. Our secondary insurance will pay for most of brand name, and it works better for D, so that’s what we use…unless it isn’t there. Then we scramble to get new scripts and play the run-around game to get the drug.</p>
<p>Where do these officials get off saying there’s enough supply if there is only brand name available? Most insurance companies penalize extremely severely for using brand name when generic is available. In this economy, most people cannot afford a monthly co-pay of $200 when the alternative is $10.]</p>
<p>I would not have been a believer until D was diagnosed and began this drug. Her short-term memory tests at 5%. She went from reading 4 years behind and being a C- student, to being able to stay on task and study enough to comprehend and remember the material. She is at the top of her freshman class. She will tell you it changed her educational life. It did.</p>
<p>Just one more way our gov’t is “helping” us :(</p>
<p>EK–So did my s’s girlfiriend. I have heard a lot of other people say this too. Some of these mfg. are going to lose people after they’ve switched. I wonder how much pressure they are putting on the DEA. Since it involves their profit, I hope a lot.</p>
<p>Do you think Vyvase is as effective for you? Was it difficult to get the dosage correct? I hate the time and energy involved in that.</p>
<p>Its a lot easier getting the right dose with an ADD med than it is with an SSRI, since the Vvyanse/Adderal starts working right away.</p>
<p>My daughter switched first because her Dr prefers giving it to students ( it isn’t abused as easily I think). I am not sure that it works as well as the extended, & had thought about switching back, but with the problems obtaining the Adderall- I will probably stay with the Vvyanse for now.</p>
<p>Count our house as another area where it has been difficult to attain from pharmacy. And expense. If the DEA thinks it is so widely available then I wish they would resell it back to pharmacies.</p>
<p>The post about generic and name brand adderall applies specifically to adderall. It has been made by the same company, and for some insurance companies, “name brand” is cheaper. </p>
<p>Many expect there will be no shortage of vyvanse as long as it’s only available in name brand ; it is probably the last stimulant generating $$$$.It is also said not to have the same “liking” factor as the other stimulants, according to the company, making it less likely to be " abused". May also explain why some feel it doesn’t “work” as well. Some say if the dose is high enough, folks will “like” it.</p>
<p>My S’s doctor told me that there is an issue getting an ingredient that is found in Adderall and many of the other drugs. He changed his prescription because there is no end in sight. The lack of belief of a problem by the govt is making it worse and the doctor complaints are not working.</p>
<p>I don’t feel vvyanse works for the same amount of time as the adderall XR- but the difference isn’t enough to take another dose & increasing the dose also wouldn’t help because then it would be too much ( I am on lowest dose)</p>
<p>I believe vvyanse is metabolized in the intestine, whereas adderall is metabolized in stomach. ( ?)</p>
<p>When I was taking Adderall/Ritalin, I noticed a big difference in generic/brand name depending on which pharmacy I used.</p>
<p>Do you mean brand at one pharmacy versus brand at another pharmacy or the same generic at two different pharamacies? That’s what we’ve noticed. D likes Adderall XR(brand) from Walgreens, but I can no longer use Walgreens, as of 1/1, because of a dispute between my insurance co. and Walgreens. Insurance co. is mad that Walgreens is getting into the “health care” biz (Doc in the Box).</p>
<p>I meant that I both noticed a difference in generic & brand name re: tolerated the medication, but I also noticed a difference in generics depending on where I had it filled.</p>
<p>I am a pharmacist and have noticed a short supply on many drugs, not just stimulants. The problem seems to be getting worse and worse. Over the past couple of months we have had shortages of important IV antibiotics, medications used for anesthesia, pain and seizures. The reason always seems to be “shortage of raw materials” or problems with manufacturing.</p>
<p>A number of generics are actually clones. Some generic companies are actually owned by brand manufacturers.<br>
Personally, I have had no problems with getting generic Adderall IR and XR. Our cabinet is nicely stocked. They have been bouncing between the two generic Adderall XR manufacturers. We have been getting our regular Corepharma generic Adderall IR. </p>
<p>The big disagreement between ESI and Wags is about reimbursement rates. A $2 dispensing fee doesn’t cut it when industry estimates the average dispensing (fixed) cost of filling a rx is about $8-$10. A major road block has been about new generics. If the proposed contract was accepted, we would loose money on a significant number of rx. The average profit margin at a pharmacy is about 2%. </p>
<p>We just resolved a shortage of trans-derm scolp patches. This past year we have had shortages on generic pulmicort respules, generic benzaclin, clarithromycin (still not completely resolved), enoxaparin injections, erythromycin, belladonna alkaloids, estratest, fluphenazine injections, generic skelaxin, and the regular shortages of various vaccines.</p>