When Amanda goes without her medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), she struggles to function mentally and physically. Depression, anxiety and chronic pain stemming from fibromyalgia all become more prominent for the 46-year-old, which further exacerbate her ADHD symptoms, making everyday tasks like showering a challenge. Although she hasn’t faced any disruptions from this year’s Adderall shortage — which has now entered its second year — at one point she wasn’t able to get her medication filled at a single one of 16 pharmacies near her home in the Metro Detroit area.
Amanda, who asked to be referred to by her first name, has been on Suboxone since 2010 after two decades of using methamphetamine, cocaine and other drugs, including a few years of consistent heroin use. Once she decided to get treatment and stop using drugs, she continued to have to jump through hoops to get not only her Suboxone but also her Adderall prescription.
