Kristen Carder
Welcome to the I have ADHD podcast, where it’s all about education, encouragement and coaching for adults with ADHD. I’m your host, Kristen Carter and I have ADHD. Let’s chat about the frustrations, humor and challenges of adulting relationships working and achieving with this neurodevelopmental disorder. I’ll help you understand your unique brain. Unlock your potential and move from point A to point B.

Hey, what’s up? This is Kristen Carter and you’re listening to the I have ADHD podcast. I am medicated. I am caffeinated. I’m not quite regulated, but I think that will serve this episode. And I’m 100% ready to roll? How are you? What’s up. So glad you’re here. Welcome. It is autumn. In Pennsylvania. It is so delightful. I just discovered that all of our fields turn gold, like all of all of the fields have Goldenrod in them. And at 42 years old. I’m just now noticing that and it is beautiful. When I go on a hike in the mornings, and I have my like little three pound weights, like the white suburban mom that I am. I have just been so enjoying the changing of the colors, and especially the golden rod it is so beautiful. Let me paint a picture for you by the way of this white suburban mom who goes on hikes.

This morning, I could not get myself to do it. Like I was just like, come on Kristin. And, you know, you you know, you know the conversation in your brain or you’re like, I don’t want to go, It’s so cozy in my house. I’ll just sit here and do work that’s always like my go to my brain wants to just convince me like just just sit here and do work that’ll be productive. Instead of actually, you know, going outside into nature, and soothing my soul and also moving my body killing two birds with one stone. No offense to birds. So the only way that I could get myself to do it this morning was I was like just go in your pajamas. So I did. I went in my pajamas. So picture flowered pajama pants from Target. A Patagonia like fleece totally mismatched my fanny pack.

Of course, because I have to have my fanny pack. I’ve got my three pound weights, like in each hand, and hiking boots, and I looked like a fool didn’t even put my contacts in. So I’d like my big old glasses on the hair up in a like totally messy top knot. And that’s the way we went. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but like no bra, nothing like I just pajamas to the hiking fields like that. That is what we did. We just went right there. And you know what I did it, it allowed me to just do it. I removed every single barrier because the barriers to me like, if I’m gonna go for a hike, then I need to go up and put my contacts in.

And I need to change my clothes and like put a bra on. And like, you know, make myself presentable to be outside of my home. And it just felt like too much work this morning. So I didn’t do any of it. I was like, Nah, you’re going in your pajamas. And I did. And I looked ridiculous. I didn’t run into anybody. So that’s good. But it looked ridiculous. We are so so so I don’t know, lucky, blessed, privileged, whatever, that we walk out the back door and we go through this like little woodsy path. And then we’re in a field and I can just like hike in that field. And so that has been the best part of moving. We moved a year and a half ago. I talked about it on the podcast a little bit. And the best part of moving is access to nature.

I did not realize how much I needed nature in my life. And so I just want to encourage you if you are someone who feels a lot of barriers to getting outside, I’m telling you it is so helpful. So soothing to the soul. You can go out in your pajamas, people, like you can just go do it. And if you run into people you run into people so this little white suburban mom goes out in her pajamas, her fanny pack and her weights like these purple dumbbells. It’s so embarrassing my kids. If they were to see it would be so appalled. But luckily they were all at school.

Because it’s September y’all Thank god. Okay, what we’re talking about today, it’s gonna get a surprise see, it’s gonna get spicy. I’m just going to rant that’s exactly what’s going to happen because As I am so annoyed with how difficult it is for people with ADHD, to acquire the medication that they are prescribed, it is too hard. It is too freakin hard. And so we’re just going to have this like, I kind of want to say a bad word should I, alright, come your kids ears, we’re just gonna have a bitch fest about it. Okay, that’s what we’re gonna do. Because like, we we need to rant and rave, and all commiserate together. Because this is too hard. It’s too hard. But before we get started today, if you are looking for support, if you are maybe on this journey of exploration, self discovery, self development, I would love to coach you. I’m an ADHD coach, I have four years of experience. I’ve coached 1000s of people with ADHD. And now I have a group coaching program called focused, where people come in, they get the help and the support that they need, they learn about ADHD, they learn to accept themselves.

I coach you, I see you, I chat with you. We’re in Slack, we’re on calls. And it is a community of ADHD errs, who are committed to self development. If you are looking for something like that, if that sounds delicious, to you go to I have adhd.com/focused To learn more, I am telling you, it is so good. But like obviously, I’m gonna say that because it’s my program. So I get that it’s annoying. I now I know. It’s annoying. But ask around. Don’t just take it from me. Ask around. Lots of people have been in it. Some people come and they stay for a couple months. And then they leave other people come and they stay for years and they never leave and whichever one you want to be is totally fine. Just come in, get what you need. If you want to then go great. If you want to stay great. We support you either way, we would love to surround you and give you you know the support that you deserve.

So anyway, I have adhd.com/focused to learn more. But let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about how freaking hard it is to acquire the ADHD medication that you are prescribed. This is a huge issue. So there’s two things that we’re going to talk about today we’re going to talk about the ridiculousness of just trying to acquire medication that is in stock in stock medication. That is hard enough, let alone for so many of you, you have been trying to acquire medication that has been out of stock for months. So the first part of it though, let’s just talk about how hard it is to get the medication that is in stock. So I am a parent with ADHD. So I have ADHD, obviously you already know that. Now I have three kids, two of them are neurodivergent. So I have one child with ADHD and OCD. And I have another child with ADHD. And he’s also dyslexic, but that is neither here nor there. Okay, so as a mom with ADHD, for some reason, it’s on my plate, which is really interesting because as I’m processing this, I’m like Why haven’t I just delegated this to Greg? I’m not really sure I’m the one that handles the mental health stuff. I’m in the mental health profession.

Obviously, I’m not a licensed mental health practitioner, but I am in the mental health profession. And so this is my passion and so I have taken this on. However, it is so hard to get medication and it is so hard to expel all of the executive function required to just get the medication that your doctor prescribes you. When my voice gets high and screechie By the way, it’s because I’m so fired up I wish it got like deep and powerful but it doesn’t it gets high and squeaky and that’s where we’re at today. We’re at the high end squeaky spot because I am so frustrated. So I am on a non stimulant and one of my son’s is also on a non stimulant and so this is very convenient because non stimulants are not controlled substances. So that is lovely. Now my son and I who are both on non stimulants we are similar kind of in the way that our ADHD presents and we also tend to have higher anxiety and so we have found that non stimulants work best for us. It’s wonderful. It’s pretty easy to acquire, we actually use a good RX coupon. If you’ve never heard of good RX go to their website, you can use their coupons for medication so we actually don’t even need to deal with insurance when it comes to acquiring our medic Question.

So it’s not a controlled substance. And we don’t even use insurance because we use good RX instead. And it’s lovely. It’s like such a gift. However, I have another son who is on a stimulant medication for him the way that his ADHD presents, he has more he leans more toward inattentive type. And he does not struggle with anxiety. And so for his brain for his like makeup as a person, a stimulant medication works best for him.

Now, oh, my gosh, you would think that I am trying to get some very, like unauthorized meds, some some like street like, I feel like it would be easier to get crack cocaine than it is to get freaking stimulant ADHD medication that has been prescribed by a doctor. I couldn’t get illegal substances easier than this. So he has been on the same medication for a year. Absolutely love it. It’s actually a medication. It’s a methylphenidate that is somehow formulated so that he can take the pill at night. And it starts working in the morning. It’s called jornais. And I heard about it from Dr. Russell Barkley. I believe when he was on my podcast, he mentioned that they were starting to make medication that you could take at night that would start working in the morning. And so that was, I think, two years ago that he was on the podcast. And since then I’ve been looking into that for my son, because what happens is, he has a really hard time sleeping at night when he takes the methylphenidate in the morning, because I think he wakes up a little too late for it to get started. And whatever I don’t know, he just has a really hard time sleeping. And so to be able to take this night time capsule, and our night times are very structured. So you know, he has a bedtime, he takes his we call it my times, take your night times. And it’s like he takes melatonin and he takes vitamins and he takes his ADHD medication.

It’s just it’s worked really, really, really well for us. And so in the last year, that’s the medication that he’s been on. And so we were kind of counting down, it was time to get a refill. So on Friday, I called the doctor and I’m like, hey, my son is out of his medication, can you please run it through? So when you’re on a stimulant medication, you have to have the doctor actually sending the prescription to the pharmacy. So in the US, that’s the setup. That’s what we have to do we call the doctor and we say, you know, it’s time for a refill. And then the doctor calls the pharmacy and they send that or faxes, I don’t know they send the prescription to the pharmacy. So I call the pharmacy on Saturday, and I say, hey, my doctor sent in a refill for my son, is it ready? And she says, Oh, it looks like you’re going to need a prior authorization. We’ll work with your doctor to get it taken care of. Great. Call the pharmacy back on Monday. Hey, how’s it going? Oh, we actually need more information from you. Can you please call your insurance company? Sure.

Call the insurance company was on the phone with them for 30 minutes. She was lovely. She called the pharmacy she called the doctor’s office. She needed more information. Great should be taken care of fabulous. Call the pharmacy on Tuesday. Hey, is the medication ready? No. No, there’s still something gone wrong. Call your doctor. I call the doctor they say oh, we actually have no record of the pharmacy or the insurance company reaching out to us. Excuse me. What? So now it’s five days later, he’s out of the medication because you can’t call too early, or they’re not going to refill it. So you have to wait until there’s like three pills left and then you call. So now he’s out of the med. And the insurance company says, oh, yeah, this medication is no longer covered. What were you going to tell me that at what point were you going to tell me that you’re no longer covering this medication? I didn’t get a letter. I didn’t get an email. Nobody reached out to me. And hello, why didn’t you tell me that on Monday, when we were having this conversation in the first place? I am so annoyed. Update. It’s Thursday. We still don’t have the medication. I don’t like I guess I’m supposed to call somebody who am I supposed to call? What am I supposed to do?

I do not have the executive function for this. My executive function is pretty good. Like I’ve made a lot of A lot of improvements. I have done a vo work, you know what I’m saying? I’ve done a lot of work. But I’ve reached my limit. I made, I think seven phone calls, I’ve probably spent two hours on this, I’ve reached like, there comes a point where you reach your limit. I’ve thrown in the towel, I’ve no idea what’s going on. I’m supposed to call them a who’s them? I don’t know, am I calling the doctor or the pharmacy or the insurance company or all three? I don’t know, I’ve reached my limit. I have ADHD, I have poor executive functioning skills. Even for someone who is I consider myself to be now a high functioning ADHD ear, I still have limits. I cannot with this nonsense. It is too frustrating. So now this is hanging over my head. My poor kiddo does not have the medication that he needs. And it’s on me is my responsibility to get this for him. And so now there’s like some mom guilt involved and like, the fact that like, I’m just not taking care of this for him, even though I am trying to take care of it for him. And let me just remind everyone that this medication is in stock.

Well, I’m not even we have not even touched on out of stock medication. This is a medication that is in stock. This is a medication that’s been pre approved, pre authorized by the insurance company. And yet, here we are. Why is it so hard to acquire the medication that our brains require? Why is it so hard? Why do we need to jump through so many hoops? Why is it regulated to the point of being too difficult to get? Why is it regulated to the point where it would be a lot easier? I mean, I don’t actually know how easy it is to get like street drugs? Is that what you call them? I don’t even know. I don’t know how easy it is. But like from what I’ve watched on the documentaries, it’s pretty easy. Okay. So like, why is it easier to acquire illegal drugs than it is to acquire the drugs that your doctor has actually prescribed and said that you need? I cannot with this nonsense, like something needs to change very soon.

Do you know what this is? It seems discriminatory. It seems it’s just is the word discriminatory. It’s like, we know that you have ADHD, we know that you’re going to have poor working memory poor follow through poor task initiation, low motivation, low amounts of dopamine and the ability to prioritize plan. And yet, we are going to make it the hardest for you to acquire the medication that would help you to perform these tasks. And so now, my son is at risk for poor functioning at school. He’s at risk for relationship issues, he’s at risk for making impulsive decisions that might have long term negative consequences. He’s at risk for not being able to pay attention and function and just like take part in his own life. So for an inattentive, ADHD, or that means like, he can be zoned out quite a bit. Okay. And that is not okay. I understand that it’s a privilege to be diagnosed, I understand that it’s a privilege to have access to medication.

But the fact that, like, we have those privileges, and we’re still not able to acquire the medication that’s been prescribed, it’s mind boggling. And then when I think about people who are in underserved communities, when I think about people who are being denied access to medication, when I think about people who do not have any support, who did not have any resources, how much harder it is, for those of you who are struggling financially struggling because you don’t have resources struggling because you don’t have the support of someone else at home, struggling because you don’t have access to doctors who trust you. That’s an issue. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.

As a person with ADHD and occasional anxiety and depression, food and nutrition are parts of my life that have always been a struggle for me. I don’t love to cook I forget to eat meals and the texture of mushy cooked vegetables really drives my sensory issues. Crazy. This is why I rely on ag One as a daily nutrition supplement that supports whole body health. Now I started using this product a year and a half ago on my own with my own money paying out of pocket. And I’ve loved it. I’ve used it persistently, and I’ve noticed a big difference in the way that I feel. So when ag one reached out to sponsor this podcast, it was literally the first partnership ever, that I’ve wanted to say yes to. And so here we are. I love that AG one is made with 75, high quality vitamins, and minerals and Whole Foods sourced ingredients. I love that no matter how inconsistent my diet is, I can always count on it to provide daily nutrients and gut health support that my body craves.

My body is like, oh, actual nutrition. Thank you so much, Kristen Carter. So if you want to take ownership of your health, it starts with ag one, try ag one and get a free one year supply of vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase, go to drink, ag one.com/i have ADHD. That’s drink ag one.com/i have ADHD, check it out. We haven’t even started talking about the issue of the Adderall shortage, the issue of some of you maybe a very good portion of you have not been able to access the medication that works best for you, because of a nationwide shortage in the US. Um, hello. I want to say that other than supporting clients who have been having this struggle, it has not affected me. And I know how lucky I am that that is the case.

So Adderall is not a medication that myself or any of my family members have been prescribed. And so while I have been supporting clients who have been going through this, I have not had to experience it myself. But it has been going on for so long, actually, for a year. I’m looking at an article right now from NPR. I’m going to link it in the show notes. And the article says In October the Food and Drug Administration announced that there was a nationwide Adderall shortage. So by the time that you’re listening to this podcast episode, it will be October 2023. So in October of 2022, the Food and Drug Administration announced that there was a nationwide Adderall shortage in the US. It started as a production issue at Teva, one of the world’s largest drug makers, which makes both generic and brand name Adderall.

Many makers of the drug have told the FDA that they’ve been unable to keep up with the demand. That’s really interesting. So we’re going to circle back to that continuing some manufacturers say that they have had problems getting a key ingredient. Now as I’m doing research here, it looks like some Concerta as well, as focalin and Vyvanse are also in shortage. And so I know it’s not just you Adderall, folks who have been suffering. It’s also prescribe focalin and Vyvanse. And maybe other ones that I am just not aware of. And I know that it also has to do with the generic brand of it. It’s so freaking frustrating. Continuing with reading from this article from NPR, which by the way, is called to Adderall shortage forces some patients to scramble ration or go without. I thought this part was particularly interesting. So here we go. Quoting from from the article, there’s a lot of finger pointing says Aaron Foxx, who directs the drug information and support services at the University of Utah health hospitals. A lot of companies tell us that the reason that they can’t have full availability is because of D A quotas DEA stands for Drug Enforcement Administration. But continuing with the quote, The DEA says that the companies haven’t used all of their quota and they’re not going to increase it.

The DEA says that manufacturers haven’t used up their allotted ingredients the last three calendar years and that the majority of companies told the government that they had enough according to the Federal Register in December, Fox says the companies are secretive about the details and it’s frustrating that the FDA can’t force the companies can’t or won’t is the question here but that’s okay. That’s my own insertion. The FDA can’t force the companies to explain what’s causing a shortage. Teva for its part says it’s working to meet the historic demand. We continue to manufacture these products and Teva has supply of both branded Adderall and its generic version. A company spokesperson wrote in the statement to NP are.

Okay, so let’s talk about the historic demand. Why is there a historic demand? Can we all just put our thinking caps on and be logical for one second and realize that we are just coming out of a pandemic, in which so many adults discovered that they had ADHD when all of their strategies and coping mechanisms and routines literally went out the window because of the pandemic? Hello? Like, why? Why isn’t it just obvious that of course, more adults are being diagnosed with ADHD, because every single structure and system and routine that they had in place went out the window in the pandemic, and they were no longer able to cope. And thus, their symptoms manifested in a much more prominent way. I don’t understand why this is so hard to to do understand. Like, what? I’m not that smart, y’all like why isn’t someone else when someone else says hello, obviously, there were more people diagnosed in the pandemic. And now there is higher demand for medication because we have more people who have awareness of their own adult diagnosis. Da, freakin so freaking annoying. There’s this really interesting article from New York mag.com.

And it’s called where’s the urgency on the Adderall shortage, which I love. I love, love, love that title. So the journalist is interviewing Dr. David Goodman, the Director of Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Center of Maryland, which like shout out Dr. David Goodman. I would love to have you on my podcast, you seem like a very smart and reasonable human being. The journalist asks a really, really good question. So here’s the journalist question. There’s a long standing concern, at least in some quarters that too many kids are being prescribed these drugs, which the stigma there is so disgusting. Moving on. And now as you mentioned, there’s the rise of telehealth medicine. Investigations have found that some telehealth medicine companies prescribed Adderall and other controlled substances pretty indiscriminately. Do you view over prescription as a widespread problem? Here’s Dr. David Goodmans. Answer. I think the widespread problem is the lack of education. So let’s just back up and think about who’s prescribing medication. The first thing to note is that adult ADHD is poorly covered, poorly covered in formal training programs. Whether you look at psychiatric residencies, nurse practitioner, residencies, the people in the mental health field don’t receive very much formal training in their programs. So they then have to learn about this disorder out in the fields by seeing patients talking to colleagues and getting continued medical education.

So you have a sector that may be poorly trained, which evaluates people inadequately. Hello, like Thank you, Dr. David Goodman, we love you around here. The other element he continues is telehealth. This is not to indict telehealth itself, because it does serve a lot of good in regards to access to care, but it is to indict the process by which they make a formal diagnosis. And the criticism has been that the way that they’ve developed their processes and policies, the comprehensive psychiatric evaluation that’s supposed to come out to an accurate diagnosis is inadequate. So between those who are inadequately trained, and well intended making inaccurate diagnoses and the increase of access, the increase of access at minimal cost to get a diagnosis, you’ve increased the demand. The question then becomes, who legitimately should be prescribed and who is prescribed medication that ought not to be? And that goes back to making an accurate diagnosis.

I mean, Dr. David Goodman, we love you. I feel like I’m kind of going along with like reading stuff from articles, but this is very interesting. And so I’m going to give it to you, the journalist asks, and presumably a lot of people getting these prescriptions via telehealth do actually need him and here’s Dr. Goodman’s answer. I’ll just give you some numbers. The prevalence rate for ADHD in the US for adults, ages 18 to 44 is 4%. Of that 4% 75% were never diagnosed as children, and only about 25% of those who presumed to have ADHD are being treated. Here it again, only 25% of those who presumed to have at HD are being treated. So you have a tremendously underserved population of people who have this disorder. My goodness, it is fascinating to me that the higher ups the DEA are saying that there is a historic demand as if it is the people with ADHD fault that there is a shortage.

I mean, it is a it is borderline victim blaming, is it not? Well, I’m sorry, there’s just a historic demand, okay. So do something to meet the demand, do something about it and understand that it’s still not an appropriate amount of demand, an appropriate amount of demand would be about 90% of all those with ADHD are medically treated for it. Okay, because studies show that about 10% of people with ADHD cannot tolerate medication. So that leaves the other 90% that at least deserve to have the choice of medication. So let’s even just take out 15% of people who don’t want medication, okay, who are just like, I would prefer not to be medicated, there are still 75% of the ADHD population that should have access to medication and be served. And right now, only 25% of those who presumed to have ADHD are being treated. And so the quote unquote, historic demand is absolute BS, because it’s still not meeting the demand of the people who deserve to be medicated.

I’m so annoyed. I’m so annoyed. Okay, this seems like a really good place to add in some good news, because I think I think we need some good news, don’t we, just recently, the FDA approved multiple generics of ADHD medications. And so this is great. This is actually really good. So we’ll also link this in the show notes.

This is from fda.gov. The title of the article is FDA approves multiple generics of ADHD, and B Ed, that’s binge eating disorder treatment. And here’s a little bit of the article, the FDA has approved several first generics of Vyvanse capsules and chewable tablets for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in patients six years and older, and also moderate to severe binge eating disorder in adults. So that’s good. That’s really good. This is good news. And so for those of you who have been prescribed medication that’s been out of stock, and you’ve had to call and call and call, and maybe drive across state lines, and maybe have your parents ship it to you from out of state. This is really good news. And so we are making a little bit of progress. This is as of 8/23. So that’s August 28. That’s really good. But it doesn’t, it doesn’t fix everything. And some of you are really tired. I know I’m tired, and my kids medication is in stock. I cannot imagine the rigamarole that those of you who have been trying to acquire out of stock medication have had to live through.

Actually though, even though I can’t imagine it personally, I did ask my Instagram audience if they would share some of their stories of what they’ve had to go through to acquire the medication that they have been prescribed. Again, we’re talking about medication that has been prescribed by a doctor. If you don’t already follow me on Instagram, you can find me at I have ADHD podcast. So I just wanted to share a couple of these with you because I want you to feel seen. I want you to feel heard. I want you to feel understood. And I want you to know that you’re not alone.

So this is from Rona. They say it’s a nightmare. I had to change meds multiple times due to lack of availability had to switch to immediate release which needed to be taken three times a day. How does someone with ADHD remember to do that was only able to get my original meds a few days at a time and kept forgetting which combination of doses I needed to take to get back to my original dose. It’s just not good enough. They say and I completely agree.

Molly Katherine says one month I had to call 17 places one place finally said well we don’t have 30 of the 60 milligrams but we do have 58 of the 30 milligrams you could get a script for that and I was like freaking finally I did not know this was an option. Why did no one else suggest this? And that finally worked. The fact that ADHD is of all people are being sent on a wild goose chase for this stuff is so fundamental. totally backwards.

Molly, I could not agree more. This is from a lovely pediatrician. This is from bola. They say I quite agree it’s very frustrating on many levels. I am a pediatrician and my staff and I sometimes have to jump through hoops and twist like a pretzel to get the kids what they need multiple calls for just one patient. It’s so tiring. And so frustrating. Shout out to all of the medical providers out there who are doing the work of helping those of us with ADHD and our ADHD kids get the medication that we deserve. Thank you. Thank you so much for your work.

This is from K 811 G, they say I have to call them pharmacy each month because when they get the script, they put my medication on hold because of the high copay, which apparently they can’t make the system not do this. So once I call and authorize them to fill it, they usually tell me that they don’t have them in stock. So then I have to call the doctor to have them send in a different pharmacy that hopefully has it rinse and repeat until it’s in stock at some pharmacy east of nowhere. Don’t even get me started on how I have been discriminated against because of the type of medication stimulants, my son and I take. Yeah, when you’re calling around to 17 different pharmacies to try to get the medication and it’s a stimulant, you start to look like a drug addict. But guess what, we’re not drug addicts.

Guess what helps us not become drug addicts, ADHD medication, idiots. That’s what actually helps us to not develop addiction is being properly medicated for ADHD. Why don’t people understand this? And I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about pharmacies, medical providers that FDA the DEA, why don’t they understand that it’s not the stimulant that is dangerous to us as people with ADHD, it’s actually not being able to acquire the stimulant that is dangerous.

Oh, my gosh. Victoria said I had to go through waiting for the meds to come in for my oldest with his ADHD the last four months of his senior year, he did not have his medication. The last four months of his senior year in high school. Imagine how important that is. Matt from my focused membership said, I’ve spent a lot of time over the last six or seven months calling pharmacies in the area about a week before my refill is called in. It is slowly getting better. But there’s definitely still a ripple effect. There was a four or five month stretch at the beginning of this year when I had to have my doctor send the prescription to a pharmacy near my parents house outside of Pittsburgh.

I live outside of Philadelphia, they would pick it up and send it to me via overnight mail. The first month we did this I actually drove three hours to meet my parents in the middle of the state so that they could pass it on to me. Why do we have to work so hard to get the medication that we are prescribed? Y’all I’m I’m just so sorry.

I’m sorry if this is your experience, I’m sorry that it’s so hard. I wish it wasn’t the case it it is an injustice. It is an injustice, I found a letter one of my focus members sent over this link to a letter from the FDA from the Food and Drug Administration. It’s from August 1 of this year, so only just about six weeks ago. And I found this part to be interesting. The current shortage of stimulant medications is the result of many factors it began last fall due to a manufacturing delay experienced by one drug maker.

While this delay has since resolved, we are continuing to experience its effects in combination with a record high prescription rates of stimulant medications. Data shows that from 2012 to 2021 overall dispensing of stimulants increased by 45.5% in the United States. Insert Kristen Carter’s commentary here that is because we have access to information. We have access to podcasts like this, we have access to learning about the symptoms on our own. We have access to social media where people are talking about ADHD and we’ve lived through a freaking pandemic when all of our symptoms were heightened. The FDA continues we want to make sure that those who need stimulant medications have access blah, blah blah.

However, it’s also an appropriate time to take a closer look at how we can best ensure these drugs are being prescribed thoughtfully and responsibly. This is annoying again, it’s like it goes to like oh there’s too many people being diagnosed and prescribed which I think is total BS because there are so many Many people walking around the world without a diagnosis. We need to wrap it up here. And we’re gonna wrap it up here with me just saying solidarity. I’m with you. I’m sorry that this is the case. I wish there was a better way. I’ve heard from people in Canada that say that this isn’t an issue, which is lovely. I’ve heard from people in Europe who say that they are also experiencing a shortage.

My client, Anna says, interestingly, I have sadly just experienced this similar issue in the UK, I had to call around 15 pharmacies to find my medication and the dose that I am prescribed this month, and was told that it was due to a manufacturing issue. So this is not just us, although I think that it has been predominantly in the US in the last year. But now we’re seeing perhaps, it trickled into Europe as well. So I’d be interested to see how that kind of unfolds. But guys, I’m so sorry. So difficult. I’m here with you, and write your congressman, I guess, like, I don’t even know, somebody tells me what to do. And we’ll do it. But I’m guessing that that’s probably what it’s about.

We got to like, get the government involved somehow. And listen, if you want to reach out to me with like a link or a cause that’s great, but also like, I’m tired and I have low executive functioning and you’re tired and you have low executive functioning, and somebody with a neurotypical brain and who gets paid to do this for a living should be doing it. Was that a weird way to end? I’m not sure but we’re just gonna say goodbye. I am with you. I support you. And I really can’t wait to talk to you next week. I promise not to be this fired up. Alright, I’ll see you then. A few years ago, I went looking for help. I wanted to find someone to teach me how to feel better about myself and to help me improve my organization productivity, time management, emotional regulation.

You know, all the things that we adults with ADHD struggle with, couldn’t find anything. So I researched and I studied and I hired coaches, and I figured it out. None I created focused for you. Focus is my monthly coaching membership where I teach educated professional adults how to accept their ADHD brain and hijack their ability to get stuff done. Hundreds of people from all over the world are already benefiting from this program and I’m confident that you will to go to Ihaveadhd.com/focused for all details.