| Updated: 1/30 9:26 am |
Published: 1/27 8:45 pm
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At Prescriptions Compounding Pharmacy in Broken Arrow, they have a lot of drugs on the shelf, but there's one that they're having trouble keeping in stock.
That drug is Adderall, a medication many pediatricians prescribe for children with attention deficit disorder Pharmacists say it is all because of government regulations that limit how much of drugs can be produced in America each calendar year.
Mother and daughter Wende and Kassidy Freeman suffer from A.D.D. and A.D.H.D.. Both were prescribed Adderall.
“The Adderall helps you to stay focused, your mind is sharper,” Wende said.
“I found Adderall, and it helps me to focus,” Wende’s daughter Kassidy said.
Finding Adderall and keeping it in the medicine cabinet are two different things. The national shortage has affected this Nowata family.
“(When I heard about it) I thought, ‘Oh no, I can't function without it,’” Wende said.
With Adderall supplies dwindling by the day, pharmacist Caleb Meacham says he's seen a new trend emerge.
“Parents are using coffee, it's cheap and it's relatively safe. It's a stimulant just like the Adderall and some of the other ADHD medications,” he explained, “The thinking is, one stimulant works, let's try another stimulant.”
Wende tried the coffee remedy, but it didn't perk her up.
“You can try coffee. The caffeine might give you a boost, and some people it might help, but me it doesn't. I just shake,” she told FOX23 Friday.
Kassidy has her doubts, but, “I'd be willing to try anything at this point.”
She says nothing is worse than being left with an empty bottle of the solution to your biggest problem.
“It was really nice to have something that helped me go to school and focus and get my work done. I was getting good grades, and then all the sudden that thing that was helping me everyday, gets taken away. I didn't have any warning, and now I am trying to figure out how to live without it.”
Beyond coffee, Caleb says he's also heard of parents using Omega3 fatty acids to help their kids with attention deficit disorder, but it can be expensive, a bottle at the Broken Arrow pharmacy costs $59.95.
