INDIANAPOLIS — According to the FDA, over 100 prescription drugs are currently in a shortage, which is creating problems for those in need.
“I did just go without it for about a month, which was really difficult for my grades. They didn’t go down too bad, but it was noticeable,” Gabrielle Gaddis said.
Gaddis is a student at Ivy Tech and was diagnosed with ADHD later in life.
She had trouble getting her prescription refilled, so she went without her medicine for over a month. Her struggle is similar to Heather Cope-Ward's.
"I would go to fill it and the pharmacy wouldn't have any,” Cope-Ward said. “They wouldn't know when it would be back in stock. So then, I'd have to use another pharmacy and another pharmacy and at one point we had four pharmacies which is a really big pain. "
Cope-Ward’s daughter has Hyperinsulinism. This is where the body creates too much insulin, causing blood sugar levels to drop dangerously low. The medication for the disorder is necessary.
"It would be dire, it would probably be hospitalization too,” Cope-Ward said. “It's not just like give her a snack and she will be fine. It doesn't work like that so it's highly critical."
Pharmacies like Blue River Pharmacy in Brownsburg say this prescription shortage is hard to navigate.
"I've owned an independent pharmacy since 1999,” Julie Acra, Pharmacist and Owner of Blue River Pharmacy, said. “We've had shortages here and there, but this is probably the worst shortage I've seen, and it's been so random."
Acra says that sporadic nature makes it hard for pharmacies to predict what they will have in stock for their patients.
"It's not just the ADHD meds or the pain meds, it's also like blood pressure medicine at certain strengths,” Acra said. “It's been across the board, so it's been really hard. "
Acra shared the following advice for patients who are struggling to get the medicine they need.
"Be in communication with your doctor,” Acra said. “Call in a little early before you totally run out to see if it's in stock or if there is possibly an outage. Just really keep the communication lines open."
The pharmacy WRTV spoke with says that Adderall and other controlled substances do run in low supply at the end of the year because companies are only allowed to manufacture a certain amount. However, a lack of raw material and patient demand are also playing into the shortages.
