This is just my latest in an occasional series of tweets complaining about how ridiculously hard it is to get adderall despite having the same prescription for like 15 years. Something goes wrong every. single. month.

This month, it was every local pharmacy being out of stock of my v common dose (20mg XR). According to one CVS pharmacist it’s because the DEA limits how many such pills each pharmacy can order, even if local demand is higher. If true, great work DEA! Sure my boss will understand

If this was almost any other medication, I could call around to find a pharmacy that has some. But since adderall is a controlled substance, no one will tell me over the phone whether it’s in stock. So I have to drive around to multiple pharmacies (amid pandemic!) looking for it.

In addition to constant supply shortages, I also regularly deal with crappy generic formulations that give me headaches and insurance snafus (my old insurance would only cover the brand-name for some reason; copay of $80-$120/month, harder to find than generic).

Scientists: we invented a pill that allows people with ADHD to actually work/function more typically.

US healthcare industry: Cool, let’s make it an expensive bureaucratic nightmare to obtain and assume every patient is a potential criminal as they try to navigate our gauntlet!

I’m not sharing this because I relish publicizing my private health situation (which is admittedly not v serious compared to... everything rn.)

Sharing because I think these hurdles are unnecessary, unfair to patients, and bc too many people have a weird stigma around adult ADD.