Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, Etc.) Availability / Current Shortages

[fidgetido]

It appears that there is a national shortage of the "raw material" that goes into methylin er generic forms of extended release methylphenidate and there is none avaialbe! NONE! No estimate of when it might be available again. That means, no generic methylphenidate er is available anywhere to anyone.

What the **uk! Where's the outrage? I can't afford things like metadate or ritalin la or concerta!

Anyone out there who cares about this? Write NYTimes? What?

[StoicNate]

I'd like to see the source also.

You could just switch to Ritalin IR and take multiple doses throughout the day.
There's 3 main generic Ritalin IR manufacturers (Watson, Sandoz, Mallinkrodt/Methylin) and the chance is slim that all three will be out of the main ingredient.

Relax.

[fidgetido]

Information comes from reliable pharmacy who received undated notice today from their wholesaler that the "raw materials" for the er tabs (not sure about the IR tabs) are "unavailable nationally." I called my doc and he said he hasn't been able to view the notice that was apparetnly sent to pharamacies in the seattle area, but that he has several patients who are being refused their meds on the basis of "not available anymore from the manufacturers."

[fidgetido]

Honestly, switching to an ir form is not acceptably close to what the er does for me. Do you know what the therapeutic levels look like between ir doses and er doses? Peaks and valleys are not great for keeping neurotramsmitter levels where they need to be. Big gaps. I mean, honestly, you can't be serious that this is not "outrageous." welcome to american health care... ugh!

[StoicNate]

Originally Posted by fidgetido

Honestly, switching to an ir form is not acceptably close to what the er does for me. Do you know what the therapeutic levels look like between ir doses and er doses? Peaks and valleys are not great for keeping neurotramsmitter levels where they need to be. Big gaps. I mean, honestly, you can't be serious that this is not "outrageous." welcome to american health care... ugh!

IR medication can work just as well if not better than extended release medication when it's timed correctly and it's at the right dose.
People react differently to different medications/doses/generics.

[fidgetido]

okay... I guess most people here don't care about whether there are nationwide shortages of medications.

the mod here put this in a far corner when it should be on the main page as an emergency notice. really? So much support (not). So, here's the links and don't give me some lame advice about switching. apparently most of you don't know that certain meds work for certain people and there is a reason for that.

Links to the latest which includes shortages in Concerta.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...l?s_cid=rss-30

http://www.ashp.org/Import/PRACTICEA...in.aspx?id=734

http://www.cardinal.com/mps/wcm/conn...ketDisruptions

2/14/2011 Methylphenidate Tablets (generic Ritalin® and Ritalin®SR)Due to a shortage of active pharmaceutical ingredients, methylphenidate tablets of various strengths are in short supply or not available in the market. Among the NDCs impacted are: 00078-0439-05, 00406-1121-01, 00781-5748-01, 00591-5882-01, 00078-0441-05, 00406-1124-01, 53014-0532-07, 00781-5753-01, 00591-5884-01, 00406-1423-01, 00078-0442-05, 00406-1451-01, 53014-0594-07 and 00781-5754-01.

[fidgetido]

I posted earlier about the nationwide shortages of methylphenidate which is affecting a whole bunch of us (ADDers) and i got such lackluster support and advice about changing meds (really? that may be the most sheepish advice I have ever gotten and also very unscientific and inappropriate)

What's needed is some outrage. What's needed here is some attention to the issue. It is likely due to FDA caps on certain meds and a huge underestimate of what is needed. Big issue, really, for so early in the year.

So, maybe the forums should have an urgent sticky for issues that are related to access to care and access to medications that have widespread negative affects on us.

Heres' the links

Links to the latest which includes shortages in Concerta.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...l?s_cid=rss-30

http://www.ashp.org/Import/PRACTICEA...in.aspx?id=734

http://www.cardinal.com/mps/wcm/conn...ketDisruptions

2/14/2011 Methylphenidate Tablets (generic Ritalin® and Ritalin®SR)Due to a shortage of active pharmaceutical ingredients, methylphenidate tablets of various strengths are in short supply or not available in the market. Among the NDCs impacted are: 00078-0439-05, 00406-1121-01, 00781-5748-01, 00591-5882-01, 00078-0441-05, 00406-1124-01, 53014-0532-07, 00781-5753-01, 00591-5884-01, 00406-1423-01, 00078-0442-05, 00406-1451-01, 53014-0594-07 and 00781-5754-01.

[fidgetido]

Hi: Me again... honestly, I don't get it. Why do ADDers put up with mistreatment by pharmas and government? Is it because they are so distracted? There was a time when so-called "stimulants" were not "restricted." You could get refills... check it out someday at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act honestly, i view this as a civil rights issue and proper and equal access to important (one could say life-saving) medications....

so the latest about shortages that no one takes seriously here (maybe the mods should be posting their conflicts of interest disclosure statements.... just saying.

So the latest if you care about shortages is at http://www.ashp.org/Import/PRACTICEANDPOLICY/PracticeResourceCenters/DrugShortages/GettingStarted/CurrentShortages/Bulletin.aspx?id=743

wake up and smell the manipulation...

[HyperMan3]

I had to get a refill today of my script. I had to call about 7 different pharms to finally find the quantity (90) that I needed. I have been taking Ritalin SR (Methylin ER) for years and have never experienced a "shortage". What's frusterating to me is "Mallinckrodt is unable to provide a reason for the shortage." Why can't anyone tell us why there is a shortage? What's going to happen next month when I need my next script? What makes it worse is that I don't have insurance and the shortage is really jacking up the price!!

[Trooper Keith]

Thought I'd give an update from the pharmacy side of things:

Virtually every methylphenidate product is currently on manufacturer backorder. Cardinal expects that it will be in stock again May 22nd. Until then, good luck!

[StrangeLttlGrrl]

Just FYI, I take the 10mg X3day of IR and am searching for NOT Corepharma. Upon calling around today, I was told that they are experiencing some "supplier issues." Gah.

[MessyMind]

Not available until May22nd?!?! That really sucks! I too noticed the shortage when I tried to get my meds filled through mail order. I ended up having to get the name brand, which was very expensive. This is not the first time I ran into this issue, and like figitido, I was surprised and perhaps a little upset. It happened to me once before, but at that time they had an expected date that was only a couple of weeks away. I think it is terribly irresponsible for the one manufacturer of this important medication to periodically run out of products for months on end. How exactly does that happen? Would that be acceptable for life-saving medications? Well, at least I know how long I will have to pay the big bucks. I might look to see if there is an alternative medication so that I can have a back up since it seems like this is a fairly common occurrence.

[Trooper Keith]

Originally Posted by MessyMind

How exactly does that happen? Would that be acceptable for life-saving medications?

I'm not sure how it happens, but it does happen for life-saving medications, too. Sometimes they just can't get the chemical to keep up. For example, pediatric Tamiflu suspension is currently backordered indefinitely.

[Amtram]

I'm kind of confused about this, too, since I haven't had any trouble getting medications or heard about shortages from my pharmacist here.

[ADHDTigger]

I just filled my scrip for generic methylphenidate without any issue.

We sometimes ran into issues getting my husbands medication. Generally, we were able to resolve those issues by working with our pharmacist and hospital. My husband had terminal cancer and the medications he was taking were either extending his life or managing his pain. I would classify them as "life saving".

Shortages happen. Sometimes it is a localized issue, sometimes broader. Oddly, the most common reason for a shortage is theft.

I'm going to remind everyone again that we have guidelines on this board that clearly identify topics that are not to be discussed. Please keep these in mind as you post.