The 17 year old Utah native was announced as the 2023 National Merit Scholarship finalist. She will be attending Brigham Young University as a freshman in the fall.
However, despite all her achievements, Clara has one thing she’s concerned about: What happens if she does not succeed?
Clara was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 10th grade during the summer of 2020 after months of digital schooling had started to take its toll.
“For the first time, I started struggling with getting my homework done [and] having a set schedule that I had to do myself,” Clara explained. “It was because of online school.”
Along with her mother Rebekah She is determined to test the drug.
“I didn’t realize just how much my ADHD was inhibiting me from acting the same way as all of my friends until I had that experience of leveling the playing field,” Clara said.
In December 2020 Clara was prescribed the dosage of 10 mg Adderall that is a mixture of mixed salts with amphetamine. It is taken twice a day. After a couple of days Clara noticed a shift in her mood.
“It seemed like the logical course of action, like something that shouldn’t have been happening in my brain, was being fixed,” Clara explained. “Naturally, my brain goes fast, and I don’t even notice it because it’s what I’ve grown up with and the only mind I’ve ever experienced. But once I started having a different experience mentally, I felt a lot calmer.”
After two years, Clara was finally able to enjoy her normal life with her family, taking care of schools, activities outside of school as well as social activities, all with the help of Adderall.
In the month of October 2022, Clara’s peace was shattered when she learned by Clara was informed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared an absence of Buy Adderall Online as well as it’s generic equivalents.
“I hadn’t heard anything about a shortage,” she said. “I didn’t take it seriously at first until later that week — maybe three or four days later — when I started to hear news about the shortage, and it started to sink in.”
CNN first spoke with Clara as well as her mom, Rebekah in just a couple of weeks after an announcement made by the FDA. It was the time when Clara was carrying eight Adderall pills in her bottle of prescription, which was enough to last her for four days.
“Initially, I was just astonished when I tried to refill the prescription, and they would not [refill it],” Rebekah acknowledges. “Very quickly, I went from surprised to afraid.”
On the 24th of October Rebekah sent a text message to Clara with an insufficient amount of information. The shortage eventually hit their pharmacy and they were unable to refill Clara’s prescription due the requirement.
“They wouldn’t put you on a waiting list,” Rebekah sent her daughter a text message. “I’m just sitting here crying because I can’t get you these meds.”
Rebekah claims that she called eight pharmacies within the vicinity, and they were all empty.
“I felt emotional about it in that first week or two … like I had failed my child, even though it wasn’t my fault,” Rebekah admitted. “I felt scared for what that would mean for her as a senior.”
What’s the reason behind the problem?
The FDA declared the shortage of Adderall on the 12th day of October. The FDA stated that it was in contact with the various manufacturers of mixed salts that contain amphetamine. The agency noted that one of the companies, Teva, was “experiencing ongoing intermittent manufacturing delays.” As other companies continued to produce the drug According by the FDA “there is not sufficient supply to continue to meet U.S. market demand through those producers.”
Jim McKinney, a spokesperson for the agency, stated in an interview with CNN that the problem with manufacturing was resolved and is “demand-driven.”
Data from the research and analytics firm IQVIA has shown that the demand for Adderall has grown by more than 27% over the past few years. Prescriptions increased between 35.5 million in the year 2019 up to 45 million in the prior year.
According to the website on the internet, the FDA has identified eight companies that have reported Adderall issues with respect to Adderall issues FDA. The site lists the causes for certain variants of Adderall which include “demand increase” or “shortage of active ingredient,” For other variants the site simply states “other” or lists no reason at all.
Each year every year, the Drug Enforcement Administration tracks and restricts the manufacturing of amphetamine which is among the primary ingredients of Buying Adderall Online. The agency states that over the last three years, the manufacturers haven’t utilized all of the available ingredients.
“DEA is committed to ensuring that all Americans can readily access needed medications,” an official spokesperson for the agency stated to CNN in a statement. “We know that the pharmaceutical industry is claiming a quota shortage for the active ingredients in ADHD drugs. Based on DEA’s information provided by drug manufacturers, this is not true.”
CNN called eight manufacturers that have complained of shortages to the FDA.
Teva Pharmaceuticals Epic Pharma, and Rhodes Pharmaceuticals have not responded. Alvogen, SpecGX, and Sunrise Pharmaceutical did not respond to requests for comments.
Sandoz said it had enough stocks to fulfill orders currently in place. Lannett stated that it had enough inventory to satisfy the existing orders of customers, but pointed out that it needed to purchase more items to satisfy the increased demand for quantities.
McKinney McKinney, FDA spokeswoman, stated that the number of drugs is increasing.
“The FDA recognizes the potential impact that reduced availability of certain products may have on health care providers and patients and is working closely with numerous manufacturers and others in the supply chain to understand, mitigate and prevent or reduce the impact of intermittent or reduced availability of certain products,” he said.
McKinney explained that, while the FDA has worked in partnership with companies that manufacture pharmaceuticals, the FDA doesn’t make medicines in the sense that it “cannot require a pharmaceutical company to make a drug, make more of a drug, or change the distribution of a drug.”
Dr. Yoram Unguru, a pediatric hematologist as well as an oncologist who has joint appointments as faculty members at the Herman Walter Samuelson and Hermann Hospital at Sinai as well as The Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and studies the subject of shortages in drugs.
He claims that there is an absence of information regarding how serious the issue is, as well as the quantity of drugs produced by each company hinders the development of the development of solutions.
“Pharmaceutical manufacturers are not required to disclose the reason for disrupted supply. Knowing the exact reason for a shortage is always challenging,” Unguru explained. “It’s tough to anticipate and let alone come up with meaningful solutions if you don’t know the problem.”
Searching for alternatives to the problem
Clara was eventually able to go without Adderall over two years to cope with the stress of her senior year. Clara started taking a brand new ADHD medication, Vyvanse, in mid-January.
Rebekah believes that Adderall might be a viable alternative to Clara in the near future, however, she’s not in the spirit or desire to search for the drug.
“I would like her to have medication as an option and for it to be reliable because college will probably be the hardest journey for her with ADHD.”
Clara declares that life without Adderall is similar to trying to view the world with blurred glasses.
“You have glasses which have been stained. It‘s a normal thing to do and people don’t know they’re dirty. But, after cleaning them, the additional glimmer makes a huge difference.
