Here in the SW US, I can report that there is indeed, and has been for months, a shortage of IR amphetamine salts. I've given up trying to fill a script that is now a couple weeks old, and part of me hopes this is some blessing--albeit in a disheartening disguise.
I don't have experience with XRs, but pharmacies around here no longer have stock of
any variety--so there's no recourse that I'm aware of. (I've ruled out seeking a script for
Vyvanse, because I'm uninsured, and a bit suspicious regarding how hard
Shire seems to be pushing this new drug coinciding with the prolonged shortage of traditional generics.)
As I said, this has been worsening for months, and at one point I was able to find the proper quantity and strength at one pharmacy. But they were
CorePharma, and I passed on them. Not sure yet if that is regrettable.
I try to be as self-reliant as possible, and this artificial shortage revealed just how deeply I was at the mercy of others. Specifically, others that I've little to no trust or faith in--governments and for-profit industries.
I also wanted to comment about the implication that benzos are prescribed solely to counter what I often see referred to, and dismissed as, "speed". This does not at all seem accurate for me, and if anything, contrary. Apologies for any assumptions or misreading on my behalf.
I've had chronic anxiety for at least half of my life, and it had physically manifested in places like my jaw (i.e., TMJD). For some reason, and aside from the familiar indications of ADD/ADHD meds, the only relief my jaw has found over the years has been through the use of stimulants.
Not to derail the thread, but I'll just say that I've had to
up my doses of diazepam (and to be clear, my benzo scripts far preceded any for methylphenidate or amphetamine salts) to deal with the WDs. And no, they've not helped at all with relaxing my perpetually clenched jaw. (I don't (and can't) actually grind my teeth, as they no longer align properly to do so. However, my jaw will fully dislocate if I can't restrict a yawn, or am not consciously precise with almost every bite of food taken).
All of this to say, it's frustrating to have found relief from very real, and worsening ailments, only to have said relief triple in price, and then dry up completely. To add insult to these cumulative and degenerative injuries, I keep seeing the medicine in question being trivialized as one of mere indulgence, or existing only as an excuse to imbue one with preternatural stamina to cram for an exam, or to party all night. Amphetamine salts, though effective at increasing my alertness, focus, motivation, and overall mood, were almost always accompanied with a
calming sense of wellness for me--one that every benzo I've so far been prescribed has failed to provide.
The diazepam was originally to be taken on an "as-needed" basis, but now, that equates to always. I'm also sleepy, sluggish, irritable, and insatiably hungry at times. I don't know what the longer-term effects will be across the spectrum of my life: from ability/performance at work, to the receptivity of, and gumption to act upon inspiration and creativity. Basically, quality of life for me is now worse than before I ever capitulated to seek "help". Nonetheless, as I age, and the next time my jaw gets stuck open when I can't restrain a yawn, I'll likely look back upon my days of stimulants with quite rosy glasses.
Sorry for the ramble. But perhaps this post might actually serve as evidence that ADD/ADHD is not an excuse to get "speedy". I could not, and don't intend to speak for all. But for someone with a long history of anxiety, the thought of over-stimulation is not at all attractive--it's repulsive. Now I just get lost in my own parenthetical, nested, scattered, and often tangential thoughts. I can't seem to complete--much less communicate--a coherent idea. I guess unleashing my OCD might ironically assist in this process, as a simple e-mail or thread post can take me two hours. Whether or not that will equate to better communication is TBD.
