Some people prescribed drugs for ADHD have found run into problems getting regular supplies amid a global shortage, ADHD New Zealand says. Photo: 123RF
People with ADHD are being warned not to share medication, as the country is affected by a worldwide shortage.
ADHD New Zealand spokesman Darrin Bull said some people have had to pick which days they take their medicine, to try to make their prescription last longer.
While some had been asking others to lend them some of their medicine, which needs to stop, he said.
A worldwide shortage of methylphenidate, prescribed under the brand names Ritalin, Concerta or Teva, has lasted more than a year.
And Bull said some New Zealanders who could not get their medication had expressed panic.
"The ADHD medication is there for a purpose, and without it people can struggle - and really struggle," Bull said.
"Some of the issues has been if they might try alternatives. We certainly on our social media site have got some of our community asking: 'can someone please lend me some medication?'."
ADHD is estimated to affect more than 250,000 New Zealanders, and while a recent study found the amount of ADHD medication dispensed between 2006 and 2022 had increased tenfold, only about 20 percent of those with ADHD are thought to be receiving treatment.
Medsafe warns that supplying prescription medicine over the internet and via social media - for sale or for free - is illegal, and so is purchasing or possessing it.
Bull recommended that people affected by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder talk to a GP and a pharmacist, or find a non-medical alternative such as an ADHD coach, instead.
ADHD New Zealand said alternatives to medication include support group discussions and advice, acupuncture, brain gym, counselling, diet, therapy and occupational therapy.
The shortage is expected to last until mid-2025.
Read more:
New medication now funded
Funding has been extended to now include an additional ADHD medication.
Lisdexamfetamine (known by the brand name Vyvanse) has been available in New Zealand as a private non-funded alternative option to methylphenidate since 2023, and the country's drug-buying agency Pharmac began subsidising it on 1 December.
It has hopes the alternative drug will ease the pressure on the supply of other ADHD medicines.
Pharmac noted that some lisdexamfetamine users who had already been buying it privately had previously reported supply problems, but said now that it is publicly funded, suppliers are required "to hold set amounts of stock in New Zealand to minimise risk of a supply issue".
However Bull said ADHD New Zealand did not believe funding lisdexamfetamine would immediately help with the current medication shortage.
Lisdexamfetamine needs to be prescribed by a psychiatrist, and: "The waiting lists to see a psychiatrist if you're an adult are quite long, and you might also find [there's] a substantial fee if you go private," he said.
Pharmac said it expects the new medication will benefit more than 6000 people with ADHD in its first year of being funded, and about 13,000 people after five years.
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