✨ Let’s Catch up:
First it was the Vyvanse shortage. Then Concerta. Now, in mid-2025, we’re facing the same shit again — only worse. Parents are driving hours to track down scripts. Adults are splitting doses just to stay functional. Kids are unraveling, and still, the government has no plan. This isn’t just about labels with typos or temporary blips. This is a failure of long-term medication security, and it’s costing families their mental health, jobs, and trust in the system.
How We Got Here — A Timeline for Context
- Mid–2023: Pharmacists begin reporting scattered shortages of ADHD medications.
- July 2023: Vyvanse 30mg becomes officially ‘unavailable,’ with vague explanations from Takeda and no clear resupply timeline.
- September–December 2023: More dosages vanish. Parents and adults scramble to find alternatives like Concerta and Ritalin.
- April 2024: Vyvanse reappears — but online posts begin circulating about reduced efficacy.
- May 2024: The first wave of reports is filed with the TGA. Community members begin tracking batch numbers and symptoms.
- Over this year period: Community groups filled with complaints on efficacy and changes to Vvyance. Reports are filed to TGA
- April 2025: Under pressure from consumer reporting and public awareness, TGA announces they are ‘investigating’ — but confirms nothing.
- June 2025 (Now): Shortages hit again. No resolution. No accountability. No communication.
What It’s Like for Families
If you’re parenting a neurodivergent child, you already carry more than most. You coordinate between GPs, pediatricians, educators, NDIS planners, and support workers. You advocate, explain, educate, and manage crisis after crisis.
Now add a part-time job: calling pharmacies.
Some of us…. I mean me. Have driven to three hours (one way) just to get our child’s meds. Others have skipped their own meds to make sure their kids have what they need for school. One mum told me: ‘I’ve spent more time trying to find meds than actually parenting this month.’
And let’s be clear — these aren’t optional meds. These are tools that help our kids regulate, attend, and engage with the world. They are the baseline. Without them, kids unravel, adults burnout, and families fall apart.
‘But the Packaging Is Just a Typo…’ — Really?
Let’s set the record straight.
The typo was never the issue — it was the signal. The issue is people feeling unmedicated on the same dose. Kids who were settled are now lashing out. Adults who were managing are now spiraling.
This was reported before the first social media post. So spare us the nocebo effect claims. Parents knew something was wrong — and no one believed them until the complaints stacked up.
So Where Is the Government?
They told us to report to the TGA — so we did.
We’ve provided timelines, survey data, symptom logs, and more.
We’ve asked for testing, not panic. Curiosity, not hysteria.
And yet the media still frames this as ‘mum panic’ over spelling errors. Where is the outcry over:
- The repeated failures in supply chain oversight?
- The fact that no batch testing was proactively done?
- The silence from officials during Caretaker Convention?
Why, in a country this size, are we still not manufacturing our own ADHD medications? Why are families doing the work that regulators should be leading?
Update: Where Things Stand Now
- The TGA has launched an investigation but cannot comment due to caretaker conventions before the 2025 election. (Election was weeks ago….. So.. hello?)
- There is still no confirmation of active ingredient consistency or manufacturing origin for the affected batches.
- Families are still reporting problems with newer stock, while older stock (from early 2023) seems to work better.
- Concerta and Ritalin are also now experiencing shortages.
- Some clinicians are downplaying concerns as placebo effects — despite documented behaviour changes across patients.
Final Word
If you’re a parent who’s been doubting herself — don’t.
If your child is suddenly melting down, can’t concentrate, or says ‘the meds don’t work,’ — listen to them. You’re not alone. You’re not imagining things. You’re living through the fallout of a broken system.
Our advocacy is unpaid, but we’re not unqualified.
We’re watching closely. We’re documenting everything. And we won’t stop asking questions until families get the answers — and the respect — they deserve.
✉️ Want to help?
- Report any changes or side effects to the TGA: https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/reporting-problems
- Share this post with anyone you know on ADHD medication.
- Listen to the latest podcast episode for more information:
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