(cont) Tip from u/MaryDellamorte: In times of need, you can stretch your dose of Vyvanse by dissolving it in water. Open the capsule, dissolve it in warm water, and drink half. Drink the other half the next day. It’s better having a little bit every day than running out and having nothing.

Tip from u/ExpertlyPuzzled: If you dissolve your Vyvanse in water and let it sit, it may lose its potency. It’s much better to open the capsule and divide it. Say you are taking 10mg, but are able to get 30mg capsules. Open the capsule onto a plate with a raised rim and using a sterile knife or razor equally divide the powder into threes. Take your needed dose and then cover the remainder with plastic wrap. You could also dissolve the powder for each day’s dose in water immediately before taking it and drink it immediately, so it doesn’t have time to lose potency.

Tip from u/BabyTBNRfrags: You can split up Adderall XR capsules and mix the little beads contained within into applesauce, pudding, or yogurt for taste. If you find a higher dose in stock and your doctor approves it, you can divide the beads and only take half, as long as you do it evenly and throw away the part you don’t take. This will not be as exact as if you took a similar amount in a proper pill, but you can use a milligram scale to measure the amount of medication more precisely if you wish. By the way, you cannot do this with Strattera, because it is a respiratory hazard.

Tip from u/BabyTBNRfrags: With CVS Caremark you can call them (at the phone tree, say “override”) and you can ask for a “drug shortage override.” Many states have an order where they have to cover weird drugs and brand names due to the shortage.

Tip from u/rogue144: If you have any chronic conditions of any kind, do some very specific googling to make sure the medication you switch to doesn’t interact badly with your condition(s). Doctors by and large do not know about these things. They tend to know most drug-drug interactions, but not always drug-condition interactions, so you may never know unless you check.

Tip from u/thykarmabenill: You can keep a reserve of your Adderall by having your psychiatrist prescribe it to you as ‘take one in morning and one in evening’ and then just not using the second dose unless you’re having a very difficult day. You can also do days where, if you don’t have to be productive, you skip a dose. You should tell your psychiatrist that you do this or want to do this, but if they support it, it is a good idea.

Tip from u/Jasnah_Sedai and u/highway-dreamer: People trying alternatives should be mindful that you can get a partial fill as a trial. Even if your scrip is written for 30 days’ supply, you can literally just tell the pharmacy to only dispense 5, and if you don’t like them the other 25 can be returned to stock. Anyone getting an alternative is potentially taking medication away from someone who already had that obscure medicine prescribed, so you want to make sure you’re not wasting any. Requesting a partial for a new 30-day medication is a great way to do that.

Tip from u/queeerio: Be careful upping your dose if you have bipolar disorder, as it may increase the risk of mania.

Tip from u/velvykat5731: If stimulants are not an option, remember that there are nonstimulant medications like Strattera, Qelbree, Kapvay, and Intuniv. They take their time to work and may be weaker or ineffective for some people, but they can still work in many cases and are almost always better than nothing.

Tip from u/tldnradhd: If your doctor is willing to send in multiple prescriptions per month, get a partial fill. Pharmacies that don’t have a whole month’s supply in stock may still have 20 left. Ask to fill the 20, and then your doctor will need to call in the rest of the month for more. In some states, they do need another prescription for the remainder, and they’ll definitely need a new prescription if it’s a different pharmacy. After you’ve used up the partial (or are close to finishing them), call pharmacies again until you can find one with any in stock. You’ll need to pay another copay with insurance, but it’s still way less than the cash price to pay 2 or 3 copays a month. Only works if you have a doctor that will send in prescriptions quickly when you find stock, since the pharmacies will rarely hold it for you.

Tip from u/litui: If you can set alarms on your phone, Dexedrine IR might be a good stopgap for Dexedrine XR shortage, if it’s available to you. It only lasts 3-4 hours, but it’s a solid 3 hours and you can take multiple a day. There are IR (instant release) variants of a few of the drugs listed.

Tip from u/burningmyroomdown: Many insurance plans will not cover more than one fill a month or cover partial fills, so be aware of this if you have a hospital pharmacy that stocks your meds but will only give partials. Also, Mydayis has a manufacturer savings card like some other medications. Also, because Adderall XR contains 2 different types of XR coated beads – and Mydayis contains 3 types – splitting these medications will not guarantee you an even split or dose even if you weigh them out evenly. Split at your own risk.

Tip from u/legone: You may be able to get a paper prescription and try different pharmacies (treat this like cash – some doctors may be unwilling, or unable, to replace it if it’s lost). Go in person with the paper and ask if they can fill it. If they can, great. If they can’t but offer to hold your prescription until they can, do not leave it with them. Take it and go to the next pharmacy. Repeat as many times as needed. A pharmacist or tech may be willing to tell you if/when they expect their next shipment, but they often don’t know. If they tell you it’s on backorder, chances are they don’t know when it’s coming, so keep coming back and trying them on subsequent days.

Tip from u/HTHSFI: You can get meds shipped to you from Canada. The full tip is too long to paste into here, so I’m going to link the original comment it was sent through, which is here.

Tip from u/sharkbait469: Half-doses of Adderall (such as 12.5mg, for instance) are in less common use than the whole numbers like 10mg and 20mg, and are thus often easier to find. You may want to ask your doctor about switching you to the half dose closest to your current dose if your pharmacy has it.