Generic Adderall Recall: Oversized Barr Dextroamphetamine/Amphetamine
Published: August 17th, 2009 • Comments: 90
The FDA and Barr Laboratories, Inc. have announced a recall for generic Adderall tablets that may contain more of the active pharmaceutical ingredients than they are supposed to have, posing a risk of serious side effects among users of the ADHD drug.
The generic drug recall was issued on August 14 for one lot of Dextroamphetamine Saccharate, Amphetamine Aspartate, Dextroamphetamine Sulfate and Amphetamine Sulfate (mixed amphetamine salts) 20 mg tablets, which were sold in 100 count bottles. Some of the tablets from lot 311756 could contain tablets exceed weight requirements, which may result in super-potent pills.
The generic Adderall tablets are approved to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy, and are also often used off-label for weight loss. The 20mg pills are oval and peach in color, with “b/973″ stamped on one side and “2/0” stamped on the other. The recalled Barr ADHD pills were distributed between June 11, 2009 and June 16, 2009, but could have been filled by a pharmacy after that.
Taking an oversized pill could lead to an overdose, with symptoms like palpitations, tachycardia, hypertension, headache, tremor, tic, dyskinesia, dizziness, blurred vision, sweating, insomnia, agitation, euphoria, mania, anxiety, restlessness, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, dry mouth and decreased appetite.
No injuries have been reported in connection with the oversized tablets, according to Barr Laboratories. Consumers who have any of the recalled dextroamphetamine/amphetamine tablets have been advised to stop using the drug and contact their doctor or pharmacist. Any adverse reactions should be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch program.
The recall is the latest in a string of recalls involving generic drugs that were distributed with too much of the active medication in each tablet.
In late June 2009, U.S. Marshals raided generic drug manufacturer Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd., shutting down production due to unsafe manufacturing processes that allowed similar problems to occur. In March, Caraco issued a generic digoxin recall for tablets of their heart medication due to irregular sized pills.
In April 2008, a Digitek recall was issued by Actavis Totowa for their brand of digoxin which were distributed with up to twice the appropriate amount of the active pharmaceutical ingredient. At least 667 deaths from digoxin overdose were linked to the recalled Digitek tablets in FDA adverse event reports following the announcement of the manufacturing problems.
Last year, generic drug maker Ethex Corp suspended manufacturing and shipments for all products after issuing several generic drug recalls due to oversized tablets. Among tablets that were distributed with too much of the active medication were generic versions of morphine, which could cause a potentially fatal morphine overdose. Also included in the recall were dextroamphetamine tablets that were generic versions of Dexedrine and Dextrostate.
Comment by Andrew on 17 August 2009:
I received a call about this recall around 9am EST this morning, August 17th. It was very brief and undescriptive; had to do research on my own to find out about the recall. I can attest I’ve had all the symptoms above except euphoria. Sleep is hard to come by, except when you’ve exhausted yourself from being up and find yourself NEEDING it. Same with food, it’s become 1-2 meal(s) a day now.
Comment by james on 19 August 2009:
How do we know if we got new pills, if they are not from the same batch. I had mine replaced and they look exactly the same. Why can’t they change something about the pills, too mark the new ones from the old. Then I wouldn’t be so skeptical of the new ones.
Comment by renee d. on 21 August 2009:
i received a message from my pharmacy on 8/19 regarding my prescription that was filled on 8/7. Over the last 2 weeks i’ve averaged 3-4hrs sleep a night,i’ve been aggitated and anxious and my coworkers have to wear sweates and coats in the office because i cant stop sweating unless its subzero. Its been very unpleasant but at least now 4 know whats going on. Thank you.
Comment by Collin on 21 August 2009:
I recieved the call for the recall mid morning today as well. The pharmasist said the dosage was 60-80mg instead of 20mg. 3-4 times what I usually take. I have had all of these symptoms, including blurred vision. I wrecked my motorcycle wednesday due to the blurred vision, I thought my eye’s were going bad, but I have 20/10 vision.
Comment by Conscious Consumer on 21 August 2009:
What are the non active ingredients in BARR’s 30mg tablet Adderall? How do I find out what fillers are used in something I take? Thank you
Comment by Tom on 21 August 2009:
I’v been taking a 20mg Amphetamine salts combination arenufactured by Barr Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of ADD for 6 years now without incident until Monday August 16. They are a generic version for Adderall..
My first dose from my new script got me really buzzing really hard, and I stayed up all night three nights this week. Couldn’t figure out why until the pharmacy called and told me to stop taking it. I have had a big problem w/constipation which has seriously interrupted my work schedule. What the fuck??????????
Hey Barr, get your shit together when you’re mixing up your pills! You’re gonna kill somebody sooner or later you idiots!
Comment by Jason on 22 August 2009:
I was infirmed just this morning from my pharmacy that I got these “super-pills” and given an 888 number for TEVA. After being bounced around from TEVA back to pharmacy to TEVA to my doctor to the pharmacy and then back to TEVA. I was told completely different things from all of them, none of which were helpful or knowledgeable regaurding this situation. Doctor said not to take anymore and discard/destroy what I had. TEVA said to return what I had left to Pharmacy for exchange. Pharmacy and said it was against the law for them to take the meds back (which I discarded) and that TEVA is responsible for replacement. Then TEVA said that phamacy was “uninformed” and that their people were poorly trained and that they WERE supposed to take back Meds for exchange. Also, I would need a replacement RX to give the pharmacy which my insurance will surely not cover so I will be on the hook for the full cash price. Pharmacy…again, tells me that they have spoken with management at TEVA and that they are supposed to handle all “reimburment,” whatever that means. At this point it is 5pm on Friday, I’ve spent several hours, a ton of my cellphone plan minutes, all of my patience, and most of my sanity with absolutely no results except that I am without medicine for AT LEAST the weekend. That’s AWESOME! Should be fun. Real 5- star service they have over at the manufacturer. My head is going to explode!!! Hope the others out there dealing with this have a better experience than I have. Down with TEVA!
Comment by JD on 22 August 2009:
I received a phone call from my local pharmacist today close to 1700. He asked me if I could please read him the Rx. # off of my bottle. I did. He said it was a match for the batch being recalled. He stated he did not know any other information he could share with me. He said I am supposed to contact the company Barr Labs. He gave me the number & I called and got a recorded message – “the office was now closed”.
What I can say is this; I had a two month supply of my medication. I still have 1/2 the bottle left because I was experiencing difficulty. I had all of the above listed symptoms, including visual disturbance, heart palpitations, HTN, insomnia, anxiety, and GI hyperactivity. The hardest part is this, I was on a 90 day probationary period in a new position. I am no longer working for that company. I am angry. Not to mention the economy, the loss of employment, but my self esteem, my sense of self, I was worried I was decompensating. My friends and family are very concerned and will attest to my situation.
Comment by MACKEY on 22 August 2009:
i have complained to rite aid for years telling them that the barr 20mg tab has different side affects then other generic brands that i took. I have been on adderall for 7 years mostly bar 20mg and have experienced pills that had different affects magnified effects. i would request eon labs brand but it was hard for rite aid to get. This is not a isolated incident i believe there is more bad lots. and think this has been going on for years i hope that they get rid of barr 20mg it the worst generic adderall i have ever taken
Comment by mackey on 22 August 2009:
when i first started taking adderall i would get my scrip at rite aid and i would get the eon labs generic 20mg in the fall of 2005 all they were giving me was barr. i told them that this does not work or make me feel like the eon brand. they told me eon labs went out of buisness. i resherched eon labs and found out they were bought out by a company named zandos i made the complainet to rite aid and it took them 3 monthes to get the med back that i had taken for the last 3 years that helped me i would always tell them not to give me bar because of the way it made me feel i would give them a monthes notice and still could not accomidate me on certian occasions barr 30mg has a different affect than the 20mg the work and feel different the best brand that i have taken is the zandos brand. why rite aid would take a drug that helped me away and than give me a drug that made things worse it sucks
Comment by Micki on 22 August 2009:
I have had all of these side affects, I went to the Doctors I thought it was because I had bumped my head. the symptoms got worse and I was shaking so much my husband had to call out of work to be with me. This went on for three weeks. This month has been very scary for me, I hadn’t a clue why I was hallucinating and jumping out of my skin. This explains it all.
Comment by sunny on 22 August 2009:
This is the worst drug! I have all the symptoms and want to stop taking it all together but cant or else I wont get up in the morning.I dont know where to turn for help. It is a scary addiction!I should have never been perscribed this drug to begin with!
Comment by Travis on 23 August 2009:
i just recieved a letter from my pharmacy stating that my pills are being recalled…. i have taken them and feel that i could have the ones in question …. what dose did Barr supposively put in the pills and how can they get away with this …
Comment by suz on 23 August 2009:
I was sent into a mania lost my job had to drop out of school move in with my dad and relive some very emotional stuuf concerning a mild mood disorder i have. I though my mood disorder was getting worse noone knew what was going on. this caused serious emoitonal and finanancial damage to me and my family…. Im glad to know the cause but its still not. cool. my docotor was saying it was ptsd well i had over come that now i do have more acute trauma and i am scared to take the medications i have just learned accepted and decided i can trust to take.
Comment by RValerie on 23 August 2009:
Wow. I don’t know what to do now. I have been on the Barr 20mg. tablet for over a year now and have had so many different side effects, I thought I was going crazy. From teeth grinding and severe emotional highs and lows, destroying relationships, etc. I suffered from several skin infections and believe the pills might have been suspect, but now I am left with scars, like chicken pox leaves!! I DID NOT have these problems when I began treatment, but over the past 90 days, WOW, my life has been a rocky mess. I can’t afford the manufacturers brand so have had the generic version filled at Rite Aid for the last few months. Then I receive a letter from Rite Aid, confirming that I had had the recalled perscription lot number filled at their location. Now what?
Comment by Ronald on 23 August 2009:
I received a call from my pharmacist on 8/21/09. All they said was that there was a recall on this medication. I’ve been taking this for 2yrs. now, prior to that I’ve taken it for several years in the past. Taking this medication this time , I became agitated, constantly filled with anxiety, little to no appetite, nauseous all the time. I’ve been thinking there’s been something wrong with my heart. This medications has neve made me feel like this before. My Pharmacist couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me anything regarding the recall, they told me there wasn’t any further information. How could this be, if all I had to do was check the web and see this for myself? I’m wondering if this is in fact the truth about this even now? I was getting to the point where some one would say my name and I’d literally jump, the phone would ring and I’d freak out, as I said this never made me feel like is in the past.I had some days I thought I was going crazy, even suicidal thoughts..this does explain it.
Comment by Frank on 24 August 2009:
So will there be a lawsuit here or what?
Comment by Tina on 25 August 2009:
I haven’t been sleeping well lately. About 3-4 hours per night and I wake up in between. If I force myself to sleep I have strange dreams. This has happened on three occasions in the last two weeks. I have been complaining of chest pains also for about two weeks. My Mom said, oh, it’s probably stress. I’m 34 with chest pain. Doesn’t seem right. I haven’t been able to concentrate on serious matters lately (I had summer finals last week) and I seem to not really care either. My decision making process seems out of sync too. It has been very hard to arrive at final decisions lately.
Comment by Tina on 25 August 2009:
Oh, and I received a letter today from rite aid instructing me to return any pills in my possession.
Comment by barung on 25 August 2009:
I NOTICE SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH MY BATCH. I FELT ALL ABOVE SYMTOMS EXCEPT EUPHORIA. IT GAVE ME PYSHCOLOGAL DAMAGE. IT MY DAMAGE MY RELATIONSHIP WITH FAMILY,WIFE,AND FRIEND. I WAS VERY IMPLUSIVE WHICH LEAD ME TO PROLEMS. TALKING TO MY LAWYERS ABOUT THIS RECALL. I HAVE TAKEN THIS MEDICATION FOR 5 YEARS NOW.THIS ERROR HAVE COST ME DAMAGE BEYOND REPAIR.
Comment by AMANDA on 25 August 2009:
Like all of you, I received a call from my pharmacist and when speaking to her told her about my side affects…dizziness and nausea, extra sensitive and easily agitated, not to mention the countless headaches I got EVERY day. I thought I was pregnant until I heard of this recall. I had left work numerous times because I didn’t feel well and was spoken to by one of my bosses and my relationship recently ended… Not to mention I live with a heart murmur and what if the higher dosage could have done something to me? (I don’t think it did, but who knows) How does something like this happen? We put trust in our pharmacy and the manufacturers and things like this continuously happen.
Comment by Christian on 25 August 2009:
Trust me…you can tell if you got some.
I KNOW I did.
I thought I was losing it.
I won’t even go into what a nightmare it was.
Comment by Jack on 26 August 2009:
You know, it’s funny, I started taking the generic ones a few weeks ago (switched from adderall xr to the generic ’salts’) and I wasn’t having any of those symptoms until my pharmacy called about the recall and switched them for the “right” ones on Friday. Since then I’ve been having anxiety and excessive sweating…. Is it possible I had the right ones and I was given the recalled ones………??
Comment by Michelle on 26 August 2009:
It is ridiculous to think that they can get away with this! My daughter has been complaining about ALL KINDS of odd symptoms since taking this last refill. She has had an issue with grinding and gritting her teeth, anxious, unable to sleep, dizziness, blurred vision, sweating, insomnia, agitation, anxiety, restlessness, nausea, diarrhea, dry mouth and decreased appetite.
Comment by Erin on 27 August 2009:
I used to take Aderral two years ago. I moved, and my insurance would not cover it, so i had not taken it for two years now. I just started back on it, but started on the generic (cost) at 10mg. Was on that for a month- i felt a little wierd on the generic (compared to what i recall being on the adderal. Last month my doctor increased the dosage to 20 of Adderal. I filled it beginning of August. Again at the pharmacy I chose the generic (for cost purposes). HOLY SH*%…..I have been feeling like I am going to jump out of my skin. I didn;t know what it was- but i felt terrible. I cannot even think straight- my mind is racing and i feel really fuzzy and wierd vision- I thought I was having a siezure. Can’t sleep, sweating like a pig at night, restlessness, irritability, exhausted, heart pounding, —- it is awful.
Comment by Dougie on 27 August 2009:
First of all I would like to comment on the different effects that different patients are experiencing with different generic manufacturers.
I have found that the Barr Amphetamine combo to be the most effective generic Adderall, far better than the manufacturer Sandoz, which always seems to be more “speedy”, like drinking too much coffee. I couldn’t settle down and accomplish anything and it seemed to actually contribute to my ADHD. And Barr is certainly better that the Pharma-Core which simply does nothing. However, I have heard here and elsewhere that other patients experience the exact opposite.
I forget exactly what the percentages of active ingredients are required for generics to be marketed but I think it’s only like 10%. You can find that info online somewhere but it’s pretty ridiculous. Like I said, people’s body chemistry is different and the effects of these generic medications can vary greatly. But you all know that. The point I guess I am trying to make is that this incident may have caused us some difficulty and may lead some of you to seek an alternative to the Barr manufacture but keep it in mind that that in my experience the alternatives can be much more difficult.
I agree that it is an awful mistake on the part on Barr. But I’m more afraid of the consequences of a lawsuit. Every time I have had to switch insurance. Or times that I have had no insurance and have had to seek out a clinic or every time that I have had to fill a prescription at an unfamiliar pharmacy or supermarket. I have been afraid to discover that they didn’t carry the Barr generic. And so I fear just what the effects of a class action lawsuit would have.
But also, I logged on here after receiving a letter informing me of the recall this afternoon, and was kind of surprised to read all these negative reactions It’s kind of funny in a not so funny way, sorry if it seems insensitive, but when I initially read what the reason for the recall was I was exited! There’s no way that I would return these pills, It was simply an explanation as to why I have only need to take one dose a day instead to two. I don’t know why that wasn’t anyone else’s response now that you know just cut ‘em in quarters! You may need to if you have lost your job and/or insurance! Man this is like my dream. Again, I’m sorry if I have offended anyone. If you take anything from this keep in mind that you may find that the other generic manufactures don’t work for you as well, or at all. And you should really do some research, and look into what the percentages of active ingredients are required for a manufacturer to market a generic drug of any kind. Especially one that you rely on.
Comment by Gina on 27 August 2009:
Hi I currently take the generic brand amphetamine and have been on this for years. My dosage is 40mg a day…I come home to day to find in my mailbox a letter from my pharmacy “CVS” that it has been recalled and should stop taking it right away……..Hello u can’t just stop taking this medication u will go through withdrawl and have to be admitted into a hospital.. I to have been experiencing some side effects such as heart palpatations, severe diarrhea, dry mouth, sweating etc. I actually thought it was my birth control but i have been on that for over 2 mths now. I am so nervouse about I contacted my doctor in which he said to not take it but i am nervous once the morning comes and I am suppose to take it…..What other meds could they put us on? This manufacturer is playing with peoples lives and others that are effected by it!!!!!!
Comment by Stephanie on 27 August 2009:
my son has also taken this, im afraid what is giong to happen to him now.
Comment by Stephanie on 27 August 2009:
our son is 11 years old,he had his prescriptio filled on 8/5/09. I received a letter today august 27. he has been having headaches,cant sleep at all at night,severe facial ticks,etc. heas switched to this brand because insurance forced us to over a year ago,since he has been on this he has started grinding his teeth and chipped them up,hes had severe mood swings,his grades suffered at school because of mood swings and a “i hate life” attitutde. I am furious that the doctors didnt notify us,the pharmacy told me they tried to call me for over a week,thats funny,my cell phone does not show that. Its a corporate cover up. who may I ask is goingt o tell me my child died do to this drug?PEOPLE CAN NOT BE REPLACED!! I WANT SOME ANSWERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by Dougie on 27 August 2009:
that wasn’t very nice to not post my comments, have you read some of these statements? From the sound of it the majority of these people shouldn’t have ever even been prescribed this medication. Your going tell me that they don’t know how the medication effects them in the first place? That they can’t tell that they’re suddenly on three times as much amphetamines than usual? And that there just going to keep taking in every day for weeks at a time? I’ll tell you something, there is a reason that some of these people are prescribed medicine in the first place, and thats why there loosing there jobs and destroying there relationships, because there unstable to begin with. That there not in tune with themselves or there illness enough in the first place. Thats why there exhibiting so many problems in life. Clearly you don’t want anyone to be able to offer any of these “victims” any advice other than your own. you don’t want it to turn into a thread of people discussing there problems with each other, but just an outlet for your firm. That’s understandable. But this is a poor format to do so, creating the the appearance of an open forum. I would say the only real potential are cases involving minors. Everyone else can keep on twitching.
Comment by Sabreena on 28 August 2009:
I am 3 1/2 mo pregnant and been on This brand from this company for a little over a year, I thought what was happening was from being pregnant, guess i knwo why after the pharmisist said it wa a different medication! she told me it was abilify not adderall. I am very upset, becuase of the amount i am on, and i was reassured by my doctor it was okay to continue while pregnant, and because of this, it it hurts my child there is going to be hell in a certain company’s CEO’s office!
Comment by Ashley on 28 August 2009:
Is there a way to know what lot number your pills came from by looking at the Rx bottle or receipt? I got mine from Target Pharmacy and received a letter, but with no instructions on how to know what lot mine were from. I have been feeling weird, and b/c of that skipping my PM dose but I thought it was just from extreme stress and my emotions being totally out of control.
Comment by Caroline on 28 August 2009:
I’ve been taking the 20 mg generic Adderall for a few months now. The last two months, I’ve been getting really bad headaches and blurred vision. I thought it was from work related stress. In the last 2 and a half weeks, I’ve fallen down stairs three times. I’ve completely thrown out my back and I have all of these bruises. Rite-Aid sent me a letter, which I received yesterday, about the drug recall. When I saw that the side effects included dyskinesia, dizziness, blurred vision, and headaches, everything made much more sense. Is there a different generic I should switch to?
Comment by Diann on 28 August 2009:
I noticed the first day, of taking these pills, something was different….There was a note on the bottle stating these pills were a different color, but the same drug……I feel “non-productive”, sleepy, have had more than normal headaches…….Although I am sleepy during the day, dozing etc….I still have insomia at night…..Blurred vision, ill, etc…..Got a letter in the mail yesterday…..I am out of town now….This is not right. I want to enjoy my life, don’t you????
Comment by Lindsay on 28 August 2009:
I am wondering if there could be any permanent damage to my body from the recalled Adderall. My mother just received a letter in the mail addressed to me that says I have been taking the recalled generic Adderall. I am currently out of the country in the UK on a visa and have no way of returning my recalled pills for new ones. I can not stop taking my medication abruptly as this will cause bad side effects. I am worried and anxious right now and I don’t seem to be getting many answers from the Barr or the drug store.
Comment by B on 28 August 2009:
Today, I received a letter from CVS Pharmacy. I’m a couple of months behind on my pills (surplus), so I haven’t taken an affected pill yet. I just took one. If I feel anything weird, I’ll report back
Comment by Melissa on 28 August 2009:
OK I feel left out….I have yet to receive a letter from my pharmacy (Target) and I just happened to catch this story on the local news tonight and googled this. I literally had to change pharmacies to finally find one that still prescribed Barrs generic Adderall as I have found it to be the one that works best for me. I am guessing I did not receive the “bad” batch but I am refilling my next months tomorrow so I will be interested to see what they say.
Comment by Kelly on 29 August 2009:
Hi, I just received the letter from the pharmacy also about generic adderall. Now I understand why I feel the way I do. Plus…I’ve had my eyes checked 3 times but still cannot see worth crap! My vision is very blurry to the point that I really shouldn’t be driving. I have the same question as the person in an above post…is there going to be a lawsuit? The way it has affected my life and it seems the lives of others? There should be!
Comment by J.B. on 29 August 2009:
I too have been having some frightening symptoms and had attributed them to a number of things, but had no idea of course that my prescribed medication has been the culprit all along! Whats worse is that my Dr only recently increased my dosage to two (20mg) tablets 3-4x daily!!! When filling my prescriptions at Walgreens (different manufacturers) I had no unusual side effects, but this from Safeway has been a nightmare. As I write this, it’s approaching 5:30am and I am yet again wide awake and exhausted at the same time!!! Now I see why this has become out of control. I have indeed lost weight…but due to zero appetite, nausea, sweating, nervousness, and heart racing etc etc. Ridiculous, I am tired of these companies killing us.
Comment by Josh on 30 August 2009:
I think you are all a bunch of whiners. Just consider yourselves lucky you have a prescription for adderall. i have to buy mine off the streets, and have just came across the “recalled” pills. wanna see what all the hype is about but if none of you can stand the heat i suggest you stay out the kitchen. EASTSIDE
Comment by donna on 30 August 2009:
I have been on adderal 20mg for years. My dr just raised my dose from 30 mg 2 times a day to 40 mg 2 times a day. Since they dont make a 40mg tablet, I was advised to take 2 20 mg twice a day. It seems that a lot of pharmacies dont have this generic dose and need to order it so I have been contacted by 3 pharmacies. I have been stressed out for so long I just thought this was stress related. Well now this all makes sense. I can see at all. Even people are blurry. I have had the worst headaches I can remember that hasen’t gone away even with narcotic pain medication. I thought again that I was stressed out and I just had migraines. I have been trying to start my first relationship in 5 years. Things were fine. Well he says I have been no fun to be around, I’m moody, I dont remember things, and he even thinks I’m skitxo. I seriously am to the point of not caring about anything I normally do. I’m so damn tired but I can sleep or think straight. Since adderal is supposed to be a stimulant, sometimes I took an extra dose to try to “snap out of it”. Needless to say, it made things worse. I’m irritable as hell. I said F you to my 11 yr old son. I would never do that!!! I cant drive. I’ve been hitting curbs, medians and even getting lost when going to places I go to often. It’s affected my memory big time! I finally after 9 yrs got my briefing to see if I am eligible for assistance thru section 8. I was a mess. I had all kinds of papers that were unnecessary, it took me way longer then anyone else and i was just unorganized. I hate this feeling. I want it to go away. It’s my understanding you cant just stop this, that you have to taper. The pharmacies I spoke to, CVS and Rite aid offered to replace them but of course one was July and gone and the other I can do that but how do we know they are ok and will work like they are supposed to??? To tell you the truth I’ve felt wierd on and off since I’ve been on this so I dont think its just something that started June 11.
Comment by matt on 30 August 2009:
I am taking up this request on behalf of a friend who has had a traumatizing and life threatening experience with the most recent Adderall recall. He got the prescription 2 days after the recall from his pharmacy and has already taken some. Currently he has admitted himself to the rehabilitation and psychiatric hospital Ten Broeck in Louisville Ky after having crashed his car over 48 hrs into the drugs negative affects. Have received many disheartening messages from said friend with threats to end life (very unusual for him). His life has just been flipped head over heels by the drug. He still has pills left and it’s unclear on whether or not he has continued to take them.
Comment by Michael on 31 August 2009:
I have a 14 year old son, who has mild Autism, and started Adderall in March 09. It has seemed to work well. We have the infected batch from June 16th, and July 29th. It seemed that he was going back into the Autistic world, and about a week ago, he started hearing voices, and this past Friday I had to hame him Addmited to the Hospital. I received a letter from Vons on August 28th, about the recall the day I had him admitted. Has anyone else dealts with this, because I do not know what to think or do.
Comment by YRC49 on 31 August 2009:
So what now we just have to move on and deal with the fact that we haven’t been able to sleep for the past 3 weeks.
Comment by sarah on 31 August 2009:
You people just want to sue somone so that you can sit on your a** and not work. Your inability to keep a job is due to bad character, not because there is too much active ingrediant in these pills. I haven’t noticed any difference in the recalled pills from any other months pills. If there were really 60 mg to 80 mg in a 20 mg pill, there would be some reported injuries.
Comment by cal on 2 September 2009:
Makes perfect sense now. I have now made a connection. I was diagnosed with shingles about a week after I got my scrip filled on Aug 4. About a week after the shingles diagnosis is when I got the call about the recall. I was sick from stress and anxiety for 3 weeks. This is ridiculous. Cost me a week at work.
Comment by Jon on 3 September 2009:
I’ve had severe mood swings on this new batch of barr adderall and consequently lost my job and am still not quite better.
Comment by Jason on 4 September 2009:
I was recently prescribed adderall for the 1st time on August 6, my birthday, and what a present! I took it for 3 weeks, and didnt sleep a wink the entire time. I finally said enough is enough, and when I went to see the shrink last wednesday, told her about all the side effects, and she asked if id give it one more try. I agreed, went and got the script filled, and they were not the same oval peach pills I got the last time, they were round and pink. I work all the time, so I probably get my mail once a week, I checked it that night, 9-2, and on the very bottom there was a letter from Target pharmacy telling about the recall stating there have been “super-potent tablets” that have been distributed. I dont have insurence, I pay out of pocket, and everyone at work has noticed a severe change in me. I was throwing up all the time and not eating at all. I dont know if it has left any long term, lasting effects or not. I plan to keep everyone here posted on my outcomes
Comment by Debbie on 4 September 2009:
Makes perfect sense is right. I suffered all of the adverse side effects in the letter I received from my pharmacist–after taking the bad drugs in July and August. After I quit taking the bad batch, a week now, I still have bladder problems and suffer from a constant thirst. I am also concerned about kidney damage. I would like to find out if there is any long term effects from taking this drug. I have taken this medicine for years, with no side effects. The super pill has caused so many problems.
Comment by Ben on 4 September 2009:
MediaCurves.com just conducted a national study with 966 viewers of a news clip highlighting the potential dangers of generic brand drugs. illustrating the dangers of texting and driving. Results showed that nearly half of viewers (46%) reported that they are less likely to purchase generic drugs after watching the video. The study also found that 66% of viewers had a more negative perception of generic brand drugs after watching the news clip. More in-depth results can be viewed at http://www.mediacurves.com/HealthCare/J7539-Generic-Drugs/Index.cfm
Thanks,
Ben
Comment by Debbie on 4 September 2009:
Makes perfect sense is right. I suffered all of the adverse side effects in the letter I received from my pharmacist–after taking the bad drugs in July and August. After I quit taking the bad batch, a week now, I still have bladder problems and suffer from a constant thirst. I am also concerned about kidney damage. I would like to find out if there is any long term effects from taking this drug. I have taken this medicine for years, with no side effects. The super pill has caused so many problems.
Comment by sara on 5 September 2009:
omg, I just stopped taking my medication from yesterday. I didnt take my afternoon dose and I slept for 14 hours last night! Before yesterday I had hard time sleeping, and I had to wait to pass out.
I am 100% sure that these pills where over dosage. In the past weeks I was suffering with an extreme mood swings, I was scared, depressed, angry, and mania, hopeless. I thought I am bipolar and its just started showing its symptoms. I was laughing one day; next day I was crying; I had a physical fight with my sister one time over something that wasnt worth to argue about it. I felt like I dont know myself anymore. I was very irritable, I lost more than 10 of my best friends in this time, and I broke up with my boyfriend. I had 2 one night stands in this time! It might sounds like something normal but not for me that never did it in my 29 years life. Everyday, I missed my classes which I never have done that in past. I never went to the research lab that I am doing my research there, and I think the professor will kick me out when he comes back from vacation on Tuesday. My memory was working very bad that recently I felt that I am losing it, and I really thought I’m getting crazy, and etc. I went to my doctor and asked for a new diagnose. She prescribed me Prozac, and she told me I should cut off my medication dose and she said lots of these symptoms could be for taking higher dose of medication. I started arguing with her because she was my new doctor (second visit), and I tried to explain to her that how careful my doctor was increasing the dosage to find the right dose before, and I was on this dose for the past 14 months. However, I just remembered that I had a call from CVS few days ago. I told her that I think I had a call from CVS about a recall on medication. I think she didnt believe me, she asked for their # and I didnt have it on me. Later, I called the pharmacy and they told me some pills might be in higher dose. I called Barr laboratories and they told me they are not even sure! They said they are investigating! And they asked me to stop taking the medication and changing it……
I wenyt online from last night and I just realized all whats going on.
I really think someone has to be responsible for this, this is not a joke! I had horrible days and I am sure lots of ppl have experienced it. I am a biochemist myself, and I know exactly how high dose of this drug can harm someones body.
NOW I am writing to ppl who left comments here like “so what, just deal with not sleeping for few weeks” or “u guys just wanna sue someone”
NO, This is not a normal thing, Mistakes like this SHOULD NOT happen. They can make damages that never can go away!!!! Any human in this world can have mutant genes or silent genes in their genomes that can get turn on with drug abuse. High dose of this medication is DRUG ABUSE. Genes that they can stay silent till the last day of anyones life, and they never experience any problem!!!
One way for bipolar disorder to get turn on is one of them some types of cancer is another, and…. I dont want to scare anyone, but there are some damages that can never go away. Not everyone can get their jobs back, some cant get their relationships back, organ damages, some psychology effects will stay with some ppl forever. Some will start getting damages. Using drugs for few weeks or few months wont have only “not sleeping” effect. There is up to 7 years and 20 years prison for ppl who use or sell class A drug without prescription. So be sure that it is not something NORMAL. I personally think all the ppl who are responsible for this have to go behind the bars!!!
Comment by robert on 7 September 2009:
I have been takeing adderall over 10 years includeing two bottles of the suposed over dosed pills and have noticed none of the adverse side effects attributed to useage of this medication. Maybe people are suffering from panic more than overdose!
Comment by Steve on 8 September 2009:
Usually when using generics, the problem is that they are weaker than the brand name because the government allows a wider variation in the exact amount for generics. Of course, they are going to err on the side of LESS rather than MORE. However, as long as you are taking the prescribed amount, the amount of difference, within the pills is nothing to be concerned about. For once an error in the consumers favor! Hoe ’bout that!
Comment by Rhiannon on 9 September 2009:
I have taken adderall for quite some time now, and I have never felt as bad as I did the past months. I had almost all of the symptoms listed. I have lost close to 50 pounds in past few months due to an extreme lack of appetite. I was easily agitated, always trembling with goosebumps, and I could never sleep. I went to work one morning and my eyes were all black from not sleeping. The veternarian I was currently working for called me aside to see if I was feeling alright. I told him that I hadn’t slept and I was extremely cold. I felt myself feeling increasingly agitated throughout first hour of work. I ended up going into a manic, aggressive state of mind. I had a fight with a fellow employee, who really was a friend to me, and almost choked her. The fellow employee said she was physically assaulted and made out a police report. She didn’t press charges, but I did get fired from a job for physically attacking a fellow employee. I loved that job and really need to work to help support my 5 month old daughter. I’m suffering because the lack of financial assistance, mental and emotional stress. The vet I worked with for almost 3 years, exclaimed how that was not me and I did not look well when I came in. He told the owner of the hospital how I was shaking, all black under the eyes, and he defintely felt that something was wrong with my behavior. I have spoken with cvs and the pharmacist said I did recieve my adderall during the times they were dispensing that particular lot number. This has caused so much damage to my family, mental and physical health, and do not have employment to support my infant. I am able to provide witnessess, signed statements and proof of these events. I just need a lawyer who will help me find the pieces to put my life back together.
Comment by anonymous(because i'm *that* twitchy right now) on 9 September 2009:
I take generic Adderall and this summer I have had all the side effects listed in the article and many more especially paranoia and very severe symptoms of mania. I wrote down about five pages of them including examples of exactly what I experienced. I can post a brief summary if anyone is interested. On that note, inability to stop writing is another side effect I’ve had. I experienced stronger side effects more recently which makes sense as my dose was recently increased from two “20″ mg pills a day to two and a half “20″ mg pills daily. Although the earlier bottle I got seemed to be much different than normal as well as I believe I did experience many of the harmful psychological side effects listed in the article. I have been taking Adderall since last year without any mental side effects until this summer. And the only physical side effects prior to this summer were decreased appetite, dry mouth, and stomachache. These pale in comparison to the side effects experienced this summer. Concerning psycological side effects: This summer I experienced two (probably irreparably) broken relationships with people I really care about. Around July 1st, one of those two said he thought I was acting very different because of the Adderall and that he thought I should try taking a break from it, but I didn’t listen because I thought I was doing the right thing by taking what my doctor told me to take. He put up with the unusually severe mood swings and *constant* sad/mad/bizarre text messages from me for a few weeks but finally he couldn’t take the stress and stopped talking to me entirely. I really wish I’d heard about the recall a few weeks ago when it was issued. I just received the letter about it in the mail today. I really would like to know how much the superdosed ones actually contained.
Comment by mary on 10 September 2009:
my son took this drug all summer, by the time he got the recall notice, he had lost his job, wreaked havoc at home, and gotten arrested. Recently an EMT told him he had hypertension. He is soon to be 19. He is on SSI and disability, and if he goes to jail, they wont give him his medicine.
Comment by emily on 11 September 2009:
robert and others who think everyone’s overreacting: we are not! those pills contain 60-80 mg amphetamine, which is 3-4 times what was supposed to be in them. I was supposed to take one and a half pills a day which normally would be only 30mg. With the superdosed pills I unknowingly got and was taking for over a week, i was getting 120 mg a day. to put this in perpective, there is a less commonly perscribed adhd drug called Desoxyn. desoxyn is methamphetamine. it is about twice the strength per mg as adderall. it is slightly more effective but doctors don’t like to perscribe it because it is labeled as “meth…” Okay, now look at street methamphetamine, again you have the ratio of being twice as strong as amphetamine. so you need to take twice the amount of adderall to get similar highs, mania, physical side effects as the same amount of amphetamine. Back to me. Because of the drug company’s error, and slowness in letting me know about the recall, I was taking 120 mg (”30″mg perscribed at 4X strength)of amphetamine, equivalent to approximately 60 mg methamphetamine. 70 mg methamphetamine is considered chronic meth abuse. this is higher than your average recreational user. and we all know the average recreational user of meth usually is not doing too well. at this point i am afraid to stop taking the pills because there WILL be withdrawall and it WILL be terrible. if you want to know more about long term side effects that can result from this level of amphetamine use, google “chronic meth abuse”
Comment by Anonymous on 12 September 2009:
I have been on Adderall for about two years now. I take Barr’s generic brand but it’s lot 974 and 30 mg. Although it’s not matching the recalled lot number, I am experiencing similar side effects to others on thi page. The side effects are so severe that it has caused some major changes in my life (negatively). These side effects became very apparent within the past 2-3 months. I thought it was me. I don’t believe that the recalled lot is the only one. It’s so hard to wake up in the morning, stay awake during the day, and sleep at night. I lost my job 2 months ago and I firmly believe that my medication had a lot to do with that. At this point I feel absolutely defeated. My 4 year relationship is coming to an end as I have been asked to move out by the end of the month (and quite honestly, I don’t blame her). It’s hard to explain to people who aren’t taking this medication exactly what it is that you’re feeling. She thinks I’m lazy and have lost all ambition. She’s right. But it’s because of this. How do you make someone understand what you’re going thru? Im worried that I will hit a wall soon and completely give up. This is by far the most difficult thing I’ve ever dealt with. I’m 32 years old and feel like my once enjoyable, fullfilling life is quickly wasting away. Now that we know about Barr’s error, what do we do? At the risk of sounding lawsuit happy (I’ve never sued anyone in my life), someone needs to accept responsibility for all of our losses. As stated before, I lost my job ($75,000/year) and a relationship that I once held so dear. It’s unacceptable, to me, that Barr has admitted to this error, and although it has caused HUGE issues, they will not be held responsible. Also, it’s not just lot 973, believe me. This needs to be looked into.
Comment by Margi on 13 September 2009:
I recieved a call from my pharmacist in early August informing me of the Barr recall. I was told to discard all my current medication and to get a new Rx filled asap, which I did.
This explains the really bad days I had in July and and August. I couldn’t think clearly and was overwhelmed with depression and anxiety. I was unable to accomplish anything and my husband was deeply worried.
Everything improved as soon as I switched to the replacement meds.
How does something like this happen and what is being done ot insure it doesn’t happen again?
Comment by Lisa on 13 September 2009:
My son has been taking this adderall without knowledge that it had been recalled. He ihas been away at training camp and has been experiencing dehydration, hives, rashes, dizziness, headaches, feeling of things crawling on him, blurred vision, out of body experiences. When he came home I took him to the ER and was told that the adderall was the problem. He was given a steroid shot, Benadry shot and sent home with three prescriptions and told do not take another one. A few weeks ago I almost lost him due to severe dehydration caused by this medication and his body makeup. He stopped taking this drug and has no more rashes or symptoms, feels so much better.
Comment by JERRY on 13 September 2009:
I’m so glad I found this page.
42 Yr old male- Adult ADD. / 20 mg day.
I’m so relieved. I thought it was just me. I thought I was going crazy.
I too went off the deep end because of the super-strength pills. On July 9th it peaked. In a 3 day period, I threatened suicide, quit my job, and called and texted my fiance (who was out of town visiting family), HUNDREDS of times a night for a 2 consecutive nights.
For several days, starting about a day or two after I refilled my prescription, I was extremely anxious, Wildly manic, had most of the symptoms listed above (racing heart, severe sweating with no physical exertion, felt like I was going to jump out of my skin, blurry vision, and I couldnt sleep more than 3-4 hours at a time for nearly 2 weeks, and then stayed awake for over 48 hours straight during the 2nd week of July.
I was told by my psych that this is typical bi-polar behavior during a quick cycliIng manic/depressed period. It was later determined that I’m not bipolar.
For the first time in my life, I had experienced a full-blown panic attack, and being so anxious, I took a Xanax with no results, and then took another one, trying to calm down. They did nothing except to lower my inhibitions and in a hyper, yet semi-drunk state I posted suicidal threats all over my fiance’s facebook page. (I’ve never done anything remotely like that, and later explained it away by blaming it on a reaction to the Xanax, but I knew that my anxiety was abnormal, and I had no real stressors causing me to go off the deep end.
I had no clue what was happening. I thought I was losing my mind. It was only after I received the letter from CVS, that I started putting the pieces together what had happened. The call from the local pharmacist came 3 days after I finished my bottle of pills which contained the super-strength ones.
Thanks to the behavior caused by the ” overdose” I am now required to see a psychiatrist, have to go to counseling 2 x a month, and I was almost locked up in a psych ward for observation for 48 hours on the day of my suicide threat.
So– In a 2 day period, my life crumbled around me as I felt so out of control and so overwhelmed by inconsequential things, that I almost threw it all away.
Something has to be done.
How can the entire batch of bad drugs be found, and then only after most people have used them up, they finally issue a recall. I got my call from CVS 3 days after I took my last pill of that batch.
I think they knew long before they went public and figured that if people had finished their bottles of medication, that they (the pharmaceutical company) could get away with it.
I was a week away from having health care benefits at my job that I quit. Now I’m left not only with no health insurance, but also because of the psychological melt down I had, now I’m burdened with a pre-existing condition that most insurance companies won’t cover for a 12 month period. So, when I get insurance from my new employer- my psych “issues” won’t be covered. Talk about a catch 22.
I’m trying to rebuild my life, and make ammends with those who I put through hell. My fiance has family and friends telling her to get out of our relationship because I’m unstable. She spent nearly $1000 for an emergency flight home, and I ended up moving back in with my 70 year old parents because of the financial issues that one encounters after quitting a job. I have since moved back in the home my fiance and I shared before all this happened, and I’ve gotten a new job.
Now I’m glad I found the stories you’ve posted. I thought I was going crazy- Now it makes sense.
Comment by Diane on 15 September 2009:
I needed no confirmment regarding this recall….I had the most horrible side effects. I could not catch my breath from morning until 3a.m., at which time I would fall asleep. My mouth was incredibly dry and my heart raced out of my chest. Even worse, I had a migraine headache which lasted three days. I am extremely furious; I am an adult and I cannot imagine a child experiencing the horrible side effects. That is it for me…I am working on my master’s degree and instead of helping me along with tasks, the medication almost killed me.
Comment by Kathy on 15 September 2009:
well there has been a death in my family! my younger sister passed away in her sleep on August 13, 2009. two weeks later a letter was sent to her house informing her about the recall!!! well it was two weeks too late for her and I am very interested in getting some answers from those responsible for the horrible mistake. nothing will bring her back and give her 17 year old daughter her mother back for these so important years in a young girls life. we are all deeply saddened by her death and need to get to the bottom of this incident.
Comment by Debbie on 16 September 2009:
I have the batch No. Josh, you can go to any MHMR clinic and get a prescription for adderall. I am not whining. A product approved by the FDA, several clinical trials done on it, was manufactured and marketed as safe for us and our families. Consequently we paid for this medication — some of us for years. I know I have for my son and I. When a corporation, acidenttally or on purpose, poision its product base, it should be held accountable. Personally, I had a transient ischemic attack, high blood pressure, vertigo, fell and hurt my back, bitting my inside lip, nerve pain up and down my arms and legs, bad headaches, mania and depression. So Josh, speak for youself because you choose to buy adderall as if you are buying cocaine. There is no street-drug cool effect to this medicine. It gives us a better quality of life, and that’s why we pay for it, take, and give it to our loved ones. Live and learn Josh.
Comment by Lindsey on 16 September 2009:
You are all a bunch of idiot sissies. A higher dosage isn’t going to make you kill yourselves, crash your motorcycles, rape your wives, or eat babies. If anything, you should have gotten way more productive and way more addicted. You’re not going to get any money so just give up, you’re wasting your sweet time.
Comment by Matthew on 17 September 2009:
Below i explain my experience with adderall. I believe that there should be a further investigation into how long and what exactly the errors in production were. Also if there are any long term damages to my heart or liver or whatever. If this has been going on longer than they say, then i feel that they are responsible for my and from reading the above post many people’s suffering.
I just got my first refill since the recall and today being the seventh day of taking the new prescription, I have definitely noticed a dramatic difference in everything. I’m not all achy, irritable, depressed(anymore than normal). I think that BAR has been producing these off spec. pills since January. I have been on adderall since Oct 08. The first two months i was taking the medication it worked very well. I did experience slight side effects such as slight irritability in the evenings and lack of appetite, but starting in January every evening I would feel absolutely terrible. I started to take pain killers in the evenings to be able to be comfortable in my own skin. I didn’t inform my doctor of this because I didn’t want to be taken off the medication. Several times I tried to wean myself off of the medication but was unable to get out of bed or get ANYTHING done at work if I did manage to get out of bed without it.
I’m going to talk to a class action suit lawyer and determine if there is a case here, if only to hold the head of this company accountable.
Comment by Matthew on 18 September 2009:
Lindsey, i would have agreed with you last week, but after refilling my prescription I have noticed a complete difference in this script compared to the script I have been getting since January. I thought i was going crazy.
Comment by holly on 19 September 2009:
I HAVE BEEN TAKING ADERRAL FOR 8 MONTHS FELT FINE UNTIL THE 6 MONTH WAS GETTING MEDICINE FILLED AT CVS THEN THEY NEVER HAD THE DRUG ALWAYS OUT. THE MONTHS GETTING FILLED AT RITE AID WAS FEELING IRRITABLE SAD DEPRESSED PARONED. THEN GOT CALL FOR RECALL IWAS THE FIRST TO NOTIFY MY DOCTORS OFFICE THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE. THE NURSE CALLED AND SURE ENOUGH RECALL I WENT TO DRUG STORE THEY SAID GET NEW SCRIPT FROM DOCTOR THEY NEVER EVEN ASK FOR THE OLD BOTTLE . I AM SCARED FOR ME AND OTHER PEOPLE ON THIS DRUG.
Comment by Penny on 23 September 2009:
I am an RN with a lot of knowledge about meds and their side effects. I am shocked to learn the dose was as high as 60-80 mg! I had a visit to the ER for chest pain and my BP was very high. I have been having lots of anxiety lately, got Ativan in the ER and a prescription for Xanax. I started taking sleeping pills. A lot of this is explainable now. I had been cutting back on my doses just because I didn’t feel well, but took the full “20 mg” dose on work days. I didn’t learn about the recall until this week as I was out of town, and only moments ago learned about how strong the dose was.
Comment by Mark on 24 September 2009:
I was hospitalized on Tuesday with acute Adderall intoxification after I took one dose and woke up with shooting pains from my foot to my head. Sharp “electric pains”. I have been an emotional wreck this last month and a half and now I know why.
Comment by John on 25 September 2009:
Without adderall id be completely lost, intellectually castrated and emotionally aa zombie.
I cant/wont tell you what I used ti do, or stil occassionally dabble in.
I can say WITH ABSOLUTE certainty is when ive visited local emergency rooms, my powerful detractors have deep pockets, and a sacred mission statement to sway doctors to their side without even having been admotted yet.
Last night a Virgjna based healthcare conglomorate that has a pAper trailm 5 miles long of giving me this drug, suddenly got cold feet and stopped the rxs for adderall 30mg times 80 capsules or tablets.
someone wants to undermine my health, safteey, and wellfare and im virtually powerless to stop it soley because of whom is disseminating the misinformation.
Comment by Tracy on 28 September 2009:
I knew that something wasnt right and was under doctor care by the time I recieved my recall letter from CVS. The doctors were unsure what was wrong.My kidneys were not fuctioning properly.I was passing blood and was blacking out. lost time at work not to mention the doctor visits and the pain of my system shutting down.I have to still go see how much kidney damage I have not to mention what else it caused.
Comment by Julie on 1 October 2009:
the bads meds caused my bp to spike which damaged my vision so bad that it is called “can count fingers” my bp had been normal before and the damage is likely perm.
Comment by Kristyna on 7 October 2009:
Guess what! We got the recall letter too late… my mother died the 13th of august…the letter got here the 22nd! thanks a lot… im a 17 yr old with no mother thanx to you!
Comment by chris on 15 October 2009:
I filled my prescription on Aug. 14th. Between that time and August 19th the day I received the letter from Walgreens notifying me of the recall, I had already destroyed part of my home, physically abused my 3 year old son which I have never harmed in my life.
I have NO criminal background, never got suspended from school for any reason, prior military, law enforcement.
Since the episode of what I call “complete and total rage” I have missed several unpaid days from work, hundreds of dollars in MD bills, DHS and police visited my home while I was away to make sure that I wasn’t a habitual abuser and offered my wife a way out of a bad situation.
We have been married for 14 years with little more than a change in tone during any type of “argument” we have ever had.
On one of the following days I came to work and went into the “RAGE” that I had experienced two days earlier.
Being raised the way I was I always use manners, well this incident yielded a very profane and hostile situation for two office employees. I threatened them physically, cursing uncontrollably and having them fear for the safety of their lives, one was a small woman. I am 6′-2″ and 260 lbs.and they had no chance of escape I was blocking the only exit.
After leaving the office I began driving very erratically and hoping I would die or kill someone to remove the uncontrollable rage within me.
I quit my job the day after because I was too ashamed to face the people that once respected me.
I know my situation isn’t as bad as some of the others here but my family of five will remember it for the rest of their lives.
My 3 year old asked me two days ago (almost two months since) “where’s the BAD daddy?” I told him that he was gone. He replied “Good cause he hurt me.”
Now I have to look at him the rest of my life and instead of remembering good times I will remember his words.
TY!
Comment by Jeremy on 17 October 2009:
I have definitely experienced these side effects. I too thought I was dying. Im currently taking 10mgs of b-973/2.0 . I still feel like I wanna jump out of my skin a lot of the time. I have been to the hospital countless times since I have been taking this b-973. I have been a step away from killing myself and hurting everyone around me. I almost lost my girlfriend due to the anger outbursts and emotional instability.I truly damaged the relationship because It quickly got physically abusive.We have been together 4 years and have a son together. I was kicked out of the place I was living, because she could not handle how much more emotionally unstable I had become. My dad thinks Im crazy now and will have nothing to do with me. This is a serious problem. How can these people literally get away with murder? Barr Pharmaceuticals will be held accountable if I have anything to do with it. When will someone realize that add/adhd is a growing disorder that is hereditary. Cant you people see, you or I would have never had these problems. If our parents,grandparents,great grandparents,etc, had delt with there damn problems and not takin drugs to fix everything. think about it, if they use a drug that alters the chemicals in there mind will it effect our kids minds, comon sense. c’mon you people need to stand up and fight for your mental illnesses, caused by concious bad decision making. The reson we have to take these drugs is to counter act the chemical imbalance caused by other and probably drugs like these. You people should be mad and should join the fight, When we take a drug that comes from the doctor we automatically trust that its right for us. the research needs to be thoroughly investigated again and again. But it is not. We are the lab rats and nobody deserves this kind of pain and suffering. Barr should be held acountable and the people should not stop there they should push the issue and atleast try to find a cure so we can stop passing this debilitating disorder on to our kids. Its only going to get worse if all we do is take out pills we are just contributing to the problem. we have to search beyond ourselves and make a diffrence. J. Rice
Comment by Anonymous on 2 November 2009:
Why is there so much hate against the people who are complaining about being victims? Taking amphetamines in massive doses can causes heart failure…i.e., death. This is not a small “oops.” Yes, there are many instances in our society where people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions, but most of these posts do not seem to be examples of that. People have a right to be upset when their lives are jeopardized by the recklessness of others.
Comment by Justin on 6 November 2009:
All I can say after reading almost ALLLLLLL the post’s on here is I ABSOLUTELY AGREEEEEEE!!!!!!! I got my refill last month and threw it away. The medication I received made me feel like a person I didn’t know and NEVER knew I could feel like. When I was off it, I felt GREAT. But, I truely have ADD and need the ORIGINAL medication i was given when I was first diagnosed. The ORIGINAL medication i received served its function.
The situation I see hear is simply this. A company saw the opportunity to produce a generic brand of this medication. BUTTTTT did not implement, at any lengths it seems, the same standards of production or regulation as the ORIGINAL medication. YETTTT they have profitted and now have the financial resources to put up a legal fight against any of their “wrong doing”. Even after opposition, for making an inferior product, they still make a profit and take NOOOOOO responsibility for their actions.
CORPORATE GREED CANNOT NOT TAKE PRESECEDENCE OVER OUR WELL-BEING.
Comment by angel on 12 November 2009:
Every since my son was prescribed adderall he has lost tremendous weight, he stays angry all the time. For him to be ten years old he doesnt play with his peers. He complains of tremendous back pain around the lung area. Im so worried about him but we dont have the proper insurance to get him further tested.
Comment by michelle on 23 November 2009:
Not only does Barr make bad adderall but their prozac does not work at all. I looked up their records on the FDA website and they actually failed to get approval several times and were granted some kind of exception. To my understanding, reading the files available to the public they have been unable to meet the requirements but the ok was given. I told my doctor and the pharmacies I use that I do not want BARR products. When you take a medicine that works for you, you know when it’s not doing what it’s suppose to. Shame on you BARR.
Comment by Danielle on 6 December 2009:
I think that BARR generic Adderall is STRONGER than brand name adderall and other generic adderall. I have been taking this medication for the past 10 years and i became addicted to the med and it has caused serious problems in my life. I have taken the brand name adderall and the other generic that is out there (hot pink tabs) and the BARR was always 2x as strong. I urge others who may have had similiar experiences with the BARR generic to come forward and perhaps file a lawsuit against BARR. This drug has really messed up my life and Im thankful to now finally be off the drug, only after months of therapy and a lot of hard work.
Comment by Amanda on 8 January 2010:
This is the first I have heard of this recall and I too have been a long time adderall taker. My pharmacist JUST called me and asked if I had any left from the last prescription that I had filled which was over a month ago because they needed me to bring them back so they could REPLACE them! I took my medication like I was supposed to and therefore NO I DO NOT have any to give back to be replaced. I too have been going through EVERY SINGLE symptom listed here as well This is absolutely ridiculous! They should have better control over these sorts of things!
Comment by Erin on 9 January 2010:
I got the call from my pharmacy today. Funny, I got these pills on a Monday and was in the emergency room by Friday night. I was in the midst of a flee infestation and thought bugs were hopping on my skin.
I won’t go into full details, but I will tell everyone, it was by far the worst week of my life. I almost went on FMLA. I experienced a drug induced psychosis. I was having hallucinations and thought people were trying to kill me.I was kicked out of the hospital at 11pm…they knew i didn’t have a car…i was stranded…i walked the streets of Houston at midnight…got picked up by a mexican named oscar…he thought i was a hooker….i heard things…i saw scary things…the next hospital visit said i was maybe bipolar or schizophrenic. I was admitted to a psychitric unit. My mom flew in from Ohio to help me. I thought I literally was CRAZY!!!!
Comment by Zoey on 9 January 2010:
This medication caused my friend to weep considerably in a corner for hours, anytime someone tried to talk to her or made any loud noises around her she would start growling and yelling, and disturbing her caused her to go on a rampage and sometimes seriously injure another person.
Comment by gayla on 11 January 2010:
I just got a phone call today from my Winn-Dixie Pharmacy January 11 2010,telling me of the recall. I have been taken adderall for years now.I have been feeling so bad for the last year. This is just now being told to me. I am so very upset.
Comment by Rachel on 15 January 2010:
I just found out my pills were apart of the bad batch from my pharmacist tonight at food lion’s pharmacy. I have been getting my medicine there for almost 3 months after switching from Kroger’s Pharmacy “witch also get the same barr 20 mg tablets.”It’s Scary to think I wouldnt have known if it wasnt for a tooth I had to get pulled today!! I too have been experiencing all the side effects but thought it was because I had to get back used to my medicine after returning back to it after my pregnancy with my son now 8 1/2 months old. I went back after I quit breastfeeding about 6 months ago and it got so intense that I had to increase my anxiety medication just to feel normal. As soon as I read this, I threw my bottle out and I am calling my physician tommorrow and getting my dosage in the 10mg tablets”like my pharmacist suggested”!! He let me read the recall sheet they faxed him and it was incredably scketchy! I’m a new mom and I should be overjoyed right now instead of feeling Anxious and paranoid all the time.
Barr PLEASE get it together!! People’s Lives depend on it!!
Comment by Erin O. on 29 January 2010:
What a nightmare roller-coaster I have been on since receiving BARR generic Adderall medication! This last refill (filled 2 weeks ago) was the last time I am going to get anything from them. Their generic Adderall batches are SO inconsistent, and I never know what my reaction will be when I take their medication. The last few days I have been monitoring my blood pressure because I was feeling overly anxious after taking my dosage, and low and behold it skyrocketed after taking it. At the highest point it was 175/119!! Luckily I am prescribed a beta blocker. If I hadn’t taken that I think I might have had a heart attack or stroke! I threw out the rest and will NEVER take anything they manufacture. I am done with them!
Comment by kimberly on 4 March 2010:
I have been informed i recived more than one batch of the tainted aderall,and boy has my life been altered due to these pills ,i thought it was because i became addicted in a MAJOR way and that was the cause to all these problems,(im shure the extreme doses played a huge part too)it made me need a higher dose due to the high dose without my KNOWING!!!!also it has givenme extremeand crippling headaches(to the extremes of thinking I need to stop these at any cost(never thought aderall was the cause since i have been on them for yrs),backpain ,lower back pain,pain in my lungs,ive become what i guess we call bipolar,up then down MOODSWINGS in seconds,my body turns red and i get purple bruise like marks on my back of my arms…My eyesight is causing extreme pain and i cant handle life one molment to the next….What have these pills done to us???IM a young woman whos looks have paid for my meds not to mention my fit not to bad looking BODY,well everyone has noticed a change !!!NOW WE KNOW WHY!!!!
Comment by cecily on 9 March 2010:
wow…. my husband takes the 10mg generic, and has for years. but in August 09, he took his usual dose…went to mow the lawn and suffered a massive stroke! wonder if it affected the smaller doses to? he is 285 in weight and takes 3 10mg per day. it wasnt heat stroke, was islemtric (sp?)now i am wondering if this had anything to do with it.
although he took it for bi-polar, he had just graduated from school and was 3 days from starting new job. now he cant drive speak pr remeber anything he just learned in school.