‘The flood of comments has been overwhelming,’ explains Jane McFadden, host of the popular ADHD Mums podcast.
‘People are at their wits’ end, saying their homes are in chaos, and their kids are struggling, along with themselves.’
Earlier this year, Jane started getting reports from her 40,000-strong social media following that the drug they and their children were taking to treat their attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had seemingly ‘stopped working’ the way it once did.
‘I was hearing from people for whom [the medication] had been working perfectly but who were now saying things like, “I’ve had to go back on an antidepressant,” or, “Maybe it’s perimenopause”, or, “My kid was thriving and now suddenly the school is telling me the meds aren’t working anymore and my daughter is out of control,”‘ says Jane.
‘There were literally thousands of comments like this. Thousands.’
Most of the complaints were about the same medication: Vyvanse.
Vyvanse, with the active ingredient lisdexamfetamine, is a common treatment for ADHD in Australia, and, according to Jane, one she had previously heard a lot of positive endorsements about from people in the ADHD community.
‘I used to hear women telling me how much it had changed their lives, or that of their kids,’ she says.
People are at their wits’ end, saying their homes are in chaos and the kids are struggling, along with themselves, says Jane McFadden, host of popular ADHD Mums podcast (stock image)
The packaging of Vyvanse has changed slightly since the TGA approved an overseas alternative supplier while stocks are low. The left bottle is the old packaging; the right is new
‘Naturally, it was concerning when the tide seemed to turn about four months ago.’
Emma, a 46-year-old mother of two from Canberra, was one of the people who suspected a change in her child’s medication.
‘We’d gone through a two-year diagnosis process prior to starting meds for my 10-year-old,’ she explains.
‘And when she finally began treatment, it was like our prayers had been answered.
‘Things in our home changed almost overnight, and my daughter experienced what she calls “peaceful brain” for the first time she could remember.’
Then, after about six months of successful treatment, Emma says things started to go awry.
‘Her focus and her emotional regulation both began slipping again at the beginning of this year,’ says Emma.
‘At first I put it down to starting a new school year, but I actually feel as though we’ve seen a backslide in symptoms. So does she.’
The flood of comments has been overwhelming, explains Jane McFadden, host of the popular ADHD Mums podcast
The TGA has confirmed supplies of Concerta (methylphenidate hydrochloride) are running low
Emma suspects the change could be to do with the efficacy of the Vyvanse her daughter was taking.
Jane agrees, believing it’s possible the problem could be traced back to last year, when there was a shortage of the drug Australia-wide.
In December 2023, the medication’s sponsor, Takeda Pharmaceuticals Australia, notified the TGA about the limited availability of some strengths due to manufacturing delays and increased demand.
In response, the TGA approved the supply of an overseas-registered alternative to Vyvanse 60mg in order to help bridge the gap until supplies returned to normal.
‘Since this happened, the actual label has changed,’ explains Jane.
‘It looks different, which is fine, but on one strength, the word “pharmaceutical” is actually spelled incorrectly. It doesn’t engender a lot of trust.’
Sydney woman H.T. (who didn’t want her full name published) was so concerned by the change she experienced that she, along with many others, reported her experience to the TGA’s adverse events recording system.
After initially having great success with Vyvanse, the 31-year-old found that shortly after filling a new script at the start of this year, she began experiencing worrying symptoms.
‘I had an irregular heartbeat, and started to have random anxiety when it’s something I’ve never suffered with before,’ H.T. explains.
‘I was picking my hair to the point I created bald patches, and I had insomnia so severe that if I couldn’t sleep and it was 6am and I needed to be ready for the day, I’d just take my next Vyvanse dose and stay awake all day.
‘By the evening I still wasn’t sleepy so I would take a sleeping aid. All this was documented with my psychiatrist as I was going through the experience.’
After being prescribed a number of other medications in order to mitigate the impact, including an antidepressant and sleeping pills, H.T. noticed the spelling error on her new packaging.
‘I went home and compared the two and tried to find information online and there was nothing. That’s when I made my first post on a small Facebook group on March 10.
‘I asked if anyone had noticed the package change and the spelling errors and then a description of why I was concerned. The amount of comments that were extremely similar to mine confirmed that it wasn’t just me, and that it wasn’t a placebo effect from seeing the package change, because all my symptoms and concerns were documented with my psychiatrist prior to noticing the packaging change.’
The next day H.T. called the TGA and asked if they knew what was going on.
‘I was starting to believe that maybe the new batch was counterfeit,’ she explains.
H.T. says the TGA informed her they did not have to notify consumers of any packaging change, nor could they confirm if there had been one, though they did say they were investigating.
Daily Mail Australia has since to spoken to more than 10 women who claim to have experienced adverse effects from the new Vyvanse.
A TGA spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they were aware of a recent increase in reports relating to medicines used to treat ADHD following an uptick in social media commentary, and that an investigation into these concerns is ongoing.
Additionally, the spokesperson clarified that minor labelling errors have been identified and are in the process of being corrected. The TGA published information about a Product Alert for this issue on April 3, 2025.
‘Anyone can submit a report about any problems associated with a medicine (including labelling errors),’ they said.
‘Information about how to do this is on our website. We also urge patients and families who are concerned about these issues to speak with their health professionals for advice.’
For Jane, the potential complications she is hearing about are part of a wider issue with ADHD medication in Australia.
Ongoing shortages are impacting families across the country. Methylphenidate hydrochloride (sold as Concerta) is running low, with the TGA confirming limited supply of its 18mg, 27mg, 36mg and 54mg modified-release tablet products until the end of May.
‘Now we’re in this very confusing space when it comes to how we can all live, work and stay alive, because it seems nearly every stimulant medication used to treat ADHD has either a major issue with it or it is unavailable,’ Jane says.
Of particular concern, she adds, are the parents who have resorted to sourcing the medication without a prescription.
‘You have a controlled substance that some mums are now “black-marketing” because they are desperate,’ she says.
‘We’re in school holidays. We’ve got unmedicated children. We’re unmedicated ourselves. We’ve already been through the long, big journey, and it feels like no one cares.’