FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Arkansans needing certain medications are having a difficult time finding pharmacists to fill it.

Pharmacists began noticing the shortage in ADHD medications nearly a year ago.  

Fast forward to today, and the shortage is still causing problems for Arkansans.  

Local pharmacists hoped the problem would have been resolved by now. Fayetteville pharmacist Caul Corbel says he hoped the companies making the medications would be able to catch up to the demand during school breaks.  

Corbel says overall, nationwide prescriptions for ADHD medications increased by almost 50% since 2012.

Corbel also says it’s important to take into account Fayetteville is a college town. 

“We do serve a good amount of students from the university. That’s not exclusively who we serve, but it’s a fair amount of the population we serve as far as simulate prescriptions,” said Corbel. “We are also located near a pediatric clinic and pediatric patients tend to have higher than normal need for those types of medications.”

Corbel says there are other medications that are not as strong such as Strattera that people can try. He also recommends taking medication breaks. For example, taking your medication only on the days you are going to be at work. This allows you to have a longer supply while keeping your body from building a tolerance to these medications.