Jaderock54-
Thanks for the reply. She has had checkups every 3 months for the past year and a half. Her bp was always in the normal range for her age. That is why I am so concerned that all of a sudden there was such a big jump and it seems to be staying there. I agree with getting a home monitor. I'm going to check what her bp is before she takes her meds in the morning, during the middle of the day while they are full strength, and in the evening when the meds are worn off. Maybe that way, I can see if it has anything to do with the meds in her system.
Shortly after I started on adderall I went for a physical assesment at my gym and they measured my BP- it was 123/92- I was shocked. My average has always been around 85/60. I saw my doc, who wasn't concerned because it wasn't in the "dangerously high" range until I had him go back through my chart. After several re-checks followed by borrowing a friends home monitor I realized it was just nervousness. I had no idea being slightly nervous could cause BP to rise that much. Then, of course, I worried about it, which made it stay high.
I'm assuming that she's had other check ups during the time she's been on it- how was her BP then?
My advise would be to get your hands on a home monitor (maybe the doctors' office has one you can borrow?) and check her a couple times a day for long enough for her to get used to it. Then you'll be able to get a truely accurate reading.
My 7 year old daughter has been on Adderall XR for the past year and a half. She was on 15 mg until this August, when her dose was increased to 20 mg. She has never had any bad side effects on this med. Prior to being on Adderall she was on Ritalin, which was a complete nightmare of side effects. Anyway, she just had her 3 month check up with her Dr. and her blood pressure was high 132/92. Normal for her is typically around 90/68. Her blood pressure was checked 2x at that appt and remained high. The school nurse had also been checking her periodically over the past week, and it has consistenly remained high. The question that I have is, after being on the meds for a year and a half. could it just now be giving her the high blood pressure? If her blood pressure does not decrease, her dr. is going to do a 3 day blood pressure monitor with her.
If anyone has any info or has had similiar experiences, I would really appreciate hearing from you. I am worried sick about my daughter.
It could be "White Coat Syndrome", that when you BP is only high at the doctor's office. Could your daughter have been stressed about something? Has there been any major changes in her life? It could be something at school, did something happen at school. As a first grader my daughter had major stress from the other kids giving the teacher a hard time and complained of her stomach hurting all the time.
Ask the doctor about checking out a BP meter, make sure it has a child size cuff, it makes a difference. I had a visit where I had a BP that was someting like 160/100. I went home and took my BP 4 times a day for two weeks. It dropped back to 110/72 within the two weeks.
Good luck.