Concerta and really, really bad chest pai | ADHD Information

Hi, I don't know what to do. I've been doing SO much better in LIFE since I started the Concerta.  I don't want to quite it, but I can't stand the chest pain either (tight, heavy pain with occational stabs of pain towards the left side of my chest).

I was diagnosed two months ago with ADD and was doing very well on Concerta 45 for about 2 months and then about 6 weeks ago I started getting chest pain--Bad chest pain.  It can last for hours, and does not respond to "panic attack" meds like xanax.  I have been sent to the cardiologist, but so far, he can't find anything wrong. 

Its definately tied in to the meds (Concerta) somehow.  I lowered my dose to down to 36, 27 and then 18.  At first, lowering it would help, but after a couple of days, the chest pain would be as bad as ever.  Has anyone had this happen on Concerta?  Do you think I could get away with another stimulant med. like Adderall?  Or, should I try try Strattera??

I am so freaking frustrated!! It took 40years to find you why I, a person with an IQ of 138, could never overcome my "weaknesses" of disorganization, laziness and disorder and I was so excited to find something that helped so well   Sigh...Any and all sugestions, and/or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Sad in Seattle, Fuzzybrain

There are so many options it is worth a try to switch to something else.

I've tried Strattera it didn't help me and it made me sick, but everyone is different.  So work with your doctor and try some other stuff and if nothing else works you can go back to concerta.

 

[QUOTE=hollyover](tight, heavy pain with occational stabs of pain towards the left side of my chest).[/QUOTE]

Wow that's the exact pains I get from Ritalin. I might ask for a switch as my appointment is in a couple of hours. I'll let you know how it goes.

Lee

Concerta is ritalin. And yes, It's annoying. For me Ritalin is the best. I have been using ritalin for the last 3 days but today I had to go back on Adderall because of the chest muscle pain. I would sure like to find the cause of that so please ask your doctor for all of us Brimelow.

I have had chest pains from muscle spasm before, felt like someone was sticking a knife in between my ribs.  Lucky me my wife is a massage therapist and was able to work it out, but for awhile I thought I was going to die!! So I feel your pain.  I have been able to keep it from coming back by stretching and change the way I sit in front of the computer.

Ok I just got back from my appointment. She checked everything out and she thinks its just a muscle spasm. She said that Ritalin could potentially cause a pre-existing muscle spasm to tighten even further. She suggested that I do some stretching and also that it could be from too much time in front of the computer.

She said that anything serious with your heart would cause palpitations, which I don't really have. She actually said "I gaurantee that you won't get a heart attack from this pain." Of course she said if I don't stop eating McDonalds and get my cholesterol down, I could have one from that.

So long as I know its not my heart I think I can deal with the pain.

Lee

Hi Guys and Gals,

I ended up having entire heart work-up even though I kept thelling the Drs that I was sure it was related to the Concerta. My heart was in great shape and the cardiologist said that he doesn't expect to see me again until I'm eighty years old.  The best guess at what the source of the problem is was the idea that for some reason, the Concerta caused severe muscle spazms in my chest arond the trachea.  No one knew for sure, but the chest pain did go away after I quit taking Concerta.

So, I had to switch meds. My Dr. started me on the non-stimulating Strattera, but after sleeping for almost two days, crying whenever I managed to stany awake and beating to death an alarm clock by swinging it repeatedly into the floor, wall, etc.((SO NOT ME!!!)my poor husband didn't know whether to laugh or call the men in the white jackets to come and take me away)I decided that Stattera is NOT for me . 

My son and I are now trying Adderall XR, which so far works great, with no chestpain or anxiety. For us it works even better than the Concerta did (not counting the chest pain side-effect). We don't feel wired and high-strung, just normal a focused.

Thanks for all your help, advice , encouragement and ideas!

Sincerley, Fuzzybrain

 

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