I'm 23 years old and have been on dexadrine for a year.
Everything had been going great with it until recently. I was able to work and study more consistantly. I was less stressed out because i wasn't prone to procrastination. I slept better because i wasn't stressed out. I have almost completely stopped engaging in bulimic behaviours etc etc.
However, recently I've been feeling a little weird on them. Yesterday I accidentally took more than my perscribed dosage. I started experiencing sharp chest pains that felt like cold needles, i felt dizzy and disoriented and like I might pass out, and i was experiencing strange tinglings in my limbs - especially my left arm.
I have a fairly long past of weekend drug use - meth as a teenager, and coke for the past few years. I was also heavily bulimic for 2 years and mildly bulimic on and off for a few more. This is obviously going to have put my heart in an already unsteady position.
my doctor knew about the bulimia - but not the drug use . She has tested my blood pressure at each check up and it has been fine.
Are there further tests that I can do to see if it is causing heart damage? are there other meds that i can take that won't cause these kinds of problems? I'm afraid to go off of them because this is the happiest and most productive I've ever felt. But I won't exactly be the happiest girl in the world if I end up having a heart attack either.
Schedule an appointment your general family MD, tell him you are taking dexedrine, and describe the experience that you had. He'll order tests and see if anything is wrong.Kismet - I suggest you tell your doctor about your past drug use. It's important to be as honest with our doctors as possible because withholding information could put your treatment at risk. Trust me, doctors have heard it all - they won't be shocked at whatever you tell them and you needn't be embarrassed. I'm sure you'll be able to continue the meds that help you. But if you don't tell the doctor, you could have that heart attack.Thanks for the input and help!
I will definitely be sure to make a doctors appointment.. i just rather be sure. I was afraid if i disclosed the drug use she wouldn't give me the dexadrine and my other behaviours had gotten so far out of hand that i didn't think i could handle it otherwise.
Luvmykids: The thing is, I don't really HAVE a prescribed dose. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 16 but i quit taking the meds before an appropriate dose could be established because they made me "boring" and people around me talking about how ADHD and ADD are culturally constructed disorders to give people (and parents) an easy way out.
Anyway, things got increasingly out of control as I got older and after trying several ways to 'fix myself' without meds failed (my therapist actually dismissed me) I figured meds were my only way out. All i did was take the diagnostic forms from when i was 16 to my doctor and she re-prescribed me dexadrine. She told me to start at 5mg a day and work my way up to 20mg and decide what felt best. No one ever actually laid out a dosage.. she pretty much told me to take what helped me to function best and wrote up the prescription for 20mg (since that's what I was taking initially). I take anywhere from 5-20mg a day and was never told to do otherwise....
I'm thinking i should get a different doctor to take care of these things because i doubt that my family doctor has much experience with these things. How does one go about doing that? I"m not even sure what sort of doctor a patient with ADHD sees for that sort of thing.
kismet, your absolutely correct when you say you need a different doctor. GP's do not have expertise in med management for ADHD. Get a recommendation from your GP to a good pyschiatrist as diagnosis and med management is their area of expertise. There are many different meds now for ADHD and the goal is to find the right med and dose for you as an individual. It can take a while so just try to be patient. Let the psychiatirst know your entire history. Please keep us informed and please know that we are with you every step of the waykismet wrote:
Are there further tests that I can do to see if it is causing heart damage? are there other meds that i can take that won't cause these kinds of problems?
Welcome kismet :) If you had a perfectly healthy heart when you went on the meds, the fact that your taking more than prescribed can result in unacceptable side effects. This is why dosing is tailered to the individual. When one abuses the meds, this can happen but when taken as prescribed they are perfectly safe if you don't have a past history of heart problems.
I suggest that you get a recommendation to a cardiologist as he will take the test necessary to rule a heart problem in or out. You have a history of drug abuse in the past so I think its wise to get clerance from a cardiologist before resuming taking the meds. The problem is not the meds. The problem is that youir prone to addiction so you need to be honest with your doctor. Good luck and please keep us informed.