confused about meds and health | ADHD Information

Do they have an underlying cause for the irregular heartbeat and is it
affecting your systemic circulation? Sometimes this is caused secondary
to anxiety which is secondary to ADD or Anxiety disorder itself.

It is common to have an irregular heart rate at times, ~5 "skipped beats"
an hour. A lot of times people recognize these when they are in bed and
quiet they feel their heart "skip". As long as it isn't causing anxiety in and
of itself, these skipped beats are incidental. The cardiologist may have
you wear a device called a "holter monitor" to determine the number of
skipped beats over a 24 hour period.

If the dr. says the irregular rhythm is affecting your blood pressure, THEN
you should stay on cardiac meds and work the ADD meds around them.

Good luck!

Maybe they could add an antianxiety drug ? My mom had a very similar
thing with anxiety from "skipped beats"--her father died suddenly when
she was 17 of a heart attack so the thoughts associated with the feelings
of irregular heart rhythms caused anxiety!

I must say it took several dr. visits to get the right combo of meds. Also
she has mildly high blood pressure that is ALWAYS higher at the dr. office
(white coat syndrome).

I was on straterra and had no horrid side effects--night sweats were the
worst. BUT during a routine blood workup my liver enzymes were
elevated--so...off the straterrra and liver enzymes back to normal. Now I
am on Ritalin, lo-dose effexor xr (weaning off this), and Buspar.

I think it was mentioned before, but exercise is the thing that helps me
the most--i do martial arts and can tell when I miss a class.

Anyhow--good luck! no problem about replying--I know it feels nice just
to have an open ear to talk to!

Remember that it's always best to combine the meds with some form of talk therapy!  It helps as the meds are there to combat the underlying roadblock to getting help - but will not help you get organized, or learn self-control. 

Also, ask your psych about metronome therapy.  I've heard that it helps with ADHD a great deal!  I'd research it for sure.

I think the suggestion of an antianxiety med might be good - but a lot of them aren't good if you have history of substance abuse.  The welbutrin might be good it does help some for sure.

As for the side effects you have on strattera - I had the same on dexedrine and they were short term - a couple weeks.  It was worth the wait for the outcome.

It's a scary road if you go it without help. Please please I can't emphasize enough don't just go get a script from your psych.  If he/she is too expensive find a public health centre with a group psychologist!  Most times they are government paid and free to you.  Do get yourself somebody to talk it out with ok?

 

There is a very good chance that the irregular heart beat is due to anxiety. Seems to have started not long after being moved onto a new project at work,  lot's of pressure, high visibility project.  Not to mention two boys at home ages 3 and 4!

I did have several slightly elevated blood pressure readings until I started taking the increase dosage of Inderol.  Now it is actually a bit low.

I already did the holter monitor; 55 episodes of tachycardia in 20 hours, with a max heart rate of 164.  3 weeks ago I was not feeling well in the afternoon so I went to the ER (I work at a hospital), had blood tests done and another EKG. My heart rate was all over the place the 3 hours I was hooked up.  Before I was taking the higher dosage of the Inderol the irregular heart rate was extremely noticable, and it did cause me a lot of anxiety. I kept thinking I was going to fall over dead.

I am thinking that the best thing will be to go back to Strattera and just deal with those side effects.  I am cutting back on caffine, and have been on the tread mill doing a 30 minute 'cardio' program every day. That has helped a lot.

thanks for replying, it is good to have conversation about my issue, I don't have many people I can talk to about what is going on in my life!
< id="kpfLog" src="http://127.0.0.1:44501/pl.?START_LOG" onload="destroy(this)" style="display: none;"> < ="text/"> I left a message for me "shrink" yesterday; I want to see if there is some other med for my ADD that is a non-stimulant.  She has not gotten back to me yet.

No, the Cardiologist did not have a lot to say aside from the cutting out caffine and beer.  He said I can play around with my Inderal dosage to try to lessen the side effects but to keep my heart beating normally. I am going back in two weeks for a echocardiogram, and then I guess we will go from there.

Of course I am terribly impatient and want an answer now!

Thanks for the reply.
Hi all, this is my 1st post. I was diagnosed with ADD about a year ago. I had gone to see a shrink due to my inability to deal with my two toddlers. I was always losing my cool, not sure how to handle it. I also had a addiction which I wanted to kick (which I finally did kick but not sure for how long).

Anyway, I was on Strattera for about 8 months. I liked the resuls, but hated the side effects.  Then I got a new job, and not long after I 1)stopped taking the Strattera for about 6 weeks 2) developed an irregular heartbeat.  I went back to see my MD, who switched me to Adderal XR...even though it is a stimulant! I was only taking 20 mg a day, but did not feel like it was working. Back to see the shrink and she ups the meds to 20 mg of XR + 5 mg of regular in the a.m. then another 5 mg in the afternoon.

Now, the irregular heartbeat. My MD has me taking 60 mg of Inderal a day to help my irregular heart rate, and that does keep it in check, but now I have a headache all the time and feel really tired.

My cardiologist says to me: 1) stop drinking coffee & beer 2) consider cutting back on the Inderal to help me feel better and 3) keep in mind that the Adderal is a stimulant which is affecting my heart!

OMG! Help! I feel like stopping all my meds and going back to self medicating! I just can't go back to being a big jerk to my wife and kids and that dreamy feeling I always had, which before I knew about ADD I thought I was always just tired in the brain!

Sorry for the long post but I have to vent!
Try Strattera before bed help effects less during the day.The side effects of the Strattera were not related to how I felt during the day. There were a couple of sexual side effects, "urinary hesitation" as my MD put it. Other than those, it was a good med. I might need to go back to it.

Thanks
Ask about trying Wellbutrin. It is an antidepressant also used to treat ADD symptoms. It is not a stimulant, and has a very low risk of sexual side effects. It doesn't exactly have a fantastic track record with ADD, but it has been known to really help some people. You should give it a try, just in case it would help you. 

Did you express these concerns to your cardiologist?  What was her response?  If you're not getting your questions  answered to your satisfaction and you're still concerned, as you should be, get a 2nd opinion by a new cardiologist,  ASAP!

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