Dry eyes, and muscle aches from concerta and zoloft

[daybyday365]

I'm extremely frustrated. I want to get off this ride of side affects. My eyes get so dry and irritated. I also get muscles pains from dehydration. I take 100mg of zoloft every day for depression and anxiety. I take concerta and ritalin on the days I work for adhd.

I am a RN at a hospital and I work 12 hour shifts. I work 3 days a week. On the days I work. I take a 36mg Concerta in the morning then 5mg of ritalin after lunch around 1pm and then another 5mg of ritalin around 4pm. These are to help my inattentiveness ADHD.

The side affects from these meds are unbearable sometimes. I wanna run,hide and cry. I have been a nurse for 4 years now. I make decent money and support myself. Not sure how long I can continue to take these meds.

[BlessedLady]

Talk with your doctor or pharmacist. Have you tried eye drops ? The best solution is to stay hydrated. Unfortunately, due to the nature of these drugs. That can be difficult. The nature of your jobs adds to the difficulty. Try drinking as much liquid as you can every chance you get. I know that may not seem like much but it can add up. If you do not like water. Put your favorite drink in a empty water bottle and take it to work. Make a point to concentrate on drinking as much liquids as possible on your days off

[daybyday365 in reply to BlessedLady]

Thank you for yoir response. Yes I have tried eye drop over the counter and restasis (prescription). I also have eye lids that don't shut very good when I'm sleeping. I tried putting in ointment and that seems to help.

[BlessedLady in reply to daybyday365]

Kinda off topic but do you use a eye mask when you sleep to help with your eye lids not completely closing ?

[daybyday365 in reply to BlessedLady]

No I never tried a mask.

[G7BK]

I drink a tonne of water on my meds, if I don’t I’m screwed. I take a slightly lower dose than I should to stop the side effects, and make up the rest by exercise and coffee if I need it. My observations is I can drink as much water as I want as long as I also get in the salt, or it’s just a decent into headaches and my body loosing too much stuff it needs. Hope you sort it out.

[daybyday365 in reply to G7BK]

Thanks for your reply. I like to take a lower dose too because my body is so sensitive to stimulants. I usually ask to switch medications after a few years so I don't have to increase the strength.

[Newcassie]

I’m surprised that you take Zoloft (for the anxiety). Before I was diagnosed with ADHD, I tried Zoloft for my anxiety and when my dose went up to 50 mg, it made my i attentiveness so bad I had to drop back to 25 mg immediately and then wean off of it. And that was what confirmed for my psychiatrist that I had ADHD. I take Ritalin now and treating the ADHD has indirectly treated most of my anxiety. I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t take the Zoloft, but could it be making the ADHD symptoms worse?

I’ve never taken Concerta but my kid took it for a while and there were lots of side effects. And when I started reading other experiences here on this forum, I found lots of people were having troubles with Concerta.

I hope you get the support you need to re-evaluate which meds you are being given. Maybe there are better alternatives for both the anxiety/depression and the ADHD.

[lodopo]

WOw, take care of yourself.. The benefits of the medication need to outweigh the side effects! That is all... Talk to the prescribing Dr. and have these discussions. Hopefully you are in therapy and finding a supportive community, which can be better support for anxiety and depression than medication. If you are very impaired then medication is reasonable but they take their toll- big time! What a hard job you have, and what a glorious schedule you also have.. much respect to you..

[CRBB]

Hello Daybyday. I'm from Belgium, where health services and follow-up may differ from those in the US. I'm also a retired, non-clinician MD, with ADD diagnosed very late in life and treated with ritalin for many years.

I guess/hope your initial diagnosis was made by a qualified professional familiar with ADHD. It is known that drug types and dosage have to be adapted to each patient, hence the need for regular follow-up during the first few months of treatment. Medication is adjusted to the patient's needs, while side-effects are kept to a minimum. Has it been so for you? It's important since you're bound to take ritalin for a long time.

You are probably also aware that eye dryness and dehydration may be caused by working long hours in a dry hospital atmosphere rather than by taking ritalin. Have you noticed the same side-effects at lower doses or when working in a different environment, e.g. outdoors?

Good luck to you.

[Ecclec]

so I take an snri but I things like mouth dryness and similar got better for me over time however I certainly have to keep drinking a lot.

I also have this suspicion that I have some sort of muscle pain - every stair hurts but then it makes other types of pain better hence I haven’t really resolved that.

But as others are saying think about switching to something that might work better at a reduced dose - good luck!!