Has anyone here had the experience of taking meds for ADHD while trying to keep blood pressure under control?

[Orangeflow]

Hi, I'm new here and recently diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive type). I'm almost 40 and never took any stimulants. I also suffer from anxiety and depression and have high blood pressure (which I think is related to my anxiety). I've been taking Sertraline for depression and Hydrochlorothiazide for hypertension. Once I got my diagnosis, my family doctor increased the sertraline dosage and asked me to wait to get my anxiety and depression under control before taking anything for ADHD. I wanted more answers and thought I should talk to a specialist to have a holistic approach to my mental disorders, so I searched for a psychiatrist. On my first appointment (30min) with her, she prescribed Ritalin. She asked me to check my blood pressure before and after taking it. I haven't been checking my BP at home for a long time because I got normal numbers in all my recent appointments, but of course, the day I was going to start Ritalin, my blood pressure was high. I got very anxious and didn't take the meds. It's been almost a month and I haven't tried again. I am very afraid of taking any stimulants and developing serious heart issues. This is probably my anxiety brain thoughts, but I can't help thinking about it. I had to stop taking Effexor and Bupproprion in the past because they both increased my blood pressure (Bupproprion was during pregnancy).

Has anyone here had the experience of taking meds for ADHD while trying to keep blood pressure under control?

I am doing therapy, but I wish I could find some meds to help me with focus and time management. My ADHD symptoms got worse after my son was born. I lost my job because of it. After 3 months without a job, I finally got the courage/motivation to search for jobs, but I am still afraid of not being able to keep up and fail again.

I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thank you!

[Gettingittogether]

Yes of course. Many people (especially men) past 50 have blood pressure issues.

Two things here. One is blood pressure having nothing to do with stimulants. The second is blood pressure that goes up with stimulants. And a person can be in both categories.

Many folks deal with having high blood pressure. High bp runs in my family. My father had it, my two brothers had it, my sister has it. Only my mother and myself til recently didn't have it. Now I do. I take a small dose of Lisinopril.

My cardiologist looked at my stimulant meds and was fine with me continuing on stimulants. There is a risk, he said, but a very small risk. Welcome to middle age--everything has a risk, including doing nothing! Medicine is all about balancing risks with gains.

Do stimulants increase my bp? I think so, but not totally sure. Sounds like you had anxiety when you take your bp. You really got worried and decided not to take even one stimulant dose--is that right? One stimulant dose isn't going to cause a stroke, but given your level of fear, I think it's fine that you didn't take the stimulant.

I say keep working on your anxiety. Tell your stimulant provider the absolute truth about why you didn't want to take the stimulant. He will come up with a new plan.

I have anxiety (usually low grade with spikes here and there). Taking stimulants doesn't trigger anxiety at all--I'm fortunate that way.

Addendum

As I understand this, anxiety does not typically cause long-term high blood pressure. But anxiety can spike blood pressure. And untreated anxiety apparently can raise your base line bp. But not to danger rates--that's how I understand things.

[Pennsylvanian]

I'm new here too!

Gettingittogether seems to have covered this better than I will, but just to have another opinion:

I have been on generic ritalin, and BP meds, for decades. Now I only take Losartan for BP, but I used to be on Hydrochlorothiazide.

If your BP is super-high, this won't apply. But with all the things in life to worry about -- and you sound like you have a lot -- I just cannot add BP to the list. I go to my family physician and let her worry about it, if worrying is needed, and do what she says.

If I am not mistaken, people with significant BP problems are typically prescribed two or three pills just for that. The fact that the doc only gave you one raises a question in my mind about how big of a worry BP, with or without ritalin, needs to be.

[breyerrose]

Oddly enough, the stimulant (Ritalin) lowers my blood pressure, probably because treating ADHD reduces the anxiety associated with the condition. My BP is higher when the medication is out of my system, when I first get up or right before I go to bed. Taking BP at home on a regular basis showed me this.

[samami]

Yes, I had the same problem with high blood pressure when I was diagnosed with ADHD a year ago at age 59. I was given guanfacine which also lowers blood pressure while majorly helping with anxiety and ADHD. I felt amazing. The anxiety lifted immediately. I felt as though the pressure in my chest vanished overnight. It was so dramatic.

I was on guanfacine for about 7 months and then i realized the medication was just draining me of motivation to do the things I needed to do.

Because my BP had come down so much, I was able to try stimulants, I went on Ritalin. It was amazing for motivation and concentration, but the side effect: the crash after 4-6 hours would put me in bed with fatigue and even crying/depression. So I stopped after just a few weeks. I found it debilitating.

For the past 2 months, I’ve been on Vyvanse. It has also been pretty incredible! Good for motivation and concentration, but because some of my anxiety and insomnia have come back, my doctor suggested I add back a fraction of guanfacine. Just started to do that a few weeks ago.

I think it will work really well. It feels so great to be accomplishing things I couldn’t before.I am so grateful! I just wish I had known about ADHD years ago. I tried to find out what was wrong with me so many times!

Good luck!