I've recently been diagnosed with adult ADHD (which coupled together with my depression and anxiety means I've achieved the holy trifecta of mental illnesses, go me) and my doctor prescribed me a sampler of Strattera to see if that will help my concentration. Unfortunately, I did research on the side effects and it looks like there's an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and actions as well as a risk for people who have heart problems.
I don't have heart problems, but what I do have is very bad health anxiety related to my heart. I have actually lost sleep a few times in paranoia that my heart will stop and I will die in my sleep, and I'm afraid this will only increase if I take this medication. Has anyone else taken this? What side effects have you experienced? Alternatively, is there another medication that's worked for you that I can suggest to my doctor?
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lady_peaseblossom
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Have you ever considered Magnesium glycinate, it is used with children who suffer ADHD and it helps ALOT, also helps with anxiety and depression and is good for your heart, not bad !. If you don't like the effect you just drink a glass of milk and it will counteract it with it only being a mineral and amino acids.
The best form is Drs best chelated Magnesium glycinate.
Thanks for the suggestion! I'm actually taking Zoloft for depression/anxiety right now, but looking at the benefits it looks like it also helps with migraines, which I have.
Don't take any notice of those lists of side effects that come with meds, it'smainly the pharmaceutical companies' way of covering themselves legally so they list almost everything as a side affect, maybe the 'common' ones are worth taking note of. I've never tried Trattera but I was on amitriptyline for many years, it too warned of suicidal thoughts and heart problems as well as glaucoma. I din't let them put me off and I'm glad I didn't as the med helped me keep going for a long time.
lady_peaseblossom, if a qualified doctor prescribed the Trattera then take it because he went to medical school for 5 years and with respect you didn't. It's the anxiety that makes you believe that you know better than your doctor, as I often say Anxiety about taking anti anxiety medications is itself a symptom of anxiety. You say you have anxiety symptoms related to your heart though you don't have heart problems, this is a classic symptom and fear for people with high anxiety. It's just your nerves playing tricks on you and will pass in time unless you feed your nerves with fear about illnesses you don't actually have.
Your heart is not going to stop I can assure you, anxiety does not have the power to do that. So just accept the bad feelings and strange thoughts, accept them without fear and all will be well for you.
Thank you for this Jeff1943, I've thankfully been anxiety-free for two months now with help from my prescription of Zoloft, and I definitely know (from a logical standpoint, at least) that my heart isn't going to stop. I'm mostly just worried about the anxiety itself at this point-- that taking the medication will be a trigger to cause another anxiety attack.
I'll heed your advice and take the meds.
I think all I really needed was reassurance that everything's gonna be okay.
May I just add that I think you will find a road plan for recovery in reading 'Self help for your nerves' by Claire Weekes, the doctor who many years ago developed the Acceptance Method. Many thousands of people have found a permanent cure to their anxiety disorder over the years by reading this book. It's available from Amazon and you may care to read the readers reviews first, there are several hundreds and 90% found the book either very good or excellent, reading a few will suffice. I commend this book to you, you willnrecognise yourself in its pages, I first readcit 45 years ago and it has withstood the test of time.
Honestly I agree with you to a certain extent-- I was able to deal with my anxiety and my ADHD for years without medication, but eventually it got to the point where it was affecting my daily life. I was already in therapy but it just wasn't enough-- it's very hard for therapy to work when you're just in a constant state of panic all the time. In this case, the pills definitely helped, and I don't feel like a failure for having to resort to them for the time being.
I think what's important is to remember that medication is a safety net, not a cure. It doesn't "fix" us. All it does is keep us from hitting rock bottom, but unless we find a way to deal with these problems on our own, we'll unfortunately always be dependent on these pills. My doctor's a definite pill-pusher-- she wanted to start me on a diet pill to help me lose weight and that's when I put my foot down and said no. Diet pills might help me lose weight in the short term, but unless I find a way to change my lifestyle it's just not going to work in the long run, and I refuse to be lazy when I know there are other options for me.
That's honestly my general approach to all medication. Be on it when you absolutely need to, but don't think it's going to change your life. Only you can do that with time and effort.
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