Has anyone developed heart palpatations from Strattera?

I first took this medication 2-3 years ago. I was also on Effexor(anti-depressant), Cardura(Prostate), and Nexium(stomach). The only problem I had was the initial week when I was somewhat irritable. I quit Strattera about a year and a helf ago because I thought it might be contributing to prostate problems I was having(it wasn't). Early this year I had some leftover from before and decided to try it again. For some reason I started having the heart palpatations where it felt like my heart would beat hard a couple of times. I quit the medication.

Last month I was having so much trouble with the ADD, that I decided to try it again, with the same results. My shrink told me to discontinue caffeine, but I didn't have any problem with it the first time I took Strattera. I probably will give up caffeine this week, even though it will be tough. I normally only have a Pepsi in the morning, so I don't understand how it could make that much of a difference.

Could the meds I'm now on be causing some interaction problems? All I'm taking is Aciphex, Cardura and Proscar (prostate). I will have to discontinue Strattera if the discontinuation of caffeine doesn't help.

Btw, I'm 47 years old, work out 5 days a week, and went to a cardiologist for a checkup about 3 years ago and passed with flying colors.

Thanks

Supposedly PVCs can be due to differing sensitivity of the beta receptors in your heart tissue (unless there's a deeper underlying issue like a physical deformity, or cardiomyopathy). Strattera raises peripheral norepinephrine levels (which stimulates beta receptors) so it can certainly cause them by itself. A lot of people say caffeine can cause them, but this (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=8983684&query_hl=1) study suggests otherwise.

There may also be an interaction between Cardura and the Strattera, I don't really know. I don't understand the alpha/beta receptor interactions in the heart enough to say for sure.

Keep in mind an irregular hearbeat can be a sign of a serious underlying problem, and you may wish to get a stress test and echocardiogram to make sure everything's ok. In 3 years, things can change, so it might be best to play it safe.

BTW, pretty much any ADHD medication can cause cardiomyopathy rarely (noted most frequently with amphetamine), I tried scouring PubMed but was unable to find the mechanism for certain (catecholamines -> angiotensin? -> oxidative stress -> mitochondrial damage?) or why some people get it and not others.

I had that when I first started strattera but it went away after the first couple of days on the medicine.

Supposedly PVCs can be due to differing sensitivity of the beta receptors in your heart tissue (unless there's a deeper underlying issue like a physical deformity, or cardiomyopathy). Strattera raises peripheral norepinephrine levels (which stimulates beta receptors) so it can certainly cause them by itself. A lot of people say caffeine can cause them, but this (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=8983684&query_hl=1) study suggests otherwise.

There may also be an interaction between Cardura and the Strattera, I don't really know. I don't understand the alpha/beta receptor interactions in the heart enough to say for sure.

Keep in mind an irregular hearbeat can be a sign of a serious underlying problem, and you may wish to get a stress test and echocardiogram to make sure everything's ok. In 3 years, things can change, so it might be best to play it safe.

BTW, pretty much any ADHD medication can cause cardiomyopathy rarely (noted most frequently with amphetamine), I tried scouring PubMed but was unable to find the mechanism for certain (catecholamines -> angiotensin? -> oxidative stress -> mitochondrial damage?) or why some people get it and not others.

Thanks for the reply. I've been on this stuff for a month and a half now and I can't believe I haven't quit. I'm having a bad night tonight, so I think I will quit taking it tomorrow. I don't know if you are suppose to quit taking it cold turkey or not. I'll call my doctor in the morning, but I can't go through this anymore. Guess I'll have to go back to hearing 1 out of every 3 words people say again. Maybe I will research to see if there are any natural remedies for ADD.

The weird thing is, I only seem to get the palpitations when I am leaning forward in my chair, or lying down on my back or left side. I rarely ever feel it when I exercise, or when I am standing up or walking. It had me thinking that it might be some kind of muscle contractions from working out, but tonight I was checking my pulse and thought for sure I could feel it skipping a beat at the same time I felt the palpatations.

I have a history of panic attacks and problems like this don't help things any.

I had that when I first started strattera but it went away after the first couple of days on the medicine.
Thanks for the reply.

I've been on it for a month and a half at least, and it still hasn't gone away. I don't understand what has changed from the first time I took it a couple of years ago. I didn't have any problems. Then I started taking it again in spring of this year and developed the palpatations. I quit and they went away after a few days, if I remember correctly.

Maybe my body chemistry changed when I had my gall bladder out last December? Is it one of the medications I am taking with it? I don't know.

I just plan on quitting because this is too scary.

heart palpatations are no good, I wonder what in Stattera causes that???...
too high of a dose maybe???

I don't know about that. The dose is [suppose] to be based on weight.

I don't know about that. The dose is [suppose] to be based on weight.
I'm 6'4" and about 245 lbs. The doctor had me on 40mg in the morning and 40 mg in the afternoon. I don't know how that compares with others taking it that are around my size.

Instead of cold turkey, I decided to wean myself off by decreasing the dosage to once a day for 4 days. Yesterday was my last day of taking it. Coincidentally, I had one of my worst days yesterday with the palpitations.

Today I did not take any and hardly felt anything until this evening when I decided to sit at the computer for awhile. I still have thoughts about caffeine causing this, although I only had a 20 oz bottle of Pepsi about noon. I also think about my exercise routine causing it. I've been lifting heavier than normal weights for about the last month and a half, which is about when I started the Strattera.

I still think it is the Strattera though. My doctor said that it takes about 5 days to be fully cleansed from your system once you stop taking it. So I will see how I feel by about Wednesday or Thursday. In the meantime, I am seeing a cardiologist tomorrow, just in case this is something more sinister.

One other thing. I went to a walk-in clinic on Wednesday afternoon because I had so much anxiety about this. The doctor did an EKG and everything was perfectly normal. Of course the symptoms had stopped when I got to the walk-in, so he couldn't hear the skipped beat either.

He said that if the skipping was related to something bad, it would show up on the EKG. He was betting that it was the Strattera, but said I should still go to the cardiologist on Monday.