Hey everyone,

I've been taking adderall (15mg XR) for just over a week now. I read up on it before had because i was a little leary of going back on stim meds. Now I'm trying to figure out whether my chest pressure that comes and goes (it seems to be there mostly when i'm alone) is caused by anxiety, which i take a low dose of paxil for, or whether its the adderall. I am overweight, but not a lot, and do have a history of heart problems in my family (my dad died of a heart attack last year). Any thoughts, similar experiences?

any input is appricated
thanks
Tee

I'm not sure..I'll find the link to the pages where you may get some good info..
and welcome to the forum ;-)

edit..duh!! you are in the right section....sorry..:p silly me

Teedrum,

I used to get that too when I first started on Adderall. I was also concerned, and did some google research that led me to a lot of material that said that the tightness is due to an involuntary tightening of the muscles in your chest, which is apparently a characteristic side-effect of Adderall. It is a kind of physical anxiety (as opposed to mental anxiety). For me this effect disappeared after being on Adderall for a couple of months. You may want to try laying off other stimulants for the time being, such as caffiene. And of course you should mention these concerns the next time you speak to your doctor or psychiatrist -- or even before that time. Better safe than sorry.

This is just after a quick google search -- it's a forum posting of other peoples' similar experiences as well as some answers people got from their doctors: http://www.adhdnews.com/testforum/test4803.htm

This may sound weird and could be coincidental but awhile back I was given a medicine called neurontin which always made me feel tight chested when i took it. I just thought that was one of the side effects but after I got put on Adderall XR's I got that same feeling in my chest. The similarity in the two was the fact that they are both in capsules. So I thought maybe that was it. So i started sprinkling the adderall on my tongue and throwing the empty cap away and I havent noticed it since. I really think it was the capsule or some kind of filler that made me feel tight chested. Could be wrong though.

thanks for the info...maybe i'll try no capsule tomorrow am. The other meds i take, and the vitamins are all tablets. hmmm

Did your Doc order you an EKG when you started the stimulant?

(My ADD Doc [specialist] orders EKGs when he starts people on stimulants.)

Apparently stimulants can exacerbate an arrhythmia.

If it was not ordered, ask for one.

S/he should also be doing your bloodwork too. (e.g. Liver Enzymes (AST/ALT), CBC, Blood Film Exam, Serum Ferritin, etc.)

The location of chest pain can also suggest where your problem is coming from.

e.g. (a) is it in the centre of your chest OR over your heart. (b) is it over or under the breastbone?

What does your Doctor say? (Talk to him first.)

its on the left side and the centre

i had one done in october...they showed nothing...well they didn't tell me there was anything wrong anyway. and i had just got my bloodwork before starting the meds (i'm diabetic and have to go over few months to give them blood anyway):eyebrow:

EKGs don't always pick up everything. Esp the rarer arrhythmias (long QT syndrome, iirc) that say, athletes, may have.

Now you tell us you are diabetic.


*sigh*


The WILD CARD of Diabetes makes things a whole different ball of wax.

Um, diabetes is a cardiovascular disease !!


(I suppose you know that diabetics have 5-7x the rate of MIs and most will die of MIs.)

Your issues are WAY beyond this forum, IMNSHO. (It's really not fair to ask us to give input when you withhold such VITAL health information.)

Sorry to sound b!tchy, but I can't even tell you all the bloodwork you would need to have ongoing (besides glycosylated hemoglobin (A1c), glucose, etc.

Withholding vital health info from your original post led me to say things that are too simple for your situation. This is out of my league.

You should know that diabetes makes people sometimes not feel injuries (incl heart attacks) b/c of the nerve damage (numbness).

Guess checking cardiac enzymes (troponin, and others, etc) might help. That can show if there has been a heart attack recently.

If you are obese and have attentional problems, you might also want to ask for a sleep study. A lot of sleepy, inattentive overweight people seem to be developing sleep apnea, too. That increases rates of heart/stroke problems as much as smoking, I once read.

NB Sorry to tear your post up, but being given 1/2 the info to make as wise observation makes me look like an idiot, so I don't appreciate it. But worse than my PRIDE and TIME, it ticks me off that people are undervaluing how frikkin SERIOUS this DIABETES epidemic thing really IS. OMG. (It guess time, sadly, will have it's own lessons.)

sorry i forgot about the diabetic piece, i was dx in januray 06 and am not on meds for it, its diet controlled type II

and the adhd came before the fat, don't know if that makes a difference at all...but i could get a sleep study done probably

but i'm getting that i should probably go to the doc anyway