Greetings,

New poster here. After conducting online research and meeting with a therapist, it's very likely my wife is going to be diagnosed with ADD (she's meeting soon with her physician verify what we all suspect.)

Her therapist discussed what she knew of the various med treatments and, suggested she'd heard lots of good results from adderall and suggested that my wife ask her doc about that. And from looking at the postings here, it looks like there are lots of positive reactions to it and many people seem to have very similar traits as my wife: disorganized, extreme procrastination, hard time focusing, stressed out about accomplishing tasks, etc.

I know from what I've read, there can be complications with taking Adderall for those with heart issues. My wife has had some history of high blood pressure (sometimes it's normal, sometimes it's high, been normal when she was on prenatal vitamins). And she has some history of heart issues in her family, although besides sometimes having high blood pressure, there's no signs that she has any true heart issues herself. Of course, her doctor will have the final say, but just curious: anyone here take Adderall with any history of those issues? If so, does that require you to see your doctor regularly to ensure it's not affecting your heart or how did they decide you were OK to take it?

Thanks!

John

Howdy & Welcome.

I take Adderall IR. At first my blood pressure was higher than usual. Before Adderall my B/P was typically rather low around 80/60-90/70. After I started Adderall it was more around 110/80. Which is still average/normal. However, when I have anxiety added on to my day...my B/P can reach 145/90..... So I try to monitor my caffeine intake, my diet and everything else while taking Adderall. And yes, it is a general rule of thumb to monitor your B/P while taking any stimulant medication. I own a B/P reader and check mine every few days.

I think if you have high blood pressure they're supposed to take a heart monitor thing where they stick stickies to your chest and check the beats. Or they might not prescribe it at all because of her history. Or they'll have her buy one of those blood pressure things. Hey, that's not a bad idea.

Mine is naturally in the low range of healthy BP but was slightly raised to being higher in the low range. But my heart rate has soared from 80 BPM to 108 BPM normally by my counting, and last night after I took effexor with it it went to 126 BPM. I'm not sure if its supposed to do this stuff.

Welcome to ADDforums, the best possible thing is to have the blood pressure monitored, it is different for everyone and it is possible that it may occur for a few days as well.

Thanks for all the good info. I appreciate it. I'll let her know what you all have said and I'll be curious to hear what her doctor's take is.

My heart races on Adderall no matter how much/little I take of it. However, my blood pressure is absolutely normal. My GP, not my doc that prescribes me, didn't seem too concerned about it though and neither did the doc that did tests on my heart. In fact, shes more concerned about my birth control causing blood clots. I found out that I have a heart abnormality yesterday too and they didnt even say anything about me taking adderall with it. I would think unless you have above average heart issues then its fine. It may even help her blood pressure by reducing her anxiety.

I had issues with blood pressure and taking Adderall but the doctors concluded after testing that it was ok. I think Adderall usually increases blood pressure in people that experience anxiety, like me. There are many "side effects" of adderall but I personally believe adderall just sometimes intensifies "issues"(side effects), or whatever you want to call it, that already existed.
If you experience anxiety and you take Adderall I strongy suggest considering an anxiety medication as well.
If her blood pressure or pulse is just higher than normal, it just may be more dangerous to take adderall but still likely not a problem. I'm sure the doctors will figure it out. :)