Anyone notice an increase of nose bleeds while taking Ritalin? It was not much of an issue for me until my dose went from 20mg day to 40-60 a day. Now i find i'm getting them very easy and some weirdish blood clots etc. Kinda freaking me out a bit but I figured I would check to see if anyone else is having issues.

take care all,

jn

jnixon,
I used to have fairly bad nosebleeds before I started on Ritalin. They successively got worse and worse however until I started to analyze why:

I discovered that I have a deviated septum - which causes one nostril to dry up more than the other, which results in frequent nose bleeds on that side more than the other.

I also discovered that nosebleeds are worse during season changes - particularly in dry winter to summer. Additionally I tend to de-hydrate easily for some reason.

I also discovered that in periods of high stress, (and therefore high blood pressure), my nose would suddenly erupt, for no reason at all.

Since I've been on Ritalin I've been cautious of the fact that it increases high blood pressure slightly, and dries you out, and so have kept well hydrated.

This has worked well, and haven't experienced any nosebleeds at all since.

So, try this for a week....
Fill a large bottle of water at the start of the day and take mouthfuls every so often. Don't skull the water, because your body will immediately flush out the excess. You need to have a mouthful every so often to keep hydrated.


Of course, if you are experiencing really BAD nosebleeds, then talk to your Doc about it.

I would get your blood pressure checked on your next visit to your doctor. Stimulants can increase blood-pressure, and high blood-pressure can cause nose-bleeds.

Otherwise, go to a pharmacy and buy a saline nasal spray to keep your nose moist - you're probably drying out (I get dry & crusty up there too).

Thanks for the replies guys, I will give both suggestions a shot and see what happens. I really noticed a change when the dosage increased while all other factors remained the same ie: same house etc. which is why I have a feeling its related to the dosage.

Up until about 6 months ago I always drank LOTS of fluids daily. For example, at least 8 bottles of powerade and numerous bottles of water/juice. About 6 months ago things changed and I'm down to less than half that. Not sure what happened as I cant really pinpoint any major changes to my lifestyle around that time. :/

Anyways thanks for the quick responses guys,

Take care,

JN

The weather changes a lot in 6 months.