what ADD meds.work best for those with anxiety?

[Swede63]

Quick question can anyone tell me from your own experience and or knowlege: What ADD meds work well for someone who also has anxiety?


I tried Strattera and could not tolerate the side effects. So what now. I've been prescribed short acting Ritalin (it's coming in the mail probably today) so I don't really know what to expect. Will it make my anxiety worse or will that even out as my body gets used to the new drug? Oh and currently I am not taking any ani-anxiety meds.

I'm thinking of trying to treat anxiety with natural methods including excersize, supplemants, eating right, getting enough sleep etc. And take a stimulant for ADD

I really want this to work but what scares me is what I've read about the crash between doses. I can't handle that with two kids, a job and the personal relationship between my husband and myself. I hope it works out but I would really really appreciate anything.

Thanks

[jeaniebug]

Originally Posted by Swede63

Quick question can anyone tell me from your own experience and or knowlege: What ADD meds work well for someone who also has anxiety?

Hey there! I have not taken any ADHD meds to date. So I don't know the answer!

I hope you can figure out the meds though. Let me know what happens. I am not a doctor, but I have seen a post or two here saying stims can actually relax people, but no way to know until you try I guess.

Ritalin does not stay in your system very long, so hope if it doesn't work you will at least not have long term effects. I assume you have read the Ritalin threads, maybe some useful info there. Or you could search the site for Ritalin and anxiety at the same time.

Good luck sweetie!

[Tara]

Many people with co-existing anxiety are prescribed SSRI's in addition to stimulant medication. The thing is that people react differently to different medications. Some people say that their anxiety decreased while on stimulants while others said it got worse.

It's a good idea to record how you are feeling while on meds and communicate to your doctor.

[Swede63]

Thanks guys I am feeling better about it (thank god for the forums! )

initially I objected to the psych. wanting to treat my anxiety first (for a month) and then see about something for ADD. I didn't want to deal with the anxiety as much as the focus and attention problems I have had all my life. I was worried that that was as far as it would go (treating the anxiety) so I pushed it and he agreed to prescribe Ritalin "to start with" as long as I let him know what was going on with it. As I said I haven't filled the scrip yet and I've been reading here about other peoples experiences. I found a few that talked about treating the co-existing illness first and then adding on with a stim.

The more I have been reading here and on the net is making me see that I really should address the anxiety also. I'm sort of going in from the back side because I didn't want to just get stuck on the anti-anxiety med and nothing else.

I would like to be able to treat anxiety in a natural or wholistic way, with diet, excersize, supplements, and improved sleep.
But if I can't then I will have to go the medication route. I already take Lamictal and didn't want to add on another long term drug.

Also I can't help being a little predjuduce against Ritalin (please, please don't take offense Ritilan users believe me I'm here to learn ) It's just that it seems like such an old drug. My son was on it in the mid 90's. He crashed pretty bad after school and the meds wore off ie. headaches, crying and the like. That part, the crash scares me. Hopefully they have made improvements along the way I don't really know. it's wierd the whole side-effects issue, Wouldn't it be great if you could just take it and tadaaa! it either works or it doesn't without all the nasty side effects. Yeah in a perfect world right?

Tara a journal for recording how I am feeling is a godd idea, I'll do that for sure.

[Nova]

Swede,

If your personal schedule allows it, signing up for a Yoga class, is a great way to alleviate anxiety, IMO.

Originally Posted by Swede63

I would like to be able to treat anxiety in a natural or wholistic way, with diet, excersize, supplements, and improved sleep.
But if I can't then I will have to go the medication route.

[JRayV]

I find that the physical stimulation that Adderall gives is very calming. I currently take Dexedrine because its such a great focus med, but its all mental stimulation and doesn't calm me physically.

[speedo]

Treating the anxiety first is often a very good idea.

Stimulants can make anxiety a lot worse and you can end up with problems stemming from runaway anxiety such as panic attacks, ocd, motor tics, etc, etc etc.. Just like the doctor said, keep an eye on it and let him know if you have problems.

People who have adhd with comorbid anxiety disorders often need to have the anxiety treated along with the adhd.

In my case I take a low dose coctail of wellbutrin, tenex and risperdal to control both my anxiety and adhd. It took a long time to arrive at that solution.

If I stop taking the risperdal, in a few days the wellbutrin will cause my anxiety to escalate... and within weeks I'd be having major issues coping with anxiety related problems induced by the wellbutrin.

The tenex reduces my hyperactivity and to a lesser extent reduces anxiety. It's been a great med for me.
Basically, the wellbutrin is to help with attention. The risperdal also seems to help attention a bit.

Me

Originally Posted by Swede63

Thanks guys I am feeling better about it (thank god for the forums! )

initially I objected to the psych. wanting to treat my anxiety first (for a month) and then see about something for ADD. I didn't want to deal with the anxiety as much as the focus and attention problems I have had all my life. I was worried that that was as far as it would go (treating the anxiety) so I pushed it and he agreed to prescribe Ritalin "to start with" as long as I let him know what was going on with it. As I said I haven't filled the scrip yet and I've been reading here about other peoples experiences. I found a few that talked about treating the co-existing illness first and then adding on with a stim.

The more I have been reading here and on the net is making me see that I really should address the anxiety also. I'm sort of going in from the back side because I didn't want to just get stuck on the anti-anxiety med and nothing else.

I would like to be able to treat anxiety in a natural or wholistic way, with diet, excersize, supplements, and improved sleep.
But if I can't then I will have to go the medication route. I already take Lamictal and didn't want to add on another long term drug.

Also I can't help being a little predjuduce against Ritalin (please, please don't take offense Ritilan users believe me I'm here to learn ) It's just that it seems like such an old drug. My son was on it in the mid 90's. He crashed pretty bad after school and the meds wore off ie. headaches, crying and the like. That part, the crash scares me. Hopefully they have made improvements along the way I don't really know. it's wierd the whole side-effects issue, Wouldn't it be great if you could just take it and tadaaa! it either works or it doesn't without all the nasty side effects. Yeah in a perfect world right?

Tara a journal for recording how I am feeling is a godd idea, I'll do that for sure.

[keera]

I agree with Speedo. I think it´s a very good idea to treath anxiety first...like get it out of the way and then focus on ADD. I´m trying to do that myself actually!
"Natural ways" to treat anxiety can be very effective! I belive in some people they might work...you have to try if it works for you! For me it doesn´t. I do excersize, eat right and sleep a lot but still suffer from anxiety. But I belive I will find a way...wether it´s meds or therapy etc.
But if you get you anxiety in control with "Natural methods" I´m very happy for you!!! And I do hope you will get no side effects from ritalin. You are breave to try it! I wouldn´t even want to try a stimulant when I´m having my anxiety period...I know it will make me feel way worse cause even a cup of coffee brings out my anxiety symptoms. If I have ADD (I don´t know for sure yet) I´m gonna find some other ways to treath it....there is therapy and coaching etc. right? Meds are not the only way. Take care!

[Jackinbox]

If Ritalin cause too much anxiety, Focalin might be a good option.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexmethylphenidate

[D.B. Cooper]

Treat the anxiety first, after years of this its the only sane answer i can come up with.

[SpaceTraveller]

Originally Posted by keera

I agree with Speedo. I think it´s a very good idea to treath anxiety first...like get it out of the way and then focus on ADD.

but if you still haven't treated the ADD yet, then you can't focus on it... yeah I know, stupid joke.

I thought nonstimulant ADD meds like Straterra were supposed to be ideal for people with both anxiety and ADHD, but I'm no expert on the matter...

[D.B. Cooper]

Originally Posted by SpaceTraveller

I thought nonstimulant ADD meds like Straterra were supposed to be ideal for people with both anxiety and ADHD, but I'm no expert on the matter...

"non-stimulant" is not the right phrase for a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor such as strattera. Infact it could be stimulating as all hell. Its just not an amphetamine or amphetamine-like drug such as ritalin.

[busyhermit]

I've been taking Effexor XR for about 10 weeks now (dosage was upped after 4 wks) - it's an antidepressant but also considered useful for anxiety disorders. Honestly it's been a bit of a rollercoaster of side-effects but I've felt pretty good the last couple of days. Anyways, here's the interesting thing - part of my job is packing orders using a packing list that may have up to ten or more items on it. I'm often frustrated that I cannot retain more than two items in my memory, so I have to keep walking back to recheck the list while pulling the order. In the last few weeks, I found I could remember 3 or 4 items with confidence. Yesterday I remembered seven! I'm wondering now how much of my inability to concentrate and retain information is in fact due to the anxiety.

I'm not taking any ADD meds. I'm not in a big rush to get a diagnosis either, because I don't think the meds would be an option for me. I'm highly addictive. If one feels good, five would be even better. Even if I could control myself enough to take it as directed, I suspect I would think about it often and have to fight internal battles over it. I just don't want to go there.