Side effects of meds are scaring me away from using them!

[StoicNate]

I can't get myself to take any medication for adhd that has possible side effects that include: heart effects, death.
A majority of adhd meds have these warnings: Ritalin, Focalin, Adderall, Dexedrine, etc.

I just freak out and can't bring myself to take any medicine like that or else I think "Yay, I could die at any moment while on this medication".
I feel terribly on edge, filled with anxiety..no matter what.
It's just an irrational fear, but it really gets to me. It's the main reason why I can't bring myself to take any medication.

Off meds I don't feel like that, but I truly feel I really need some sort of medication to get me on track with life and actually do something with it.
Are there any off-label medications that work but don't have such warnings/effects?
Please help..I feel like I'm at the end of the rope at the moment.

[coyfish]

Any type of medicine has inherent risks. Life altering risks of vyvanse / adderall are very low compared to many medications. The medicine takes effect immediately. So you can see if you have the type of reactions that would cause serious ailment. No reason to be afraid like that but maybe its the anxiety side effect of stimulants.

[Amtram]

Have you read the side effects of other medications? You'd never take a Tylenol or a Benadryl ever again. Don't look at just the side effects, go farther down the page and look at the percentages of people who experienced them. 1%? 4%? Less than 1%?

[StoicNate]

Originally Posted by Amtram

Have you read the side effects of other medications? You'd never take a Tylenol or a Benadryl ever again. Don't look at just the side effects, go farther down the page and look at the percentages of people who experienced them. 1%? 4%? Less than 1%?

Yeah, I know but I don't even take tylenol or benadryl..I might take a Tums if my stomach hurts.
My whole life was mostly medication-free and taking medications that knowingly might have adverse effects gives me a chill down my spine.

To me it's like playing Russian Roulette in a way.

[EshkaronsEngine]

Try low-dosing first man.

[meadd823]

Any thing that has an effect on the body can have a bad one - prescriptions are simply required my law to list them - however one can have bad reactions to foods - I could die due to eating an orange - or a lemon - because I am allergic to them and seeing as they have an effect on the body they can have a bad one just like prescription medications.

Working with the terminally ill most of whom have never taken medications for ADD I learned that we are all gonna die of some thing some time

I refuse to waste the time I have here on Earth worrying about the time I have not

I could die at any time - but this is true regardless of weather or not I take medications for my ADHD

Life is always ending with death all the worrying in the world won't change that fact.

[salleh]

yah, they HAVE to tell write about side effects even if only a teeny tiny percentage of folks have them ......and according to a fellow ( could be a doctor, I think he might be) over on the site ....from Canada, an interactive ADD site.....the drugs for treating ADD have been around for 70 years ! and have fewer side effects than aspirin, when taken properly ...( and a book I read by two neurologists on ADD said the same thing ) and that while there are a lot of new meds for ADD out there, they are differing in the delivery of the med, but the med itself is the same thing ....

.....when you stop and think that people have been taking some kind of CNS stimulant for 70 years and they still use that med, it's gotta work, and be safe, esle it would have been replaced or removed from the market many years ago ....


......you could think of it as playing Russian roulette with a 1.75 million bullet holding gun !....chances are, it ain't gonna land on it for you .....


......and as been pointed out, this kind of med is quick to tell you, this is gonna work/not work for you ...and you doctor will be monitoring things like BP and your heart ....that's one of the main reason that it is a prescription drug......to keep an eye on things like that


....don't let the users of street drugs and what happens to them scare you, you're not taking street drugs, you're taking measured amounts of the drug, and they are considerably smaller than the amount street users take ......


.......what could it hurt to try them ? ....if they don't work, fine, try something else, but if they do!!!.....well, all of us who take them find that life improves immeasurably, otherwise, we wouldn't go to all the trouble to find a doctor, get that scrip, and pay for the meds.....


...no one will force you to try them, but like I said , you can stop if they don't work ......you sound as if you're in great pain these days ......If I were ( oh hey waiat, I am like that too without my meds !) you, I would be looking for help in any form it can take ......

[βĩο₱Ħعℓĩᶏ]

Originally Posted by StoicNate

I can't get myself to take any medication for adhd that has possible side effects that include: heart effects, death.
A majority of adhd meds have these warnings: Ritalin, Focalin, Adderall, Dexedrine, etc.

Please help..I feel like I'm at the end of the rope at the moment.

I was somewhat concerned about this also. So when I started meds 2 weeks ago, I have been periodically keeping track of my pulse and have noticed nothing irregular -- always within range of my before meds pulse.

[FrazzleDazzle]

It might offer you some reassurance to request an ECG and and ECHO.

[ToneTone]

Well, don't take tylenol or ibupropen or aspirin or cough syrup or allergy medicine ... don't go to the dentist, don't go outside in the summer--all of these have risks associated with them, including death.

There is no such thing as 100 percent safe. If you drive a car, you're putting yourself at more risk most likely than taking a stimulant.

Good luck.

[nickel76]

Us human beings by nature are pretty poor (and illogical) at judging risks. A person is scared to death of flying somewhere, but has no problem driving there (how often do you hear "fear of driving?) even though driving is far more dangerous. As far as what your talking about, seems like you're fear is "Sudden Cardiac Death". This was a big thing a few years back when Canada pulled Adderall XR because it was supposedly linked to that. Well the FDA studied the data on it:

It was actually lower than the normal rate.
"Based on these and other data, the FDA Pediatric Psychopharmacology Advisory Panel concluded that there was not an increased risk for sudden death in healthy patients with ADHD treated with stimulants."

If you have a real concern about it (like a family history of heart issues) get an ECG. If you're healthy, you should probably be more scared of NOT taking meds, since studies have linked treating ADHD and increased driving performance, among other things. And given the incredibly small number of "sudden deaths" due to stimulants and the incredibly large number of "sudden deaths" due to motor vehicle accidents, the odds are good that going unmedicated actually increases you're "sudden death" rate.

[roseblood]

Originally Posted by nickel76

It was actually lower than the normal rate.
"Based on these and other data, the FDA Pediatric Psychopharmacology Advisory Panel concluded that there was not an increased risk for sudden death in healthy patients with ADHD treated with stimulants."

Research has been widely reported on over the past few days about moderate tea and coffee drinkers having a lowered risk of heart disease, so maybe mild stimulants as a group ought to stop being assumed to have a net negative effect on cardiovascular health.

[StoicNate]

Thanks everyone.

I have this weird side effect whenever I have taken any of the stimulant meds: My heart feels like it beats irregularly when the med is wearing off.
I physically feel this. Like my heart beats slower than normally for me and at irregular beats just as the med is wearing off.

The heart is a very vital organ and I want to keep it healthy, but I just get a bad gut feeling that the above stated side effect might be a very bad sign.
I did go to the doctor to get an EKG done a few months ago when I was off meds and everything was fine.

I just get very paranoid about my heart when any medication tends to affect it.

[Amtram]

That sounds like anxiety/panic. You may have it inherently, or it may be a side effect of the stimulant. It could possibly mean that you need to try a different stimulant, or combine it with an anti-anxiety medication or an antidepressant. If an EKG shows normal functioning, it's not very likely that the stimulant is going to affect you like that.

Been there, done that. Went to the ER a couple of times, I was so scared there was something happening with my heart. The feeling of skipped beats, fluctuating rhythm, tightness and pain was just that - a feeling. Cardiologist put me on a Holter Monitor while I recorded each episode, and not once was there an actual change in my heart.

Stims alone gave me that feeling, and because I knew my heart was sound, I realized that they were causing anxiety, and I'd be OK. It was just a message that I can't take them without something else to quell the anxiety.

[StoicNate]

I'll try adderall IR again, since Focalin made me feel weird in a "this is not me" sort of way, even days after I stopped taking it. Focalin made me panic far more than adderall ever did.

I guess methylphenidate type meds aren't for me.