Have you taken Adderall and blood pressure meds?

October 14, 2009 1:22 PM

I have Adult ADD -- and about 5 years ago, I briefly got a huge benefit from taking Adderall. But that was before I had high blood pressure.

For the past 2 years I've had high blood pressure that is pretty well controlled by meds-- when it was diagnosed it was *really* high (195/110!) I'm not really overweight nor do I have other risk factors for high blood pressure; just seems to be the way I handle stress. Anyway, I have just been given a beautiful bottle of blue pills with my name on it by a respected psychiatrist who says it's OK to take this Adderall as long as I continue take my blood pressure meds and monitor myself at home with a cuff. The regular doc also says it's OK. Only 5 mg of Adderall twice a day; I could take it once a day. But I'm terrified. You are not my doctor. But have you taken Adderall with controlled high blood pressure? The website says: Do not take with high blood pressure. Canada says: Adderall is banned due to sudden deaths and strokes. Docs say: Go ahead. My work says: Take the damn -- what? Was that a squirrel out the window? Oh yeah.
Please let me know if you have experienced this -- seems like it should be all over the web, but all I can find are warnings about high blood pressure, not controlled high blood pressure. Thanks hive mind.

posted by keener_sounds to health & fitness (5 comments total)

I can't speak for Adderall, but I know that being on rather large doses of Ritalin has not increased my blood pressure, it's still nice and healthy. I'm 27, so I'm not sure how much my experience is relevant to yours.

Running a quick google search, I found this study, which indicates an increase in blood pressure, although the numbers presented don't strike me as that bad. Keep in mind that it was also done with children, ritalin instead of Adderall, etc.

Finally, I'm not sure if using caffeine as a substitute stimulant is any better (you don't mention this, but I know plenty of people who do this), given this article from the Mayo clinic.

Good luck.
posted by Hactar at 1:50 PM on October 14

1. My mom got diagnosed with high blood pressure on her first visit to a psychiatrist, during which she was also diagnosed with ADD and prescribed Vyvanse (similar to Adderall). It wasn't as high as yours, but it's high and she's not on medication for it yet (he just has her monitoring it). And I don't know how old you are but she is probably older than you and thus probably more at risk for heart problems and stroke.

2. 10mg daily of Adderall is quite a low dose.

3. If you're worried, take your blood pressure before you take the Adderall, and then an hour after you take it, every day for awhile.
posted by granted at 1:53 PM on October 14

If you haven't already, I would recommend asking for some blood tests from the doctor, to see if the blood pressure can be tracked down to another underlying issue. Stress can raise blood pressure, yes, but you would have to be under insane amounts of stress to bring your BP up to 195/110. That's great that it can be controlled with medication, but it would be even better if you find a concrete cause for the elevation, and hopefully resolve the issue so you don't even have to worry about BP or the meds.
posted by sarahsynonymous at 2:05 PM on October 14 [1 favorite]

Thanks guys. I appreciate your thoughts on this.
posted by keener_sounds at 4:50 PM on October 14

Have you spoken to your doctor about possible problems with adderall & blood pressure?

Once I got a prescription for it, my caffeine intake essentially stopped (yay self medication) so that may have been beneficial too.
posted by tomble at 5:01 PM on October 14