Adderall and high BP

[Carly]

hello.

 

as I have asked in my title, I just want to know if Adderall is causing high blood pressure or not? I want to know if anybody here who has ever used adderall had ever noticed that he or she has a high blood pressure while never had any in the past. the reason I ask this, of course, is because I think that this is what happened to me. I have never had a issue with high blood pressure and since I have been put back on the 20 mg per day of the generic version of the Adderall XR it seems that I have one now. in the past I used to think that it is only the anxiety that it is getting it higher which is putting up with my psychiatrist and his office staff, however later I have checked it a few times at the grocery store and it is being consistently high. I mean, it is as high as about 152/ 96 (at least this was my blood pressure the last time I've checked it). and so, I am really curious on what you people can say about this? I do know that the shrink it is looking for excuses not to prescribe me any adderall even though I have years of records and lack of drug abuse as well as lack of alcohol abuse history so I am being worried that this is indeed going to happen and he's gonna get me off it if it's gonna continue like that. thank you very much in advance for your answers, I would appreciate it a lot! and also, please, if it's indeed adderall making my blood pressure go high, is there anything that I can do to make it go low again? thank you a lot!

 

[Suffes]

hi there.

 

you should know that indeed, any drugs from the amphetamine class (and adderall, I guess you know, is such a drug) can absolutely increase your blood pressure. since you are not having any issues with high blood pressure, normally, adderall shouldn't get it so high at abnormal levels, though this shouldn't be excluded either. and that's especially since the reading that you gave above indeed it is high so you really should be doing a bit of research on this. what it is also important to know is that blood pressures (maybe only excepting for the extreme ones) should always be viewed as a snapshot in the time, and not a diagnosis especially from your once measured blood pressure. what I try to say is that if you have had your legs crossed, you have done a great deal of waking to your appointment (maybe walking upstairs a few floors) you were talking while your pressure cuff was on and especially since you said that you also have anxiety and so on and so forth, you should know that all of these things can make your pressure appear being artificially high.

 

now, if you are really worried about this drug getting your blood pressure in abnormal levels and if you do plan to continue on using this drug then I would strongly recommend you to take your blood pressure at least one time per day (but preferably 2 or 3 times a day, like when you wake up, after/ before you eat, after/ before you have physical activity, when you go to bed etc.) for at least the next 3 weeks. if the numbers are going to stay in that range (or in any range that it is above normal) then you do have a problem that should be solved and that problem may or it may not be caused by adderall. now, the only way that you could find this out it is to record your blood pressure every single day, and preferably at the same time daily (or at least plus or minus) and then to chart it and examine closely. keep in mind that soma small differences either up or down are meaningless so don't really pay attention to them. so, if after like a few weeks (as I said, at least 3 weeks) it is going to continue in that range then as said earlier, you do have a problem with high blood pressure and it should be ruled out. the next thing that I would do is to check for any connections between adderall and high blood pressure. for doing so, I would discontinue the adderall for approximately one full week and then again I would daily measure my blood pressure. just in case you are noticing that it is slowly returning back to normal then I guess no explanation is needed since there is a clear connection between the adderall and your blood pressure. however, if you do stop the adderall and after a week you start measuring your blood pressure daily  and it remains the same (high) as with adderall then your blood pressure needs to be treated (go talk to your doctor about this), however it is very unlikely that it has any connection to the amphetamine medication that you take.

 

I really hope that this is going to help you rule out whether adderall causes you high blood pressure or not but whichever the case, I suggest you to take caution because untreated high blood pressure is going to cause you heart diseases, kidney diseases, stroke and the list goes on and on. please be careful and be safe. I wish you good luck!

 

[Carly]

thank so so much for your very defined and clear (as well as helpful) answer. I will surely do exactly as you recommended me to do. unfortunately I am not having a blood pressure monitor but as soon as I've read your post I have ordered one and as soon as it comes, I am going to do daily readings before and after using the medication so I would rule out whether is there a connection between them or not (which I really hope that there isn't…). and yeah, if indeed the adderall is responsible for the high blood pressure, there's no other option than just to stop taking it?

 

[Moore67]

I do know what you talk about. it might not be from the adderall but because you simply are there. check your blood pressure at home to be sure. I just say this because I always have high blood pressure in the doctor's office and also, I find it very strange but I am always being a bit embarrassed there. I've got to say that I am working out a lot so I can't really understand why is my blood pressure so high….?! my doctors and I are all thinking that it might be the white coat syndrome or also maybe even the 'blood pressure check syndrome' either. whatever the case, I am just getting so so nervous. I mean, I'm getting the shakes and I am all scared as if there's a killer in front of me, not a doctor. I remember that there was a doctor many years ago who has told me that I would die fairly quickly because of my high blood pressure and he has added that it is my fault due to the fact that I'm not eating right and I'm not working out but I can tell you that I do eat very well and I am also working out a lot at my 5'2"" and 117 lbs. fortunately, most of the doctors are only thinking that I am always just nervous and stuff like that and they all think that I am just ignoring the numbers which is a big mistake that they make because I never ignore them as I know how important, in fact, they are.

 

anyway, what I try to say here is that it might be the fact that you are being nervous in the time that you are having your blood pressure checked which makes you think that you have a high blood pressure (which you have only in the time that you are being nervous). also, very good idea to buy yourself a blood pressure monitor especially when you see that you have blood pressure issues. I have purchased one for myself and I can tell you that it is absolutely amazing. I am monitoring my blood pressure myself regularly and I have found that I am not as nervous of the cuff anymore. and yeah, by the way, my blood pressure it is absolutely fine, it just gets like that because I get so nervous whenever I am there so it gets high. but to be honest, I am still a little bit worried due to the fact that my doctor is not going to believe me when I am going in for a visit that my blood pressure, in fact, is fine, and that it gets high only for as much as I'm here. but anyway, so far I seem to be fine because he does not seem to be very concerned about this.

 

as for now, I wish you to enjoy the blood pressure monitor. you're gonna like it. in just a few more days, you are going to know for sure either you need to change anything or if you have been just nervous in that point of the time and that you're alright. I pray for you that it is the second thing. don't forget to come back here with an update.

 

[Odell]

hey there OP, I just want to tell you that Adderall surely can cause high blood pressure. if you read the list of side effects of adderall you would see the high blood pressure being listed there. but as it is said above, it doesn't automatically means that it is the adderall which causes it. it might be another issue or it might not be an issue at all but your anxiety which popped up in the moment you had your blood pressure checked. your blood pressure monitor that you purchased is going to make you find out what's the truth.

 

I personally am taking 20 mg x 3 times per day (a total of 60 mg a day of adderall) and I'm lucky enough that it doesn't cause me this side effect and my blood pressure is always in a good range (it is all great!).

 

but still adderall can cause it. my shrink told me about this and that is why he is taking my blood pressure at our appointments. he is not doing it every time when we have an appointment but I guess that whenever he remembers about it. just remember that you should not play with it, this is not a drug that you should be playing around with. Adderall, Ritalin as well as some other drugs of this class (amphetamines) are nothing to be taken lightly or something that are being considered 'very safe'.

 

and yeah, one last thing ( as a side note) I want to say that I don't really know what all of the 'craze' is about with the add medications and that's especially with the adderall due to the fact that they are not doing absolutely nothing for me in any kind of the euphoric way. not sure if that's just me or they are not intended to be like that?!

 

[Beinale]

yes, I can't say anything as much as it has been said by other people out there, but be sure that adderall CAN raise your blood pressure. I tell you this from my own experience. I have taken adderall for a while a lot of years ago (I guess anywhere in 2007 or 2008) and it did has raised my blood pressure. if the same goes to you then don't play around. high blood pressure leads to horrible heath problems!

 

[RichardP]

of course adderall raises your blood pressure. it raises to everyone who takes it. for some it might be barely noticed but it still raises it. it is a beta adrenergic stimulating drug which means that it mimics the effects of the adrenaline (and we all know that adrenaline raises blood pressure) of which constricts blood vessels and it is increasing heart rate and these 2 being combined your blood pressure is being increased. if you do not have a high blood pressure but it started to be so as soon as you started to take adderall, I doubt that it is just a coincidence. but yes, agreed with other people - better monitor your blood pressure for a while to know for sure.

 

[Raul C. Devine]

well… just to clarify this situation… adderall indeed CAN raise or increase your blood pressure, however it does NOT CAUSE it! well… you might ask me what it is the difference between these 2? look… well, the first one (can) is just temporary whilst the second one (not causing) it is an entire condition. exactly as it has been elegantly pointed out by Suffes earlier, you can very well notice an increase in your blood pressure from simple stuff such as walking, talking (not mentioning walking upstairs a few floors), having a salty meal or maybe even from standing up too fast. anxiety/ stress/ fear is also known to cause high blood pressure. the thing is that all of this is just temporary. using adderall may also very well create a spike or to increase your blood pressure, however the thing is that unless you are already having high blood pressure in the first place, then it is going to go down when the drug is going to wear off or as soon as you are going to stop using it.

 

but in the regards of the CAUSE of the high blood pressure, the family genetics (not always but very usually) are a key factor which is creating a chronic condition that really needs to be treated with some medications (most often). in addition to that, I guess you all know that being overweight can contribute either (and logically, the more overweight you are, the more it contributes).

 

what I try to say here is that generally, it is very highly unlikely that using adderall is going to CAUSE you to have a long term condition of having chronic high blood pressure because, as I said, all it would do is to raise your blood pressure for the moment. but then again, it can happen and I assume that the only way that this thing can happen is if you are already being genetically predisposed to have it in the first place (or then again, as I said, if you are overweight). if none of this applies to you then I have big doubts that adderall would make you suffer from chronic high blood pressure!

 

plus to that, before giving adderall to their patients, doctors are checking their blood pressures. having that said, it is being very highly unlikely that you would have been prescribed adderall at all if your blood pressure would have been high enough to be a concern for you! I wish you good luck and I hope you understood what I tried to tell you. if you have any questions ask them here. I will gladly respond to every one of them! good luck

 

[OZBorn]

hi. I only want to share my experience with you. I have taken adderall for a while. my doctor put me on 20 mg taking it 3 times a day. I have to say that I did have noticed my blood pressure going 'up' however I can tell you that it has not been concernedly high, usually it has been around 128 / 90 measure which I can't say that it was great, of course, however this reading is still considered not to be outside the normal expected increase so I was fine.

 

not sure if this makes a change but I just wanted to let you know about this. in the end of the day I just hope that you are going to find a solution to this problem you have now with your doctor and I hope that it is not going to involve to take you off this medication if you say that it is working so good for you. not sure if it is allowed to take blood reducing medications along with adderall if adderall is indeed responsible for the increase in your blood pressure so much. I wish you all the best !

 

[MarbleMe]

I also know that adderalls do increase the blood pressure, however, exactly as it was mentioned earlier by someone else, most of the time it is transient or it is not really significant. but even so, better be careful. and especially, I know that those people who are already having an existing heart problem (decease) or any other thyroid or maybe kidney issues then they have to be very careful if they are planning to use adderall (and I'm not sure if they can use them altogether) and in fact, not only adderall but any other types of amphetamine medications.

 

another thing which is important to know is that most of the amphetamine pills that are being sold nowadays from the IOPs, if they are not fakes then they are mostly containing meth and not the mixture of the amphetamine/ dextroamphetamine and this is why I would recommend you to go and purchase from a pharmacy ONLY with a prescription for a genuine adderall so you know for sure that what you take is what you think you take. best wishes.