[Callista]

I'm 27 years old, physically active, with a family history of hypertension. My own blood pressure went into the hypertension range when I tried taking hormonal birth control pills to help with bad menstrual periods, but went back down out of that range (it's still a little above normal, like 125/87 to 130/85 or thereabouts usually) after I stopped taking the birth control pills.

Anyway, I've been on Concerta, 27 mg, for about four months. It helps with executive dysfunction issues related to autism (I have very strong ADHD traits that would be diagnosed as ADHD if it weren't excluded by already being diagnosed with autism). My question is: Does it make sense to ask my doctor about the possibility of the Concerta raising my BP? It's a stimulant, after all; I wouldn't be surprised if it did something to activate the sympathetic nervous system at least some degree.

The reason I'm asking here is that I'm on Medicaid, and that means substandard care most of the time, including a doctor who will only see you for about two minutes, literally, when you visit, and in some cases isn't very good at doctoring. (I had to figure out the birth control pill thing myself; my doctor denied that it could ever happen, and it's a known side effect.) I need to know whether this is a reasonable concern to have, because if I get on my doctor's case about it, I'm probably going to have to insist pretty hard if I want anything investigated.

[Skully]

It is a possible side effect but if you have been on it for 4 months and nothing has happened so far it probably won't. You can check with your family doctor and your pdoc. There is a non stimulant drug for ADHD and that is Strattera if I am not mistaken.

[sunrise]

Callista, I have hypertension, as well as a strong family history. I take Bupropion and Vyvanse for ADHD traits. I monitor my blood pressure at home, and always monitor consistently before and after starting a new medication of any kind. I did find that Bupropion, which is not an amphetamine, did raise my blood pressure a few points. I did not see that with the stimulant Vyvanse, although it may be happening. I take blood pressure medication, which works somewhat to bring my BP down in acceptable range, and also do things like restrict salt in my diet, take Omega-3s, try not to get too stressed out, etc. Managing hypertension is doing a lot of things to help a point or two, and hopefully they will add up. If your meds raise your BP a few points, you can probably combat that with other changes, such as restricting salt, getting regular exercise, etc.

Do you find that the Concerta helps you? Would you want to give it up? If it is a drug that is really helping you, I wouldn't press too hard on your doc about the BP issue. You can do your own investigation--monitor your BP at home regularly with a monitor. That is more accurate anyway than the readings in the doctor's office. If your BP seems too high, and it seems to be in response to the Concerta, and you can't get it down by other means, then go ahead and discuss with your doctor. I think you can get a lot of preliminary information on your own before discussing with your doc. Alternatively, if you do find Concerta is raising your BP a few points, you can just quit it. Maybe it isn't helping you that much.

It's always a trade-off: a medical intervention can help us in some ways and be detrimental in others. My cardiologist says he values quality of life for patients, so he thinks it can be worth it to prescribe something that increases risk slightly, if it improves the patient's quality of life. (This was the case with an acne medication for me, which slightly increased the risk of blood clots.)

Good luck. (Get a home blood pressure monitor.)

[Moreta]

When I took Dexedrine, my blood pressure went up to 145/95. I had my blood pressure checked again once I came off the Dexedrine and switched to adderall and it went down to 125/82.

[ehdeedee]

Yes, if your dosage is too high or if your body rejects the medication then it can. My doctor always checks my blood pressure every time i go in to see her to make sure the medication isn't doing more harm than good.