[randomness13]

hi. i am a 26 year old female with adhd. i have been taking medications for almost 4 years now. currently, i take 80mg of adderall. everyone i talk to say that it is very bad on my heart and i will eventually have heart problems. one doctor told me that ritalin is safer. i don't know what i should do. i need the meds to be normal. would adhd coaching work as well?

[sunrise]

I don't know if Adderall causes heart problems but it is contraindicated in people who already have certain heart and circulatory problems (arrhythmias, very high blood pressure). Find a good doc with good pharm knowledge and ask these questions.

Behavioral strategies for ADHD can be helpful sometimes. Why not give a try? Maybe this could help you decrease your dose. One therapist I know runs support groups for adults with ADHD where people share strategies for success.

[Simcha]

Originally Posted by randomness13

hi. i am a 26 year old female with adhd. i have been taking medications for almost 4 years now. currently, i take 80mg of adderall. everyone i talk to say that it is very bad on my heart and i will eventually have heart problems. one doctor told me that ritalin is safer. i don't know what i should do. i need the meds to be normal. would adhd coaching work as well?

Don't you think if it was really bad for your heart, your doctor wouldn't have prescribed it?

There isn't anything any more unsafe about Adderall than there is about Tylenol. Tylenol has caused more deaths than Adderall even... so let's put this in perspective a bit. If one doctor told you that Ritalin was safer, I don't know what he was basing his judgment on, so I can't really evaluate that statement.

If you have hypertension or a pre-existing heart problem, then you MIGHT be contraindicated from taking Adderall. I think therapy works well for ADHD, either with or without medication. I don't know much about ADHD coaching, but I basically get that from therapy too so I wouldn't need to spend money on a coach. That brings up a good point---I'm not sure if ADHD coaches are covered by insurance.

Ever think of a therapist? You could always see a different Pdoc or general practitioner to see what they think too.