Ritalin etc, Safe? — ADD Tip of the day 200!

Posted on January 7, 2012 by

This week  both a friend and a patient told me that their doctors had advised that they stop taking Ritalin because of fear of long term effect on their heart.  Ritalin can sometimes increase blood pressure and pulse rate, but there is no evidence that it is harmful to the heart.  If it does increase blood pressure, that can be a  concern.  As with any medication you have to weigh risks vs benefits, but Ritalin seems very low risk.  I personally do not take it because when I tried it the mild benefits were pretty evenly balanced with the mild side effects- mild GI discomfort and mild jitteriness.   Probably partly because my ADD is mild and I have a lot of strategies that work to cope with it.

Coming next: more about safety and about side effects in general.

doug

Pete Quilly, ADD coach, advised me that the blog would be better in black rather than the blue I’ve been using.  I would welcome our comments on this?

200 posts!  Who’d have thought?

About doug with ADHD

I am a psychiatric physician. I learned I have ADHD at age 64, and then wrote two ADHD books for adults, focusing on strategies for making your life better. Your Life Can Be Better; strategies for adults with ADD/ADHD available at amazon.com, or smashwords.com (for e books) Living Daily With Adult ADD or ADHD: 365 Tips O the Day ( e-book). This is one tip at a time, one page at a time, at your own pace. It's meant to last a year. As a child, I was a bully. Then there was a transformation. Now I am committed to helping people instead abusing them. The Bully was published in January, 2016. It's in print or e book, on Amazon.
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3 Responses to Ritalin etc, Safe? — ADD Tip of the day 200!

  1. Pingback: Stimulant Medicine for ADD ADHD and New Research — ADD Tip O the Day 587 | ADDadultstrategies

  2. Pingback: The Straight Scoop On Medicines — ADD Tip o the Day 357 | ADDadultstrategies

  3. Pingback: ADD Mythology — ADD Tip o the Day 325 | ADDadultstrategies

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