Chest Pain When On Adderall

[crozz]

Hey guys, I'm sure this isn't a huge deal but Swim has taken adderall on multiple occasions, probably a total of 15 different occasions. Swim takes it to study but also like the recreational rush of it, so sometimes insuffilates the pills and whatnot, but Swim has never taken a dose over 30mg at a time. Swim isn't prescribed adderall but gets it from friends.

ANYWAYS swim has notice chest pain pretty much everytime he takes adderall. It's not necessarily intense, definitely not bad enough to make swim stop taking it, but it is there and is pretty unpleasant. Swim is not totally sure but would place the pain more in the sternum than in the heart. Swim had assumed this was a semi-common side effect so usually ignored it and forgot about it, but swim is currently on adderall and is feeling the pains again so he researched it on WebMD, and it stated there that chest pain is a serious problem and swim should seek immediate attention.

Swim is definitely not one to worry about something like this and still feels its no problem, but swim was just curious if you guys know anyone who has complained of similar pains and if they know what if its serious or not.

Thanks in advance.

Reputation Comments on this post:

good question... it's been asked before but still.

[Samadhi]

err... adderall is an amphetamine, amphetamines are well known for increasing heart rate and blood pressure along with muscle tension.

don't go calling the doc-in-the-box just yet, it's a common thing to have a little aches and chesties (or it has been in swims very breif experience with the substance)

besides, you search cough on webMD and you'll end up with results from "the common cold" to "avian bird flu---seek immediate medical attention."

just remember with amphetamines, moderation is the key.

peace

[crozz]

Originally Posted by samadhi123

err... adderall is an amphetamine, amphetamines are well known for increasing heart rate and blood pressure along with muscle tension.

don't go calling the doc-in-the-box just yet, it's a common thing to have a little aches and chesties (or it has been in swims very breif experience with the substance)

besides, you search cough on webMD and you'll end up with results from "the common cold" to "avian bird flu---seek immediate medical attention."

just remember with amphetamines, moderation is the key.

peace

Yes of course swim was not too worried, swim just thought it would be a good idea to check how common this is and see if anyone here knew how "serious" this actually was. Swim was aware it increased blood pressure but was not aware if actual pain was common. No one swim asked had experienced the chest pain and he just wanted to double check there wasn't some serious problem associated with chest pain. So really you just confirmed the thoughts swim was having and I appreciate it.

[JudgeJudy]

SWIM's chest pains and heart palpitations always come after the Adderall is leaving the body. It sucks real bad. SWIM rarely has chest pain while the medication is in full swing.

[lexi21]

i take 30 mg adderall xr and about 4 or 5 hours in when the first half is wearing off I start to get chest pains and anxiety but it goes away as I get hit my the second half of the adderall disolving. I think that as long as you keep it with low doses you shouldn't have to worry about anything. I think if the pain became extreme and unbearable then probably seek medical attention.

[cra$h]

don't worry, it's only a whole being blown out of your heart. JK, but when used recklessly, could be a possibility. It's just part of the amphetamines. that's what they do. You'll go forever but with a price. If your chest hurts a couple days later, or even 24hrs later, then it might be time to stop.

[100mg Methylphenidate]

It could be two things.

Anxiety or something's wrong with swiy's heart.

Does swiy have abnormally high blood pressure(on and off) adderall?

Anxiety can cause this, it's called angina pectoris, and it's due to a lack of oxygen to the heart. Which could be from the heart beating overly fast and not as efficient, resulting in less oxygen, and chest pain. If this is the case, it is relatively harmless. If swiy sits there and thinks about his chest and notices it more, than if he just forgets about it and relaxes, that could be the case. Swim has only delt with this once after a massive ritalin binge and overdose, and felt like that the next day.

He later was told it was probably anxiety by one of his coworkers, looked it up, and it sounded like a possibility. Since then, he's also had dye in his blood vessels for a CAT scan, so he's assuming he doens't have any obvious bulging arteries or heart problems(not to mention, his blood pressure isn't considered high yet, so he's probably okay). Since then, he's done adderall a million times and never experienced chest pain.

If it is something serious, which it COULD be, I would suggest swiy checks it out. Heart problems don't generally give much of a warning. An anuerysm could kill you well before the paramedics get there. Not to mention, most of them have pretty poor prognosises in the future(plus most people with anuerysms in one place, have them in other spots as well). Or some sort of ahrthymias or heart problem could be happening. Who knows? Sudden death doesn't sound worth the risk to me.

Then again, chances are, it's probably just anxiety or angina by itself...but does swiy really want to take that risk?

[Laudaphun]

SWIM noticed something in regards to this. For a few months SWIM used smokeless tobacco (actually had quit for a couple years and relapsed on nicotine), so anyways these few months of the nicotine relapse SWIM would take an adderall, and then put a chew in... or put a chew in long after the adderall had taken effect. Either way, once the adderall took effect SWIM would experience chest pain, or if already on adderall, when enough nicotine absobed into the system chest pain would occur.

This happened to the point where it was predictable... and very easy to solve. Spit out the chew and the chest pain would go away. It was very mild, not bad but uncomfortable. SWIM has since quit using nicotine and does not experience chest pain anymore.

[soma]

100mg.. Pretty close, but I'll break it down a bit further.

Angina pectoris could be delayed in layman's terms as "heart-attack cardio chest pain", this is not usually triggered by anxiety, unless said person has a history of MI (myocardial infarction aka heart attack) or similar heart ailment.

There is a branch of cardiocentric chest pain that does NOT involve clots or dying heart muscle, and this is by far the most common. The process works something like this:
1. Adderall constricts blood vessels
2. Constricted vessels = higher BP
3. Heart will try to compensate for higher BP by beating slower, but heavier
4. Heavy-beating heart will then apply small amounts of pressure to Vagus nerve
5. Add in an overstimulated CNS, and tense muscles, and you are set for a minor freak out over a very common problem.

The remedies: Beta Blockers, Benzos, & Gabapentin are what has worked best for SWIM. Some people swear l-arganine helps, but who knows.

[TruLadyRed]

Originally Posted by soma

100mg.. Pretty close, but I'll break it down a bit further.

Angina pectoris could be delayed in layman's terms as "heart-attack cardio chest pain", this is not usually triggered by anxiety, unless said person has a history of MI (myocardial infarction aka heart attack) or similar heart ailment.

There is a branch of cardiocentric chest pain that does NOT involve clots or dying heart muscle, and this is by far the most common. The process works something like this:
1. Adderall constricts blood vessels
2. Constricted vessels = higher BP
3. Heart will try to compensate for higher BP by beating slower, but heavier
4. Heavy-beating heart will then apply small amounts of pressure to Vagus nerve
5. Add in an overstimulated CNS, and tense muscles, and you are set for a minor freak out over a very common problem.

The remedies: Beta Blockers, Benzos, & Gabapentin are what has worked best for SWIM. Some people swear l-arganine helps, but who knows.

How does Gabapentin help? It's a seizure medication...right?

[soma]

Originally Posted by TruLadyRed

How does Gabapentin help? It's a seizure medication...right?

Good Question! Gabapentin, is (more or less) synthetic GABA (the main chemical increased by Benzodiazepines, etc). It (in higher doses) produces a mild depressant effect, similar to Diazepam (but without the hassle of a diazepam script).

[stratry]

Strangely enough, Adderall IS SWIM's calm-me-down medication, whereas Gabapentin, Benzodiazepines, and Beta-Blockers have literally never produced a noticeable positive effect let alone anxiety relief. Of course, these are good suggestions that should work for most people. Just be careful that they're not masking a serious health problem. SWIM's anxiety has manifested itself physically in some awful ways over the years, but he's never had chest related problems while taking Adderall. Again though, anxiety is a good suggestion because stimulants can wreak havoc on those with anxiety disorders.

[TruLadyRed]

Originally Posted by soma

Good Question! Gabapentin, is (more or less) synthetic GABA (the main chemical increased by Benzodiazepines, etc). It (in higher doses) produces a mild depressant effect, similar to Diazepam (but without the hassle of a diazepam script).

Thank you for explaining. SWIM appreciates it! But at what dose is a "higher dose"...

[stratry]

Originally Posted by TruLadyRed

Thank you for explaining. SWIM appreciates it! But at what dose is a "higher dose"...

Varies widely from person to person. Seen reports ranging from a couple hundred milligrams daily to beyond three grams daily. Tolerance can apparently build very quickly.

[Laudaphun]

SWIM finds amphetamine use too harsh on her body to use for extended periods of time so she usually asks for methylphenidate most of the time and then will ask for an amphetamine script for a month, and they work really well, better than methylphenidate at first, but after a month she is ready to go back to methylphenidate. Typically she has both around but uses amphetamines only 1/4 months. A bottle of adderall (racemic mixxed amphetamine salts) typically sits in the medicine cabinet far longer than does a bottle of methylphenidate. SWIM has only ever had any side-effects when the prescribed dose was exceeded. However, whether this is smart advice or not, SWIM does not know, however on occasion when she feels like she may have overdone it and taken too much either amphetamine or methylphenidate, she takes a couple "baby aspirin" 81mg acetasalisylic acid which they recommend to older people when they feel as if they are having a stroke or heart attack. (Paranoia is likely present in these situations as well, but a little caution never hurt anyone, so long as they are not misinformed) As such, I do not know if this is necessarily a good idea or not when chest pain arises due to amphetamine use.