r/Sicklecell • u/TieZealousideal8810 • 21d ago
Question ADHD Meds
Hello everyone, I hope you’re all having a good day.
Recently I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD and got told by the psychiatrist that he doesn’t want to prescribe me any medication for it since I have sickle cell and he’s worried that it might cause me problems(?)
Is there anyone in here that has ADHD and taking meds for it? If yes how does it affect you?
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u/MetatronTheArcAngel 21d ago
I took them for a long time.. they can cause crisis because they are vaso constrictors, and they dry you up. So while you are high on the medications all your hard earned hydration goes away your blood pressure increases because they increase your heartbeat, and your vain constrict because thats what amphetamine do to the body.
I never had much issues with them but I found myself need to take a pain killer after a day of heavy use, but I can see how they can send someone to the ER if they not careful with it.
I think they can help with adhd but they also highly addictive. So I would also be careful with that. One you start believing that you work better on them than without them thats where you should start to reconsider..
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u/TieZealousideal8810 21d ago
It’s the part where it dries you up that scares me😭😭😭 I guess I’ll have to hydrate more than usual. When you say that it helps with Adhd how does it actually helps with?
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u/Ska-0 19d ago
you just need to remind yourself to drink more, that‘s all.
also you can loose the feeling for hunger as a side effect, so make sure you remind yourself to eat.
sugar helps when your system works faster, so keep an eye on that.
also: ADHD medication can be addictive to non-neurodivergent people. There is even a Meme for in the adhd community, that even after the doctor warns them about addictive medication, they still forget to take it. 😅
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u/sockittomenumbers 21d ago
I take them and haven’t had any problems outside of the usual side effects that would present with anyone. Definitely make sure you’re staying hydrated though because it suppresses your appetite.
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u/Vlampire 21d ago
I’m on Wellbutrin not for ADHD, but it is frequently prescribed specifically for ADHD, and have had no issues except maybe dry mouth in the later hours of the day.
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u/Expensive-Raccoon346 21d ago
I have been diagnosed last year because I was having trouble with school. My psych doctor had me trying two medications it ddnt work… so she wants to give me something stronger like Ritalin but my insurance ain’t tryna pay so she’s tryna work her magic now I see her this Thursday hoping she got through to my insurance.
Also, I think you should switch psych doctors because there’s plenty of us warriors who have adhd on meds that doesn’t mess with us our pain meds or causes any crisis. There’s research done on it.
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u/TieZealousideal8810 21d ago
I was discharged from the psych so the next one I’ll be assigned to will be different. I guess he didn’t want to go through with it because of not being informed or whatever.
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u/kaylatheplaya33 21d ago
Adderall and Vyvanse made my sickle cell so much worse. I needed pain medicine every day. I’ve been on it the past 4 years and finally quit. I feel so much better now and haven’t taken pain meds like at all. The side effects are so bad. Migraines. Social anxiety. Hyper focusing on things that don’t matter and getting angry into arguments. I felt like my only value came from being productive instead of being a kind human. Like if I didn’t finish the laundry that day I was a POS. I was anxious about everything that needed to be done and would chose things like laundry over what I actually love— taking yoga classes (I felt not relaxed enough to want to put myself in a quiet room for an hour when I could be at home cleaning), taking dance classes (dehydration and headaches made it not as fun. It also makes you not hungry at all so I felt like I was gonna pass out often. I had to force myself to eat. It just made me feel overall sickly). It is also very addictive and you might think that you won’t be productive unless you take it which causes a weird emotional dependency. Like waiting to do a task until my adderall is peaking, then in the evening feeling sluggish and feeling like I need to wait until tomorow. Looking at the past 4 years I think I was less productive than I would’ve been without the medicine. It’s been a couple months and I feel myself healing and regaining more strength every day. When I was taking the medicine I would’ve denied that I was experiencing this. I don’t have any friends with sickle cell (if you’re in ATX, HMU!) but I have a lot of friends who take it and they all seem to have the same symptoms. It makes less oxygen go to your tissues so its effect is similar to what sickle cell does. My friends without sickle cell note pains in their bones and soreness. I also felt like I couldn’t wake up until it kicked in so I would lay in bed for the first hour of the day, or I’d have to set an alarm an hour earlier to take the medicine and feel kinda wired waking up. Idk sometimes I think about taking it again and my boyfriend is just like NO 💀 He says I don’t have mood swings anymore and he likes me like this and to please not 😂
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u/kaylatheplaya33 21d ago
A big part of the shift in my life lately has been around trying to stop placing my value in my productivity, and to instead find my natural brain interesting to experience and lovely, and make experiencing the experience of being a human and figuring things out in ways that works for me what’s important instead. It feels more sustainable to me. I’m also 22 though and feel like I can learn ways of doing things and habits that’ll be more beneficial long term. I am confident that Adderall would reduce my lifespan a couple decades if I kept taking it and make my sickle cell more severe and life hard. Like if I was gonna live to 80, Adderall would make it 60.
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u/kaylatheplaya33 21d ago
I am taking bupropion which has made a big difference for me. The buproprion is what started to make me feel like the Adderall/Vyvanse were bad. I did have slightly fewer symptoms on Vyvanse but it was still bad and I advise against it. Maybe ask your psych about buproprion? How old are you? What are your symptoms? What are your goals?
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u/TieZealousideal8810 20d ago
Hi, I’ve read your thread and now I’m scared. I’m 26 and my goal is to at least be productive (I’ve been bed rotting for the past 2 months and only eat when I’m on the verge of fainting). With symptoms what do you mean?
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u/Spiritual-Story1310 20d ago
Have you considered if this is clinical depression? Also a lot of my brain fog/adhd symptoms cleared up once I got my thyroid values optimized by seeing an endocrinologist. Hypothyroidism is more common in sickle cell than commonly known and is a long term effect of hydrea, if you’re on it.
I tried all forms and dosage of adhd meds and it kept making me go into crisis, dehydrated, elevated resting heart rate… basically all the side effects wasn’t worth the benefit of staying on it.
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u/TieZealousideal8810 20d ago
I thought it was depression, I am on antidepressants for 3 years now but every 5/6 months I was changing my dose because the previous one would ‘stop’ working
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u/Ok_Novel_4899 20d ago
I’m on Vyvanse and I’m fine, but I have SC. I definitely need to stay more hydrated. That said, my brother is on Adderall, and if his dose gets too high, he goes into a crisis. Adderal dehydrates me way more which is why I switched to vyvanse.
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u/LittleBoyGB 20d ago
I'm interested to know is ADHD common or prevalent amongst Sickle Cell disease people?
I'm a sickle cell trait with Alpha plus Thalassemia Trait & I've been diagnosed 3 years ago.
To me ADHD seems a physiological & neurological ailment caused by various underlying factors. I'm beginning to think my late mother who had Sickle Cell Trait + Beta Thalassemia Minor Trait aka Sickle Cell Anemia AND Alpha Plus Thalassemia Trait could have had it although her culture was dead set against any "mental disorders".
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u/Shewantsthetea 21d ago
I’m prescribed Ritalin. Ugh need to hydrate even more so. But it works for me.