Hi! I have a question that I cannot find the answer for. Last week my doctor increased my dosage of Adderall (a stimulant medication being used to treat the severe fatigue and cognitive issues I've been suffering--undiagnosed so far, calling it fibro/cfs but still in the ruling out every other condition phase). I've been on it 6 weeks total at low doses and wasnt feeling any effects, good or bad. Last week when we upped it I finally started to feel a slight increase in energy and a tiny lift of the persistant brain fog. BUT--there's always a but--I have had NO side effects from this drug, which is great. Having read all the horror stories, I decided to check my heart rate every so often while on it. At the beginning my resting heart rate was in the high 60s, low 70s. (I was always sitting down when I checked my pulse). The other day, after increasing the dosage, I checked it and it was 103. Since then I've been checking it much more often and it's persistently in the low 80s to high 90s, no matter how long it's been since my last dose. (Took my last dose at 5pm yesterday. It normally only lasts about 4 hours for me anyway, but I've read this med should be completely out of your system after about 16 hours. At 9am today I took my pulse standing and it was 103. Sitting now a half hour later it is 92.)
I'm pretty sure my heart rate is now consistently higher, and not just while on the medication. Is this dangerous? I know Adderall was given to me for energy so it makes sense it would raise my heart rate. It's a stimulant after all. But should my heart rate be higher ALL the time? Is it bad for a heart rate to increase by 15 or more beats per minute and stay that way?
I can't find any info on this! I see my doc early next week and will of course ask, but I need to ease my mind. Also, I have noticed a few missing beats (but after a pause my next heart beat does not beat harder or anything. It's just like a pause in the heart beat and then goes right back to normal). Also, I can't "feel" my heart beating or anything. It's not racing. It's just faster than it used to be.
