1. < Mental Health

Meds for ADD for folks over 70 yrs. Old

Posted by sharpy1946 @sharpy1946, Aug 10, 2022

I’m 75 yrs old and have been taking Adderall XR 20 mg daily for 25 yrs. My MD wants me to go off of it because it can cause HTN in the elderly. I have always had low blood pressure so I don’t think this will be a problem.
I also have hypothyroidism & a low normal # of red blood cells which (I think) make me prone to fatigue. I do take levothyroxine which works well. I got off of adderall and started on some natural vitamins/minerals which actually seem to help with my ADD. However, I am exhausted and, even with 11 hours of sleep nightly, I still take an afternoon nap.
Can I safely take my Adderall at my age. I feel I am sleeping my life away & need to get revel up a little which adderall certainly did. I have taken the same dose for the 25 yrs. But when I was working I sometimes took an additional 10 mg if I was working late. Thanks for any advice. I’m feeling s/w desperate . I also take Effexor XR 150 mg for intermittent depression. It has been a life saver for me.

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danish | @danish | Mar 17 9:00pm

I am in the same situation I took Adderall 20mg for over 25 years
Then I retired from work and thought I should stop that was an age 65 but I just can’t function. I’m in bed most of the day and I’m now gonna be 74 years later. I’m wanting to know if I can take maybe five or 10 mg a day.

REPLY
1 reply
asergio714 | @asergio714 | Mar 18 7:17am
In reply to @danish "I am in the same situation I took Adderall 20mg for over 25 years Then I..." + (show)
@danish

I am in the same situation I took Adderall 20mg for over 25 years
Then I retired from work and thought I should stop that was an age 65 but I just can’t function. I’m in bed most of the day and I’m now gonna be 74 years later. I’m wanting to know if I can take maybe five or 10 mg a day.

Jump to this post

I’m no Dr., but I am a retired nurse who reads medical journals. I’ve seen 2 studies that say add stimulant meds do not cause any physical problems like once was thought to be

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1 reply
danish | @danish | Mar 18 12:16pm
In reply to @asergio714 "I’m no Dr., but I am a retired nurse who reads medical journals. I’ve seen 2..." + (show)
@asergio714

I’m no Dr., but I am a retired nurse who reads medical journals. I’ve seen 2 studies that say add stimulant meds do not cause any physical problems like once was thought to be

Jump to this post

If you know what journal so I can find the article that would be great
Thank you

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jenatsky | @jenatsky | Mar 20 7:53am

@danish I’m 71 and read your entry and was curious. Are you being followed by a physician for your ADD? They should be the one to ask your dose question to. I did find this article via google on relationship between ADHD meds and systemic symptoms. You really need to get your butt out of bed.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10601982/#:~:text=Children%20and%20adolescents%20taking%20these,and%20gastrointestinal%20issues%20%5B6%5D.

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capnted | @capnted | Nov 7 10:30am

Your description could be my life as well. I was born in 1945--so we're probably a year apart. I took myself off adderal (generic) at 76 & have done poorly without it. Now I can't find anyone to prescribe it. A new psychiatrist has me on Auvelity but I can't find any reference to it treating ADD. Have you found any solution?

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