Heart rate (BPM) on Amphetamine (URGENT ADVICE REQUIRED)

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First of all, my apologies. I realize this is more ADHD related, but most of the ADHD boards I come across are either dying a slow death or are already dead. So hopefully there are at least a few (Adderall/Dex) users on here that can help and I know this board is generally busier. So I'm sure comorbidity won't be uncommon with many users on here.

The purpose of this thread is related to BPM rate on Amphetamine. You see, I have a pretty high resting heart rate naturally around (100bpm). Not great for a 30 year old male I know. Although I notice that when I wake up in the morning it can sometimes be as low as around 70.

Anyway, to the point. I find that my general resting Heart rate on Amphetamine seems to be around the 120 mark (115-125). I'm just wondering if this is something I should be concerned about and if anybody else on here who monitors their own heart rates can share their own results? I do feel a slight irritation around my chest and back area, but muscle pains are not uncommon for me. So sometimes it's hard to tell if it's just the muscle aches or not.

It would really put my mind at ease to know that this is an acceptable range on this type of stimulant. (40mgs of Dex daily) I know some will say just phone up and ask your GP. But it's the weekend and I was struggling to get through to my surgery throughout the week.

Thank you for any help and advice.

Kind regards,

Fraser

Over 100 bpm is not an acceptable range for resting pulse rate. I have 130 bpm resting without beta blockers. My cardiologist told me that long-term that would damage my heart. A beta blocker like bisoprolol lowers that to 88 bpm average, it is just a once a day medication. Note that it also lowers blood pressure but there are no drugs that only lower heart rate and not blood pressure.

Thanks for the response Noca.

As I understand it (and I may be wrong). Using medications to counter act the BPM increasing effects of stimulants can actually be more damaging. Because basically the Amphetamine and the drug used to basically depress CNS function to slow down heart rate results in a competitive like effect where the heart rate fluctuates up and down simultaneously resulting in an inconsistent rhythm pattern which is considered more dangerous than a consistently fast beat. That's why the use of Benzodiazepines and other CNS suppressants are generally considered a highly dangerous cocktail with stimulants.

One thing I do take that I think at least helps a bit is 400mgs of Chelated Magnesium every morning. If I understand correctly, the reason heart rate and blood pressure shoot up when stimulants are used is due to the stimulation and opening of the CA2+ (Calcium Channels), which results in a flood of positively charged Calcium Ions entering the arteries causing them to constrict, which of course makes the heart have to work harder to pump blood around the body, resulting in a faster heart rate, blood pressure and increased chance of stroke. Magnesium is known to act as a natural CA2+ channel blocker and help limit/prevent the arteries from constricting. So at least in theory, my heart rate shouldn't be sky rocketing and I perhaps need to take a higher dosage of Magnesium to block more of these channels. Although I'm always weary about going over the stated recommended daily dosage.

My heart rate has dropped a bit though and is now somewhere between the 105-110 range, which isn't that unusual for me even off Amphetamine.

I know if I get in some exercise and get myself fit, I can get my natural resting heart rate down. But it's a catch 22, because I need Amphetamine to motivate me to get off my ass and do that. I did go to the gym once years back (before taking Amphetamine) and after several minutes pushing myself on the runner, my heart rate was between 170-180bpms.

So yeah, I'm trying not to panic too much about this. Although 120 isn't considered "healthy", i'm not sure it's quite at the level of causing sustainable long term damage.

Why not just stop taking amphetamines?  That seems the smart thing to do.

I take your point. However I'm not using Amphetamine for fun. (Although admittedly I do like the changes it makes to my personality over all, as does pretty much everybody around me including family members and friends)

With the exception of the higher BPM rate (which returns back to normal before too long), I haven't really experienced any other side effects that I would consider a major worry. There's the obvious loss off appetite and Amphetamine seems to have a paradoxal effect on my sex drive, so I'm not "porning out" as much as I used to. Not even close . My mouth can get a bit dry, so I make sure to sip water frequently. Although careful not to over do it, as Amphetamine (as opposed to Caffeine) results in urinary retention. An "anti-diuretic" you could say.

I'm supplementing my Amphetamine use with:

400mgs of Chelated Magnesium each morning (CA2+ Channel Blocker)

400mgs of L-Theanine (raises GABA levels which seem to be helping in the complete avoidance of things like twitching, ticks and grinding. Although i'm not sure i'd experience these side effects anyway).

8000mgs of Inositol (4000mgs 2 times per day) (The brain produces this chemical naturally, however because of it's vital effects on acting as a secondary messenger and increasing receptor density levels. Having a higher level of Inositol should help to prevent or at least slow down receptor downregulation/burn out associated with Amphetamine tolerance.

100mgs of 5-HTP (Yes, I know about the risk of Serotonin Syndrome, but avoid using any SSRI's or MAOI's and haven't experienced even the mildest of symptoms.)

1000mgs of L-Tyrosine (Converts to L-Dopa within the presynaptic neurons and helps to replenish the neurotransmitters Dopamine, Norepinephrine and Epinephrine through biosynthesis. I only take this once a week however due to it's high tolerance rate if used daily)

Yeah ok, i've basically made myself a human lab rat. But this combination seems to be doing the job quite nicely (if only my natural heart rate wasn't so damn high)

If the worst came to the worst and I suddenly started to experience any undesirable side effects. Then I would take 2000mgs of vitamin c which would neutralize any excess Amphetamine still in the blood stream before it could reach the brain. The acidity of the VitC would basically cancel out the Amphetamine Sulphate alkaline allowing the excess Amphetamine to be extracted through what would probably be a very painful acidic piss (We've all experienced those moments gentlemen.)

Tachycardia is the medical term for a heart rate over 100 beats per minute. There are many heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias) that can cause tachycardia. In some cases, tachycardia may cause no symptoms or complications. But if left untreated, tachycardia can disrupt normal heart function and lead to serious complications, including:

* Heart failure
* Stroke
* Sudden cardiac arrest or death

Those three complications can cause you permanent damage to your body. If you feel a need to take amphetamines to treat your ADHD and your medical doctor concurs then he/she should be consulted about the effect of this medication on your heart rate.

Then for what do you take it?  Is it by prescription or are you self-medicating?