dextroamphetamine

Dextroamphetamine has a risk of misuse and dependence. Misuse is when a medication is used differently than how it's prescribed. Misusing dextroamphetamine raises your risk for serious and sometimes life-threatening side effects, such as high heart rate, high blood pressure, other heart problems, and changes in behavior. In addition, over time, you can become physically dependent on dextroamphetamine to function normally. And if you develop dependence, you might have bothersome withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking the medication suddenly after you've taken it for a long time. These symptoms include irritability, nightmares, and sleep problems. Because of these risks, it's important to take dextroamphetamine exactly as prescribed to you. Don't change the dose or how often you take it without talking to your provider first.

There have been reports of sudden death, stroke, and heart attack in people with heart problems who took dextroamphetamine at usual doses. Dextroamphetamine can also raise your blood pressure and heart rate. Tell your healthcare provider if you have a history of heart problems before starting dextroamphetamine to make sure it's safe for you to take. Your provider will check for heart problems before starting treatment. Let your provider know if you experience unexplained fainting, chest pain with physical activity, or irregular heartbeat while you're taking dextroamphetamine.

Some people who've taken a stimulant like dextroamphetamine can have mental health problems, such as hallucinations (seeing things that aren't really there), aggressive behavior, unclear thinking, and mania. This medication can worsen mood-related problems that you already have, but these changes in behavior can also happen even if you haven't had these problems before. If you develop these mood-related symptoms while taking dextroamphetamine, talk to your healthcare provider right away because you might have to stop taking it.

In studies, children taking a similar stimulant medication for ADHD had a slowed growth rate (both in height and weight). It's not clear if dextroamphetamine can cause something similar to happen to your child. To be safe, your child's healthcare provider will check your child's growth progress closely. If they suspect slowed growth, they might pause or stop your child's dextroamphetamine treatment. Talk to your child's provider if you have any concerns.

Although rare, dextroamphetamine might make it easier for you to have seizures, especially if you've had seizures before. If a seizure happens while you're taking this medication, get medical help right away. You'll likely have to stop taking dextroamphetamine.

Using dextroamphetamine for ADHD might be linked to blood circulation problems, such as Raynaud's phenomenon, which can lower blood flow to your fingers and toes. This problem can cause your fingers or toes to change from a pale or blue to a red color and feel cold, numb, or painful. If this happens, it's usually mild and happens occasionally. But rarely, it can cause sores to form and damage your tissue. Let your healthcare provider know if you experience any of these symptoms. Usually, they get better when the dextroamphetamine dose is lowered or the medication is stopped.

Serotonin syndrome is a rare, but potentially life-threatening condition where there's too much serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is one of the chemicals in your brain responsible for your mood. Since dextroamphetamine might raise your serotonin levels in the brain, your risk for this condition goes up if you use dextroamphetamine with other medications that also affect serotonin levels. These medications can include antidepressants (e.g., sertraline (Zoloft), duloxetine (Cymbalta)), MAOIs (e.g., phenelzine (Nardil)), and certain migraine medications (e.g., sumatriptan (Imitrex)). Symptoms of serotonin syndrome include fast heart rate, sweating, muscle stiffness or spasms, high fever, changes in behavior, and confusion. Get medical help right away if you have any of these symptoms.

Dextroamphetamine can interact with a lot of commonly used medications. Dextroamphetamine counteracts (works against) the effects of many blood pressure medications, including prazosin (Minipress) and beta-blockers like propranolol (Inderal) and metoprolol (Lopressor). This means that the blood pressure medications might not work as well for you if you take them at the same time as dextroamphetamine.