Hi doctor,
Five days ago, I had a drug interaction. I was cleaning my wood pellet stove, running up and down the stairs to get tools from my workshop, and during the process, I noticed I was sweating, and my heart was racing. I sat down in front of my clock and checked my heart rate, it was 162 BPM. I had a doctor's appointment that day anyway, so I took a shower and got dressed to go to my orthopedic. I felt a little off while I was in the office and spent like I ran a marathon. When the nurse put the finger heart rate monitor on, I noticed my heart was still running between 115 and 120. My BP was 140/110, also high. I think something I put into my body yesterday interacted with my prescription meds. I said something to the nurse when I saw my heart rate, she said to speak to the doctor about it.
I started using Minoxidil 5 % a week ago to help thicken one side of my beard and assumed that maybe it was interacting with my meds because it was only my second day taking it. I checked for drug interactions and did not see any between it and my meds when I started using it. The doctor told me that Minoxidil should not cause this condition. The Minoxidil box says Minoxidil can cause your heart to race. I checked Minoxidil interactions and found several people who claimed they had interactions immediately after using it.
I went home, alerted my psychiatric nurse, and then took to the internet to try to find some answers. My heart rate and BP came back down last evening. I found several things that could have caused a problem and was hoping someone might be able to shed some light on the issue. I take three prescription drugs daily:
1.10 mg Ritalin three times daily for ADHD (just started taking eight months ago).
2.100 mg Zoloft once daily for PTSD.
3.100 mg Seroquel once daily for insomnia.
I went untreated for years and began to suffer extreme anxiety and depression. So, I saw a doctor over a year ago. Ultimately, I was diagnosed with ADHD and PTSD. I have had sleeping problems since I hit puberty, it is genetic on my mother's side of the family, so I addressed that too. I also have SIBO, small intestine bacteria over-production. I am on a low FODMAP diet, and mostly use aloe vera gel and occasionally use calcium pills to control heartburn. When I started taking these medicines, I was 20 pounds lighter.
My resting blood pressure was 107/70, and my resting heart rate was about 55 to 60. I started smoking again last year, and then I injured my right forearm, so I stopped working out on top of it all. My blood pressure has steadily climbed. At my last visit to my psychiatric nurse this week, my BP was 128/80, and my heart rate was 60 BPM. I asked my nurse if she thought the Ritalin was causing my BP to rise, and she said it was the smoking and lack of exercise. I quit smoking tobacco a month ago and switched to an e-cig. I am down to 3 mg of nicotine, and the next step is 0. So I am dealing with that. As soon as my arm is 100 %, I will return to the gym too.
For the holidays, my wife made a beautiful spread of food I should not have eaten, but I did anyway. On top of that, I did some drinking vodka, club soda, and OJ over the weekend, and my heartburn was out of control. It is just starting to subside right now, so I have been taking more calcium pills to help control the heartburn. I found an article that said Calcium pills could raise the pH level in your stomach, which can cause Ritalin to absorb more into your bloodstream.
I found another article that said Minoxidil could cause a racing heart rate because of a sudden decrease in blood pressure. The article said that your heart would race to bring your blood pressure back up, but no data to confirm that hypothesis. I have also got a cold. I have been taking a generic Sudafed for 12 hours for a week or so too. I found that the Sudafed I was taking can interact with Ritalin, but again no data to confirm. By the way, it is real Sudafed, not PE. And for the record, I took some Sudafed this spring and did not notice any problems, but I was 20 lbs lighter and in better shape.
There is also a laundry list of problems and drug interactions associated with Seroquel. Did I mix a dangerous concoction of Ritalin, Sudafed, and Calcium pills? I did not take Ritalin, Minoxidil, or Sudafed today. I am gonna just deal with the cold and would love someone to weigh in on what could have caused this issue. That is all I have got.
Thanks in advance.