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Mental Health  (Expert Forum)
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effexor / ritalin / atenolol
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.

effexor / ritalin / atenolol

by csusie, Oct 21, 2003 12:00AM
Hello,



   I am a twenty five year old law student.  I have been on ritalin on and off my whole life (with a hiatus from age 10-19).  Recently, I began developing tachycardias.  My doctor gave me an EKG, Blood Test, Holter Monitor EKG, and echocardiagram, all of which turned up normal.  Then he put me on atenolol to abate the tachycardia and told me to try it for a while and then stop and see if the tachycardias return.  I used atenolol for about a month with the ritalin and it cured my tachycardia.  I stopped the atenolol and the tachycardias did not return until recently.  Recently, my neurologist put me on effexor (75 mg) concomitantly with the ritalin to treat mild depressions.  Now, the tachycardias have returned.  Is it safe to resume the atenolol to stop them on both effexor and ritalin?



Thanks,

Chris Susie

by Roger Gould, M.D., Oct 21, 2003 12:00AM
That is a question only your cardiologist can answer.  Theoretically it should be all right, but combinations of medications also present potential complications that have to be very carefully thought through.
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