Managing Medications
Return to ADHD Medications and Headaches

ADHD Medications and Headaches

Q: "I've tried Vyvanse, Concerta, and Focalin for my adult ADHD, but they all give me headaches. What can I do about this?"

3 Comments: ADHD Medications and Headaches

  1. In your article, to prevent headaches you suggest: “It can be relieved with aspirin or Tylenol, or you can take another dose of stimulant medication before bedtime so that the headache occurs while you are asleep.”

    Why would anyone in their right mind take a stimulant right before bed, then proceed to not sleep all night to prevent a mild headache. Are we sure you actually wrote this article/verified it?

    Nonsense. Whoever is reading this, definitely do NOT take your ADHD medication before bed.

    This article was written by a bot

  2. Thank you Dr. Dodson for this insight and all your work on ADHD. One thought, it is common for people with ADHD to have elevated calcium in the blood according to Dr. Walsh, so if calcium channel blocker minimizes the headache I wonder if the people who get the headaches might have elevated calcium and there are some studies that connect the two (see below).
    Secondly according to Dr. Mercola vitamin K2 binds calcium and moves it in to the bones and teeth and therefore minimizes the calcium in the blood.
    Vitamin D3, without sufficient K2, can also lead to elevated calcium because it creates proteins which are not being utilized properly until K2 comes along, binds to them and moves them in to the bones and teeth. Without K2 vitamin D will trigger absorption of calcium into the gut and into the bloodstream.
    K2 helps remove calcium from areas where it shouldn’t be, such as in your arteries. Vitamin K2 and magnesium complement each other, as magnesium helps lower blood pressure, which is an important component of heart disease.

    I wonder if a good balance of vitamin D, K2 and magnesium would minimize the headaches?

    (Migraines and elevated calcium is more common in people with ADHD and K2 deficiency too, if I remember correctly. One common trigger for migraines is the menstrual cycle and a few studies have shown calcium supplements to minimize PMS symptoms. Other studies have shown D vitamin and calcium supplements to relieve PMS (see below)).

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/16/amp/vitamin-k2.aspx)

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5409060/

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/8002332/

    https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/headache-medications-bone-health/

Leave a Reply