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It’s challenging to study what medications worsen ADHD. In part this is because most drug research is conducted by pharmaceutical companies that tend to minimize the drawbacks of their products. But even independent researchers, with limited time and budgets, would rather explore what can help alleviate a condition, rather than what makes it worse. So the information we have is a mishmash of anecdotal case reports, theoretical concerns, and comments in on-line chat discussions.
In scientific studies, stimulants are among the drugs most widely mentioned as capable of exacerbating ADHD - but this is largely because they are the most widely studied medications for ADHD. Most cases of them worsening ADHD (aside from their other side effects) are situations in which the dose is too high, causing over activation and anxiety which can disrupt brain function.
If helping those with ADHD was as simple as boosting brain levels of dopamine or norepinephrine, we would expect a number of drugs to worsen ADHD symptoms. Antipsychotics (dopamine blockers) and blood pressure medications (many of which decrease norepinephrine) would be at the top of the list. But brains, and the neurochemistry of ADHD, aren’t that simple. Many of these drugs are reported to help with, or at worst, are neutral, regarding ADHD symptoms.
We also might try to distinguish between medications that directly worsen specific symptoms of ADHD, and those drugs that impair the brain’s ability to perform tasks. Sedating or numbing properties of benzodiazepines or SSRI fall in the latter category.
References:
Antihypertensive drugs and brain function: mechanisms underlying therapeutically beneficial and harmful neuropsychiatric effects (2023)
academic.oup.c...
The Dopamine Dilemma: Using Stimulants and Antipsychotics Concurrently (2010)
www.ncbi.nlm.n...
Non-Stimulant Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (2005)
www.ncbi.nlm.n...
Adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, cognitive dysfunction and quality of life in high-dose use of benzodiazepine and Z-drug
link.springer....