I had trouble with depression and (what I now know was) ADHD prior to my concussion in June 2014. I was on Welbutrin XL and Adderall ER (45 mg) before. I also had a prior sleep cycle disorder, so I was taking Ambien CR. Prior to my accident, I was already preparing to discuss possible changes to my Adderall Rx, because I was realizing that while I was doing better at work with concentration and distraction, I had almost no desire to do the hobbies and fun things after work. I was just kind of 'blah.'

After my concussion, my ADHD-related symptoms were much, much worse, and added to that were working/short-term memory problems, issues with word-finding, etc. Months later, fatigue was setting in pretty badly. Unfortunately, my lawyer sent me to a sports physiatrist who didn't take my concussion symptoms very seriously in the beginning. So, I went back to my original psychiatrist to discuss the Adderall. I'm a researcher, and once my mental functions improved a bit, I started looking into everything I could find on diet, supplements, neurotransmitters, etc. (including here on this forum ). Since Adderall is a dopamine agonist, and I already knew it helped my concentration before the concussion, my theory was that the ER I was taking in the morning had run out by the time my workday was over, and that's why I was out of steam in the evenings. My doctor gave me the ER because I could never remember to take the 2nd and 3rd doses of the IR. But, after my concussion, I finally HAD to get a smart phone, due to all of the reminders and alarms I had to set for myself. I asked if I could give the IR another shot, but spread them out more, taking my last one near the end of the workday. I had read about later dopamine stimulant doses helping people to calm down on ADHD forums, so I hoped it wouldn't disturb my sleep (which had deteriorated after my concussion).

Lo and behold, that's exactly what happened! I actually upped my overall dose to 20 mg first thing in the morning, then 30 mg at 12:30 and another 30 mg at 4:30. If I know I'm going to be up late , I can take the last dose closer to 5:30. I take a smaller one in the morning since I usually have coffee. Doing this helped me to keep my improved mental faculties through the evening as well (helpful when you're a single mom of a tween son with ADHD and still have a house to run), and it actually did help me sleep better! I don't feel wired when I take it. Quite the opposite. My thoughts aren't racing at night when I'm trying to fall asleep. I feel a little more like myself. Especially since I now have at least some energy and desire back to do some of my hobbies again.

As for it being a form of meth and therefore damaging, I have read of current studies using minute amounts of meth as treatment for TBI. Who knew?