HELP: Adderall & Concussion recovery
 

Hi all,

New to the site. I sustained a sports related concussion about 7 weeks ago. Have been under doctors care now for 4 weeks, being closely monitored and going through full rest (no workouts, physical activity, etc.) I am clinically ADHD and prescribed adderall which I take daily. My question is, should I continue to take my meds, or put a stop to them and resume once fully recovered.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I would choose doctor advice on this one. Be careful with meds and a head injury.

Peace and healing,

Jace

Sam,

We need far more information about your and your injury history to offer much help. How old are you ? How did the injury happen ? Are you a student ? What have the doctors suggested ? What are your symptoms ?

Mark,

I am a 25yr old student. Injury was sports related, happened 7 weeks ago, but did not start rest till 4 weeks ago (now on my 5th week). Doctors have said adderall is ok, and will have no ill effects but to monitor it because I know my ADHD best. Symptoms getting better with each week. Currently suffering w/ light dizzyness, mental fog (when not on adderall), light headaches brought on w/ long distance driving (over 1 hour), and physical exertion (if exercise past threshold).

Have gotten up to the point of light daily aerobic exercise IE: 20min of walking, or stationary bike. If overdone, headache will arise. Still trying to find, or build up a threshold there.

Hey Sam,

I have ADHD too. If you are able to do physical activity, then I would keep on taking your meds (at least until you talk to a doctor). I took mine even when I couldn't get out of bed every morning.

I had mild ADHD before the injury which I dealt with by being active and getting a lot of exercise. But now its really bad and continues to get worse. My thoughts race through my head constantly, i'm very antsy and can't get good sleep.

Its making my concussion symptoms which haven't improved in 5 months much worse to the point where all I can really do is lay down as thoughts continue to race through my head... It feels like my brain is sabotaging itself.

Anyway, I went on Strattera and found that it worked ok for about a week until it stopped working all together and now I'm worse off than before. Do you guys find stimulants (adderall etc) to be more helpful?

All my doctor had to say in response to if taking my meds are beneficial for healing now is, that if it increases symptoms I should stop. IE: He said, being on the computer now, reading, doing school work, texting, etc, is all okay as long as it doesn't bring on symptoms (which it is not any longer in my case.)

My only concern with remaining on medication, in my case the adderall I guess was the stimulant fact, and not getting as restful and deep a sleep at night. We all know how important sleep is for recovery, and well being overall. In a time like now, with imbalances, and brain needing to get back to it's healthy state, It is only safe to say a good restful night sleep is essential. Even when taking melatonin, I sometimes feel my sleep is not as deep as it should be when on stimulants, if that makes sense.

Been 2 days now, since I haven't taken adderall, my school work has suffered, but I have gotten more restful sleep. In a situation here I'm not sure how to deal with...

Sam,

Don't try to push exercise to build more tolerance until your other symptoms have resolved. Then, slowly step up your effort level always staying below your head ache threshold. Use one week or two week steps. Building up tolerance is not a daily effort. When you can take a 20 minute walk everyday for a week or two without causing a head ache, then you can increase it to 25 or 30 minutes for the next two weeks of head ache free repetitions.

Otherwise, you risk regressing.

Interesting you say this...

I progressed from walking, to stationary bike for 20 minutes this week, and have noticed that about 2-3 hours after my bike workout I develop a very light headache. I mean, on a scale from 1-10, I'd rate them a 1 or 2. But they are here. Does that mean I am over-doing it?

A 2-3 hour delay before the head ache is odd. I wonder if it is more a metabolic issue where your blood sugar drops or cycles after the work-out. Try changing your eating habits after the work-out and see if it changes the head aches.