ADHD and Concussion
 

Hi,


I was recently prescribed Strattera by a neurologist with a background in psychiatry for my increasing problems with ADHD which is most likely slowing my recovery.

I was diagnosed with ADHD in the forth grade, but never put on medication. By the time High School rolled around the problem seemed to be all gone and I was able to function at a very high level.

It should be noted though, that I was constantly on the go, maintaining a 3.5 GPA, training roughly 12 hours of endurance a week for a d1 Nordic (cross country) ski team, as well as being in a couple of singing groups etc. during my freshman year of college (im 19 and received my injury in may)

While its likely that the impact of the concussion itself worsened my adhd as I know often can happen, what seems to be more of a problem is that I have no outlet for my energy and have noticed my ADHD symptoms have been getting worse, especially over the last month and half, and naturally I have yet to see progress in the healing of my concussion symptoms (5 months ago) which was originally said to be "very mild"

I constantly felt agitated, antsy, and could find no way to keep my mind from racing endlessly, which also impacted my sleep in a very bad way. Fortunately a nueropsycholist connected my restless with my childhood diagnosis which I had all but forgotten about.

As mentioned, I was then prescribed Strattera (a non simulent add med) and have been taking it for 5 days.

While I have noticed that I finally am able to rest which is a HUGE relief, I cant help but notice that the medication seems to have a very tiring effect on my brain, which aside from fatigue just means that my brain likes stimulation even less than it used too, which seems concerning.



Has anyone else experienced the same problem with ADHD and PCS? and if so was there a particular medication or other resource that you found helpful?

Fortunately I am scheduled to start OT for visual spacial and interesting enough attention on Wednesday which should prove to be helpful


I appreciate any help I can get, and wish you all the best in your recovery.

Jamie

Jamie,

Straterra is a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. It may be changing your available norepinephrine and epinephrine.

In my experience, there is a huge overlap between ADHD and PCS attention struggles. The PCS brain often struggles to filter out distracting stimuli. I would not be quick to attribute your ADHD like symptoms to ADHD and not to your PCS.

If you are used to a busy and active life, you may not be letting your brain settle down so it can heal. This makes it all the more sensitive to distraction.

I suggest you try to slow down with your active life and your expectations of healing. There is no such thing as a "very mild" concussion in relation to recovery time. Diagnosing concussion intensity is problematic. Every impact and every patient is different. Anybody who tries to predict a recovery timeline is without any medical evidence. The only thing they can say is that 85% of concussions recover spontaneously. The stats do say that the concussions that do not recover spontaneously are difficult to predict a recovery timeline. The longer the recovery time, the greater the chance of an even longer recovery.

So, please try to slow down and wait on your brain to recover.

My best to you.

Thanks for the advice mark. Would your advice be to go off the strattera?
I have slowed down my active life- i'm taking time off from school, I rarely drive, spend very limited time of the computer etc. but problem is that my brain feels like it won't let itself rest, and is therefore constantly racing like im in a constant state of fight or flight (but not anxiety) when im not on strattera

Maybe you need an adrenal test. You could have an over-active adrenal gland causing the excess vigilance. Ask your doctor.

That definitely might be worth looking into. So ultimately do you see the strattera as something that could be directly inhibiting my recovery?

because in many ways it just feels that now that my brain has calmed down, my brain is finally telling me how much i need to rest, which is a huge relief and should be very helpful.

thanks

There is no way to say if Straterra is effecting your recovery. Lessening your anxiety levels is a positive value.