ADHD+Depression, or unrecovered concussion?
 

I posted here a long time ago, but I've since had some new experiences. I've been diagnosed as ADHD and Bipolar by my psychiatrist, but I'm in constant fear that my symptoms may be more from concussions I've had.

In the past 5 years, I've had many blows to my head.
-I got jumped twice. One time I got hit with a baseball bat, and the other time I was kicked multiple times in the head. These events were 3 years apart.
-I tripped and banged my head while running.
-A friend tackled me as a "joke", and I banged my head against the pavement, resulting in a black eye.

I don't have headaches or dizziness, but I have a real hard time with concentration. I can't follow conversations, or simple TV shows/movies. I'm not sure if this is a combination of ADHD and depressive symptoms, or a result of my past concussions. Is there anything I should know that would ease my mind?

It sounds like you may benefit from a Neuro Psychological Assessment by a Neuro Psychologist who works with brain injured patients. There is a huge overlap between PCS and ADHD The roller coaster ride of PCS can appear to be BiPolar Disorder.

Has your psychiatrist put you on meds ?

I have similar symptoms where it's very hard for me to concentrate, like my mind is hitting a wall and I feel mentally exhausted and pushing through it just makes it worse.
For me this is fluctuating, worse when I'm stressed and tired.
A lot of times I find myself losing my train of thought, especially when talking to more than one person at a time, and English being my second language makes it especially hard sometimes as I can't recall a word I'm looking for.
As to your question it is probably hard to tell if you developed this due to concussions or it is caused by you predisposition to these...
I would guess that concussions had something to do with this, but hey, I'm not a doctor :)

Mark is correct. My npa shows I have severely impaired attention maintenance, something I never had pre injury. I wasnt to surprised by it, because it was something I pointed out to doctors early on.

But so far adhd meds haven't helped. Neither did cognitive therapy but it's something I work hard on daily and I think im slowly making progress. Not sure if its what im doing, or the fact that im 11 months in and its part of the healing process.

I'm currently prescribed Olanzapine, Prozac, and Lithium.

Would the Neuro-Psych evaluation be able to differentiate cognitive impairments caused by the mood disorder from possible concussion symptoms? I've had bouts of depression before any of my head injuries, so I know my disorder isn't solely caused by the concussions.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that the majority of people who suffer from concussions are eventually cleared of their symptoms. My mother has had many concussions, and has never developed PCS. My sister's been knocked out three times, and has also never dealt with the symptoms for more than a week. My brother had 2 severe concussions and never had any long-term issues. I've also read online that the "vast majority" of PCS cases clear up.

I'm trying to find objective proof as to whether or not any of my symptoms are related to PCS, or at least as close to "objective" as I can get. I never have headaches/dizziness/vertigo, just problems with concentration and brain fog, which could very well be caused by the depression itself (and the ADHD). Could anyone speculate?

Edit: I can also exert myself without any issues. I've worked out since my last concussion on many occasions, and I have no problems staring at a TV/computer screen for hours.

Hi Terowyn,

Just reading your list of medications, [Olanzapine, Prozac, and Lithium ] I wondered if you felt they were helping you or making you feel worse since you started them.

Did you have attention difficulties prior to your concussion?

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Edited to add: There's a drug/drug interaction checker in one of the Sticky posts at the top of this forum. Drug interaction checkers

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Why does causation of your brain fog and lack of concentration matter ? As I said, there is a big overlap of symptoms of PCS and depression, etc. A Neuro-Psych will at least quantify these issues. Whether the NPA points to a differentiation in causation between the PCS and mood disorder depends on the skills and biases of the NeuroPsych Dr. interpreting the results. Why do you need objective proof ?

Your symptoms could also be caused by your med cocktail. I see that lithium is cautioned when either or both of the other two meds are taken. Prozac can be a cause of struggles.

You can not compare outcomes after a concussion or even a number of concussions. Every concussion is different. Your brother's and sister's experiences are not relative. And yes, 80 to 90 % of concussions resolve. But, those concussions do not necessarily resolve 100%. In fact, studies show they do not. Under stress, it is not uncommon for symptoms to manifest years later.

I can also watch hours of TV and do strenuous activities without symptoms. Reading may cause me to fall asleep. But, my cognitive struggles have remained the same for more than a decade. My sensory struggles have improved slightly.