[sunshine1alb]

I am 3 years post concussion and still have attention problems to the extent that I had my car reposessed even though I had thousands of dollars in the bank.. Last fall I had to get the engine replaced in my car because I didn't get the oil changed.. Before the concussion these things would have never happened.. Anyway, after not seeing a doctor about this for a couple of years, I finally went to a different neurologist with a special interest in head injuries. Besides ordering a MRI which I never went to get done a couple of years ago, he prescribed Vavnase, a long acting stimulant.. He seems to think I had some ADHD tendencies before the accident, that were multiplied after the head injury. I was wondering if anyone else has had any sucess with taking ADHD meds for their attention issues..

[Mark in Idaho]

I grew up with attention difficulties long before ADD/ADHD. I suggest you not use drugs but instead retrain yourself to deal with these issues.

You can easily overcome these problems with repeatable systems. With the car, start by tracking all gas purchases. Get a receipt and write the odometer reading on it. When you change the oil, have them put the sticker where you will see it. You can even make you own reminders. Using a auto records book made for such tracking also works. My mother is 87 and still takes the time to track this and does not miss an oil change even though my father has passed.

My father had a small white block (1 inch x 1 inch x 3 inches) of wood in the glove box. It had written on each side, Gas, Oil, Tires, Engine. When he recognized he needs to take care of something, he put it on the dash right in front of the steering wheel.

A white board on your refrigerator will also help. For bills, there are all kinds of computer programs that can help. Quicken can be set up to pop-up notices when you have bills due. Most banks have online systems that send an email to remind you of a payment due.

A repossession means you also were not reading your mail in a regular way. There are mail files that allow you to prioritize the mail that comes. A magnet to stick the overdue notice on the refrigerator can work. Post-it notes in bright colors also work.

This will be a life time problem unless you start learning a system to follow. Taking stimulant meds will not change this on a consistent basis.

Smart phones have alarm and scheduling apps that can remind you, too. I set my alarms up so i have more than one. Like a snooze alarm. If I have to leave to get my hair cut at 10 am. I start at 9:30 am with the first alarm. It reminds me to finish the task I am on. Then, at 9:50, a second alarm reminds me that I need to be up and getting my keys or at least thinking about it. Then the last alarm at 10:00 means I should be out the door, no matter what.

It works for me quite well. My PCS memory struggles would leave me in trouble otherwise.

Hope this helps. If you need more suggestions, post the struggle and we'll see if we have a tip for you.

My best to you.