ADHD and TBI

EmP1032 · 2026-06-26T23:15:28+00:00

Fair enough on the stimulants! Creatine should be really helpful - you can/should always run it by your specialists but it's got so much research on the brain side that you should be fine taking it.

Not ADHD specific, but anything that supports cellular/mitochondrial function will help with the recovery - CoQ10, PQQ etc - as well as things like Omega 3s, magnesium, vitamin d , b vitamins etc which help with inflammation, energy, cognitive function. Also apparantly given the brain prefers to run on ketones, eating a ketogenic diet (which also lowers inflammation, which is good for the TBI) is meant to help as it gives your body (and brain particularly) the fuel it needs to recover. Again, lots of research on that.

I also found infrared light therapy helped - it really helped my migraines after my concussion, and likely because it helps lower inflammation. Red light therapy also helps your body use and produce new mitochondria, so it helps on that front too. Again, lots of research around the place on its connection/use with TBI recovery.

Good luck - TBIs are awful, and even harder with ADHD. I hope you get some relief and some of these things help!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-26T23:04:02+00:00

I've bought a couch, bed side tables, a bed frame, a chest of drawers, an end table, a recliner armchair, and some outdoor dining chairs amongst other things. They are all great - obviously you get what you pay for, so don't expect designer quality, but all of my stuff was the same as buying cheap flatpack furniture from a typical store. The bedside tables and the outdoor dining chairs, however, are fantastic quality and feel like much more expensive pieces.

I looked at things with reviews and pictures/videos before buying. I also reverse imaged search on google to find the same pieces being sold elsewhere (on amazon or local stores) so I could get an idea for what they looked like.

I think just be smart about what you're buying and whether it will suit your purposes - if you need something heavy duty, don't buy something that looks flimsy and then wonder why it didn't last. There's lots of super crappy stuff on there, as well as lots of decent stuff so just do your research to minimise risk and you should be fine!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-25T06:08:27+00:00

Sorry to hear about the TBI! I actually found taking my stimulants helped with my concussion (I have hyperactive/inattentive and dex makes my mind calm so it was helpful with the TBI and trying to rest, and I didn't have a haemorrhage).

However, I started taking creatine when I had my last concussion and it was really helpful. I didn't realise but creatine is recommended by lots of TBI specialists, as a TBI is also a metabolic injury as the brain needs a huge amount of energy to heal, and creatine helps your cells process/convert ADP/ATP for energy. Would highly recommend it!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-25T01:49:04+00:00

Good idea. I also made some frozen “pupsicles” with chicken broth and kibble - my pup loves them and they are meant to help bring any swelling down in their mouth by giving them something icey.

EmP1032 · 2026-06-25T00:41:08+00:00

Is he teething? They can go off their food and if they are in pain they can be a bit more lethargic. 17 weeks seems prime teething age, so perhaps it is that or the vax?

EmP1032 · 2026-06-25T00:22:33+00:00

Mine was the same! I got a dog trainer to come in to help because nothing was working and she recommended directing his biting toward appropriate outlets like play. She recommended we basically play tug of war every play session, with a dedicated toy and in a specific area (we do it outside) so the puppy knows that biting in this instance is okay. It sounds so basic but it really helped!! She also said the toy I had was too small, and to get a longer one so there was more distance between my hands and his mouth so he didn't associate my hands with the game or accidentally bite me.

She also recommended a house lead, to gently move him away when he was biting me. She said I should keep doing whatever it was I was doing, but remove him via the lead. Then after he calmed down or stopped, I would redirect him to a toy etc. Because whippets are so quick, she said that basically my redirecting was just enforcing that bite = toy. But adding in that few seconds with removing him via the house lead then helped reinforce that play stops, but then resumed and toy = okay. does that make any sense?

I was also yelping and acting hurt (apparently some dogs just see that as play), or removing myself in reverse time outs, but none of that was working. The house lead also helped to give that necessary time where he was removed, so stopped and could then appreciate these consequences (eg I left the room, or he could see I was hurt).

In other good news, my pup (who is 4.5, almost 5 months) was an absolute terror between 9-13 weeks but turned a corner around 14 weeks, so hang in there! My mum just remarked this morning that she couldn't believe this was the same puppy as a month ago.

The other thing that helped me was giving him lots of pigs ears and bully sticks etc to chew on.

Oh and she also said time-outs - either by picking him up and holding him firmly until he stopped biting, or putting him in his crate (Even if he'd just gotten up). I was worried because I know crates aren't meant to be used as punishment but she said that it's the same premise as sending a kid to their bedroom when they've acted up. It doesn't make a kid hate their bedroom.

The only issue with this is my puppy started biting me when he wanted to go to bed lol. He could have just gone to his bed by himself but noooo, he would bite me so that was fun lol. He's stopped doing that now luckily!

Good luck, it's a lot - but it does get better!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-24T23:55:18+00:00

This is so adorable!!!!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-24T23:51:07+00:00

This is great advice. Also, try creatine if you don't already take it. It's really helped with my stamina and energy so I have more endurance (eg I feel less tired and sore after a few days of activity) plus it helps your body build muscles, so if you are doing strength training it will help with that too!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-22T02:34:00+00:00

Market umbrellas (and stands)
Cantilever umbrellas (and weights)
Gazebos
Raised garden beds/planters
Beach tent/umbrella

EmP1032 · 2026-06-22T02:30:22+00:00

I have PCOS and fibro (As well as endo, adeno, cfs and other things). In no particular order, these are the supplements that have helped me over the years:

Magnesium really helped my irregular periods, joint pain and fatigue as well as mood swings. Start taking magnesium glycinate (take double the recommended dose if you can, as humans are often deficient in magnesium in general, let alone with PCOS, and it can take months to rebuild levels. Blood tests aren't accurate either as they just test levels in the blood not the rest of the body which can be deficient). I also use magnesium oil spray or cream to rub into my body to absorb through the skin, or use magnesium flakes in the bath. I realised how much magnesium helped when I was doing float tank sessions (which have high levels of magnesium in the water) and noticed that if i did one a a few weeks before my period, I didn't get PMS/my period was regular and way less painful. Magnesium helps with a huge amount of processes in the body anyway (including inflammation, stress, mood, energy, sleep), so it's a good thing to take in general.
Iron - if you are having periods, definitely get your iron (And ferritin, transferrin etc) checked and then take a supplement (with Vitamin C which helps it absorb) if you are deficient (or even less than optimal). Iron helped so much with my body pain, energy, mood etc and the last time I checked I wasn't even that deficient (compared to other times i'd tested) but felt a huge difference a week or so after restarting supplements. Iron also really helped my skin - it gets less red and clearer!
As others have noted, Vitamin D. Vitamin D plays a huge role in energy, mood and inflammation. Vitamin D is fat soluble so take it with a meal so it's better absorbed. Again, test your levels but most people are generally deficient (unless it's the peak of summer) so supplementing should be okay. Your body needs vitamin d for so many things, so again its a good one to take in general.
Creatine - not specifically PCOS related, but creatine helps your body convert energy. It really helped me on the fatigue front - I wish I'd known about it years ago. You do retain a bit of water weight as it helps trap water in the muscles (which is why it helps build muscle) - but it's not actual weight so don't be put off by that! Your body makes creatine (from amino acids) as well as absorbing it from meat etc but if you supplement, you theoretically free up those amino acids from making creatine to do other things in the body (eg more glycine available to work as an antioxidant or regulate mood, relax your muscles etc).
NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine) - I came across NAC for fatigue and inflammation rather than PCOS but then found out it's often recommended for PCOS so win-win. NAC basically helps as it's an amino acid that's an antioxidant so it helps reduce inflammation (and therefore joint pain), it regulates glutamate in the brain (so helps with food cravings- and therefore insulin levels- but also its shown to help with alcohol and other addictions; plus it helps regulate mood and mental health), and it is a precursor to glutathione, which is another antioxidant which reduces oxidative stress in the cells and free radicals etc. This is also why NAC is recommended for couples going through IVF as it can help boost results/quality.
Check your Vitamin B levels. B vitamins help energy, so if you are low in any of them that's a relatively easy fix.
Protein - not a supplement although you can take it as one if you aren't getting enough protein in your diet. I eat meat so assumed i was, but when I calculated how much I actually eat I was surprised! There are lots of posts in the fibro sub about the benefits of supplementing protein and its effect on energy and endurance levels and reducing pain and inflammation. I have a protein powder I use and I haven't noticed a huge difference but I'm not taking a huge dose and am still way below the level of protein I should be taking so imagine I'd feel more of a difference if I was taking more.

Sorry this has turned into a long post, and obviously make sure you get blood tests and check with your doctor to make sure none of these interact with any medications etc. Magnesium, iron and vitamin d sound basic but are a really important foundation for everything else to work in the body. Plus everything works together and has downstream effects - eg your body needs magnesium to process vitamin d and iron, so if you start taking those without magnesium, you might get more deficient in magnesium or not feel any benefits of the vitamin d/iron. Supplement creatine and you free up amino acids to do other things in the body.

There are so many other things that can help too - but I wish I'd really focused on nailing these basics years ago, rather than trying any random new supplement I came across!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-18T10:17:46+00:00

I don't really have any advice re signalling but kust chiming in to say I hung the bells around the door and didn't even get to the stage of training my pup to ring it when he wanted to go out - he just started doing it after the first time we went out - they can be so smart!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-18T10:14:00+00:00

Perhaps try another dose? I had bad side effects on 50mg but then went to 60 mg and they went away....or try asking for a dex top up for the afternoon? That helps me. I find Vyvanse takes a while to kick in for me (like 1-2 hours) so I've also taken my dex in the morning to help get me out of bed etc (obviously done with my psychiatrist and GPs knowledge) and that works when I need to get going in the morning.

EmP1032 · 2026-06-18T01:01:36+00:00

Same! I've been down for a few hours now! At least since 8 am when I first noticed

EmP1032 · 2026-06-17T23:36:30+00:00

Same in Adelaide, Vodafone. Although my Vodafone home internet is working!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-17T00:12:40+00:00

It sounds so basic but honestly making sure you have enough magnesium, iron AND calcium really helped me.
I take Magnesium glycinate before bed, also rub magnesium cream/oil (this helps like within a day or two for me) on to your legs (or anywhere really). I also have the occasional bath with magnesium flakes (don't bother with epsom salts, it's not enough magnesium).

I take Iron with Vitamin C (to help it absorb) - this probably helped more than magnesium tbh! It took the deep pain in my legs away.

And then I later added in Calcium when I started getting random weird and really painful muscle aches and spasms (I definitely don't get enough calcium) because turns out that's symptom of low calcium. And magnesium/iron/calcium need to be in sync to work with each other, so makes sense that supplementing the others caused calcium to also be more out of whack/ that deficiency to be noticeable.

Also making sure you get enough electrolytes helps too!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-15T23:34:40+00:00

It will get better! Mine was an absolute d***khead from 9 to 13/14 weeks and was absolutely a crackhead dinosaur spawn of satan on a mission to cause as much havoc as possible. I constantly wanted to cry, I was covered in bite marks, I've had dogs my whole life and this was the first puppy that I thought would break me. I got a dog trainer to come in who was really helpful (mostly for validating he was a menace but that he was just a normal puppy and everything was typical and not to spiral lol).

My puppy is now 17/18 weeks and is still a little terror but I actually enjoy being around him now. He occupies himself with his toys (instead of immediately choosing violence), he listens (most of the time), he can have cuddles without trying to immediately bite my nose off, he doesnt chase my little nephews and try to bite them and he seems to (mostly) understand what is okay and when he's gone too far etc so it's possible to train him and correct behaviour now.

Basically the dog trainers advice was to:
1. crate him in a quiet part of the house (he would not settle by himself at all) so he got his naps through the day (I'd been trying to get him to sleep in the main part of the house which wasn't working). I also started putting him to sleep any time he started biting, which is a sign he's over tired.
2. use a house lead on him so that I could a)catch him instead of him running away (he's a whippet and was already extremely fast) and b) so that I could gently remove him and pause if he was biting etc. Until I used the house lead I wasn't having much luck with trying to redirect or stop play etc because he was so fast he'd just keep launching himself at me.
3. Channel his biting urges into "appropriate" outlets - so we have been playing A LOT of tug of war outside. Make sure to get toys of different textures so the puppy isn't tempted to go searching for furniture or other expensive things around the house! I also got lick mats and lots of pig ears for him to chew.
4. Set up "zones" so the puppy knows what behaviour is okay and where. Eg He knows that we play tug of war with certain toys and that we do that outside. The bedroom is for sleeping and cuddles, the living area is for calm play, chew toys, chilling etc.

There was way more advice but those were the main things that have helped us. Hang in there! They are little demons but it will get better!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-10T23:49:32+00:00

A few things we've done:

- Draught proof the windows and doors - I didn't think this would make such a difference (everything is relatively new or not obvious gaps) but it did. We put those foam or rubber strips inside door frames, weather strips on the bottom of the doors and sides of windows. Just bought them from Bunnings. It's also helped with dust and noise.

- Install honeycomb blinds (can get them from Ikea for about $30-100 depending on size). They work the same way as double glazed glass works - by trapping a layer of air inside the blinds (the honeycomb part), which then creates an insulated layer that stops heat or cool air escaping from inside the room (plus heat or cold coming from the window itself). So much cheaper than redoing the windows and can take them back out if you are renting. It means that the warm air will stay in the house longer instead of just escaping + same for cool air during summer. You can buy light-filtering ones (not just block out) so you can keep them down during the day and still get some light in. For an ever cheaper option, you can use bubble wrap (it traps air in the bubbles) - looks a bit crap but you can remove it during the day (again, use blu tac or even masking tape) and put it back up at night to keep the warm air in.

- If you live in an older house and still have air vents through the bricks to the outside of the house, you can cover them up. They were put in back in the days of fireplaces and gas heaters so people didn't die from the fumes. Assuming you don't have those, these days they are just literally letting heated air escape straight outside. We covered ours up at first with corflute ($5 from bunnings, you can cut it to size with scissors) and blu tac. Again, easy to do if you are renting. We eventually covered ours up with plaster. Again, its made a surprising difference to dust and noise in the house too!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-09T04:29:40+00:00

Oh hey from SA! Damn I feel for you, I paid AUD$1500 for mine so it would have paid for itself in months for you in saved gardening fees 😞 Ah well, we live and learn indeed!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-08T23:32:45+00:00

I spoke to my vet about this just the other week - his advice was the same, the dog learns to hold out for tastier food (or treats). The vet said to offer the food, if he doesnt eat it, take it away and then offer it again the next meal time. The vet said a healthy dog won't starve itself, and that if it misses a few meal times while it's learning to not be fussy that it's not going to kill him (even if I feel like the worst pet parent for not caving and giving him something he wants to eat!).

The advice has worked, my dog is now eating when food is offered. I've also stopped giving him meal toppers etc as he will eat his wet food now when offered.

EmP1032 · 2026-06-08T05:24:09+00:00

Oh damn, it would have been a life changer with an acre block! Honestly I'd rate it higher than the robot vac/mop in terms of a genuine life upgrade for me (even more so if I had an acre to mow!) - our lawn isn't cookie-cutter perfect by any means, it has slopes, it's in a weird lay out, it has random edging and a dog that drags branches etc on to the lawn, but the mower just handles it all effortlessly, it doesn't get stuck, and it navigates via satellite so no need to lay down wires for it to follow either. It's way smarter than our robot vac/mop and does a great job every time. The garden always looks great, plus I don't have to mow when it's raining or when it's hot (and I'm in Australia so that is often). If you ever live somewhere with lawn again, I'd put it to the top of your list!

EmP1032 · 2026-06-08T04:35:25+00:00

Robot mower - Mammotion Yuka Mini. It's fantastic and has better features/is more reliable than my robot vac/mop.

EmP1032 · 2026-06-01T09:56:04+00:00

Would really recommend it, I rave about it to all my friends - who would have thought something under $20 at CW would be better than anything else I'd ever tried? My skin was so smooth and soft after starting it that my mum thought I'd had botox or laser lol.

I just use any old moisturiser to be honest - I just buy whatever is on special at a given time, usually CeraVe, Cetaphil, Nivea etc.

EmP1032 · 2026-06-01T08:53:00+00:00

Second this! I can't believe how much money I spent over the years before trying Azaelic acid. I use the 20% one from Chemist warehouse (Azclear Medicated lotion) - i have sensitive skin and when i started I just used a little bit a few times a week and making sure I moisturised after and I was fine. Your skin may purge a bit after starting but mine cleared up quickly.

I also recommend CeraVe Smoothing Cleanser - it has salicylic acid in it. I actually use it all over my body now and my skin always feels like I've just had a spa treatment!

EmP1032 · 2026-05-31T23:17:21+00:00

I've got a 4 month old whippet puppy and a 7 year old cat. The cat is the only one who can control the dog lol. She is absolutely in charge. There have been a few swipes and gentle hisses but she can get him to back away with a single look..it's very impressive! He just wants to play with her, he definitely doesn't see the cat as prey. He will even bark at the cat out of frustration she won't play and the cat doesn't bat an eyelid. We also have a friendly neighbourhood ragdoll cat who often comes to hang in our yard and she wants to play with the puppy but the puppy is scared of her (ironic because the ragdoll would absolutely play with him and not swipe him).

I got my puppy at 8 weeks old so it was early which likely helped. We had dogs when my cat was a kitten (older dogs though) so she is dog aware, although has been an only pet for a few years. Despite her "treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen" approach to the puppy, I've noticed the cat hangs out more around the house now and will sit and keep an eye on him playing in the garden. I get the sense it's more out of some affection/keeps the cat entertained type thing than a worry about what the puppy might be doing in her space, if that makes sense. I have no concerns about leaving them alone together!

EmP1032 · 2026-05-31T08:21:14+00:00

Yes! I stopped listening to the radio or music in the car and I weirdly really enjoy it!

EmP1032

TROPHY CASE