Is my hyperactivity harming my recovery?

Medical Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hello Doctor Baraki and Doctor Feigenbaum,

So I was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and scheduled an appointment with a psychiatrist in order for me to start on some medication. There is a problem, though: I am extremely Hyperactive and find myself pacing around the house quite often, for hours a day. This week it went quite bad, and I ended up walking 32k steps inside my own home in just one day, but usually I get to 15k to 20k steps.

Besides that, strength training looks like a good alternative for me, since I have some experience with the 5 main lifts used in the beginner’s prescription and the training helped me in the past (when I did the 5x5 Stronglifts method for about 3 months).

I am a 22 years old male, 5’10, 135lbs. I started by just lifting an empty bar (not Olympic, so it should weight about 25lbs) for all lifts, and then followed the beginner’s prescription in the lifts, even though there is no major experience and familiarity with the RPE system yet.

Recovery has been a nightmare, though, since I cannot really rest between training sessions due to the excess of energy, and my recovery times are way too long, usually like 7 or 8 days until I can lift heavy comfortably. Can the excess of pacing and agitation be causing some kind of “over-training”? Or maybe I am lifting way too heavy without proper warm up? There is also the problem with irregular sleep schedule: sometimes I fell restless and cannot sleep on time, so I end up waking up either still tired, or too late, which take away most of my appetite in the beginning of the day.

I also feel like I might not be eating enough, even though I did not lose any weight since I started (3 weeks ago), but being in a caloric surplus is causing me a lot of trouble these days, since I also have Ulcerative Proctitis, and some foods rich in fiber cause me intestinal distress. Also, I live in Brazil, and meat or whey protein are not so cheap, which makes it difficult for me to eat plenty.

Do you have any inputs to what might be happening? Is the hyperactivity and its consequences really as harmful as they seem to me? I do not know if there is any material I should read, or any practice I should incorporate in the training in order to really get some real training, or just wait out and try the medicines to begin with?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

P.S.: English is not my first language, so if something was not clear, please tell me so I can clarify it.

2

Who diagnosed you with ADHD?

What medical evaluation have you undergone so far?

3

A neuropsychologist, about 10 years ago. I was having a lot of trouble with anxiety and depression due to family problems, but when both conditions were controlled, I did not have as much trouble concentrating (although my focus was limited). However, now as an undergraduate I started having trouble again, and am currently under evaluation with a therapist, and waiting for an appointment with a psychiatrist.

4

I see. I agree with seeing a psychiatrist, but would also suggest seeing a general practitioner as well, to ensure the medical evaluation is complete/thorough.

I don’t know whether your inflammatory bowel disease is being actively managed, for example, but this is another potentially important consideration in the overall picture here, as are the sleep problems.

I would prioritize these higher than worrying about programming minutiae for now, but once those are adequately addressed, you can re-address the programming questions, or get some coaching guidance (for example, our form check service comes with a consultation with one of our coaches on your programming and recommendations).