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Member
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: canada
Posts: 553
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: canada
Posts: 553
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Starr,
Don't lose hope. All research shows that the brain continues to heal, improve, make new pathways. Our job is to all the pathways to be formed. Positive thinking makes new pathways, as does negative thinking! Not always easy to be positive, though. If you continue to challenge yourself to the point of discomfort, that can be beneficial. There is no magic in the two years that health professionals tend to refer to. The brain learns and heals and repairs your whole life.
A lot of research indicates that mindful meditation can make new pathways in the brain and can be very good for pain relief. I had a migraine starting yesterday morning and decided to lie down and try to meditate...took a pain killer (migraine pill) which usually doesn't work. But it did yesterday. Maybe a coincidence!
There are some great mindful meditation programmes in Ottawa and some professors and psychologists who are involved in running courses. A friend of mine took one with a prof from Ottawa, and she told me that he had had a very bad concussion and understood the issues faced by people with concussions. I wanted to take the course offered in my city but I was not at the stage where I could sit (lie) through a course. Perhaps you are not there yet, but it may be worth exploring.
I downloaded some podcasts by Jon Kabat-Zinn who popularised mindful meditation. Perhaps you could listen online?
I feel for you. Just trying to encourage you! Hang in there. You will see progress. I know my eyes are still a problem, but I see progress in balance, hyperacusis, and cognitive issues. Even memory. But it is very slow, no doubt!
thinking of you, and wishing you strength!
__________________
What happened: Legs pulled forward by a parent's hockey stick while resting at the side of the rink at a family skate....sent me straight back. I hit the back of my head (with helmet) on the ice, bounced a few times, unconscious for a few minutes. September 11, 2011. Off work since then…I work part-time at home when I can. It has been hell but slowly feeling better (when I am alone☺).
Current symptoms: Vision problems (but 20/20 in each eye alone!) – convergence insufficiency – horizontal and vertical (heterophoria), problems with tracking and saccades, peripheral vision problems, eyes see different colour tints; tinnitus 24/7 both ears; hyperacusis (noise filter gone!), labyrinthian (inner ear) concussion, vestibular dysfunction (dizzy, bedspins, need to look down when walking); partial loss of sense of smell; electric shocks through head when doing too much; headaches; emotional lability; memory blanks; difficulty concentrating. I still can’t go into busy, noisy places. Fatigue. Executive functioning was affected – multi-tasking, planning, motivation. Slight aphasia. Shooting pain up neck and limited mobility at neck. Otherwise lucky!
Current treatments: Vestibular therapy, Vision therapy, amantadine (100 mg a day), acupuncture and physiotherapy for neck, slow return to exercise, magnesium, resveratrol, omega 3 fish oils, vitamins D, B and multi. Optimism and perserverance.
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