Quote:
Originally Posted by bachissimo
I would find it useful if some of us, those who have been unlucky enough to deal with this for a long stretch of time, can have a dedicated blog to track our progress (or lack of it).
I am not feeling well enough to write the full story, but the very summarized version of this is as follows:
- impact on July 1st 2014
- virtually a full recovery by mid august. running, sprinting, weights, reading, watching,... never a headache, no moment of dizziness. the only weird this is that I heard this ticking sound in my head/neck when I went to sleep sometimes (for a minute)
- flight to europe and back in end-August. The same day I am back I went on a treadmill, and had a moment of vertigo (or a skipped moment (?) more on this later). The months that followed were the worse I ever lived (went through breakup too): dizziness/light headed (main symptom), headaches, fatigue, insomnia, depression. Off work for 2.5 months.
- very gradual improvement until july 2015, where I felt good on most days. if I average, perhaps an hour of dizziness a day.
- flight to europe and back in August 2015. Got dizzy there, and when I came back. I understood that flying was an important trigger but still did not appreciate the full extent of this. Within 2 days, I go for light workout and a push-up gives me vertigo (or a skipped moment (?) more on this later). Again 2 months off work. Dizziness, headaches, insomnia... But this time I developed new triggers: noise! and reading automatically makes me worse. Wasn't to the same extent the previous year. The previous year I could play piano, now I can't without getting dizzy.
- by Jan 2016: I am on an antidepressant (lamictal), I use clonazepam to sleep (direction of my pscyhiatrist) and exercise lightly at direction of neurologist.
I had some good weeks, when I almost forgot about PCS only to have a trigger set me off for weeks.
DIZZINESS is my main problem. I do not mind headaches as much, as I can take medicines for that, although one day I overdid Ibuprofen and had stomach issues. When I read this forum I only compare myself with people who experience dizziness, as it is possible that the root causes of different symptoms are different (obvious?).
I am waiting for my insurance to start my vision therapy. I have convergence problems, and since my second flight, it became obvious that reading is a major issue.
the more I rest the better I feel. But eventually I get sick of resting, so I go back to working, I try to pace it, but eventually, PCS will catch up on me.
suspicion: since I am the only case I found so far where flight was, without a shadow of doubt, a MAJOR set-back (equivalent to another concussion), I suspect something else is going on. I am thinking that perhaps I had a mini-seizure(s) on the flight or when I got back. IS THAT POSSIBLE?
I track my symptoms everyday, and eventually I will upload a chart that can speak a million words about what I am dealing with.
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I know that this is easier said than done, but try not to stress so much about your dizziness. In the end it was determined that I had a concussion that had truly compromised my vestibular system in addition to other struggles (and if you check my history, it was a serious concussion).
Is my balance permanently damaged? I really don't know. I still struggle with some imbalance, but I don't let it slow me down. What helped me the most is accepting the fact that this may/or may not be a permanent condition and moved forward from that point. And you know what? After I stopped thinking and worrying about it so much my balance started to return. When I do feel a little bit off balance, I just take a deep breath and tell myself that I'm going to be OK.
There are a lot of exercises you can do at home to help your balance. Meditation helps, so does yoga and single leg stands. Although very troubling at first, once one realizes that dizziness is not a life threatening condition (unless you have another health condition causing it aside from the brain injury or are at serious risk for falls) it becomes a lot more bearable.
You can do it. . . . you can get back some of your old life! Just stay positive, work within your limitations, and be optimistic. I'm definitely not like I was before my accident--but I work full-time, have two awesome kids, and am training for the upcoming cycling season as well as doing all creative projects on the side like teaching my girls how to draw, playing drums, etc. I don't let the dizziness stop me. And yes, airports and flying are tough (I flown once since my accident--for my job) but if you can give yourself a rest day after the flight, that might be a good option.
Mark in Idaho wrote the most profound thing to me once "not only is there light at the end of the tunnel, there is light IN the tunnel." (And if you have ever been in the Detroit airport--that is literally true!)
Finally, do not be afraid of your dizziness (again--unless you are at great risk for falls). Challenge your dizziness day by day, accept it, and indeed this is one of the keys to getting better. Vestibular therapists know this and this is why Cawthorne-Cooksey and other exercises actually challenge the vestibular system and stimulate spells of dizziness. Compensation in the brain begins soon thereafter. I know this first hand as I challenge my dizziness on a daily basis and it has proved massive dividends for me.
Also--check out this pamphlet for further (encouraging) discussions of balance and dizziness problems. The handout if very encouraging and helpful and I got a great deal of assistance from it. The most important thing it to stay positive if you can!
http://www.brainandspine.org.uk/site...e_problems.pdf