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Member
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 173
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 173
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Phoenix I've been an endurance athlete for most of my life (mostly x-country skiing/running and variations of that) and agree with Mark on the weight room, there should be no need for that if you're targeting to be an endurance athlete. One of my long time x-country skiing coaches actually forbade us to go to a weight room. We mostly did resistance training using our body weights (pushups, pullups, rubber bands, etc)... But this is for you to figure out/decide, we don't know the full story here.
As for giving up what you love to do - I get your resistance completely, I was twice your age when this last concussion messed me up and I had a very hard time giving up my active life. Sitting at home was literally driving me crazy into panic attacks. I can't imagine going through this at your age.
But what I'll say again is this - you do not want to make this worse and deal with it for the rest of your life. Right now I would literally give up all of my money/posessions just for a chance to feel normal again and be able to do things that I used to do before this last concussion. It is very hard to understand these things unless you've been through it yourself.
One experience that comes close to understanding PCS is when I used to ski in the backcountry and not care enough about avalanches. I knew the risk is there, but at the time I was in my 20s and I guess didn't really think it could happen to me.
Well, one day it did and scared the s**t out of me, you realize just how fragile your life is and how powerful nature is. I'd like to think that I became much wiser that day.
Think about it this way, right now you need to give up very little - stop, or at least cut back on running/physical exercise, for a very good chance of getting well and doing these things again in a few months. Or the other choice is keep pushing it and possibly making it worse and not being able to do much of anything for the rest of your life.
By the way, just because a doctor said it's ok to do something doesn't always mean you should go out and do it. Very few doctors have an understanding of PCS. They are good to rule out any other serious conditions (such as brain tumors), but when it comes to dealing with PCS most of them are useless.
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12/02/2012 - Light concussion at boxing practice. Ended up having PCS for about 3 months.
March 2013 - Thought that since most of my symptoms resolved I could start having fun again.
Went snowmobiling once (didn't hit my head) and concussion symptoms returned and got even worse than before.
June 2013 - accidentally bumped my head against a deck railing, and had a month-long setback.
November 2013 - drove to work after a big snowstorm and the roads were very rough, ended up having another setback.
2014 - Having setbacks after coughing/sneezing too much, or someone slapping me on the back, or any other significant jarring.
Feb 2014 - Started seeing Atlas Orthogonal chiro - most helpful doc so far.
June 2014 - Two months of physical/visual therapy - no noticeable improvement.
September 2014 - Diagnosed with Perilymph Fistula in right ear.
November 2014 - Fistula surgery (switched to left ear before the surgery after additional testing).
January 2016 - Quit work to "work" on figuring out PCS, so far it seems that eyes/vision issues are the most contributing factor, especially computer work.
Current symptoms are: inconsistent sleep patterns, headaches, vertigo/dizziness, anxiety/panic attacks, mental fog/problems with concentration, problems with computer screens.
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