Quote:
Originally Posted by DrewDigital
For the tasks that you struggle with, rest then gradually increase the exposure to those triggers. Do just enough activity to cause mild discomfort, but not to much to cause a setback. Rest for a few days to recover, then do a little more. Gradually increase your activity level each week.
There may be some underlying conditions that are triggering your symptoms. It could be one of these 5 things:
1. Blood Flow
2. Inflammation and hormone dysregulation
3. Visual and/or vestibular dysfunction
4. Neck dysfunction
5. Psychological
So you have to check and treat all the possible causes. You mentioned vestibular deficiencies so continue that treatment.
A neck injury can be caused with a low G force event and the symptoms overlap with concussion symptoms so get your neck checked out.
Inflammation could be cause by a poor diet, leaky gut, or microbiome imbalances. I think you mentioned some gut health issues, so continue promoting a healthy microbiome.
Eat an anti-inflammatory diet. Cut out sugar, processed foods, fried foods, and seed oils. Eat lots of healthy fats, fish, protein and veggies.
Exercise is good for blood flow and circulation, so do light - moderate aerobic exercise.
Practice good sleep hygiene so you get rejuvenated at night.
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Thanks for your response Drew. As far as some of your items above:
1) Blood Flow - I have had an MRA/MRV done of the brain and it was normal so that may rule that out? I do wear compression socks and think that has helped me return to normal exercise levels.
2) Inflammation and hormones - I did hormone testing a while back and think it was mostly normal. Sometimes my brain does feel inflamed but not enough to show on an MRI as that has been clean.
3) Visual/Vestibular Dysfunction - I definitely have these based on the testing done by both parties. Problem is whenever I try to treat it with vision or vestibular therapy it either does nothing or flares me up, sets me back, and brings on additional triggers that don't really seem to subside over time. It's like my brain gets stuck so if you push it a certain way it reacts and then doesn't recover or bounce back.
4) Neck - I've thought for a while this may be at play but I've worked with a NUCCA chiropractor and they don't think it's likely contributing to these other symptoms. I've also had flexion/extension MRI's and supine of the neck. I submitted all that imaging to a specialized radiology team that specifically looks for cervical instability and other neck conditions and they didn't see anything. I suppose I could try a Digital Motion X Ray but those are pricey and the neck just doesn't seem likely at this point.
5) Psychological - There's certainly some of this involved now as I'm really depressed not being able to do much of anything without it causing me pain and I'm also anxious as I haven't been able to get much help and have been pretty thorough so it feels like there's nothing left to explore. I will say that I've been doing CBT/Talk Therapy weekly for over a year now as well as have tried some antidepressants (I don't tolerate them well), Ketamine (didn't tolerate it well either), and some other drugs. I do ok with Olanzapine as it seems to help some but what else could I try that I haven't on this front?
Thanks for any additional thoughts you may have.