Kate,

I too have been diagnosed with PCS, although I was diagnosed nearly a year ago. I was hit in the head with a volleyball while coaching for my school I taught for. My case has become a fight with Worker's Comp, and it is a joke! I am 28 and have been active, and even am a PE teacher, but this has left me 35 pounds overweight and completely disabled. I have had a CT Scan and MRI of my neck, but nothing showed up. I struggle with bright lights, loud noises, fast moving objects, getting to sleep and sleeping well - I wake up fatigued everyday and fight a headache daily. I have been treated for Vertigo, and my Vestibular therapy helped big time with my symptoms. It decreased the intensity of my headaches, and helped so that I could get some of my daily function back. I was hit on Sept. 9, 2009 and even today I am still struggling with headaches, spatial awareness, my mood swings are terrible and there are times I don't feel comfortable driving because my attention is terrible. I have done neuropsychology testing and met with a physiatrist and neither of those found anything worthwhile. The only thing that seems to be helping right now is my neck therapy. I have a Certified Orthopedic Message Therapist/Physical Therapist that has helped reduce the number of headaches I get, but that is the only symptom that gets relief.

I have done a lot of research, and have found there are Cognitive Rehabilitation centers across the nation that help people with PCS and TBI's regain their "brain power" so to speak. Apparently there is a way to regenerate the damaged areas of the brain back to their normal functioning. The only hard part is finding a doctor willing to refer you to them. I have a great neurologist, but even he says that with PCS it can take months to years to fully recover.

I lost my job, lost my ability to enjoy my hobbies, and it seems the longer time goes on the more symptoms show up. It was 5 months after I was diagnosed that the symptoms hit the worse part, and I had to take a month off of work and do nothing but rest in a quiet environment. It helped, and I learned from it that when the symptoms get real bad, you have to find a way to get away from stress. My neuro said that stress is the WORST for PCS.

You aren't alone Kate! I am glad to find this to know I am not CRAZY!!! Keep fighting for your health care, and don't give up! My neuro told me there is a great resource in Philadelphia that can test the brain to see exactly what is damaged. I can't remember exactly where (go figure with my injury) but you might want to check into it! Good luck!!!