Taaajaca,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear of your lifetime of struggles. You have found the right place for some answers.

It sure sounds like you are struggling with the emotional and behavioral issues of Post Concussion Syndrome. I think I know what you went through growing up. I had similar problems with suicidal ideation at the same age and younger.

PCS can create some severe roller coaster rides through life.

The is some great information available online. The TBI Survival Guide is at www.tbiguide.com You can download it and print it out.

The YouTube video series by John Byler called "You Look Great" is also very good. It is 6 segments and the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Xso...ature=youtu.be

Understanding your personality/emotional/behavior tendencies help to learn skills for living with them. Many of us struggle with outbursts of anger and emotion. There are two important skills to learn.

The first is to recognize the onset of an outburst. This is often preceded by an increase in pulse and blood pressure. You may feel like you head is about to burst off your shoulders. When this happens, run to a different environment. Tell you family and close friends to make excuses for you when you suddenly walk away.

The second is to recognize the trigger situations. It might be that you get triggered by the sound of someone's voice getting harsh, or too much visual and auditory stimulation during a contested discussion, or a sudden startle reaction followed by an attempt to respond to the startle.

They all cause an elevated adrenaline reaction that raised heart beat and blood pressure. This heightens reactions and cause the explosions.

Add to that the PCS symptom of difficulty at regulating verbal responses by the tendency to say the wrong words, and you get the perfect storm for trouble.

Your family cab be a big help with this. they will likely recognize a look in your eyes as you build to the explosion. You may look wild eyed (deer in the head lights) or confused or even vacant. When they see this, they need to gently touch you and lead you away. You need to discuss how to handle this behavior.

With some practice, you will all get coordinated and be able to avoid many of the outbursts.

Lowering your stress levels will make a big difference.

You should also consider getting on a vitamin and nutritional supplement regimen. Start with a B-50 or B-100 complex, 2-300 mgs of B-6, 500 to 1000 mcgs of B-12, folic acid, D3, E, Omega 3's, calcium, magnesium and a strong multivitamin that has at least 4 times the RDA amounts of each. GNC makes some good ones plus Nature Maid. Centrum and One a Day tend to be very low in their dosages. Take some vitamin C too but not on an empty stomach. It needs to enter your system slowly to not counteract the B-6 and B-12.

At your age, it may also be helpful to get a good hormone assessment. Thyroid and the sex hormones. The is a good referral system at https://www.womensinternational.com/..._referral.html Most gyno's and PCP's do not use precision in balancing your hormones like many women need. The shot gun approach to hormones is not much help.

If you get blood work done to test your hormones, you should also get your B-12 and folate levels checked. B-12 should be about 1000 pgms/mL and folate should be above 20. Don't forget a full thyroid panel.

These tips should get you started toward getting some normalcy in your life. It will take a few months of the vitamin regimen to start to see improvements. You first need to help your brain purge the toxins from years of stress.

You should also avoid caffeine, MSG, alcohol, and artificial sweeteners. A single serving per day of caffeine and alcohol may be OK.

Now that I have blasted you with a fire hose, print this out so you can reread it later.

Hope to hear from you again.

My best to you.

Let us kno0w how you are doing. there are lots of great people here.