Originally Posted by headcasey

hi all, ive been suffering from post concussive syndrome for about five months now and im almost at my wits end. my personality has changed dramatically and im seem to alternate between fits of dejection and ambivalence, and general insecurity. >

These are common PCS symptoms. Taking a 'one day at a time' attitude can help you get through this.

<i suffered a low grade concussion during my rugby teams' season opener in march and haven't been the same since. i did not lose consciousness and retained full memory of the trauma, however my symptoms refuse to abate and i am terrified that they may be permanent. >

You are still early in your recovery. Your prolonged recovery is likely due to previous concussions and sub-concussive impacts from rugby and other activities.

<i have since quit all of my contact sports and have been unable to exercise seriously for months; combined with my plummeting academic performance has lead me to become severely depressed and has distanced me from my friends and family. to make matters worse i had been previously suffering from self confidence issues pertaining to my mental performance as well as a bad experience i had with a football coach pressuring me to play with a torn meniscus. >

You academic performance decline is likely due to an accumulations of prior concussions and sub-concussive impacts. Your coach's "play at all costs" pressures likely caused you to risk your brain when it would have been better to sit out. This coaching attitude can be very dangerous.

<my two biggest hobbies for many years had been contacts sports, and high level academics ( namely abstract mathematics, the physical sciences, and history ). being unusually large and reasonably intelligent i felt that i could be both an academic and athlete, but it seems that a head injury is neither conducive to a healthy mind or body and i now find myself lacking them both. >

Those of us with high intelligence and high expectations of performance tend to notice these declines much more. We often have lazy brains that function at high levels with little effort. After the injury, we need to learn new focus and memory recall skills to function at the previous high levels.

<i slur my speech constantly and spend most of my days walking around in a melancholy haze, unable to think and reason on the level of my pre concussion self. furthermore, the slow progress of my recovery has left me unable to exercise recreationally in any capacity. these two forces in tandem have made spending time with my friends and family difficult, as i feel as though i am locked in some sort of mental competition with everyone i meet.>

It takes a lot of effort and discipline to sit back and not respond. Our brains want to react but often think faster than our mouths can speak or even process speech. Learning to slow down and focus better can help. It may take more time of just sitting back and observing to learn to respond. I have to rehearse my responses before I speak up. Rehearsing makes a big difference.

<this has lead to paranoia and obsessive compulsive behaviors that have strained previously close relationships. reading has become a chore and at times uncomfortable, and watching tv has become a labor intensive task but they're all i can do to keep from going completely stir crazy. >

This is common over-stimulation and over-attending. The injured brain struggles to use multiple processing systems at the same time. Trying to read over-loads the visual processing. Watching TV combines a visual and auditory processing load. I need to wear head phones for the sound so I can follow the speaking on TV. Otherwise, my brain struggles to filter the background sounds from the speaking.

Think of this as an example of 'not able to walk and chew gum at the same time.' The way many of us overcome this is by "stopping to think." We need to shut out all sensory stimulation except for a single train of thought. Otherwise, the multiple trains of though with have a train wreck and crash your brain.

<i apologize for the long winded post and the disjointed nature thereof but this forum is my last ditch effort to cope with this problem on my own, as those close to me seem incapable of understanding what is happening to me or helping at all. ive begun to lose hope of ever regaining the old me, and have frequently pondered suicide.>

It sounds like you have the same li9mited access to good concussion help that plagues the rest of us. Many of us use nutrition to help our brains detoxify. We also need quiet rest. And then more quiet rest. Repeat that again.

< i have been prescribed amitriptyline for my concussive headache however its positive effects have been negligible. I'm just wondering ihow other people who have gone through this have addressed some of these challenges, because frankly i have no clue what to do next.