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Member
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 242
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 242
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Andromeda
If you are only 9 months, don't panic. I'm on month 21 and am finally starting to get back to parts of my old life.
Two things:
1) Feeling dizzy during your walk and collapsing, have you tried Vestibular/Balance Therapy? This made a huge difference for me. It's like physical therapy, but for your brain and balance systems.
2) Issues with reading: Have you had your vision checked? Many people develop problems with how their eyes "work" after a brain injury. For example, your eyes may not be working together correctly when you are reading, thus causing your brain to work really hard to make sense of what you are trying to take in from your reading. A neuro-opthomalogist can do an exam to see if this is part of the problem. I also did this and now have glasses and did therapy for my eyes to improve this and it made a HUGE difference for me.
As for getting back to old things and wanting to move forward, I completely understand. Remember, everyone heals at different rates. However I can tell you before my accident I was working full time in a classroom, then full time Grad school at night. I had to stop all of that after my accident. It wasn't until 18 months that I was able to start back to my grad school program part time. I am still unable to work.
Brain healing takes a great deal of time. It's good that you are trying to progress forward, but if you are having such high spikes in symptoms, you need to start smaller. For me, it's kinda been like building endurance when you exercise. If you try to run 5 miles on your first day, bad things happen. It's the same thing with your brain, if it's tellling you afterwards you've done too much, then you need to start smaller. You want to go for small successes and progressions forward, so you and your brain can slowly build up tolerance for things.
I know how frustrating this is to hear, that it could take a long time, however that is just the way it is. Be kind to yourself and your brain. You want activities to make you feel productive and successful, so make sure you are only doing what your brain can handle at this point in time. If not, you are going to have symptoms flare and that doesn't feel good physically or emotionally.
My best to you. ((hugs)) It will get better, but you have to listen when you brain tells you you've done too much.
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What Happened: On 3/8/11 I was stopped waiting to merge into traffic when I was rear ended by someone doing 45 mph. I walked away from the accident, to fall into the pit of PCS 5 days later... (I have had 2 previous concussions, but neither developed into PCS.)
Symptoms 3 Years Post: Physical: migraines, infrequent vertigo, neck and back pain (from accident), tinnitus, visual field deficits in left eye, problematic light sensitivity, (including visual seizure activity), noise sensitivity, EXTREME fatigue, semi-frequent disrupted sleep cycles,
Cognitive: semi-frequent Brain fog after cognitive strain, limited bouts of impulsivity, unable to concentrate for more than short periods of time without fatigue, word finding problems, slowed processing speeds, impaired visual memory;
Emotional: easily overstimulated, depression, anxiety;
Treatment so far: Vestibular therapy; Physical Therapy; Vision Therapy; Vitamin Schedule; Limited caffeine; Medications; attempting to limit stress and overstimulation; Yoga; Cognitive Therapy
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