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Member
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: canada
Posts: 553
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: canada
Posts: 553
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Berkeley Brain...i am in your shoes (phd, etc) and feel exactly the same way. You are still smart...just suffering after a terrible injury. I have done a few international conferences out of stubborness...no going out with the groups, no coffee break chit chat, no receptions or banquets...the most recent one in NYC almost did me in (the only quiet place I could find was the women's washroom on some upper floor in the rockefeller centre. Sat in there fully dressed with earplugs and an eye patch for 1 hour after my presentation to a room of 300 with spotlights, etc. it was hell.....i was not as good as I used to be....but I did it. So you will get there again. It takes time to heal. When we are used to being so efficient and effective with our brains, this is hard to understand.
I try to count my blessings (it could have been much worse) and focus day to day. Today was awful....as has been the past two weeks...but tomorrow will be better!
I hope the information gives you some more insight. I think we are all trying to understand what this monster of an injury is! Hang in there.
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What happened: Legs pulled forward by a parent's hockey stick while resting at the side of the rink at a family skate....sent me straight back. I hit the back of my head (with helmet) on the ice, bounced a few times, unconscious for a few minutes. September 11, 2011. Off work since then…I work part-time at home when I can. It has been hell but slowly feeling better (when I am alone☺).
Current symptoms: Vision problems (but 20/20 in each eye alone!) – convergence insufficiency – horizontal and vertical (heterophoria), problems with tracking and saccades, peripheral vision problems, eyes see different colour tints; tinnitus 24/7 both ears; hyperacusis (noise filter gone!), labyrinthian (inner ear) concussion, vestibular dysfunction (dizzy, bedspins, need to look down when walking); partial loss of sense of smell; electric shocks through head when doing too much; headaches; emotional lability; memory blanks; difficulty concentrating. I still can’t go into busy, noisy places. Fatigue. Executive functioning was affected – multi-tasking, planning, motivation. Slight aphasia. Shooting pain up neck and limited mobility at neck. Otherwise lucky!
Current treatments: Vestibular therapy, Vision therapy, amantadine (100 mg a day), acupuncture and physiotherapy for neck, slow return to exercise, magnesium, resveratrol, omega 3 fish oils, vitamins D, B and multi. Optimism and perserverance.
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