[Jenib]

Hi! I hate to start a new thread, but I am having a hard time reading and finding information I need. A few weeks ago, it wouldn't have been a problem as I was a pro at reading...and finding things on the web. I had a concussion on 4/1/12, and since my dr. told me I have post concussion syndrome. I am trying to get an appointment to see a neurologist, but it is looking like it will be a couple months. Until then I need help managing on a day to day basis, so I am hoping people here can help me with some strategies and just hope in general. My biggest issues right now are the fact that I can't read, concentrate, or mulitask...My short term memory is shot, i can't remember anything. But the biggest issue is that I am angry all the time. I used to be a really nice person, I never cursed, and didn't really yell much. Now as a stay at home mom of 2 I find my self yelling all the time, and cursing, and just angry always. People give me the advice that when I find my self getting overly angry I should just count to 10 or something, but the problem there is that I don't even see me acting wrong at the time... it seems normal. Later i think about it, and its wrong or my kids say something to me, or my husband. I need some help, also hope that I will be back to my old self eventually...or sooon even? please help

[Scott in Fenton]

Hi Jeni, Welcome to Neuro Talk. So sorry to hear about your injury.

The first thing you need to know is that post concussion syndrome is a brain injury; your brain is injured, and needs to heal itself. It's like any other organ or muscle in the body that has been injured, in that the most important thing it needs is rest. Think of everything you do in your day to day life; you use your brain to accomplish it. Anytime you can get someone else to do something for you so you can rest your brain is a step towards recovery.

Secondly, you need to know that every case is individual. There is no way to know how your recovery is going to go. About the only real predictor that helps is the number of concussions you have had in your life, and even with that info it's not like there is a chart; basically, the more concussions you've had, the more likely it is you will have a long lasting Post Concussion Syndrome.

Understanding the above two things are the first keys to addressing your major concerns that you listed; first, your brain really cannot read or retain short term memory right now, it is expending all it's energy on healing, and it is compromised. Be patient with yourself and try not to get angry about it, you can't help it, and you can't make it go away. You need rest, and that neurologist. (although, if you can find a neuropsychiatrist instead, that would be better).

Others will be dropping in with their advice; there is a lot of info here to read through, but I hear you that it's hard to do. A good idea would be to get your husband look through the forums. You will need his help; he should know what he's up against so he can be your advocate as well as your ally.

Hang in there, and feel free to share more with us anytime you like.

[EsthersDoll]

Hi Jeni,

Don't worry about not being able to sift through old posts. Feel free to post a new thread anytime you need to.

Most of us are either recovering from a brain injury or have been living with permanent effects of having a brain injury - so we totally understand how difficult it is to sift through old posts, or read or doing anything we used to do just fine with no problems, but now have a lot of trouble with. It can be very frustrating!

Scott is absolutely correct, the more you can rest your brain, the shorter and better its healing should be. Rest for a brain can mean different things to different people. (There's a saying around here: Once you've seen one brain injury, you've seen one brain injury! Each one is different.) Basically, try to avoid things that you have trouble doing because that trouble is an indication that your brain can't do that right now because it's using its energy to heal itself. Trying to force yourself to do thing can actually make things worse. (I know if feels counter-intuitive, but trust me.)

I think if you are having trouble doing something, at this point in your recovery - which is super early on, then it is an indication that you should not be trying to force yourself to do whatever it is your doing. You need to be gentle with yourself and your brain. You won't quite know what microscopic parts of your brain have been affected, so you won't really know what parts need healing. And it can change as the brain is doing its thing. But for now, take trouble doing something as a sign to back off from doing that thing. You might not be able to notice subtle signs of having trouble... but depending on how long this lasts for you, you might become more accustomed to noticing them over time.

I've been healing for more than 20 months from a concussion that had rare complications.

Some people take longer than a year to recover. Some people only take a few hours, days or weeks. While others have trouble for months and then wake up one day, out of the blue, perfectly normal again. And still others have to deal with permanent effects from just one simple concussion. There's no way to really predict what's going to happen and there are a lot of theories about it all. At this point, for you, let's hope you heal super quick!

Pay attention to your nutrition and overall health if you can. Make sure you take your multivitamin and a good B-Complex. Even some additional B12 taken either sublingually or by way of a shot in the arm might be a good idea. (My neurologist is big on taking extra B12 to help a person recover from a tbi.) Omega Oils 3-6-9 will help your brain's health a lot too. Protein is also an excellent nutrient for brain health and recovery.

Some people take a lot of other supplements to help them too.
Personally, I am taking CDP Choline, Phosphatidylserine, BCAA's, D Ribose, and Acetyl L Carnitine. You might want to wait a while before you start experimenting with all the supplements available, they can be pricey. I also checked with my neurologist about taking these too. But my recovery has been a very long and arduous one...

Exercise can also provide a lot of benefits for a healing brain. But exercise means something different to the healing brain than it did before the injury. And it's best to start really slow! Even if you could run a ten minute mile before the injury, start by taking just gentle walks, or doing yoga, or chi gong, just enough to get the blood going - but stop if you experience any negative side effects such as dizziness, a loss of balance, a degrade in cognitive functioning or a serious increase in fatigue. But mild exercise can provide the brain with the oxygen it needs to heal. Only increase your exercise if you can handle what you're doing without any symptoms. And decrease it until you don't notice any symptoms and stay at that level for a while until you can attempt to slowly increase it again.

Mark In Idaho is a very knowledgeable member here. He always tells people that the more symptom free days that you can string together than the better recovery you will have. Figuring out how to be symptom free is the key to making that possible. And figuring out what causes symptoms and avoiding them is also a part of that key.

Stimulation, like talking with people in person or over the phone, watching TV, listening to the radio and other activities that you could do before the injury might be too stimulating for your brain now. It's most likely temporary, so it's best to avoid them since they use your brain's energy to engage in them for a while... or do them until you notice that you are having trouble. (Stopping them before the trouble starts is even better!) And the more stimulation your brain has to deal with, the harder it might be... so like talking in a noisy restaurant has dish noise and music and other people talking that your brain has to filter, so choosing to talk in a calm and quiet setting, like your living room with the TV off might be a better choice.

Don't worry! The statistics are in your favor right now. Most people recover from a concussion very quickly and you can be proactive about it by setting boundaries for yourself to remain as unstimulated as possible. It can be boring, but it's probably better for you in the long run. Try to do things that are less taxing if you get bored like coloring or sewing. Don't put time limits on yourself.

Avoiding stress, worry, and depression as much as possible will help you too. There have been studies to indicate that chemicals created by these kinds of emotions can complicate and prolong a brain's recovery from trauma. Although, given the circumstances, those emotions are almost unavoidable. One of the better ways I've found to handle those emotions is to just have faith that I'll get better, even though I don't know exactly when.

And the people who are the most determined to get better are usually the ones who do.

And the anger you are experiencing is normal. Make sure your kids and husband know that and it will help them to deal with it when it happens. It's called emotional lability and many of us have had to deal with it too. I'm pretty even keel most of the time now, but I was super irritated for well over a year.

And read this guide at some point, and ask your friends and family to read it too, it should help you at least a little.

http://www.tbiguide.com/

Much luck!! And I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this, but welcome to neurotalk.

[Kenjhee]

Hi Jenib, sorry to hear of your injury.

Question, was this by any chance a frontal injury? If so, this could be a case of disinhibition. Some of your self-control mechanisms have been compromised, as these are resident in the brain's frontal lobe areas (so-called Executive Functions).

Also, when you say you're angry all the time, is this literally true, or is the anger just episodic and frequent? If it is episodic, your goal is to minimize the duration of the anger sessions.

The biggest hurdle is precisely what you stated- it's hard to recognize an anger episode as it's happening, making any other anger management tool irrelevant. I've found that this is a basic skill to be learned before any other. It won't happen overnight. The goal here is to recognize the session as early as you can. Hopefully you'll find the time gets shorter and shorter, until you get to the point of recognizing it as soon as it starts. Sometimes you can even peg it before actual onset, and head it off.

[dhope]

My injury happened in Feb, so I am not expert on this by any means -- I can relate to your situation. I get cranky really quick, never use to =--my family knows that this is because of the injury NOT because of me really being cranky -- perhaps if you talk to your kids and explain to them on their level that when you yell you really do not mean it, it is the injury that is yelling. Give yourself some grace, your children are stronger than you think -- try to keep the lines of communication open and give yourself some time to heal.

[Mark in Idaho]

Jenib.

You have already got a lot of great information from EsthersDoll. As has been alluded to by others, you are very early in your recovery. Something you may want to check is your hormone levels. mTBI can play havoc with hormones. You sound like you may be living with PMS except not just during PMS times. This can magnify the emotional lability symptom of PCS.

Something nobody has mentioned is simple for you to address. You need to seriously reduce any visual and auditory stimuli. This means things like too many papers on the refrigerator door, too many background sounds in your house, the kids making too much noise and/or talking quickly or at the same time. Voices are a strain on the brain. When there are more than one voice, the brain can go berserk.

If you live where you can take walks outdoors away from civilized noises, you will likely find them to be very good at helping you settle down. I do my best late at night because the world quiets down. No car noise, no people noise, etc. It is amazing how faint background noises can be stressful.

It will be a big help if you can get your kids on your team. They can change their behaviors so that you have less stimulation. You will be surprised how even very young kids can play a big part in helping you recover. Whether it is just keeping their stuff cleaned up and put away, helping with laundry so clothes are always put away, speaking in soft voices and doing anything to reduce the stress and stimulation load in your house. Your husband needs to help with this too.

If you kids are young, you can explain that your brain hurts. And, when it gets noisy, your brain hurts more. This is not to be described like a head ache. If they have a sore ankle or knee, it hurts worse if they try to use it. This is how your brain is. We are the invisible wounded. Just because we do not have a visible limp, bruise, or bandage does not mean out injury is any less damaging.

You probably should not go grocery shopping unless there is a 24 hour grocery store so you can go late at night when there are fewer people around.

Multi-tasking is a definite No-No. Research shows that multitasking is detrimental to even healthy brains.

Get a pad of post-it notes so you can put reminders in places where they are appropriate.

You can help your husband understand by watching the "You Look Great" video series on YouTube. Here is a link to the first of 6 segments. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Xso...ature=youtu.be All six take about an hour.

A simple way to explain to other what is happening in your brain is this. Your brain is like a 6 or 8 lane highway but you only have one lane working and even it has lots of potholes. Information/stimulation get caught in a massive traffic jamb and it can cause you to get frustrated, angry, or confused or all three.

So, you need rest and quiet for the near future. As was mentioned before, the longer you can go without symptoms, the more you brain can heal. Every time you overload and have a crisis, you will lose some of the healing value of good days you may have accumulated. Keep in mind that sometimes you may feel good and be tempted to get busy.

Don't give in to the temptation. Keep doing what you have been doing to have those good days. Overdoing it may not cause a return of symptoms until the next day. This will be very confusing but will work like clockwork. Have a good day, get busy and still feel good then wake up the next day feeling like a space cadet.

Feel free to tell us of your struggles. There are lots of knowledgeable people here. But, please help us by using lots of paragraph spaces. Many of us struggle to follow from one line to the next if the paragraph is more than 5 or 6 lines long.

I almost forgot. You should stay away from caffeine, alcohol, MSG, and artificial sweeteners.

Since you are in Colorado, I know some people struggling with dementia in Colorado who have used medicinal marijuana to help with their anger. There are some drugs that can also help but they are usually benzos which are contraindicated for PCS. A marijuana cookie from time to time may help. I am normally opposed to anything like marijuana except that I know that it has helped so much for others. You would want to use the minimum amount to just take the edge off your anger.

And, don't forget to get your hormones checked. Here is a referral link to hormone help if you need one. https://www.womensinternational.com/..._referral.html Most doctors use a broad shotgun approach. You need a targeted approach.

btw, You should print out this post and EsthersDolls post so you and read it at your leisure.

And, don't forget that you can have your husband post here to get some support. He will benefit from the support available here.

My best to you.

[Jenib]

Thank you for all your information and support. I also had a couple follow up questions. I have noticed in the last couple weeks that my neck is killing me too, it is contrbuting to some really massive migraines. I didn't think the kind of injury i had would of had whiplash or anything.

I thought it was my pillow, so i got a new pillow, but today it is really bad. Is this part of the head injury possibly too? or.... an even better pillow?


Also someone mentioned a neuropsychiatrist, what is that? i have never heard of one.

And finally...i keep reading to stay away from alcohol...but although i have never really drank before...however, i have had a couple drinks since this happened, and it helps my headaches alot. Is drinking going to affect my recovery?

[Mark in Idaho]

The issue with neck troubles is due to the impact that radiates from the head into the neck, and specifically the upper neck. I find that I need a pillow that supports in my head and neck in a straight position. You should also use some ice on your sore neck.

Remember the song, The head bone connects to the neck bone.

How did you injured yourself? What kind of impact did you receive?

I am sorry we hit you with a fire hose of information. That is why I suggested printing out the posts so you can read them without having to look at a computer screen.

btw, How old are your two kids?

Hope you are having a quiet weekend.

My best to you.

[kwaddington]

Thank you all so much. I have learned so much. It is so good to know I am not completely insane. I just wish I would have seen this forum sooner in my journey, but I am glad that am here now. I just forget how to get on the site.

[Jenib]

I always laugh telling people how i got this injury, it is really so ridiculous that it is this serious.

We were in our back yard playing an april fools joke on my husband, my daughter shook up a soda and gave it to him. When he got sprayed he went into the house to dry off.

Then he locked us out. I had one of the kids toys in my hand and i went to the front door to see if it was open, my husband opened the door a little way, thinkin he was cute to say "hello, can i help you?"

For whatever reason, i accidently dropped the toy in my hand and i bent to pick it up, my hubby thought i was making a run at the door, so he slammed the door and the dead bolt him me pretty much in the temple of my head.

At the time i saw stars, didn't lose conscieiousness, and it didn't even hurt...the symptoms started like 12 hours later.


My 2 kiddos are 3 and 7.