Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Concussion Syndrome For traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post concussion syndrome (PCS).


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Old 05-02-2012, 01:26 AM #1
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Default Fighting Post-Concussion Syndrome

http://www.fightingpcs.com/

There is some interesting stuff on that website.

Cheers,

Nick
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What happened: I was randomly assaulted from behind in June of 2011. I was knocked unconscious for an unknown amount of time (less than 30 minutes) and have no memory of the event. CT scan showed contusion and hematoma of the left frontal lobe. I spent 3 days in the hospital. Diagnosed with Post-Concussion Syndrome in September 2011. Currently have Medicaid, Medicare and SSI.

Current symptoms: Brain fog, mild memory issues, problems with spontaneity, occasional spacing out, word finding difficulties, tinnitus in right ear and some other things that I can't explain.

Life after the brain injury: 4 years after the injury, I'm engaged to my beautiful girlfriend of 5 years, I'm the CEO of my own business, Notorious Labs, I've taught myself how to program complex games and apps which is a feat I never thought I'd accomplish and now live a semi-normal life with very mild PCS symptoms.

Slowly but surely regaining my life back.
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camyam73 (05-02-2012), Eowyn (05-02-2012), EsthersDoll (05-02-2012), GlassHead (05-02-2012), greenfrog (05-02-2012)

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Old 05-02-2012, 11:32 AM #2
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Thanks for the link.

I read the recovery article.

The writer divides the stages into parts, with 4 & 5 being "victory".

She said she reached them at the 3-year mark. Interesting.
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Old 05-02-2012, 12:12 PM #3
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GReat site, hard to read a bit, with head spinning, LOL.

the recovery article was pretty decent.
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Feb 24, 2012 - Slipped on a large puddle of ice at work, hitting the back of my head. No loss of consciousness, so I assumed I'd be back at work within a few days. I was wrong.

When resting, symptoms are low. With exertion, I still suffer from fatigue, migraines, vision problems, problems thinking or reading, troubles sleeping, issues finding or getting words to my mouth when the headaches are bad, tinnitus, and thyroid issues which I think are due to the concussion. Seen one specialist, and now a few others through insurance review of my case. Hoping for further treatment.
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Old 05-02-2012, 01:05 PM #4
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I like her "never give up" attitude and advice!

Great site! Thanks for posting!
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Old 05-02-2012, 04:44 PM #5
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Default my thoughts

Space cadet, I too am concerned sometimes when dealing with people\medical professionals, that I come off as too normal so how can there be a significant problem going on here? I have periods of rage\frustration that I try to vent in private. I have been told I have a good logical understanding of what I am facing and dealing with; however this comes off as normal to anyone who doesn’t know or doesn’t care to understand you have a brain injury. I sometimes fell like saying I suffered a brain injury but it didn’t make me stupid or I didn’t lose my common sense. I believed at first, the concussion I had was just that, and would resolve in a few weeks of the accident. This has not been the case and dealing with my employer and insurance co has been more than challenging. My employer will not offer reasonable accommodations as outlined by the neuropsyc doc. The insurance companies are trying every tactic they can to minimize the situation. The only bright spot is that the accident was clearly not my fault and that fact cannot be disputed. I wish you well in your recovery. It sounds like you and eown are enrolled in some sort of rehabilitation program? Is this something offered to you in your area or how did you learn about it. Is it helping?

Frankly just taking meds and waiting it out doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me at this stage since I did undergo testing which showed deficits that validate a closed head injury; however there doesn’t seem to be any other alternatives other than meds\and figuring things out on your own to find new ways to cope with the challenges.
I would assume that this is the same with most other TBI, but do you have problems sleeping getting to sleep or staying a sleep?
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Old 05-02-2012, 05:51 PM #6
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Hi jinga,

Have you talked with your PCP or Neuro about getting some speech therapy? Or going to see a therapist? Either of those treatments, or both, might help you to improve.

A lot of people have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep when recovering from a tbi. I'm one of them. There are a lot of pointers out there you can find by googling something like "how to get a good night's sleep".

Off the top of my head, I recall a few tips:

-Waking up at the same time every day will help.
-Exercise should help.
-Not doing anything but sleeping and having sex in your bed and bedroom is supposed to help too.
-Meditation is supposed to help.
-Not doing anything super stimulating right before going to bed, like watching a suspense thriller is recommended.
-Don't drink caffeine after 12p or 2p as YMMV.
-Getting out of bed and doing something else when you have insomnia is a good idea. ie: Don't lay in bed for hours when trying to go to sleep. ie: Try to fall asleep for 30 minutes and then go read (or sit) in your living room for a while if you have trouble falling asleep, and then go try to fall asleep again.

Also, I don't have a lot of advice as far as dealing with your insurance company or workplace. My HMO denied giving me any neuropsych testing but approved speech therapy up the wazoo... I hope you have a good attorney - maybe they can help you get the treatments you want/need.
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Old 05-02-2012, 06:30 PM #7
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What does YMMV mean?

Some of us are not texters so we do not know these terms.

Google can define some of these but not all.
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Old 05-02-2012, 07:04 PM #8
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"Getting out of bed and doing something else when you have insomnia is a good idea. ie: Don't lay in bed for hours when trying to go to sleep. ie: Try to fall asleep for 30 minutes and then go read (or sit) in your living room for a while if you have trouble falling asleep, and then go try to fall asleep again."

I know this last suggestion is common advice (and may be good advice for most people), but for some reason it hasn't worked well for me. My brain seems happier when I stay in bed and eventually (sometimes after quite a while) go back to sleep. Conversely, if I get up and read and then go back to bed after 30 or 60 or 90 mins, I tend to feel worse when I get up in the morning. It's almost as though my brain "knows" that my sleep has been disrupted and responds accordingly.

I now try to stay in bed throughout the night, even if I'm awake for a while here and there. Over time my insomnia has lessened and I'm now sleeping better (although this may be the result of my doing better generally as much as this habit).

Other things that I think have helped: a consistent sleep routine (in bed around 10:15 or 10:30 every night, same time as my partner), dark room, fairly cool temp, quiet (slight background noise from the fridge), comfortable bed.
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Old 05-02-2012, 08:01 PM #9
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Default my reply...

I did hire an atty recently but not sure yet – I asked if they had experience in TBI etc so we will see. Problem my accident occurred in a distant state from where I live and I had to hire an atty from the state where the accident took place. I also hired a WC atty. I did undergo the neuro cog testing and WC is scheduling me for an IME for the same. My Neuro said it is a good chance to see if things are the same, better or worse. I did have some difficulty speaking in the early months but have improved in that area. I do often lose train of thought entirely and need the person I am talking with to re-establish what point I was trying to make or where I left off in conversation. I also now am afraid to use the stove top as I forget when I am cooking something or even boiling water – 3 x I left items on stove that were burning and once water completely boiled out of pot so now I am only using grill outside or oven which I can set to shut off on a timer. I don’t know if speech therapy would help.
I have constant racing thoughts all night when and medication in higher doses just knocks me out but when I need to go to an appt or work I can’t take the full dose so I am having great difficulties with this. Literally it is like a radio playing in my head with thousands of sound bytes coming at continuously
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What happened - MVA
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Old 05-02-2012, 08:27 PM #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho View Post
What does YMMV mean?

Some of us are not texters so we do not know these terms.

Google can define some of these but not all.
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary

I'm not a texter in any way, just been around the internet for a long time!
Starr
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