PCS - Car Wreck 4 weeks ago
 

I had a car wreck 4 weeks ago. Blacked out momentarily. Main treatment is chiropractic adjustments for pain (severe enough to cause dizziness/nausea).

1 1/2 weeks ago my doctor diagnosed me with PCS. I have short-term memory loss (can usually recall things when someone mentions them), dizziness (on and off, usually accompanied by nauseau), noise sensitivity (can handle music but being in a room full of people talking is awful), a few episodes of blurred vision, impulsiveness on a few occasions, lack of attention, highly emotional (to the point of crying about things that aren't important at all), unable to concentrate or work (computer work which requires a lot of thinking). The worst was a possible anxiety attack (dizzy, tingling down to fingers on both hands, hard to talk/tongue felt weird, very shaky - kids called 911 and assessment was done with blood pressure and pulse a little high; they thought I hyperventilated. Worst was over within 2 minutes.). Went back to doctor the next morning and now I am scheduled for CT Scan today.

I am taking Soma (muscle relaxer 350mg 1/2 at morning; 1/2 at night) for ongoing muscle spasms. Other than that over the counter ibuprofen or tylenol for pain. Icing neck after chiropractic adjustments.

Haven't been able to work this whole time - just can't concentrate or think to do what needs to be done. I keep thinking when will this all go away and my life go back to normal.

Since the panic attack? 2 days ago I'm worried it or something worse will happen. I'm trying to relax but it's not so easy to do.

HELLO My car accident was in 2008 just after the accident I had all the symptoms you stated. I went through a battery of tests but like most TBI's things didn't show up on the tests. I rehabilitated my self as far as walking and speech difficulties. It takes time. The dizziness, balance, sensitivity to light and noise all went away.I still can't handle a lot of things going on at once. Major issues with implusiveness, lack of concentration, cognative difficulties some days better then others. I get emotional mood swings, anxiety and panic attacks, tinging and numbness, muscle spasms and twiching when off my meds. The worst is my irritablity, anger and rages. I understand where you are coming from. It's hard but we have to try to except what we can't change and know that it is not known what will be regained or what won't be. Try to take one step at a time and be careful of overloading. I hope it helps to know that someone has and is going through things like you are. Add me to chat. :)

It does help knowing others are or have been in similar situations. I was glad to find this message board. Made me feel not quite so like an odd ball.

welcome
 

hi roadrunner

its very early days for you, rest rest and more rest I know its not always easy , but a no stress period of rest can help in the long run you may well be back to normal in a couple of months try to keep your brain active but in a way that you can stop if you have too, omega 3 supplements and normal fluid intake helps

keep us posted

Thanks. The first two weeks I couldn't even play Mahjong (tile games) but now I can. I figured it would be good to do something I had to think about but that wouldn't matter if I didn't get it right.

Another thing is that it's hard to sleep. Seems like my brain is hardwired in the on position so even if I sleep I'm tired. My body rests but not my brain.

I have been successful with melatonin in the past to help me readjust my sleep cycle. Take a look, give it a try, talk to your doc, see if it helps.

Mahjong
 

hi yes thats the kind of thing Mahjong to just keep your brain ticking over but not burning out, talk with your doc about sleeping issues brain chemistry can be effected so over the counter med may be not the best thing

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadrunner63 (Post 653953) Another thing is that it's hard to sleep. Seems like my brain is hardwired in the on position so even if I sleep I'm tired. My body rests but not my brain.

I know exactly what you mean here, roadrunner. However, in the first months, I was hypersomnia; my brain needed "shutdown time" for 12-14 hours a day. I slept 4-5 hour 'naps' a couple of times a day and slept very well at night.

That is, until I got Rx of antidepressant. It seems for me a side effect of the med?

For over a year my mind was stuck in the 'on' position with obsessive fear, worry, anxiety, terror, negative-thinking of all sorts of self-condemning 'life review' stuff. Sort of a force-fed nonstop slideshow, if that makes any sense-?

Now a year and half post-injury, I still have major sleep disorder, just as you describe. The docs won't Rx any sleep meds, only additional antidepressants "with more sedating effects".

Trazodone (sp?) was horrible for me; I couldn't breathe through my nose! (Seriously, it is one side effect.)

Melatonin did not work for me nor did 5HTP, valerian, chamomile,Sleepytime Tea, etc. I know I need a sleep study, but no $$$$ for that. I've tried exercising in the morning, or afternoon, or evening; warm bath before bedtime, hot milk,
good 'sleep hygiene', etc etc.

When I "can" sleep is peculiar for me --- that is, I can best sleep between 6am-noon. :( It's like my biorhythmns have gotten turned around somehow.

The 'swoozy-head', dizziness, vertigo is worse for me when I've had a more or less sleepless night.

So for me, the antidepressants are a trade off of benefits. Like you, I'd like to not be on them. I just don't want to rock this boat anymore for now. I am dizzy enough as it is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneid1hrn (Post 654014) I have been successful with melatonin in the past to help me readjust my sleep cycle. Take a look, give it a try, talk to your doc, see if it helps.

oneid1hrn, I am so glad that melatonin works for you. That is excellent. Somehow for me, it seemed to have the opposite effect, i.e. sort of 'buzzing up'.

Thinking of you both with all good thoughts for your health and wellbeing.

Magnesium can help you sleep mechanism to work better. Take a magnesium tablet or capsule an hour before bed time. Do not take magnesium if you take Neurontin (gabapentin) at bed time. I need Neurontin to get my body to stop being active. Otherwise, my body will not relax and I often have body jerks.

I have fought with sleep struggles for ten years. I can sleep 6 hours during the day, then another 8 hours at night. I can not see any connection between my daytime sleeping and my ability or inability to sleep at night.

As I said before, if you have someone who can watch you sleep, ask them to monitor your breathing. My wife knows to cause me to change sleeping position if she hear odd breathing. She knows that otherwise, my day will be useless.

More than thirty years of undiagnosed central sleep apnea eventually caused my father's death from the resulting dementia. He refused to be tested.

I am convinced that the same system that helps one sleep can be involved with the breathing disruptions. When the chemistry gets out of whack, we suffer.

" Magnesium can help you sleep mechanism to work better. Take a magnesium tablet or capsule an hour before bed time. Do not take magnesium if you take Neurontin (gabapentin) at bed time. I need Neurontin to get my body to stop being active. Otherwise, my body will not relax and I often have body jerks."
-----------------------------------------------------
Thanks for this tonight, Mark. I'll get magnesium tomorrow, yes. Do you have any major side effects with the Neurontin? I also have the body jerks and almost never feel genuinely relaxed in my body.

Neurontin is real easy to take. I have been taking it to 9 years. I take 900 mgs an hour before bed. No side effects at all.

Update on me
 

I've been able to go 48 hours without any dizziness. That sounds silly to most people but I'm sure those of you will understand.

Saturday I did some thinking required stuff for almost 2 hours. Felt like my brain was exhausted. Took an hour nap and felt much better. I've learned that if my brain gets tired I can sleep for an hour and have less symptoms.

I appreciate all the comments, suggestions, etc.

That's indeed good news to share with us here, roadrunner. And that good news does not sound at all silly. I'm sure that everyone herein understands and appreciates these shifts, progressions in our wellbeing along the PCS road; no matter how small.

Glad to hear that you 'got' it that your brain felt overtaxed *and* that you responded appropriately and self-supportively by taking a nap and feeling better.

As expected CT Scan results were normal. Regular doctor says it's just one of those things that can take weeks or months to heal. He's hoping I'll be able to return to work when I go for next visit in 3 weeks (8 weeks from date of accident). I'm not as optimistic that I'll be fully functional by then but I do see improvement and expect that to continue.

roadrunner,

I would suggest ignoring any hopeful time-lines. Treat your symptoms as needed, such as naps when mentally fatigued. Take short walks if you can. Use your symptoms as a guide to any efforts or exercise. I play FreeCell on the computer. When my scan of the cards gets a 'lost ' characteristic, I quit and do something less taxing or take a nap.

Learn to enjoy the fatigue naps. If you can take short naps and feel better, that's great. Any nap where you dream is good for your brain.

Do simple tasks that result in a feeling of accomplishment.

I have found that I struggle to read overly descriptive readings. I may also struggle to keep multiple characters of a story line in memory. If you have such struggles, relax and try something less intense.

Then, as you improve, you will likely have 'ah ha' moments when you notice improvements. Positive reaction to these unexpected 'ah ha' moments is beneficial to your brain.

So, relax, and let your brain heal as you enjoy the simpleness of low stress.

My best to you.

I've been having more frequent and longer good times over the past week. But I am still agitated, aggravated, and overwhelmed by how easily I go from good to bad.

Friday and Saturday were horribly painful days for me. I finally gave in and called my chiropractor even though it was holiday weekend. Felt almost immediate relief from pain but other PCS symptoms kicked in full blast.

The most aggravating thing for me is that it's like someone flipping a switch. Symptoms can change just that fast and it's difficult to function when you never know what kind of condition you're going to be in at any given moment.

roadrunner,

Been there, done that,

Yes it can be tough to have a good day collapse. Sometimes, you will notice the triggers for the collapse. Other times, they just blind side you.

Just take them as they come. In time,, they will settle down some and you will become more aware of the triggers and learn to avoid them. As you have experienced, getting frustrated and fighting them is counter-productive.

PCS sucks.

But we go on.

My best to you.