Fatigue and Post concussion syndrome
 

:) Hi. I am new to this forum. Actually, this is the first time that I am joining a support group. My injury happened February 5, 2010. So it is almost 8 months since I walked into a metal pole and my life changed.

Because I am new, I may be asking something that you have talked about already, so please forgive me if I do....

I am having a really difficult time dealing with all of this. What I find the most difficult is the fatigue. It is almost unrelenting. I wake up with it and I go to sleep with it. My body aches most of the time as if I have the flu - but I don't. There are times when I can push through it and get something done. But if I do too much - whatever that means - then I am "wiped out" for days.

Is there anything that helps you to get through this? Have you been able to find anyone who can tell you when this might let up? Have you been able to go back to work?

I am (or was) a teacher, and I am not able to work yet. I wanted to try going back for some half days, but they would not accommodate me. Actually, I realize now that I would not have been able to work yet on a regular basis, because there are days when I can't do anything. However, they are not even allowing me at this point to volunteer! It's very frustrating.
I don't know whether or not I will be able to go back to teaching....

Thanks for listnening and thanks for any input you may have.

I almost forgot: I did want to mention that the one thing that has helped me has been cranial sacral therapy. Has anyone else used cranial sacral therapy?

Shelly,

Welcome to NT. Sorry for your reason for being here.

Fatigue is a very common and persistent symptom of PCS. That said, you still need to rule out other causes of the fatigue. By that I mean, PCS can cause other problems that cause the fatigue. The most important issue is sleep behavior. If you are not getting restorative sleep, your days will be filled with fatigue.

It is not uncommon for a head or more commonly head and neck injury to cause sleep apnea. This can be either obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea (CSA) Obstructive is when tissues in the mouth, throat, etc partially block the breathing passageway. CSA is when the nervous system malfunctions and the motor function of inhaling is not properly regulated.

A symptom of sleep apnea is nightmares or stressful dreams, restless sleep, body jerks during sleep, Restless Leg Syndrome, waking up during the night, etc.

It is imperative for the body to get REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement). This is when the neurons get a time to recover from the previous day's stresses. Brain cells will not heal or recuperate without this sleep. Not only will poor sleep lead to daytime fatigue, but it can prevent healing and even cause further brain deterioration.

Regarding Cranial Sacral Therapy, it is a very controversial procedure. There are merits to some of the modalities but other claims are unfounded. For example, researcher have had various Cranial Sacral practitioners (usually Doctors of Osteopathy, Osteopaths, sometimes a Physical Therapist or massage therapist) examine and try to chart their finding of the same patient. There is very little commonality between the diagnosis of the various practitioners.

There is a very good article written by a DO who teaches at one of the Osteopath schools. He even dismisses most of the original cranial sacral theory.

This is not to say that there is not some good available from a skilled practitioner. The manipulation of the neck and spine can be very helpful in the hands of a gifted healer. The claim to manipulate the plates of the skull is beyond any modern scientific method.

The more common modality successfully used by PCS subjects is Upper cervical chiropractic. This focuses on the joint between C1 and the skull and sometimes C1-C2 etc. Most general chiropractors do not have the training nor equipment to properly diagnose and treat these very minimal misalignments.

Google NUCCA and/or upper cervical chiropractic. Or do a search of this forum for upper cervical. there are past posts about the benefits.

Regarding being 'wiped out for days" welcome to the club. I overdid it two weeks ago by trying to read and understand a manual about rebuilding an automatic transmission. I was only reading two pages about the electric sensors etc. I was down for the count for two plus days. I have had efforts that put me out for up to two weeks. Now, i can usually recognize the start of the overwork and leave the task for another day.

Some common symptoms of overworking your brain are:

Eyes start to struggle to follow a line of text.
Reading the same line, sentence or paragraph over and over.
Eyes start to glaze over. This is usually observed by a knowledgeable family member. My wife is good at recognizing this in me.
Repeating yourself in a conversation.
Hearing to many voices at the same time, like at a social function with many people in different conversations.

Us old timers have found it necessary to learn to avoid these triggers or develop work-around or other accommodations to avoid being triggered.

I always have foam ear plugs handy. I wear a hat to avoid bright lights. I do not go to the mall or other busy public setting during busy times. No shopping at Christmas for me. I also will rest up ahead of a need to be in one of these triggering locations to give me more tolerance.

Thank you for posting in short paragraphs. If is very helpful to many of us.

Tell us more about yourself. This is a very welcoming group with a wide variety of experiences.

My best to you..

Mark,
Thank you for all of the information. I will have to check out sleep apnea.
As far as cranial sacral therapy, my chiropractor recommmended it, and I have a wonderful physical therapist.

He has helped me a lot. I once came in with a migraine, and he did some ear acupressure, then some cranial sacral work and then he taught me two Qi Gong exercises. By that time, my migraine had disappeared! Of course, it did not last. That night the headache came back, but at least I knew that there was the possibility that I could feel better.

I was getting terrible migraines until I started cranial sacral work. The migraines are not gone, but they are less frequent and more manageable. Yes, I do agree with you that the therapist has to really know what she/he is doing.

I too cannot go shopping in crowded places. I tried to go to Macy's for the first time since my injury. I got there, went inside and lasted all of 15 minutes before I had to get out of the store. I was dizzy and had a headache. Doesn't that ever improve?

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge in this area. I really appreciate it.

I will write more another time. I have had a really difficult day. I woke up dizzy this morning and was completely wiped out all day. It felt like I had gone back to the beginning of my healing process. It was very depressing. And then I somehow found this group. I am grateful for that.

The fatigue was a major battle for my daughter. I think the NUCCA chiropractor helped the most along with being able to start back exercising. She started slowly and increased in small increments. If she had any worsening symptoms, we went backed back down. I really think the nucca adjustments made it possible for her to be able to exercise.

Even, once the daytime fatigue resolved, she still had lots of issue actually getting up and moving. This finally improved at about 10-11 months. Her injury was last October and she finally was able to return to school full time at the start of this year. The fatigue was the major issue holding her back.

Fatigue
 

Hi ShelleyK, this is my 9th year of PCS caused by similar events as Mark and I am the same age as him.

I can deal with everything ok apart from the fatigue. I have to keep to my routine of a half hour rest at 11.30am and an hours sleep at approximately 3.00pm or my days are disasters. It took me a year or so to establish the routine.

I tried to work too soon and for too long hours even though the hours were part time. I had been a legal executive for 20 years (kind of like your paralegal) My blood pressure went crazy about 4 years ago and then 2 years ago I had a major melt down and I am now unable to work.

My husband sees my tiredness before I feel it - just like Mark said, my eyes glaze over.


I find that I simpoly can not cope with any pressure what so ever and it is worse when I am tired. I have very little patience with my self.

My advice to you is to be kind to yourself and rest before you feel the horrid overwhelming tiredness.

Things do get better as you learn to avoid activites that soak up your energy - like noisey shopping malls, loud voices, flashing lights and the worst is lawn mowers!!!!!

Lynlee

Lynlee,

Thanks for your information. Doesn't the fatigue ever get better? I will never be able to go back to work if it continues like this. I am (was) a third grade teacher until this concussion happened and turned my world upside-down.

Unfortunately, the doctors really don't know how to help you - except to give you pills, and I get sick from most of them.

I have already learned to try to avoid noisy, crowded places. They make me sick. But it is very disheartening to think that I won't get my life back.... Although I guess that if that is true, I will have to learn to develop and adjust to a new kind of life.

It just would be helpful to know whether this will get better or not. My cranial sacral physical therapist believes that we can all heal ourselves. We just have to take time to listen to our bodies.

There is a book that he recommended that I am reading. It is called
"The Art of Effortless Living" by Ingrid Bacci. She was a successful professional who became very ill. She went to all the best specialists. No one could help her. She left her marriage, her career and everything else that she had, and she eventaully healed herself. The book is about how she did it.

It doesn't mean that everyone can succeed, but, who Knows? Maybe they can. My physical therapist has taken workshops given by her, and he says that she is a wonderful person who has helped many people heal....

Shelly

There are many systems in the body that can heal to an almost like new condition. The brain is definitely not one of them. It can try to repair damaged areas but it does not grow new neurons very readily.

In my opinion, a claim like your PT made would cause me serious doubt.

Regarding getting back to a third grade teaching position. In time, your brain may heal to a level that will allow a return to teaching. More likely, you will need to find anew way to teach. Your need for a quieter atmosphere will enhance your ability to work with children with sensory overload problems. You will be just as sensitive as they except in your own way.

Sensory overload sensitivity has a great way of teaching one patience and stillness. If this is you for the current time, embrace it and find a way to use it to your and other's advantage. I have become very good with young children, toddlers especially. The calm steady pace can do wonders for young ones struggling with their surroundings.

Does California have a Vocational Rehabilitation program? Or maybe an ed school has CE courses that can get your additional certifications.

As our Big Pharma controlled public health systems get overly protective of kids by mandating every conceivable vaccine, you may find a need to work with kids who have neurological reactions to them. There is also a growing need to work with concussion subjects. You are very well qualified. Being on the inside of a concussion is totally different that studying about them.

As youth get involved in contact sports, the need to educate these Post Concussion Syndrome students will become more pronounced.

Prepare for this opportunity and you may find an opportunity to be in a more rewarding occupation.

Schools also need assessors to observe the teaching environment and make suggestions to better serve students. Most class rooms are overly made up with stimulation. Too many visual objects on the walls and too much noise.

Hope you can see this as an opportunity to grow as a teacher.

My best to you.

Mark,

Thank you for all the suggestions about how to use my teaching skills with my 'new-found' abilities. I am not yet ready to deal with all of that, but it will give me something to think about. Your ideas are very creative.

You are right about the classroom being too stimulating. I have been back in school to visit, and it is difficult to stay there for long.

I don't know whether California has a vocational rehabilitation program, but I will find out.
Thank you for giving me something to possibly look forward to. I haven't been able to do that for awhile.

Shelly

That is so right!
 

Shelley - what Mark has said above has made me think - I am now a very calming influence with my grandchildren - 4 toddlers. The old me would have been very noisy kind of like the ra ra bossy person. Now I just sit quielty on the floor and we play and talk - they just love it - I love it and you know what - it is better than pre injury times - of course not with those same children.

One of the things that I have/had identified doing is volunteering at the local High School and taking remedial reading - just one on one or maximum two.

It also helps if you have something to look forward to and forward plan as much as possible - hard when you don't know how tired you are going to be one day to the next or if you get woken during the night!

Spontaneity is a thing of the past for me. Write a list of what you want to do the next day and halve it and halve it again - that was the advice of the one good psychologist I saw and if you are being hard on yourself think of what you would say to your friend if she was injured in the same way.

When you do feel like you have energy don't go rushing around like a crazed person or put it this way - it is best not to rush around as the crash afterwards is not worth it. Just enjoy the moment and there will eventually be more.

Lynlee

Hi ShellyK,

I had a sleep study at Bellevue (run by NYU) last night, you should see if you can do a sleep study, it can't hurt. BTW, with my 6 bedtime meds, I watched a movie on my laptop then slept like a baby all night, one thing they told me was a dreamed a lot during the night. Maybe that makes the brain tried and is tied to my TBI. Results come back in a week or two.

July63,
Thanks for your reply. I would be grateful if you let us know what information you got from the sleep study.
I don't think that it's my sleep that is giving me the fatigue. I never had this problem before the accident.

July,

Dreaming, especially pleasant dreams are a good sign. This is when REM Sleep is occurring. This is also when the brain is doing its best recovery/restoration process. A lack of REM/dream sleep leaves the brain fatigued.

Also, lack of proper oxygenation of the brain leaves the brain fatigued. Chronic lack of oxygenation can become cumulative and leave the brain in a damaged/injured state.

Healing and getting back to teaching
 

Hi Shelley,

You are on a journey. One that you didn't wish to go on, but you are on it and that can't be helped now.

I don't think we who are, unfortunately, going on similar journeys can tell you where yours will end up. I think that it is too early to say whether you will get back to teaching or not, but I do think that what you do in the early stages of your unfortunately illness may make a difference to how it goes.

I don't think that you should get too hung up about not getting back to teaching at only 8 months after your injury. Finances could be an issue, but provided that you can somehow make ends meet, if I were you, I would concentrate on doing what you can to rebuild your health and getting through those horrible early stages after a traumatic brain injury.

I had a constant headache for at least a year after I had a similar injury. I was also very fatigued. Working was absolutely out of the question. Fortunately, I didn't try.

I read somewhere that such patients are not expected to improve after the first year. However, I did. I have made tediously slow but nevertheless continuous progress. Three years post-trauma, my headaches have dramatically lessened, I have much more energy and I am back to work 4 days a week. (Not at the same level, but still very much more than I could do for a long long time.)

I think that you have to think long-term here and don't go back to work and strain yourself before you feel that you are ready. You may see a lot of improvement yet and what you do could help the healing process along. Where you end up will ultimately be more important than how quickly you get back to doing certain things.

I liked the idea of teaching individuals to read, which someone else suggested. Perhaps you might eventually go back to teaching in a slightly different and less stressful capacity, like one-on-one or smaller classes.
What about a younger age group, like toddlers or under fives? I find at those younger ages children are more in need of quiet reassurance and don't necessarily need to have you running around energetically all the time. Just an idea. Plenty to think about.

Lots of luck.
CS

Concussed Scientist: Thank you for so eloquently describing your recovery. There are lots of examples on this site of people who continue to experience improvements a year, two years, or more after their injuries. It's so very important to the healing process to be paitent and kind to yourself, to celebrate every little improvement.

At approximately 15 months post injury (a "mild" concussion) my daughter has very few remaining issues. She gets overwhelemed a little faster with school work, she's more prone to migraines. She, too, had a constant headache for nearly a year so by comparison we are thrilled to be where we are. I kept reading that people in this category were not likely to see improvement. I tried to ignore that prediction and NEVER shared it with her.

Ditto on increasing the protein intake. My daughters migraines are prevented (usually) by increasing her protein and water intake in the 10 days pms.

Concussed Scientist:

Your comments were so helpful to read especially this week when I've had unrelenting headaches and horrible fatigue - again. I certainly could not go back to work in this condition, but it is frustrating that it takes so long to get better. I am sorry that you had to suffer in the same way. But I am happy to hear that you did get a lot better, even though it took a long time.

Hearing from someone else that they DID improve and were able eventually to get back to work is good news. I also have the headaches in addition to the fatigue and sometimes dizziness.

When you were able to go back to work, did you start out slowly and with half days?

Again, thank you for your insight. It really helps, especially when some doctors don't understand much about brain injury.

Feedback
 

Wow. I've never got so much positive feedback!

I remember when I first started looking on the internet regarding my condition, one of the things that I was very keen to find was feedback from those who have gone before suffering with the condition. I wanted to know how long it would last and whether there was anything that other people had tried which worked.

Unfortunately perhaps people who recover are less likely to use the site and we don't hear much from those who have got better. That's one reason that I decided to leave feedback for others if I ever got better myself.

Well, I have got much better, if not completely better. So that's pretty good, consider that I doubted at many points that I would get as well as I am now ever again.

So, to answer Shelley's questions:
I started back to work when I thought that I was able. That could be very different for different people depending on their injuries. At the 1 year point, I inquired about teaching one evening class per week. I was offered the job, but by that stage I had looked over the material and my headaches had become so bad that it was clear that I wasn't up to it and I turned the job down.

Eventually, 1.5 years post-trauma, I got a 50% full-time position (2.5 days per week) as a laboratory technician. It didn't involve any stressful interations with people, just doing things by rote. It was a lower level job than I am trained for but the important thing was that I found that I was able to do it. It was quite hard to start with and I had to sometimes take a break during the day just to sit or lie with my eyes closed and do nothing. That didn't happen many times and now it doesn't happen at all.

I am still doing the same job but I have now increased my hours to 4 days per week and that four days is now easier than the 2.5 days were at the beginning. I increased my hours after doing the job for about 9 months and now I have been doing it for 1.5 years altogether. There is a fixed contract to run for another year and I think that by that time I will be ready to work full time.

The best of luck to everyone in trying to recover or trying to make the best of the situation that you are now in.

CS

Concussed Scientist:

You have no idea how helpful it is to hear from someone who has been through "this", and to hear that it is possible to heal even after one year. I was getting REALLY impatient with myself for not healing. How could that be possible? And if I wasn't healing by now, then maybe I never would heal.

I am really happy to hear that you are much better than you were and that you were able to go back to work, even if the work that you are doing now is different from what you were originally doing.

I am so grateful to you for letting us know about your improvements. When/if I am fortunate enough to heal, I will try to remember how comforting your post was for me (and I'm sure for others as well), and I will, hopefully, be able to help others in the same way that you are helping me now.
Thank you.

Hi Shelly.

My daughter received her concussion back in October 2009. My daughter is in a similar to place is PCSLearner's daughter - still more prone to headache, overwhelmed more easily and stress/anxiety levels are a little higher than preconcussion. She's back in school full time and doing well. (She didn't make it back full time last school year. She'd do afternoons 3 days a week and work with a tutor the other days.)

A friend of mine's son was at the same place a year out. He's now two years out and to handling stress/anxiety and basically being a normal senior in high school.

I don't think there is anything magical about the year mark. I do think people continue to improve. In the book "Brainslash" the author continued to experiences gains years after her injury. The same is true in the book "Over My Head". It's hard to be patient. Hang in there. I now mine as a caregiver was greatly challenged last year!

hi. I got some results back from my sleep study and was told I have severe sleep apnea, and they want me to go back for another study with some sort of nasal tubes in my nose. Since I don't see the pulmonry doctor till Dec 30, that means the 2nd sleep study will not happen till January, so basically now I know what is wrong with my sleeping and I have to suffer with it for a couple more months :( Ugh

July,

Some people with sleep apnea do better sleeping in a reclined position. Until you can get properly diagnosed for a CPAP or BiPAP, etc, You may want to try other sleeping positions.

I can get some great sleep in a recliner. My wife will see a look of total contentment on my face when she sees me sleeping in my easy chair. If I am not breathing properly in bed, I will sometimes have a grimace on my face.

A friend of mine got diagnosed and stopped seizing at night and his daytime world changed for the better.

My best to you.

I don't really have any specific advice to offer, but I can say that fatigue is one of the few symptoms that improved in my case. I still find myself being tired when I shouldn't be, which I don't know if is normal or not, but the extreme fatigue I had in the months following my injury did pass.

I find that sleep has a big impact on how I feel each day. Either too little or too much can leave me hazy for the whole day. Each day when getting up it takes me up to several hours for my head to clear from a hazy state. That will usually take a much shorter time if I've had an optimal amount of sleep, which for me is not much more than 7 hours.

Fatigue/sleep/amitriptyline
 

I know well that unclear feeling in the head when you wake up. Since my TBI, early in the morning has always been my worst time of day, but that too has improved a lot. It's still my worse time of day, but it used to be so much worse. I used to have to get up in the night and walk around because I felt so uncomfortable.

When I tried to get up I felt awful, dizzy, headache, unwell. Having a shower helped a bit but then I was exhausted and pretty much lay on the sofa watching TV all morning.

Have you ever watched TV in the morning? Gees! It's bad. I'm in the UK and it's all about making money out of property, buying a house at auction.......all stuff that I was not interested in, couldn't afford, couldn't do because I was ill, but which I was forced to watch because all I could do was watch TV and that was all that was on. I am so glad that I don't have to watch any of those shows anymore and I can just go to work.

Anyway, I digressed a little there.............One thing that I think helped me is a low dose 10 - 25 mg nightly of amitriptyline. It helps with the headaches and it knocks you out a bit which helps with the sleep. I do feel a bit when I wake up, but I sleep through the night now.

It might not work for everyone, but I thought that I would mention it as I think that it has helped me. I really notice it when I don't take it. I didn't take it for just one night last week and felt terrible, like I used to a year or more ago, so I obviously still have some underlying problems still, but if I can manage to function with the help of drugs then, it's not ideal, but I'll take it.

Good luck, Folks.

CS

I get the same kind of benefit from Neurontin (gabapentin) I take it 1 1/2 hours before bed. It helps my body and nerves relax. It has less side effects than amitriptyline (Elavil) The Amit does help with head aches for some. I just take some acetaminophen (Tylenol) with the Neurontin if I am head achy.

Hi Shelley,

"I am (or was) a teacher, and am not able to work yet", too.
"It's very frustrating. I don't know whether or not I will be able to go back to teaching...." too.
I KNOW how you feel, truly.

I am (or was) an elementary music teacher with 2 bands. With all the singing, dancing and the noise level from beginner instrumentalists, there is no way I could even enter that space today.

My injury occurred in March 2010 and struggle with headaches and fatigue when I overdo it.

I recently was asked to sing at a funeral for a dear friend. Thinking I would sing something I knew, I said yes. However they came back the following day and requested 2 songs I didn't know. Being the professional, I worked for 3 days learning these pieces amidst pounding headaches. My working memory is one of my impairments so I struggled at something which would have been very simple for me to accomplish.

The end result was I performed them BUT I was in bed for 4 days straight after unable to do anything.

A hard lesson indeed.....

Ah Shelley, I tell this story because I tried to do something which I used to do very easily, no stress at all.
But now it is definitely different. I accomplished it but a great price.

Yes, it was very HARD to face this. In order to teach music, I was constantly learning new music throughout the year and performing it for my students. However this common activity today was like climbing a colossally high mountain and collapsing at the top and wondering how was I going to get down.

With that said, however I am not disheartened because I did learn 2 new songs and sing in front of over 300 people. Something I would never have been able to do a month ago.

Yes, there is slow progress but progress like the concussed scientist, Mark of Idaho said and the many others too. And I hold and treasure that as I continue this journey of understanding the new me.

I too am exploring other avenues of teaching, not necessarily for right now, but for the future. It is my passion and I guess even sharing in this forum is a way of teaching only different.

This forum continues to strengthen me and gives me advice for questions I don't get answered anywhere else.

As I go forward, my hope is that the skills I have, will be used. However I have given up, the how they may be used. I truly believe that life will provide a new way for me to teach, for I am being taught now in a new way.
This life is a mystery... I am grateful I am alive.

From one teacher to another....

Peace
Grady Lady

Grady Lady,

Thank you for your beautiful reply. I am (have been) an elementary school teacher. And teaching is also my passion. But right now I do not have the energy to do it. The fatigue is the worst thing about this. It never leaves. I still hope that may change, but I can only trust that somehow I will be guided in the right direction.

How brave of you to learn the songs and sing them at the funeral. But I well know the price you have to pay whenever you overdo things.

Your words are truly inspiring. Thank you for writing.

I do believe that you will find a way to teach in some way. It is such a part of my being, and, I am sure, yours as well.

Be well.
Shelly

Fatigue and Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment
 

Hi Shelly,

I don't know whether this might help, but I tried Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT) about 2.5 years after my trauma, and my fatigue did improve quite a bit, to the extent that I can manage to work all day now. Of course, it may be that my fatigue was due to improve then anyway, so it's hard to say what was the result of the treatment and what was the result of the natural healing process, that needs time.

At any rate, I really wish that I had tried it earlier. I am curious to know if it would help someone closer to the start of their healing process. I think that it would be worth a go. If there is somewhere that offers it near you, it might be worth trying a few sessions to see if it helps with the fatigue. Let us know if you do.

Best of luck, and I hope you get some more of your energy back soon.

CS

What is cranial sacral therapy? Anything preceded by the word 'helped' I will certainly investigate. Thanks!

Here is a link from wikipedia....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craniosacral_therapy

sr10

Cranial sacral therapy is an alternative healthcare method that is based on the belief that the eight plates of the skull are movable. The belief goes on to diagnose and treat by attempting to move the plates back into proper position.

It is a common practice among Osteopathic Doctors. In fact, It is a required course in the osteopathic schools.

It goes on to treat the whole spine down to the sacrum. The spinal therapy is slightly similar to chiropractic or the manual manipulation practiced by some Physical Therapists. The spinal manipulations can be beneficial when done by an expert and gifted practitioner.

It is highly controversial to the point that one of the OD instructors at an OD college has written against it.

The research into its efficacy has been focused on the diagnostic portion of the practice. They had multiple CST practitioners diagnose the same subjects. There was very little in common between the different practitioners' diagnoses .

The main stream medical and anatomy community hold that the sutures between the plates of the skull fuse by 8 years old and become solid bone by mid 20's.

Some research suggests a placebo value of CST that may approach 60%.
The original developer of the Activator Method of chiropractic believes the cranial plates can be subluxated needing correction.

Once, an Activator trained chiro tried to adjust my cranial plates. I stopped him and did not return for a follow-up visit.

For those who can afford it and are also highly susceptible to suggestion, the placebo value may be worthwhile. I would still stay away from any attempt to move the cranial plates.

I am starting my second week of NUCCA chiropractic therapy. NUCCA stands for National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association. There is a parallel group called Atlas Orthogonal that is based on the same techniques. It was founded by the family of one of the two founding partners of NUCCA when that partner passed away.

I am hopeful but skeptical about the view of the NUCCA practioner who thinks NUCCA will cure most every ill. I just want my C-1 vertebra properly fitting with my skull. I have had chronic problems with my left occipital condyle getting inflamed and stiff. The occipital condyle is where the C-1 (Atlas) vertebra fits into the skull at the superior facets, one right and one left.

I have to honestly say the one thing that helped my fatigue very much.
Was that I had to add Iron to my life. A test found the need for it.

I don't know that my fatigue would have gotten better on its own.
So one of my suggestions is to have your primary doctor check your
iron. But remember to continue having it double checked.

Mine didn't happen right away, it took a little while..

And I can state that in my 29 year old son's situation. He was very
anemic, and adding large doses of iron. Changed him a lot.

So give it a try. The other thing I did was go to physical therapy for
my balance issues.

Donna:grouphug: