100% Recovery?
 

Hi,

Just curious if anyone has experienced a concussion and PCS and then has made a full recovery?

And, not to trivialize anyone's experience or symptoms, but I mean 100% recovery. Like how one recovers from a paper cut - no lingering symptoms, no good/bad days, the only reminder they have of their concussion is the memory of the event.

I'm just approaching 11 months of my PCS and I have not noticed a measurable change in symptoms since day 1.

If you have experienced 100% recovery, please let us know what type of PCS symptoms you did have, how severe they were, and how long it took you to recover.

Some people will appear or even claim to recover 100% in function. The truth to this claim is that the concussed brain will always show evidence of the concussion, especially during stressful times.

It is very possible to recover in function in such a way as to be able to resume all activities that were done previous to the concussion. The likelihood of a second concussion causing more serious symptoms with a longer period is greatly increased.

The tests like ImPACT and others do not test to a deep enough level to identify the persistent symptoms.

It is like a newer car that can do highway speeds easily and even pull a trailer at highway speeds with no problems. Later, after thousands of miles of wear and tear, the car can still easily do highways speeds but may struggle to due highway speeds pulling a trailer and will likely overheat trying to do so.

The concussed brain loses its tolerance for stress but can often perform at high levels when stress is low. This is why there is so much need to learn to control stress after a concussion.

One of my concussion symptoms effected my ability to be a pilot. I developed and intolerance for sustain time at altitudes in the 10,000 to 12,000 range. It manifest as very mild head aches but very serious cognitive difficulties when I needed to make quick decisions about entering congested airspace and landing patterns, etc.

What symptoms are you struggling with the most?

I have a friend who had PCS for around 3 months and has made a 'full recovery'. He works in a stressful job, drinks a lot, doing stupid stuff and falling over a lot when he's drunk, and it doesn't seem to bring back his symptoms. Hopefully it'll stay that way though I do worry for him obviously. And yes I do warn him about it.

It gives me hope that I, who have no intention of drinking or falling over, will be able to make a similar 'full recovery'. Whatever else, I'm certain that any concussion makes you more susceptible to future impacts, however good or normal you feel.

Those who have a lower standard of achievement often overlook their symptoms. They often overlook their inadequacies as a whole. They are the ones who oftentimes never complain about their concussion symptoms, maybe because they do so many different things, such as getting drunk, doing stupid stuff etc. that their threshold of normal is set quite low.

It is well know in the concussion research community that those with higher standard of achievement and intelligence are far more aware of their concussion symptoms. I think of it as a sort of "Got to keep a Ferrari tuned up but a Ford Escort can go on with very little maintenance."

Having been hung over once in my life, I can easily compare PCS symptoms to being hung over. Someone who is used to being hung over from time to time would barely notice PCS symptoms.

Airmaster-

Neuro told me I might never get back to 100% of where I was.
I like to say 97% is the new 100%.....I'll take 97.

i pray. We will recover :)

I know better after observing the slow deterioration after each concussion. I look at recovery differently.

I focus on gaining the skills needed to return to functions similar to my functions before my head injury.

If we expect our brain to return to normal, we will be disappointed over the long haul. If instead we set a goal to better ourselves so we can do the things we want to do, we will have less discouragement.

I know that I will never be able to read and process fictional writing or overly descriptive writing. I also have lost my ability to spontaneously speak with eloquence. I can write very well because I have the opportunity to reread and edit my writing. I know others with PCS/TBI who have the same struggles. They can write well but struggle to speak at the same level.

Verbal memory and processing struggles do not stop one from living a full life. We can learn to overcome most of the prolonged limitations so we should be willing to take on these challenges regardless of whether we will ever recover to the extent hoped.

Thanks for asking! We all need succcess stories to keep our hopes up! I am better than I was, and I know I will imrpove some more. It has been hell, of course, especially for the first 14 months. The last two months have been better...

I think there are some great success stories, and everyone is different.

Hang in there...you will improve. keep thinking neuroplasticity, and do everything possible to help your brain!

I imagine it depends on what happened to you pre-injury, the extent of the injury, what part of the brain was hit, and how you set about your recovery/rehab. No head/brain injury is ever the same, so all these factors influence outcomes.

There is definitely hope
 

A very good friend of mine had two separate severe tbi's, and she is now a fully functioning, athletic yoga instructor/office manager, with two kids and a very full, rewarding life. I don't know that she would say she's 100 percent better--I'll have to ask her--but if not, I'd still say that she's functioning better than a lot of people who haven't had tbi's. It is possible, and I believe that I will get better with more time and therapy.

I have totally recovered my cognitive function and my horrible headaches are gone (knock on wood!), so now I am just struggling with eye-related dizziness and photosensitivity. I'm going to a neuro-optometrist for therapy, so I am very hopeful it will help me recover fully.

If you think about it, I bet there aren't a ton of people on this forum who've completely recovered because they've completely recovered. A site like this is for people who are actively struggling and need support. :Good-Luck:

I can honestly say that I have fully recovered. I know that Mark says no one can recover 100%....but I truly believe that I have. I havent had a headache in months and that was my last symptom that I had only occasionally after I passed my one year mark. But my first 9 months were definetly the hardest and I suffered from multiple symptoms. I attribute my healing to good nutrition, resting, Healing Touch treatments, acupuncture, taking my medicine regularly (when I was prescribed medicine), yoga, positive thinking and hope. My best to you all. :)

I would suggest that many who have left here have recovered enough to get on with their lives. This is no different than those who discontinue seeing a doctor except that doctors often discount concussion symptoms causing patients to leave due to frustration or disgust.

We do have people who come back from time to time and tell us about their continued improvement. Many have learned ways to overcome residual struggles that they still have. If you learn to work around many symptoms, stress is reduced and the rest of the recovery comes easier.

I was reading about rehabilitation for more severe brain injuries. Many are released from rehabilitation when they are just arriving at our worst levels. They get released to continue recovering with family and if finances and insurance allow, outpatient therapists.

I would just like to say that it is very helpful to hear from people recovered and near recovered, it gives others with PCS symptoms hope. I will hopefully be another who can come here in future to offer words of encouragment once I am healed.

Is it possible to recover 100 percent?
 

Hi friends,
I think it is possible to recover 100 percent for people who have had one concussion or have a more minor injury. I have passed out at least 8-10 times and hit my head on concrete (diagnosed as hypoglycemia) I have fallen forward a few times instead of straight back and hit my face on concrete. After the first one or two concussions I was able to recover enough to function normally and have a normal life with the exception of migraine headaches. That is something you can learn to work around in life if it is only happening a few times a month. It still disrupts a life though. After 5 concussions I had to work real hard to appear normal and was cutting things out of my life like crazy. It was so exhausting to be normal enough to hold a job that was all I was doing. After being hit and knocked out in a MVA in 2006 , I suffered such severe amnesia and problems that I have not lived anything resembling a normal life since then and symptoms have not improved. I do not know how to live like this. I am hopeful that I have found my way finally to a person (Neuropsychological Testing) who can help me to adapt to the new life I now have. I do not think I will recover. I think there are others on here who will not recover. But I do think we can maybe have a full life despite it. I think there is great hope for many on here to recover enough that they don't notice it and it does not disrupt their life completely.
Sorry if this is upsetting to some. It is my honest opinion with the experience I have lived.
Brain

What does 100% recovery really mean?
 

Interesting question in that all significant life events, positive or negative, benign or traumatic, change us in some way.

My injury wasn’t a concussion per se; it was categorized as moderate to severe TBI (GCS 11) which required craniotomy surgery and a two month hospital stay. After six months of inpatient and outpatient therapies I was evaluated by a clinical neuropsychologist and there were no residual cognitive deficits. So have I recovered? 100%? By this definition yes. That said, in some ways I’ve changed, becoming more emotional in some ways, and more self aware and compassionate in other ways.

:grouphug:

It is incongruent to say that people with just one concussion recover 100% but people who had suffered more than one, maybe multiples have less than 100% recovery. The reason those who have multiple concussion have less than 100% recovery is because each consecutive concussion leaves the brain with less tolerance for future impacts and minor ongoing concussion symptoms. Research shows this second point to be true. Those ongoing concussion symptoms are usually only noticeable during times of stress.

Those who have learned to moderate stress recover the most because this lower stress level prevents many symptoms from manifesting.

nightnurse and others likely have made changes in their lifestyle and environment that make these stress related symptoms almost never manifesting.

This is why I emphasize the need for stress reduction as a life style change. The research shows the value to stress reduction as does my 45 years of the ups and downs of post concussion syndrome.

If you have access to the research of Elizabeth Gronwall of New Zealand (her full research is published in a book that costs $80 ), you will better understand these issues. A past NT member was a patient of hers before Dr Gronwall passed away from a brain aneurism in about 2006.

My point is that we can, by lifestyle and environmental changes/choices, recover to very high levels during the early stages of concussion with a need to reduce any further concussion risk.