Anyone else 1yr + with PCS?
 

My car accident which caused the concussion was over a year ago (8/11). But my doctors think that I may have been re-cussed when my car spun out on ice 6 months after the accident. My neurologist sent me to a neurophysiologist for testing recently, and now they want to send me back to cognitive therapy, again (already did that for the first 6 months after the accident).

I still have a major amount of headaches, neck, back and shoulder pain, insomnia, dizziness and sensitivity to light, to list a few...lol I am on pain meds, but they really don't help very much. Any more natural approaches that anyone has found that helps? Also, has anyone had any real results from cognitive therapy?

I am tired of not being me and not being able do the things I use to love to do... I am a single mom of 3 kiddos and at 32 I feel MUCH older. Any advice would be welcome! :D

Cognitive therapy does not have much of a successful track record. It appears to be recommended by those who profit from it.

Besides the pain, what symptoms are you seeking recovery from?

Your symptoms are a classic combination of whiplash and concussion. The upper back pain and such need a better physiotherapist.

Most therapists are constantly pushing for range of motion. There are some who use myofacial release to help the muscles and joints settle down to heal.

Have they been instructing you to ice the injured areas?

Your brain needs quiet rest. There are no other treatments that promote brain recovery. You can help it with good brain nutrition. My suggestions are posted in Patty's thread "Hello, New Here" Scroll down to my second post.

Hi Mark,

I am in PT once a week (and have been since the accident) for my shoulder. As well as 2x a week with my chiropractor. And you add cognitive therapy back in and it is a full time job! lol

After many tests they say I have TOS (nerve damage) in my shoulder. And now I am on to and ENT for the dizzyness (mostly when I look up and to the left). They have also said that an MRI of my neck would be good, but how much radiation can one person take? I have had 2 CT scans and 1 MRI on my shoulder already.

As for ice, yes, I ice A LOT! I try to not take the pain meds as much as possible. But when you feel like your head is going to explode with three kids, I find it almost impossible NOT to take them!

I will take a look at that thread you referred to...Thanks!

Brother I feel ya my wreck was in June of 2010 and I'm still suffering from PCS ...Nothing so far has helped ..

I am 10 months with pcs symptoms, nice to know its just not me

hillie1971,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. You have found a good place.

Please feel free to introduce yourself and tell us how we can help you. You can start your own thread with the New Thread link at the top left of http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum92.html.

My best to you.

Thank you. I started my own thread:)

my reply...
 

I am a little over a year post accident - a lot of symptoms cleared. Still dealing with headaches, sleep disturbance, anger,depression? severe neck pain\stiffness\radicular pain. Other ortho injuries.

My shoulders were also a problem - doc will say shoulder=neck pain, or neck = shoulder or both. Did you have MRI's of shoulder and of Neck???

Only way to see disc damage, torn rotator etc... You may have rotator cuff tear in and\or disc ruptures\protrusions in your c-spine.

All of the extra stress exacerbates your condition

Wish I could help. But anything I say will just depress you
Good luck

@hillie1971 No, your not alone. I felt alone in this also until finding this site!

@jinga I have had an MRI of my shoulder which showed bursitis and few other things, but nothing major. After having and EEG done I have TOS. My physical therapist wants me to have an MRI of my neck done...not sure about that yet.

@ NOS455..Don't give up. I'm sure that there is something that works, we both just need to find it..lol

@oldschool. Try me :)

I got knocked down on Sept 11' 2011. So over a year for me to. Who would have thought!? Hang in there. continuous growth and improvement is the goal!

Yes I did have MRIs and xrays, all negative. I did have bruised ribs which hurt like hell for about 3 months. Never had vomiting, plenty of nausea though. Lots and lots of dizziness / vertigo, especially with sudden movements, tilting my head back to look up, and when I lay down.

9 months here. Hang in there, you'll get there.

hillie1971
Do you see a chiropractor? Mine helps with my vertigo. Mine still wakes me up at night when I move..grr.

Yes, getting better is the goal and I feel better having found this place and knowing that I am not the only on going through a lot of this. I hate to complain to my friends and family cause I feel like they think I should be over this by now. And it doesn't help when I am told that only 5% of people still suffer from PCS after a year.

no I have not seen a chiropractor. maybe I will try that. the Vertigo wake me up at night to every time I change positions and I know what you mean about not wanting to complain to your family and friends. that is why I feel so alone and I knew I needed to find an alternative. and I had no idea that only 5 percent still have symptoms after a year. it seems that a lot of people on here are over a year so maybe the 5 percent are on this forum! haha OMG that is really crazy and a little disturbing huh

LOL! Maybe we are the 5%! That made me laugh..thanks for that!

Haven't posted in a while.

Yes. 2 years and 3.5 months.

Staying patient, but considering trying something medical- again. They don't need my $, and it seems they have little help.

Over 2 years? Holy cow, now I'm really scared. Good luck to you.

Thanks. Don't be scared, though. I always look to God for support, when I am fed up with this body.

Some people have had it much longer & worse than me. I don't have memory/cognitive/speech problems. But I have had chronic pain in the roof of my mouth (formerly the head/brain). And reduced ability to heal from other injuries.

Recovery depends on age, severity of injury, what kind of injury, what is done after the injury, etc.

I hope you recover well.

Amen to that.

I am 2 1/2 years into this. Definitely better than when it started but still a long way from what I was before.

Last, and "The Injury" - June 2010.

Kept working, keeping up within the rules for FMLA, etc. until April 2012, and things just got ahead of me, and I could no longer keep up, with every growing disconcertment.

Out of work since April 2012.

Ongoing problems.

Roadrunner63, right there with you on that! Still waiting to go back to normal too. It's been almost a year for me. Symptoms come and go but there is no rhyme or reason when they come and I think I may just lose my mind if this goes on for much longer :(

That metallic taste....does anyone know what I am talking about? I mean, after the accident, my taste was off for a few months, and then went back to normal. And it was only with certain foods. When I finally drank my first beer after the accident it tasted metallic. Very strange. Thought it was that particular beer so tried a different one. Same thing. Now, almost 11 months later, the metallic taste comes and goes but it's only with beer. It's very strange.

And I'm still not sure if I will be going to Disney in January. I don't want to waste the money if I can't go on any rides, not to mention paying for the plane ticket. I tend to get nauseous driving in a circle in the car. I always was prone to motion sickness but since my accident it is 10 times worse.
:Sigh:

hillie1971 : I am 3 and a half years. I don't want to spook you but hey it is halloween time. :)

Yes symptoms keep changing on a daily basis and some times hourly basis :) Doesn't matter if I overdo/underdo or do nothing. I just gave up on finding triggers and has some workarounds.

I had metallic taste but that was because I had olfactory damage (both smell and taste) and did have that metallic taste for some time. It improved a lot though after 2 years. I remember all ENT specialists asking whether I had metallic taste on back of the throat. May be you can check up with them. I assume you have no smell disorder.

Hillie, have you tried vestibular rehabilitation? Some physical and occupational therapists offer it, and it does have a decent track record in helping people with dizziness (it has helped me some). If you do get it, be sure to check into your insurance coverage; it is exorbitantly expensive and my insurance co. twice tried to deny my treatment, without justification. I appealed it twice and got it covered.

I'm at 20 months since my injury, 14 and a half months since a very bad relapse, and 10 months since a second relapse. I've made gradual improvement over the past 10 months, but I have a VERY long way to go.