Hi, got PCS and a bit scared
 

Hi there everyone!
I wanted to get in touch with some people who can understand what I'm going through at the moment.
6 weeks ago I came off backwards from my bmx quite hard and had a mild concussion which involved me being confused and disorientated for about 15-20 minutes after which time I regained my bearings and was coherent again. I also experienced a strange feeling that I was dreaming while awake and had intense deja vu. I don't remember much about those 15 minutes. It left me feeling a bit weird, tired and with a headache and neck pain.
I'm English and I was in Germany at the time, embarking on a new life for myself in an new and exciting place. However a few days after the injury I started to experience periods of acute stress, anxiety and depression. I just didn't feel 'right' and I became worried that I never would again so I got a plane back to my parents. I had a CT scan which thankfully came back clear and all my cognitive, balance and memory functions were fully intact.
6 weeks on and I still feel distant/foggy/detached/tired and certain mental processes are a strain eg. calculations involving times, mathematical relationships. In the evenings, watching TV, chatting I feel like there's nothing wrong but when I go outside into a large open space or somewhere new I get this foggy feeling back.
I'm 28, normally very physically and mentally active and am finding it hard to deal with the state I'm in. I know how important it is to remain positive and that there are many people who have PCS much worse than I do. I wondered if anyone has any suggestions for therapies to speed up my recovery or any similar stories. I do feel I'm getting better, just very slowly.
Any words would be greatly appreciated!

Ben,

I'm in a similar boat. Same symptom base (anxiety/depression/foggy, better at night while watching TV/hanging out) I am also very active and sustained my concussion while skiing. (no loss of conciousness or memory...foggy afterward)

I also had to get on an airplane and move away from my dream ("pro" freeskier-living in Jackson) back to my parents house, so I totally understand what you are going through.

The reality is you may be better in a month, you may bet better in 11 months...but at our ages (I'm 23) we should get better eventually...it's just a big waiting game.

I've tried everything under the sun to try and speed recovery, maybe it's heped, maybe it's just made me feel like I'm doing everything and THAT helps....who knows.

Regardless, just be greatful you should recover, don't stress, realize this is a short window of time in your life. Reorganize your life's goals and priorities in this time. Take a deep breath...

I suggest perhaps going to see your doc about him perscribing some Ativan or Xanax (i suggest ativan). It'll help you deal with the following month(s) anxiety you'll get when your brain is overwhelmed.

I'm trying SSRIs in place of Ativan (SSRIs are more long term...Ativan/Xanax is an acute anxiety med) and so far they seem to be helping only very mildly.

Sleep a ton, try and stay a bit active (as long as it doesn't provoke symptoms) and take it easy!

Thanks for the response, it's nice to hear I'm not alone! All the best with your recovery.

Weirdly, I feel like I made quite a big step today. I've been feeling more positive the past few days, the depression is becoming less frequent and milder (my best friend made the trip across the country to see me when he heard I wasn't well which I'm sure was a boost) and I suddenly started to feel much 'clearer' this afternoon. Not 100% but much better than I was a week ago. It's nearly half ten at night and writing and looking at the computer screen present no problems! I actually KNOW that I'm getting better now, which itself I believe will speed my recovery. And for the first time in 6 weeks I'm looking forward to tomorrow as a day to enjoy rather than another day to get through. Even if I do go back 'under' tomorrow at least I know I'm moving towards the surface.

Hi Benjamin, sorry to hear about your accident. I agree with everything JJ 0909 has said above. I know its hard, but you will have to avoid all stress, rest and sleep lots until you are better. Avoid too much stimulation. The easier you are on yourself now the better the outcome.

Good luck, Lynlee

Glad to hear about some improvement. In my son's case it was two steps back with every three steps forward. Just take it slow and let your body heal. Good luck to you!!

I'm taking it easy. I'm often tempted to give myself a hard push as that's the way I've always lived (and why I'm in this state!!) but I'm holding back and trying my best to be patient. One thing I have found very helpful is drawing. I've always done it a lot and it takes almost no concentration if I just let it happen. Another thing is laughter! I love the TV series 'extras' and when I watch it, my problems shrink and I feel uplifted, gotta be good. Thanks for the well wishes.

Sorry to hear about your accident Benjamin. Glad to hear that your condition is improving.

For me it is taking much longer than I thought to feel better. I also started doing sports way too soon and my symptoms came back so please be patient, rest and sleep lots and avoid stressful situations as the others have suggested. These things are helping me so hopefully they'll help you too.

I am starting to realise how important it is I take it easy and get lots of rest. Today I did a bit of work in the garden for my mum and got quite stressed by my dad blaming me for his computer not working and it pretty much took me out for the rest of the day. The problem I have is that my parents aren't' convinced I'm ill (actually nobody is), they just think I'm depressed, which I can be, very much so, but I'm depressed BECAUSE I'm ill and because I get scared I will never fully recover. I look normal, behave normal, talk normal but I feel really weird and bad sometimes and if they could experience this they'd understand and wouldn't try and get me doing things or stress me out! I should be telling them this....

Well I was a little premature in my vision of a quick recovery. I've been having trouble sleeping for a few nights (see new thread) and I now feel really lousy (fatigued/very foggy/detached and totally depressed).

JJ 0909, I really admire all your proactive efforts to find therapies and keep others informed. I wish my doctor was as good as you. So far he has suggested nothing, not even rest! It seems our experiences are very similar, I also suffered a mild concussion 7 years ago (I saw your thread on tetongravity). You can email me at aphextwinATNOSPAMyahoo.co.uk, it would be good to be in touch with someone who understands this place I'm in.

Benjamin,

I feel you brotha. I've the same way, I'm around your age too. I'm 3 months in and it is tough. I was very active prior to this injury, running 5 miles a day, swimming lots. I've never been as debilitated as I am now. It is a hard time. I am an engineer which is stressing me out further. I haven't slept in a whole month more than 5 hours a night if I'm lucky. I've seen the sunrise more times than I can remember. I finally have given into seeing a neurologist in hopes I can find some regimen to help with healing. I'm well aware of what is going on and what are the causes. The truth is I know I will never be the same. My goal is to get as close to as I was prior to my head injury inducing pcs. If I can get to 95% as good as I was, I'll be fine. The good thing is where young.

As far as what has happened, I think through all my research, and speaking with my father who is a surgeon, the situation is fairly simplistic in its explanation. Rest, patience, will to learn new things, stress relief and time are the ingredients to achieve healing. It is as if we have torn a tendon in the knee and want to play basketball again. First and foremost comes rest, then acceptance of the situation as it is. Then patience, to implement a new rehabilitation schedule. Don't overdo it and give it time. While that knee will never be 100% that doesn't mean you can't go back to being good at basketball. The brain has what some refer to as plasticity. I read (prior to the injury) an article in scientific american that referenced a study on aging. How some people are capable of retaining their memory's sharpness over long periods of time. The study had shown that people that are constantly learning new things that are unrelated tend to retain their cognitive abilities over a longer period of time. Even after concussions these people where capable of regaining most of their intellect back. The reason being is that with NEW thing we learn, that is theory suggests, new pathways in the brain are constructed between neurons and thus the brain has more pathways that can be used to construct new connections when other connections have withered. Because in essence brain damage from impacts is usually caused by shearing and stress forces that tear and crush your brain cells and the connections between them. The more pathways you have the better chance you have at finding new connections to overtake those deadened ones. That is why I know I will never be the same, but who ever I am now can still become sharp and concentrated. Hopefully this is the way for my recovery. I'm sorry for the length, I guess I've been holding this in. Take Care

E

Thanks but I don't agree. I WILL be 100% again. What is 100% anyway? How would you know that you were 100%? The statistics are that 99 percent of sufferers recover within a year. It's 2 months now and I'm getting the odd hour in the evening when I feel almost myself again and I'm generally improving. I'm going to be myself again by some point in the next 10 months. OK, when that happens I may not be as sharp as I was previously but I'll have spent a good few months with a concussion which is going to take its toll. But I'm still young and I've always been a very fast learner. In another year or two, I'll be back to full power, maybe sooner. Positivity is so important here, the injury may be physical but so much of the recovery seems to be psychological. I wish you full energy in your recovery. A lot of people have been through this and very nearly all of them have got through it and come out fine and in some cases I dare say stronger for it.

Hello enigmagnetic. I see you're fairly new to NeuoTalk, so I wanted to welcome you to the site.

I'm sorry to hear of your injury, and as another who's been there, I can certainly understand some of what what you're going through.

As you've already made your way here to the PCS Forum, please let us know if we can assist you in any way.

could you give us an update?

OK, Benjamin. I'm glad you're optimistic and this is certainly working in your favor. But don't get stuck on the "one year" mark. It may be the case that you're back to 100% by then, but it might take a little longer. It's not so precise. So, when you reach that one year, I hope you are fully recovered, but if you're not, that doesn't mean that you won't go further. My daugther, now 16, is now 2 yrs. 3 mo. post injury and it wasn't until about 3 months ago that we could finally breathe a sigh of relief and say, "She's going to live a normal life!" That's not to say that she's back to how she was pre-concussion, but she's damn near close to it and I'm optimistic that she'll continue to improve. And if she doesn't, she'll do fine as she is.

Hey Benjamin,

Experienced a similar situation whilst travelling in South East Asia when decidied to return home after a concussion. It is doubly hard when think about opportunities missed and also when people do not recognise your condition.

As depression and PCS is in part subjective and felt only by you, it can be frustrating explaining to friends and family the condition when MRI or CAT scans come back negative.

Ultimately I guess they are just as impatient for you to return back to your old self.

I had my fifth concussion, skiing, 5 months ago and still have neck pain and more floaters than usual. Work has been very difficult, though found that anxiety has had a debilating effect as much as the physical symptoms so have recently tried to focus on reducing that.

Becoming a lot more conscious of my posture, trying to be more assertive when speaking and realising that even if my brain is damaged, perhaps irreparably, that have to deal with it has helped.

The outlook for a mild concussion is generally very good and as enigmatic was saying this is, hopefully, a relatively small period of your life so good luck and hope you see a speedy and noticable improvement soon.

Hey Benjamin,

Experienced a similar situation whilst travelling in South East Asia when decidied to return home after a concussion. It is doubly hard when think about opportunities missed and also when people do not recognise your condition.

As depression and PCS is in part subjective and felt only by you, it can be frustrating explaining to friends and family the condition when MRI or CAT scans come back negative.

Ultimately I guess they are just as impatient for you to return back to your old self.

I had my fifth concussion, skiing, 5 months ago and still have neck pain and more floaters than usual. Work has been very difficult, though found that anxiety has had a debilating effect as much as the physical symptoms so have recently tried to focus on reducing that.

Becoming a lot more conscious of my posture, trying to be more assertive when speaking and realising that even if my brain is damaged, perhaps irreparably, that have to deal with it has helped.

The outlook for a mild concussion is generally very good and as enigmagnetic was saying this is, hopefully, a relatively small period of your life so good luck and hope you see a speedy and noticable improvement soon.