Your expert opinio/advice required
 

HI all!

5 weeks today I fell from my mountain bike, fell on my head/face and was unconscious for 10mins till ambulance arrived, Then was in/out of consciousness till hopsital where I was given a CT scan and all Normal.

The past few weeks I have been feeling "dreamy" like living a really realistice dream, not feeling myself at all, I went back to work at start of week 3, but lasted 2 days before breaking down and going home, the following week i made it a full week, but a day looking after my two kids (4 months and 4year) I went shopping with the family and had a break down again... so I continued to wake up not feeling myself, back into the dream...

Now I seem to be able to function normally or so it seems, but when doing things, it doesn; feel like it's how I would carry it out, like i'm on some sort of auto-pilot, and seem ok to others, but it doesn't feel real to me.

I don;t have the headaches, dizzyness, nausea or any other physical sysmptoms, but feel low and get frustrated easily, with some anger....

Just wanna be me again, for the sake of my wife and kids...

Help me. Any advice appreciated

Love and peace,

Dom x

goodness!
 

Oh my, you were unconscious for 10 minutes?

I understand your "dreamY" feeling. When my dizziness might be coming back or my symptorms flare up, I feel like I am in kind of a dream world too -- I don't know how to describe it, but it's akin to light headedness.

I really hope you get checked out by an MD.

Did you have a CT scan? Not that they show anything for PCS, but it would show if there were bleeding ((I think))

It sounds to me like you have PCS --

Check out the vitamnins etc stickie thread at the top. That is one proactive thing you can do to help yourself and then get rid of the stress in your life which means no screens, TV, reading, etc.

I will let others weigh in here.

Good luck

PM

The Vitamin link offers very good information for Brain Health supplementation.

Brainlink.org offers very good information about Concussions and information for you , family and professionals.

There are many things about Concussions, PCS, and mTBI that are possible.

There are many things still being researched.

We have all had some sort of injury, varied degrees of injury and recovery and relapses, happy changes and sad changes.

We are sounding boards for each other, we vent to each other.

We'll listen or we'll sound off.

Let us know what you are doing, how you are feeling, some of our older posters pop in and proffer much advice, some others give their experiences with the newer things out there.

Are you seeing a Neurologist, a Physiatrist, self care, trying things on your own; what rest are you getting; receiving therapy?

10 minutes is a long time being unconscious - did you spent overnight in hospital - with that 'dreamy' state of mind, they let you go home? no observaton?

Was your neck evaluated? Have you any neck complaints?

No one can time a recovery period, I hope you understand that - each head injury is its own injury - everyone of them is different, singular to that person.


Best Wishes......... :grouphug:

Thanks for your replies...

I'm only going by what I was told... Don't remember a thing, and slept pretty much the first week...

I even made it through a kids birthday party today... Screaming kids and music and conversations left right and centre, was tired after it though...

I'm sorry for looking for a timeline... Docs originally said 2-6 weeks! I had a promising career and need to get back to work again and be here fully for my kids...

So I have none of the physical symptoms, possibly tinnitus... But having a few of emotional symptoms but these are getting better, but was in bed at 7:30 pm on a Saturday night lol...

Just been trying to rest as much as poss, sleep as much as poss, hard with a teething 4 month old... Napping on sofa etc... I'm having moments when I feel my old self but then it fades into my other reality...

Just want to be my old self again, realise now I had the perfect life... I was capable, and would throw my hand at anything and was very practical, feel useless... Even ironing a shirt, it doesn't feel like I'm doing it the way I would do it...

Is it still just concussion... Is it my mind playing tricks do I need to put it straight? I'm really trying to keep a positive mental attitude, especially when I see glimpses of me ;-)

As the mother of three boys, I can attest to the difficulty of trying to parse out normal stresses of young children, the aftermath of mtbi/pcs, and the endless doubts from the tracking of triggers to avoid relapses common with pcs.

Your dream state sounds like the brain fog or mechanical motions that we go through with pcs. We often feel adynamic and passive, even though we are doing things, we do it at a default or unconscious state of motion.

You sound like you are trying to return to "normal" (work, home, health), but the slogan "it's a marathon not a sprint" from experienced forum posters should provide advice on going slow and resting often.

Your brain suffered trauma-even if the MRI, CT scans are clear. Each person's response will be a unique journey onto itself of juggling the demands of others and self-care.

The vitamin list, L-tryptophan, walking, ear plugs (even with children around), sun glasses, much rest, no multi-tasking, daily notes/schedules, prism glasses and small daily challenges have helped.

You will need to find professional and personal support to help you through this time. I think I would be back to work in 3 months-and now at 10 months my long term disability was just approved.

This forum has been so instrumental in my keeping hope and finding great advice. Be well!

Seeing a knowledgeable specialist is a good idea.

Rest (physical and mental) is a key component of recovery. This includes not only good-quality sleep, but also quality relaxation and stress-free time during the day. Your brain wants to recover; rest and low stress will give it a chance to do so.

Many people also find good nutrition and/or appropriate supplements (for example, vitamins, fish oil, curcumin) to be helpful.

Dom,

Its ok.

You are experiencing alot of what happens with concussions and PCS/mTBI.

Really read that Brainline link, it offers quite alot of information.

Try to check thru the threads, there are others with more information about Executive Disconnection Syndrome, etc. which may also be some of what you may be experiencing.

You sound to have a good team of folks working with you - Neurologist, Physiatrist, PT, OT, Speech Pathology, NeuroPsych.... keep them involved and actively working with you as you can.

<< Yes it is a Concussion, and PCS - it is thought that the Brain's Plasticity allows for a process of reworking pathways, remodeling (if you will ) the injured axons to reroute the signals of what is to be a new response pathways, it will take time, time , time - flashes might be part of that, won't be consistent, will be different, can be confusing - who knows........no one really.....its one of the reasons you will hear everyone saying: REST, free of stimuli, REST.

You cannot rush the process, thus berkeleybrain's slogan note " its a marathon, not a sprint" .

Best Wishes............ :grouphug:

Dom,

Actually, the research shows that there is no direct connection between length of LOC (Loss of Consciousness) and severity of the injury. Ten minutes does sound like a long time but the medics were able to arouse you when they arrived. I would not worry about those 10 minutes.

You are still early in your recovery. Being anxious about your mental senses is not productive. Try to find some very simple stimuli to keep your brain active. I suggest activities that are limited by manual functions. The hands have a limit to how fast they can function. This speed is very appropriate for an injured brain.

Playing card games (Solitaire) or other games with more manual effort than mental effort will be good. Crafts can be helpful. Learning to knit or sew can be beneficial. The objective is to do things that are not impacted by this mental fog.

Watch the "You Look Great" You Tube video series listed at the bottom of the Vitamins sticky. It will help you and your family understand your condition. Take life slow. Don't try to push through the fog. Instead, find activities to be busy with even though you are in a fog. Try to find activities that change often so you do not feel stuck on autopilot.

And, please feel free to share anything with us. There are lots of great people here.

My best to you.

Hello DomRidd
 

Hello and Welcome to Neuro Talk. You found the best site for information and to help you through the TBI injury. I am sorry that happened to you. Many folks here have this injury. All varry with symptoms, duration, and therapies. I hope alot of folks will chime in and try to help. I have read alot of posts about this, but do not suffer from this myself. I want to greet you, and say a warm hello, and to tell you there is always hope for a full recovery. There will be alot of ideas to help you through this. The dreamy like state has been mentioned many times as a result of the TBI. Welcome to this site, and feel at home. Since it is a holiday weekend, there may be a little delay with alot of people responding to you. I hope you get well soon, so that you can continue to be feeling normal for your family. ginnie:hug::grouphug:

Dom,

From my own experience in the UK, doctors have little sympathy or understanding of the consequences of a head injury. Have a look at the Headway site which have local support groups. Also have a look for the UKabif they have quite a lot of information.

Open spaces, crowds, bright lights, kids, tiredness, emotions are quite common things we all find difficult. We also find that symptoms come and go as we are on the road to recovery.

It truly is a rollercoaster - so hold on tight :winky: