pcs!
 

Hi guys,

Just wondered if there is anyone out there who has fully recovered from a severe case of pcs? Ive had mine since aug 09 and now im starting to get desperate! Obviously ive had all the symptoms that come with pcs, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, fatigue, dizzeyness, balance, guilt, so on. Will i ever after 11 months of this suffering ever be what i was before the fall? I struggle inparticualy with tv/pc screens, also bright lights, moving to fast in one direction then the other... i.e prepairing tea going to the fridge to the cooker so on so on.... i dont want to sound selfish, been the fact that i can walk, talk and have all my faculties, i know there are alot of people that are in a worse situation then me, but when you look fine people start to question what is stopping you doing the normal things that you cant do...... i was very sporty, my job is a sport, and this pcs is stopping me working for a living, luckily im covered by insurance but that runs out soon and im not well enough to return to the job. I have seen numerous medics/ scans, and they all say that i will get better, im not too convinced! It would be nice to hear from someone who has recovered fully! Is that person out there?

Thanks, i could of elaborated even more but my eyes are hurting so im going, if you do respond, thankyou for taking the time to respond to my question. It is greatly appreciated.

humour,

Sorry to hear of your struggles. Lets see if we can help you.

The "recovered fully" condition is relative. The medical establishment seems to think recovered fully means the patient has stopped complaining about their PCS. Researchers have found that all concussion subjects have some lasting symptoms.

There are a number of things that you can do to help with recovery.

Proper brain nutrition is important. Before the concussion, the brain may have been able to function with "normal" or poor nutrition. An injured brain often needs a boost in nutrition. I am talking about B-6, B-12, folic acid, Omega-3's, anti-oxidants, limited caffeine, limited alcohol, etc. There a quite a few posts about brain nutrition.

Avoiding triggers to prevent relapse is also important. The sound and light stimuli need to be avoided so the brain can have a stress free environment to heal.

The best way to deal with PCS symptoms is individually. Other than nutrition and lowering stress, there are work-arounds and accommodations that can make the symptoms more tolerable.

I cannot make fast moves. It upsets my brain. I can not shake my head side to side as in "No." I have been this way for almost two decades. I have natural habits to turn my head slowly now.

Anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, guilt would benefit from a professional's help. If there are underlying issues from the incident that need to be resolved, that would likely help.

An important consideration is accepting the 'new' you, at least temporarily. Working with the brain you have now will reduce stress. Fighting against it will only increase stress and delay recovery.

Statistically, 10 to 20% of PCS sufferers have lasting symptoms. I have had memory problems for almost ten years. I have the noise and bright lights problems too.

Prior concussion and minor head impacts all can add up to cause lasting symptoms. I have 13 prior concussions and minor head impacts that add up to cause my PCS.

What sport do you do? Do you get banged around in that sport?

More information about you and your ongoing symptoms may help us help you.

My best to you.

warning...I'm starting to sound like a broken record here... :)

My daughter also received her injury in August 09. After seeing several specialists, including two neuro opthamologists, our regular, small-town eye doctor finally suggested vision therapy. We are on week 6 of a 12 week course of vision therapy and we are cautiously optomistic. She still has some issues, but nothing like before.

If you think it might help, you need to see an eye doctor who can test your ambient vision system...this is more complex than a simple 20/20 eye chart. Look for someone in your area associated with NORA. Also google "post traumatic vision syndrome" and read the series posted by "NeuroSkills". It's not necessarily complicated testing...it's actually quite simple. It's just that most eye docs don't do it for some reason.

In my daughter's case her midline of vision had shifted to somewhere over her left cheekbone, she couldn't walk a straight line, lines of text jumped when she tried to read, eyes weren't working in unison, etc. All of this while still scoring 20/20 on the basic eye chart. These problems can create panic attacks, vertigo feelings, etc., as your brain tries to make sense of what its seeing.

Vision therapy is hard work. We drive 250 miles one way, once a week, for therapy with the doc and then she does homework every day.

You may also find reflexology and accupressure helpful. The book "Brainlash" by Gail Denton explains the ambient vision system very well and suggestions for relieving the strain of simply trying to see.

All the best to you.