New here, 9 mos PCS
 

Hello,

9 months ago, I had what was a seemingly innocent fall here at my home. I went to sit down on my couch - acutally it was more like "plopping" on my couch - and hit the back of my head against a shelf that sits slightly above the couch. It hit hard enough that my husband, who was sitting in the room adajacent to the couch, heard the wall reverberate and of course was concerned.

There was no loss of consciousness, but immediately I had pain that started from the top area of my head and went down my neck into my shoulders. I remember later that day wondering if I had actually hit my neck instead of my head, but I had a big goose egg to remind me that it was in fact an intial blow to the head.

The next morning I saw my primary care who basically told me to "take some advil". A week & some horrific pain later, I ended up in the ER getting a CT scan and MRI, both of which were negative, but still no one even mentioned the possibility of a concussion do to the "minor" nature of my injury.

Over the course of the first month my body went into shock...I lost alot of weight, was unable to sleep, became highly anxious, had body tremors, constant ringing of the ears, light & sound sensitivity, vertigo, not to mention a great deal of excruciating head & neck pain. I ended up back in the ER - finally to be told "you probably have a concussion" and "there is nothing else we can do for you".

It was at that point I began my journey with numerous specialists - a nuerologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist, chiropractor, pain management dr, etc. All medical tests were coming out normal, yet everything that was happening to me was far from normal, and my emotions began to take a huge tumble towards a deep depression.

Meanwhile, different drs were prescribing different meds, some that truly made me far worse than I already was, others just simply not helping in anyway. I honestly thought I was in a living hell.

I have been a lifelong sufferer of allergies and have had 2 sinus surgeries, and after my concussion, I ended up with a massive sinus infection that would not go away and ended up being resistant to several very strong antibiotics. The combination of head pain from trauma along with a massive bout of sinusitis was horrific.

All this time, I became emotionally removed from everyone around me, which is far from the norm for me, a usually outgoing person! I know that my children are what kept me going, but I was functioning on auto-pilot, and it really concerned me.

A huge turning point was early this spring when I began seeing a therapist who deals with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. It was the first time I felt as though I was taking some control back over what had been a very "out of control" situation.

For the last several months, I have slowly but steadily seen marked improvements in terms of pain, energy, and emotions, but there are those days and weeks when I over do it that it hits me like a ton of bricks and I simply have to pull back and do the bare minimum.

I am learning to accept that there are somethings about PCS for me that may never go away and that I need to continue to work with my body. It has been the most difficult personal situation I have ever encountered.

There truly are some days that I feel "normal" again, then others as though I am back at day one of PCS. I have a particularly hard time when I get sick or stressed, it is almost as though the physiology of my body has permanently changed in some way.

I believe I will always search for answers and/or ways to deal with PCS, but I am trying hard to take each day as it comes and enjoy the good ones when I can. I do appreciate each day and am even learning to find the humor in the bad ones!

Thanks for reading this long introduction :)

Nolefan

Nolefan,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear of your struggles. Glad to hear you are doing better.

For one who has run the gauntlet of PCS like many of us, you have done very well to come to the conclusions you have. Accepting your condition as at least a reality for the present is a great start. Approaching each symptoms one at a time is a great way to move forward.

btw, I so appreciate your short paragraphs. It makes it so much easier to read. If this was a work-around that you learned on your own, you are doing great. It takes great insight and observation skills to break the myriad of symptoms into the individual ones.

As you find individual symptoms that you need help working around, be sure to post here. There are many here who have worked around many symptoms successfully.

Personally, I have many work-arounds, especially for my memory limitations. I have been dealing with PCS for so long that many work-arounds are just a normal way of life now.

Let us know how we can help.

My best to you.

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your kind welcome. Wow, I cannot begin to imagine the road you have walked after reading your bio. I commend you for putting one foot in front of the other and marching forward, no easy task!!!

The short paragraphs - well, I tend to be VERY wordy but since PCS I have had issues with reading too much info at once, hence, the shorter paragraphs - which I see alot of folks do on this board as well :-)

I will most definitely post and appreciate the encouragement. The acceptance part is a work in progress for me. Some days I feel very much at peace with it, others I entertain my own little pity-party!!

It is SO nice to know that I am not alone in my experiences that PCS has brought into my life. I really look forward to learning from others.

Take care,

Nolefan

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for your warm welcome. This message board seems very active and full of excellent real-life experiences, which is what I am looking for.

Wow, I read your bio and really my hat is off to you for all that you have endured. It gives me great hope that each day is different and potentially a bit better than the one before.

PCS has truly changed me and I hope to learn and share with others about this unexpected journey life has thrown my way.

Oh, the short paragraphs - since PCS my eyes get VERY tired when reading, so I figured that others might have similar issues here...not too mention I have been known to be a bit wordy, so it helps in that way as well!

Thanks again and take care,

Nolefan

Sorry for the multiple posts.....I wrote the first one, hit reply, then didn't see it post, so I wrote another one....just read that posts are approved by a moderator first :)

If I've learned one thing with this, it's that vitamin D (sun exposure) makes a big difference. I blame all those skin cancer scare mongerers for telling people to avoid the sun. Get out in the sun, eat oily fish, and take a vitamin D supplement, and report back on how you feel. It's making all the difference for me.

You must live in a temperate zone and perhaps in northern hemisphere. There are reasons the "scare mongerers" tell some of us to avoid the sun ... Actually they don't tell us to avoid the sun completely. Just certain times of the day and to check the UV index.

from the melanoma capital of the world ... :(

Yeah, I'm in Ireland, cold, dull, wet. I've noticed a massive improvement just from sitting out on a sunny day and eating Vit D foods. Huge improvement.

I've noticed loads of people with extended issues seem to be in cold weather countries, like Canada. I never hear of soccer players getting this, and they pick up a fair share of head knocks. I usually play, but just haven't been active this year. After a cold winter, I guess my vit D levels were really low and it made me susceptible to even a mild concussion (no LOC, no amnesia, basically got my bell rung).

I think the sitting in the dark waiting for PSC to pass is counter productive. I've been feeling pretty close to normal since I stopped doing just that.