Alternative Treatments
 

Does anyone have any experience with alternative treatments such as accupuncture, homeopathic, etc.?

I'm four months into mTBI w/ intercranial bleeding from a concussion and PCS.
Most of the symptoms that seem to be common to the posters here apply to me as well.

My doctors (neurologist, neuropsychiatrist, etc.) all think it's a great idea until I press them for referrals or past experiences. I think that they are afraid due to medical guidelines or insurance issues.

Any positive (or negative) experiences would be appreciated.

I had some acupuncture last year off and on for about six months, mostly at the back of my neck. It seemed to relieve some muscle tension in my neck but I didn't experience any major miraculous healing.

Before you seek and spend money on alternative treatments, it will be worthwhile to consider what symptoms you want to are treat.

There are no broad spectrum treatments for PCS. Individual symptoms are usually addressed individually.

I had iicp from a concussion for about six months - it makes me think of the bleed you suffered from.

I had some acupuncture for several months and it helped me a lot with the pain. I think it worked a lot better than the narcotics I was prescribed, but my Dr. and acupuncturist both said that it works differently for everyone.

I see a chiropractor once a month. I was seeing him weekly for months though, I had to until my muscles were able to hold all my joints etc into place better like they used to (6 months of iicp made all my muscles atrophy).

I am currently experimenting with homeopathy. I read an article that researched its effects treating people with PCS and the conclusion was that it would be worthwhile to do more research about it. It was conducted by a reputable Western Medicine source. I intend to post a link to the article in the sticky at the top of the forum one of these days... I've noticed some good things since I started, but I'm doing so many things, I can't say which are really helping and what's helping more than time for me - it's been 20 months or so since the accident I was in that gave me the mTBI... so it could just be time and the fact that my physical health is improving.

I also recommend tai chi, yoga and meditation. I consider those all to be "alternative" practices as well, but I find them very beneficial. I meditated and practiced yoga before the accident.

I also take BCAA's as a supplement. I found some research articles that indicated they might help people heal faster from a mTBI. I put that article in one of the threads stickied to the top of the forum.

My acupuncturist also recommended that I take CDP Choline,
Phosphatidylserine and D-Ribose and my neurologist approved all of them too.

Alternative Treatments
 

After 4 months, the symptoms that I'm dealing with are headaches, generally daily for the majority of the day. I've had headaches of differing severity since day one of the concussion. They tried Tylenol w/ codeine in the hospital, then elevated to dilaudid and ibuprofen. After twelve days inpatient, they sent me home with a script for those and told me to follow with my GP. After a follow up at 3 1/2 weeks with the neurologist that treated me inpatient, I was referred to a concussion specialist neurologist. He stopped those drugs and told me to take just Tylenol and prescribed Depakote as a prophylactic for the headaches. I did two runs of prednisone of increasing dosages. Neuro was concerned about "rebound" headaches fron so much pain killers. They helped somewhat at the start, but didn't last. He then prescribed Tramadol and amiltrityline. He then told me he thought the rebound headaches were the true cause. I haven't taken any pain killers of any kind for over a month. I have headaches everyday. Generally severity increases the more I try to do. Sometimes they get worse for seemingly no reason.
I also have focus / concentration problems, short term memory problems, am easily distracted and can't seem to complete tasks. I get easily irritated and my emotions are not always as controlled as I would like. I have sensitivity to bright light and get easily overwhelmed by too much information or crowds.

I highly recommend trying acupuncture - if you can get a recommendation to someone good. I have been seeing a really skilled acupuncturist for 6 months. It has made a difference in my headache experience.

I decided to go for acupuncture, because I was getting week-long migraines, and I just couldn't take it anymore. I also was not able to tolerate the preventative type meds that the doctors tried. They all made me sicker than before.

I still get headaches, but no more week-long episodes. Most of the time the headaches are more bearable. However, if I have a lot of stress or if I overdo things, I can still get a migraine. But I can control it better, and I take less medicine.

I do highly recommend acupuncture. It is the only thing that truly helped me. I have gone into my acupuncturist and told him that I felt a migraine coming on, and he has totally gotten rid of it.

Best of luck to you.
ShellyK

Just like the others said....I highly recommend acupuncture. It does wonders for the headaches. Acupuncturists are looking at your problems from a completely different perspective than Western Medicine doctors, so they are looking to treat your entire self....not just the headaches. It does take time for you to see long lasting results, you need to be consistent in getting treatments whether thats weekly or biweekly. it helps calm you down, helps with anxiety, and really relaxing.

Also, I had nurse friends of mine doing Healing Touch on me when i was working and having bad headaches. Its an energy therapy that is similar to reiki....and even acupuncture (except no needles). The idea is that there is a blockage or congestion of chi (or energy) that needs to be released in order for the body to heal and operate normally.

I took a weekend class for Level 1 Healing Touch and learned how to do it to myself as well as make friends with others in the class who could practice on me. I completely turned my symptoms around from being constant to barely ever having them. I am about to take Level 3 in 2 weeks so i am learning more advanced stages and i do treatments on my patients in the hospital. All of them experience deep relaxation, less pain, less anxiety, and more positive outlook. There are 5 levels total.

You can find a Healing Touch practicioner at www.healingtouchinternational.org

I also do yoga, see a chiropractor, and take chinese herbs made for me by my acupuncturist (who is also an herbalist).
I take 80mg Nortriptyline at night and occasionally take fiorinal or tylenol for any headaches that pop up in between....which is only a couple times a week....or i do healing touch on myself and get rid of the headaches that way.

Good luck in your search for alternative treatments!

Have you considered any chiropractic treatment?

I'm seeing an upper cervical specialist...or, NUCCA.

It gives me great relief from my cognitive symptoms and anxiety. I don't experience any pain but I've heard first hand from a couple people saying it relieved them of headaches.

I never experienced any back or neck pain...so I didn't think i was messed up. The X-rays that they took of me told a different story. I'm glad I found NUCCA and look forward to my appointments.

I can't guarantee it will work for you...but it's worth a try.

http://www.NUCCA.com

P.S. Someone here has had success with Healing Touch. I'm considering trying it soon.

I am also on board with energy healing. I get Reiki and other modalities of energy healing given to me. (I'm an energy healer, so I have a lot of friends who do it.)

Healing Touch is usually approved by insurance and practiced by RN's.

I recommend energy healing to people who aren't dealing with brain injuries and those who are too.

Thanks to everyone that replied. I'm looking into the accupunture locally. Insurance probably won't cover.

I had a Healing Touch practitioner call on me while I was inpatient. I thought that I felt some relief, but I was on so many drugs at the time and my memory is so spotty from the first month following the concussion.

I'm trying to locate this practioner, but haven't had much sucess as yet.