Some success after 2yrs
 

Hello all! I'm just dropping in after not posting since last September. My mTBI was on March 16, 2010 from a random accident involving my horse's hind foot, the ground and my head. (not a kick or I wouldn't be here still)

Overall, it was a VERY rough time for me because I didn't get in to see a Dr with any clue of how to help me until a year after the accident. Even they ended up referring me to the CT Brain Injury Assoc.

I did the neurocognitive testing which verified (according the neuropsychologist) that my results were consistent with a head injury.

A sports Medicine Dr told me to cut WAY back on my activity and rest more.

Went to a Speech/Cognitive Therapist who was very helpful in advising me in ways to organize, remember things, I think things that Mark here would call "work arounds". Insurance wouldn't help me pay for the sessions, so I was only able to go to a few appts.

I went from sitting in a room staring off into space everyday, slowly moving through every activity, being depressed (who wouldn't be after such a life change?), losing friends, jobs, making poor decisions (like driving and over committing myself to various things and then disappointing people when I finally realized that I couldn't do those things, not sleeping at night, etc etc) to...

Today, I can drive, work, have made new friends, don't have that foggy haze most days, memory is improving, thinking speed is improving, etc. Basically I've noticed something improved every 3-4 months.

I wish I could say I was fully recovered fully, I am not.

My advice to anyone who is interested (now that I am over the 2yr mark):

REST, REST, REST!!! This is the number one, most important thing! This can even mean NO activity, just resting in bed, move to the couch or comfy chair for the day and SLOWLY progressing from there. My brain rewarded me the more I rested and is key to avoiding my setbacks (that I still have, but only after doing too much!)

Drink plenty of water, get good vitamin support, fish oil capsules, clean diet.

Rest and asking for help with things you think only you can do. Really this resting thing is very important!! That means cutting back at work if you are not progressing, cutting back from taking care of the family (ask around for help) This was really hard for me, but once I listened to my body and asked for help and cut back at work, things started to improve and still do.

Once I cross some line of overdoing it, it all begins to come back (the foggy thinking, memory loss, slow processing, annoyed at sounds, tinnitus worse, etc.)

Right now I am back to needing a few days of "down time": limited activity, limited interactions with multiple people, brain rest and probably more water.

My life is so much better, but I have to always be aware of how much I am doing and though I'm feeling better, know the PCS is not "gone".

Bottom line: Rest and management are keys to some success with this.

Sorry if I rambled!!

eponagirl,

Great to hear from you.

Sounds like you have got a good understanding of how to continue on with your life. It sure makes a big difference when one accepts the struggles and chooses to work with them rather than against them.

PCS can be managed well, especially once you get others on the team.

I hope you can continue to improve. And in those areas where you seem to be stuck, that you can find ways to make lemonade out of the lemons.

My best to you.

Thank you for sharing you story gives me insite on the injury . Today I walked f0r 40 min and over did it and I'm foggy an have a headache migran. I will rest rest rest I'm 1 month into my second concussion in 4 months and I had 5-6 in my life. Thanks for the story .

Cjm,

Have you tried taking your walks with foam ear plugs in? It will help you hear the impact from a foot plant. Then, you can change shoes or gait or both to lower the impact forces from each step.

If you can walk on grass, it should be much easier on your head.

I'll try ear plugs and walking on grass and lower impact walking. Thanks

So glad to hear things are getting a bit better! And it's interesting to hear about rest.

I'm not good at that--resting. The post-concussive thing forced me to for a while, and I often still end up lying down on the couch, but i also force myself to work. I have to; I'm self-employed. But I've always worked really hard, and I don't like just lying there, and I struggle with depression. But...after reading your post, I'm going to try to listen to my body more and rest more when I need to.

I just came out of a week of hard work, and I am some dizzy and headachey and loss of balance and all that. A tiny bit fuzzy brained. I am taking the B-12 sublingual Esther's Doll mentioned which is helping...and I *know* I need to rest. But I have so much I need to do--but reading your post reminds me how important it is. I'm going to try to rest a bit more, today fully off, at least. Thank you.

I'm the same way in that I HATE resting. I want to move all the time. But moving makes me so much worse! So I literally am forced to rest. We (people recovering from brain injuries) are supposed to gradually increase our "activity" levels. (I put activity in quotes because it doesn't feel like actually being active AT ALL.) I am able to do a lot more than I could a year ago, but just trying to do much beyond half a day's work really knocks me down HARD. My cognitive functioning and speech start a significantly degrade and that makes me depressed.

My Dr.'s always getting on me about "pacing myself". It's just a necessary evil. I'm hoping it's temporary, but the accident I was in was almost two years ago, so it's hard to stay super hopeful all the time about it.

But there is a website/blog called Fight PCS or something like that and the author of it says she didn't start to feel normal again until year 4-5 after her injury. So I've been trying to keep that in mind.

Rest is the key to keep moving forward in this new life we all lead now. It is critical and for some, rest is most of the day... with some activity (like making food, doing light laundry, a short quiet walk) some day down the road, the day will be filled with more activity than rest, so don't worry about thinking this will last forever.

It will last longer the more you don't rest.

If you are having difficulties or have set backs, try to notice how much you may have been pushing yourself (it creeps up on you, believe me...rest is difficult for me too!)

It takes a long time, but hang in there everyone! Just do the best you can to keep learning about this.