Can high stress levels hinder PCS recovery?
 

Hi,

Just found this board and I am hoping it can shed some light on something for me. I am trying to understand if a high level of stress could be what is slowing my recovery to a pretty good knock on the noggin. Here’s some background:

I am 49 years old, male, in great physical shape (endurance athlete), non-smoker, and I barely drink alcohol (maybe a beer a week). Married 20 years, four kids (all teenagers), IT professional, college grad. About nine months ago (Nov 15, 2014) I took a pretty good spill off my bicycle. A jaywalker ran out in front of me at about 20mph. I somersaulted over the bars and went face first into a curb (at least that’s what I think happened based on the injuries to me and the bike). I was wearing a helmet but since it only had a small crack in it and no impact mark I don’t believe it took the hit. I broke my zygomatic bone in two places, my zygomatic process and shattered my sphenoid (as well as a broken front tooth, nine stiches in my lips and three broken bones in my fingers).

Amazingly, I had no damage to my eyes and after being checked out by a neurologist I was sent home. That said, the neurologist didn’t really speak to me and seemed to be in a rush to get to his ski house.

No one ever diagnosed me as having a concussion but all the symptoms sure said I had a pretty bad one. I went from a 5-6 hour a night sleeper to 10+. Four hours working left me with a headache. Blurry vision, dizziness, forgetfulness, etc. It was all there. My primary care physician said “rest,” but gave no guidelines. I didn’t work out for two weeks after the crash and didn’t ride outside for another six, then I got back into it slowly and safely.

So it’s been nearly 10 months and I still need much more sleep than ever before. I wake up groggy, my short term memory isn’t what it used to be and I still have trouble concentrating and focusing. I find myself more depressed than ever before and my irritability is through the roof. Mentally, I still feel like I’m in a cloud sometimes and while physically my cycling is OK, I’m inconsistent with strength and my fatigue levels are greater and longer lasting. I can work a full day without a headache, but I get them more frequently than before.

As for my stress level, in the six to eight months before my accident my wife had a break down resulting from severe OCD, depression, alcoholism, bulimia, anxiety and Borderline Personality Disorder towards me. This resulted in her being hospitalized twice for a total of five weeks leaving me to care for our kids while juggling a job that took me between Boston and NYC weekly. Once home, she was still suffering and was unable to work which put us in pretty bad financial shape. I will say I am pretty sure the stress I was experiencing before the crash played a part and I was riding “distracted” as normally I would have seen the jaywalker before she even stepped foot on the road.

Then, two months after my accident, I lost my job. While I was able to land another position within two months, the new job has more responsibilities and pressure but at least no travel. Things still aren’t much better at home with my wife and I feel like I am constantly on eggshells and my life is pretty much hell around her. Finally, our oldest child just started college and we’ve been struggling to come up with the financing for it.

Does anyone have any studies or anything to show that stress slows PCS recovery? Personal experiences? Suggestions on what to do?

Thanks,

E

Welcome to the board. You have a lot on your plate and I feel for you.
Stress definitely does affect the recovery process. Sleeping more is normal and most doctors not understanding the injury is unfortunately normal too. There is a vitamin and supplement thread at the top of the pcs board that you cant start to follow.
I hate to say something as simple as cut your stress, realizing the situation you're in, but it would certainly help.
Others will be along with more helpful suggestions and advice.

PCSupportGuy,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

I can not cite any studies but it is well known that stress slows recovery from a concussion. I wish I could offer suggestions but your situation is a big part of your struggles in my opinion. Do you have any family that can help out ?

Many of us do much better with a good vitamin and supplements regimen like that posted in the stickies above.

btw, If you wife is a similar age as you, she may need some serious hormonal help. My wife had me on egg shells at about 50 years old. She found a good women's hormone specialist and it changed both our lives. Most gyno's just throw a shotgun load of hormones at their patients. Here is a link to a referral source for hormone help. https://www.womensinternational.com/..._referral.html

My best to you.

Oh my.. you have a lot going on... I am sorry for everything you are going through... to answer your question

Yes, I was told today that stress can hinder recovery... I am also living it right now... I am staying with my parents in Dallas, 900 miles away form my "life".. husband, 3 kids, all in different activities... since I have been here... living a more stress free life my headaches have decreased, not gone but gone down for sure, this in return has helped me concentrate on finding the proper cognitive therapy I need...

I would say talk to another neuro, get a neuropsych and start a vitamin regime... but that is MY opinion...

I think that too much cortisol is released with constant stress. studies show it can negatively affect the brain through plasticity by making new, negative emotion inclined pathways in the brain. It also results in over production of nerve sheaths, which, for some reason, was damaging... I forget why.. :)

Stress
 

Yes, you've had a lot of stress and your wife too. Please do look at the vitamin stickie for YOUR brain. It does help us deal with stress, but is not a cure all.

Mark nailed it. Your wife might have some really serious hormone issues going on. I know I was getting out of whack and emotionally imbalanced around age 47, and I got on some hormones and still take those.

For my middle age hormonal self, I need to take some L-theanine, and L-trop something -- and that one at night.

Gabba helped me too -- with mood and calming.

This is a fantastic board and I hope we can offer you support. Such good and kind people here.

Take care and heal on!

poetrymom

Very sorry to hear about your situation. It sounds extremely challenging. From my personal experience, stress worsens my symptoms, thus delaying recovery. I really feel for you because this can be a very lonely battle, and you have to care for your family as well. My thoughts are with you.

Thanks everyone
 

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. I started this weekend listing the things I can do to relieve the stress levels to help alleviate the symptoms. Amazingly, just writing the list helped me sleep better over the weekend and wake up refreshed!

E