My battle with PCS... So far
 

Hello all, my name is Danny and I have found this forum to be very helpful in dealing with my post concussion syndrome. I feel it is time for me to contribute something.

Let me begin my telling my story. I suffered a concussion from a door being swung violently into my forehead. Luckily it just missed my eye. This took place on October 2, 2014.

Now, I had just finished moving to a new apartment within walking distance to a school I transferred to this semester. I was accepted into the chemical engineering program and I was really excited about moving on with my education and career. The timing couldn't have been worse.

The next morning after the injury I got up at 8am and went to all my classes and was fine. That evening I started to feel very dizzy and nauseous. Luckily it was the weekend so I hoped to be ready for an exam in physical chemistry on Monday. By Sunday night, I was having panic attacks and clearly I was in trouble. I knew in my heart that something was wrong. My girlfriend took me to urgent care where they gave me a doctors note for a week out of school. I was advised to rest and not use any electronics.

So I took the week off. I started to go back to classes but I couldn't do any of the work. I was in hell with symptoms for 3 weeks - dizziness, muscle twitching, headaches, brain fog. After about a month, I noticed an improvement where I could actually use my phone or watch tv for more than 10 minutes.

Fast forward to this past week; Finals Week. Most of my professors have been very understanding about postponing exams but finals I kind of had to just tough it out. Keep in mind the courses I'm taking are extremely difficult for anyone, even without a concussion. Anyway, I was actually feeling pretty much like myself before I started studying last Sunday

What happened is every day my brain could take less and less studying and by Thursday I was fried. I still had my math final which could have been the hardest. I had a mental breakdown on Thursday when I could barely study for 30 minutes. I was feeling as bad as I did that first weekend.

Interestingly once I got some rest, I was able to study for a little. I developed a routine of studying for 30 min then resting for 30 minutes. Some people may find that to be helpful. Basically study as long as you can until the symptoms come and then take a break. No cheating with this system or else it won't work.

So here I sit, 11 weeks post concussion, successfully having made it through finals and feeling decent. I'm very exahausted but the headaches are mostly gone. I still get a little nervous in crowds and have some issues with blurry vision. Overall I am thankful to be recovering. I have spent a lot of time in dark rooms just resting and I think it has paid off.

If anyone is wondering I got Bs on the exams and am taking incompletes in two of my four courses. I guess I'm resting for the next two weeks and then finishing the coursework in January so that I can continue next semester.

I guess I just wanted to share my story. While I'm certainly a different person than I was pre injury, I'm definitely recovering. Hope that someone out there gets something worthwhile out of this.

Just a couple questions: any thoughts on whether I should take next semester off to recover more? Should I be ok going forward? It's so tough to gauge when the symptoms are gonna come. Chemical engineering is tough coursework and I want to be healthy for it but I also don't want to miss courses and delay my graduation.

Also, what do people think about antianxiety medications (benzodiazepines) like lorazepam? I've been prescribed 1 mg twice a day.

Thanks for taking the time to read this! Everyone hang in there and be thankful for today.

-Danny

Hi Danny,

This sounds a lot like what I experienced with my first concussion my senior year of college. I got my concussion October 14th, 2012. I tried to tough it out in classes but ended up taking incompletes in everything and finishing up over break. I think the worst part of the whole process was me telling myself that I'd be fine the next week. I felt much better once I had medical leave established and spent some time resting.

I, too, did 30 minutes on, 30 minutes off and found it helpful. Taking things at my own pace helped a lot as well. Over winter break I spent four hours in the library writing my missed final papers.

I graduated on time, but every concussion is different. Yours might not let you. That last semester was the most stressful semester of my career (I wrote my thesis in one semester instead of two), but I think I made it through without symptoms by paying A LOT of attention to my health. I exercised daily, quit caffeine, quit alcohol, and spent little time socializing. I think it paid off.

Best of luck to you! I know how terrible it can feel.

Danny,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Glad you finished with a question. Just before your question, I thought I had fought through your play by play just to hear your story. TMI for me.

Nobody can even suggest whether you will struggle through your next semester. If you are disciplined about resting frequently, including scheduling your classes so you have adequate rest between each class, you will have a better chance of success. As rugger said, stay away from alcohol and keep caffeine to a minimum.

You can help yourself by reading the Vitamins sticky at the top. Read post 101 on Nov 8, 2014. It has been updated.

Let us know how you are doing.

My best to you.

Thanks for the replies.

Rugger, it means a lot to know that someone has been in my situation and successfully made it through. What kind of exercise would you suggest to get started? I don't want to push myself but if it can benefit my recovery than I am all for it.

Mark, I know it was a long post. Just wanted to include the information all at once and have it read like a story. I haven't had a sip of alcohol since the injury. I had a couple of cups of coffee and noticed ill effects so I haven't had any since about a month ago. I'm very proud of my self control in these areas.

I'm taking vitamin d3 omega 9s and 3s and pqq/coq10 along with nac on a trial period. I'm trying to figure out a good multivitamin and complex b vitamins as well. I've been taking b12 and one a day men's. Any thoughts?

I started just by taking longer and longer walks with the dogs each day. I'm currently at that stage right now with a newer concussion - trying to test my threshold, but I think my neck injuries are holding my back.

I progressed to some light jogging - just a mile at first, moving onto three. If you find running too jarring an exercise bike might help, too.

Caffeine set me back a lot that last semester. I would get panic attacks after a few sips of coffee. I finally settled on one cup of green tea for days when I really needed caffeine.

Danny,

Don't waste your money on a generic B complex. Find a B-50 or B-100 complex, some methylcobalamin B-12 and a multi like GNC Mega Men. One a Day's are almost worthless.

If you are going to exercise, stop if any symptoms develop. Then, next time, do not exercise a hard. You do not want to cause any symptoms when you exercise. Keep in mind that exercising or stresses one day may cause a delay of symptoms that manifest the next day. This is a common issue.

I find it hard to believe that someone with a fresh concussion can remember so many details about the past since their concussion when many of us can't even make it through reading the long post. Not a complaint. Just an observation. I hope you never get to the point where your symptoms are a limiting as mine and many others.

My best to you.

Rugger,

Sorry to hear about your recent concussion. I know that I have been living in constant fear of reinjuring myself. I wish you the best in your recovery. I have been walking to class so I think I might attempt a jog tomorrow if I'm feeling up for it.

This past week I've had times where I have really craved a coffee during studying. It doesn't help that there is a Starbucks located at the library at the university. I've been strong and resisted.

Just wanted to let you know I appreciate the response

Amazingly, my memory has been spared. My symptoms are mostly behavioral. Physical symptoms include tremors and muscle spasms, as well as blurry vision (floaters).

Update:

I have decided to continue on with my education. I am going to take a small courseload (still very intense courses) because I think I will get too depressed if I lay around all day for the next 8 months. I have been making up the work I missed last semester and it has been all congested in a two week time frame. This includes two formal lab reports and two physical chemistry exams. My brain seems to be responding better than before (especially considering the workload) but I still struggle will anxiety, depression, lack of motivation, headaches and occasional insomnia.

My question today is regarding a fortunate choice I have for my schedule this upcoming semester (which begins on Tuesday! :/)

I have two options regarding a lab section. I can take it so I have Tuesdays off completely from school and two classes on Thursday or space it out so I have the lab on Tuesday and the one hour chemical engineering course on Thurday. I am wondering which would be more conducive to healing. Any thoughts?

I think you should be concerned about which format will allow you to be successful with your class work. I think you should spread the load between Tues and Thurs. Being able to have rest periods between classes is better than having a big rest period then two classes over a short time period.

Danny,

From my experience I would go with some time off...Wednesday's off for me.

If you end up needing it, you have it.

Bud