Post Concussion Syndrome after car addicent.
 

Hello NT!

New member here, just hoping to get some help/advice, hopefully one day I can return the favor to someone too (although I'd rather people never get concussions at all where they'd need the advice!). I was in a gnarly car accident on 8/17/15 where I was sitting in the front passenger seat when our little sedan was hit by a Ford F350 right where I was sitting. As a result, I hit my head pretty hard on the right side. 3 days later, I started experiencing vertigo, dizziness, and memory loss/time lapse/"fogginess" and didn't understand why.

Immediately after the accident, we were taken to an ER in a little podunk town, working in an ER myself, I kept requesting a CT scan however the PA assured me I would be fine, gave me 800 mg of Ibuprofen and sent me on my way.

The symptoms that I started to get I thought were due to my thyroid acting up, PMS, or an ear infection. I have never experienced anything like this before. It's bothersome because it's already 4 weeks later and my doctors are telling me to just wait it out. I understand there is no magic pill for this to make me feel normal again, but if anyone has any tips I would be seriously grateful. Probably one of the worst things accompanying my PCS is the anxiety. I've read in other posts that anxiety is a side effect of PCS and wouldn't you know, I had a panic attack and a half the other day at work for the very first time in my life. I say half because the first time it was full blown, the second time I felt it creeping up on me and managed to go meditate and talk myself out of it. What is a pinch less bothersome but still incredibly frustrating is my sense of time - this is what I don't know how to correctly call it. What happens is I might go brush my teeth, read a book, walk the dog, but it all feels like it happened hours or days ago when in reality it may have been only 2 minutes. Does anyone else have this too?

As of now, my MRI came back just fine, I'm taking 450mg Magnesium every day, trying to exercise daily, and trying to handle things the best I can.

If anyone else has experienced PCS and can tell me about their symptoms, things that helped them, anything at all, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks so much guys.
:(

Super Better
 

First off...welcome. this is a hard club to be welcomed too. If I were you, I would file for short term disability, get away from work, focus on your recovery as if your life depended on it. You are at the early stages catch it now and you have the potential to make a full recovery. However if you dont take it seriously it can become a lifetime kind of thing. I am a year and a half out and still feel like I hit my head yesterday.

Listen to the ted talk Super Better by Jane Mcgonigal, she pretty much outlines what you need to do to recover. Figure out your triggers and dont trigger your symptoms, kind of like scratching a scab, you keep scratching it wont heal. Beleive in a full recovery, dont get depressed and anxious and in time you will heal. However if you are like me, you beco super depressed, super anxious, keep triggering your symptoms this recovery can last forever. Also she has a pod cast too. Youtube Joe Rogan 694. To understand how to heal. Welcome to the most difficult thing in your life, if you face it properly you can overcome it or you can be coming to these forms years from now looking for hope.please get away from your job, its non conducive to recovery. Also if I were you after getting help on this post I would get away from NT, because you can become obsessed with looking for answers and that just fuels anxiety.

Wow! Thank you so much, this is great information. I will ABSOLUTELY listen to the Ted Talks and the podcast and Joe Rogan. I'm actually a little worried about the recovery because I went back to work a few days after the accident. I'm wondering seriously if I'm doing myself more harm by being back, I'm unsure of how easily I'll be able to get disability or take time off work though as I have rent, tuition, and my car to pay. Without my job, I will have nothing :( I think this is something I really need to talk to my doctor about again.

Seriously, thank you so much for the information. I will listen to everything tonight.

Be cautious about doctors
 

Be cautious about dictors. All my doctors pointed me to the wrong path. This is a relatively new condition that doctors dont have a handle on. Your best doctor is your body, it will be giving you all sorts of signals. Listen to it. Also journal your recovery its theraputic. A super healthy diet is also key.

Yes, sounds like pcs
 

So, read the vitamin stickie at the top and get what you can going in your system. These things will help you deal with stress which the injured brain does not like.

Vitamins and supplements are no cure all though.

Get your upper neck checked too. This can get out of whack in a car accident and the neck can mimic concussion issues.

Hang in there. You will pull through, but take it easy and reduce stress.

Take care!

poetrymom

LilyNYC,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear of your injury. It sounds like you would have a personal injury claim so that may be a way to get some financial help. Disability programs sometimes are easier to get if you agree to refund disability payments from future recovery in a Personal Injury claim. Check out www.tbilaw.com to see if he has referrals to your area. An injury like your needs a knowledgeable attorney, not just any ambulance chaser.

You may be able to keep working if you can lower the activity/stress/intensity level. As was said, learn your triggers and avoid them if you can. An ER is full of stresses and triggers. What kind of work do you do in an ER ? Are you also a full time student ?

Jane McGonigal has some interesting things to say but her experience is unique to her. You mileage may vary. There is a saying. "If you have seen one head injury, you have seen ONE head injury." Pushing through because you are determined to get better can make for a long roller coaster ride. But, journaling your days, activities/symptoms is worthwhile.

Although it is a great goal to not get anxious or depressed, the injured brain often has less ability to tolerate stress thus making it difficult to avoid anxiety. But, try to not let your thoughts create anxiety. Your brain's reaction to environmental and cognitive/emotional stress ( sounds, light, cognitive load, emotional stress/relationships with people, etc) will create enough anxiety.

You don't say what your current symptoms are except struggling with anxiety attacks, etc. Likely, there were triggers that caused the attacks. It may have been an accumulation of small triggers or a single trigger.

The injured brain needs extra nutrition. The Vitamins sticky at the top has a good regimen. The most important are B-12, a B-50 Complex, D-3, Omega 3 oil, magnesium/calcium (they work better together). Vitacost is currently doing a BOGO 1/2 off sale if you need to stock up. I like their house brand.

As was said, most doctors are clueless. Without more severe symptoms to indicate a need, a CT Scan right away would have a premature high dose of radiation. Most are done to protect the doctor and profit the hospital more than benefit the patient.

Try to avoid responding to every little change in symptoms. The roller coaster of PCS is to be expected.

BTW, 85% of concussions resolve spontaneously within 6 weeks or so. Too much activity can extend this 6 week period.

We are here for you so don't hesitate to ask for help. But, try to avoid using a Smart Phone to follow online issues. Smart Phone users tend to become too anxious. Try to be patient and things will get better.

My best to you.

Mark in Idaho

Hi and welcome.
The others have given you some great advice, which I will second, and try not to repeat.

Instead, I will address an issue we share, problems with the sense of time. Yes, that is a manifestation of your TBI. In my case, hours and hours could pass, and I'd have no sense of that. I'd get up in the morning and then be surprised to find it was already dark.

In most instances, this goes away with, no pun intended, the passage of time. My awareness is better, now, but not perfect. I have yet to recover my ability to project time. You know, things like when you estimate how long it will take you to get somewhere, to meet someone.

As you're recovering, when you identify deficits (or others point them out, because TBI can induce a lack of self-awareness), you need to find ways to work around them. Don't deny deficits, or beat yourself up, trying to do things the old way. With TBI, the trick is to do what it takes to let you function as smoothly as possible.

In my case, on the time thing, I started to wear a big wristwatch, my family made a point of telling me the hour, several times a day, they would point out how long I'd been doing particular things, they helped me devise a schedule and used egg timers to help me move from one activity to another, etc...

To this day, if I need to project time into the future, my husband has to help me devise the schedule and, then, write it out, so I don't forget. I just can't keep it straight.

I was impressed that you were able to meditate your way out of the panic attack. That puts you in good stead to deal with that issue.

Still, I would suggest seeing a psychologist, who understands TBI, as soon as possible. I'm sure the lawyer, that you should also get ASAP, will recommend that. As well, he/she will tell you to carefully document all of your symptoms, etc... I'm not always sure that that's always best for the psychological wellbeing of TBI patients, but it is essential for the adversarial world of litigation.

Lily,

I hope you pass through this real quick.

Don't be afraid to ask questions here if needed.

I really wish I would have started Marks vitamin regimine earlier...I started about 5 weeks ago and can tell a subtle but welcome difference, some of the rough edges are a bit smoother.

I have dealt with a ton of anxiety since my injury. It is part of the ride for some of us. You can conquer it, you might still sense a storm going on but you can make yourself calm down.

Bud

Welcome! Yes, definitely follow Mark's vitamins regime. The best advice I got was from neuropsych and psychiatrist. Eat healthy and exercise when you can. But rest a lot at first, then watch for trigger signs and take breaks.

Hang in there! Stay strong!

The fact that you can recognise when a panic attack is imminent and calm it down is a positive sign. Sounds like mediation a few times a day could help a lot. Certainly brain rest, it's not always easy easy to recognise brain fatigue as it's not like tiredness and you can't push through it.