Constant Headaches ... 11 months
 

Hey guys,

My latest setback was about 4 months ago, and the headaches have just not improved since then. Before that I had numerous setbacks and was just unable to string together enough good days. It's excruciating now. I'm about 11 months since the initial concussion.

I am wondering if people have gone on to recover after more than a year long wait. The last 4 months have been terrible and I am just wondering if recovery on average continues on after even this long a time??

I know each concussion is different. But, it would give me hope to know that people have gone on to recover after similarly long periods of time.

Thanks so much.

There have been many who did not start to see improvements until a year or two after the concussion. They usually kept pushing too hard in their daily life. When they finally slowed down out of desperation, they started to see improvement.

Others finally found the change they needed to make to start improving. Maybe a toxic relationship or boss, poor diet or sleep. The variables are vast.

So, there are no time lines to recovery.

Well, 5 years out and finally getting proper treatment. Issues that don't resolve spontaneously need to be resolved by other means.

I went from a neurologist that insisted that I had "no pain receptors in my brain" to an ENT who prescribed topamax as a first step in resolving the headaches. He explained that the Topamax was to tolerate the treatment of the underlying cause of the headaches (vestibular malfunction in my case) and he wouldn't consider me done with treatment until I was off of the medication. This is a doctor with extensive experience with brain injured people.

Some things will never be the same and we will have to find ways to work around our deficits and move on other things we just have to keep looking for answers until we find them. The good news is that there is ongoing studies on all aspects of mTBI so even what we thought we had to live with is being looked at in new ways all the time.

Hey Mark,

My question is similar. I know there are plenty of people who have found vast improvement with their PCS but to your knowledge do many people make FULL recoveries? To the point where they no longer have any symptoms and go back to living their lives the way they were pre injury? Or is that just for a select few and chances are most of us are going to live with some remnant of the injury for the rest of our lives?

Thanks,
Nick

Nick,

I'm a 2 year guy this week.

I have no idea if I will ever be the same, I'm not now. But, I am finding ways to do what I did before and having fun again.

I am getting used to the crap and able to stare it down or accommodate it with a little more skill, which ever is necessary. By no means an expert but I am not a train wreck like this time last year.

Hang in there...that actually is light at the other end of the tunnel!

Bud

Nick21,

The big question is what is meant by FULL. Nobody returns to just like before in every way. But most recover to returning to a full life.

The more one worries about every little detail they think they are missing, the greater the chance those little details will be missed. We can focus on issues to the point that we rewire our brains to behave that way.

The 2nd question is: What symptoms are you worried about and how do they prevent you from living your life ?

To the OP,

If your main symptom is headache, you should definitely see a neurologist who certified as a headache specialist.

-joe

When you say nobody returns in every way are you referring to all concussions or PCS. Because a lot of people with concussions do recover very quickly and with no lingering remnants from the injury. By full recovery I mean not having to live with lingering remnants of the condition. For example, not having to change your life to adapt to your symptoms i.e. avoiding stimulating environments, not drinking alcohol or caffeine, not being able to afford not getting enough sleep one night, and all of the millions of other little things that are impacted by PCS and require a change of lifestyle.

My only symptoms that I still have are headache, cloudy thinking, and fatigue. In regards to this my question is there reason for me to believe that I can make a FULL recovery to the point that I get back to living my life to the fullest as I was pre injury not bogged down by fatigue, headaches, and constantly feeling foggy. Makes it hard to do the things I want in life like travel, drink alcohol and go to parties, succeed at work, and just generally have day to day energy to live my life and be happy.

Basically recovered fully where I will get to a point where this is completely behind me and I never think about it and doesn't hinder me any way or will I be still be dealing with it in some way shape or form for the rest of my life.

Hi all, I have no history on concussions, but know a lot about grape seed extract as I've been taking it over 2 decades now. Just did a search on concussions and found Byron Richards "theory" on concussion healing. He goes into nutrition which include some food type supps including grape seed extract. Thought I'd throw this out. Never know what can help.

http://www.wellnessresources.com/hea...tes_take_note/