Advice for managing/best treatment options for pcs
 

Hey,

I'm a 19 year old student from Ottawa, Canada, currently 3 months into pcs from my 5th concussion. Here is a timeline of my concussions:

May 2014- horse-collared tackled in a rugby game, unconscious for 5 sec, recovered in less than a week (smoked some weed right after the game, not sure if it contributed to my rapid recovery)
October 2016- tripped, fell and hit my head on the side walk, went out drinking with friends the next night thinking I was just hungover, took 3 weeks to recover
Janurary 9, 2017- fell off a chair and hit my head, took a little over a month to start feeling back to normal
February 21, 2017- jumped in a low ceiling basement and hit the top of my head
February 22, 2017- the next day, thinking I was just tired, played basketball and got smoked in the head with the basketball (my luck), 20 min after i was gripped with intense nausea and headaches

Suffice to say 3 months later I am currently suffering from the following symptoms: *indicates symptoms that are most pressing for me
-throbbing headache and dull constant headache*
-occasional sharp pains in the back, front left and front right sides of my head
-extremely sensitive to sounds* and somewhat to light
-head feeling fragile and sensititive to touch
-anxiety towards wanting to work/make money, go to school and live like a normal 19 year old
-extreme fatigue**
-neck pain*
-very strained eyes**
-sore lower back

I'm still so confused and shocked that such light impacts on my head can cause such debilitating symptoms, anyways when can I expect to start feeling better and what are some ways to manage symptoms, as well as treatment options that have worked well. Thanks so much, it feels great to write all this down somewhere. Zack

zack,

Living like a 19 year old after suffering a concussion then another is why you are struggling so. The weed did not help with your recovery. Only the CBD part of weed helps and most recreational weed has very little CBD neuro value.

A common characteristic with all of your concussions is they all had neck injury components. This is often a big part of the cause for headaches. Neck strain with the related muscle spasms can cause headaches.

The worst thing you did was play while symptomatic.

So, first, you need to decide to take your brain serious and give it a rest. Non-stress activities to keep good blood flow without adding more risk will be important. Good quality sleep at normal times (quantity does not make up for quality).

Most of your improvements will come from your discipline. Your neck needs good sleep posture/positioning. Your brain needs good nutrition without any toxins. Caffeine, alcohol, THC and such are toxins. No loud music and moderated exposure to excessive auditory stimulation will help.

It is best to get as many days in a row with minimal symptoms. Avoid the temptations to push it just because you had a good day. When you have had 2 weeks of good days, you can slowly start increasing your activity and stimulation level.

If you do not take care of your brain and neck, you may end up taking months longer to start getting better.

Thanks, I just have a few questions regarding what you said.
What is considered a good sleeping position? (I have terrible posture I think)
As far as eye strain, what can I do to reduce it?
My face and neck seem to be at a fever temperature level, although I don't have a fever, any ideas why I'm 'overheating'?

You want to sleep with your head and neck straight. Think of the position your head and neck are in when you are standing up looking straight ahead. That position should be the goal. No or minimal tilt of the head, forward or to the side.

The concept is simple. When you are asleep, the neck muscles that stabilize the vertebra are relaxed. It the head is in a poor position, this can put strain on the vertebral joints resulting in inflammation that can reduce blood flow to the brain and brain stem. It can also cause nerve inflammation than can lead to muscle spasms that can cause headaches.

I try to sleep on my back with a pillow that only supports my head so it does not roll to the side. It has no lift to my head. If I sleep on my side, I roll the pillow up so it supports my head to keep my spine straight.

If I do not maintain good sleep posture, my sleep quality will decline. I may even have stressful dreams from the reduced blood flow.

It would be worthwhile to ice your neck on a regular schedule. The Vitamins sticky has a recipe for making crushable ice packs at home. The Vitamin regimen is also worth considering.

Reduce eye strain by reducing the tasks that require constant focus or taking frequent breaks from those tasks. You may benefit from an assessment from a behavioral optometrist. Health Care Locator Custom has a referral system for the US.

Some need to change the intensity of computer screens. flux.com has a software that can do that if you do not have display controls already. Right click on the desktop background and select Graphic Properties or such. There is often a brightness slider under color properties. You can also change color temps and other variables.

When you reply, if you use the Post Reply at the lower left rather than the Reply at the lower right, it will not quote the previous entry. It makes it easier to scroll through a post.