PCS vs chronic fatigue syndrome (and distinguishing anxiety-induced symptoms)
 

Hey everyone,

I just got back from a neurologist. In his opinion my development was atypical to the normal progress of PCS, as I don't have headaches and I described the blow that caused my concussion as pretty light compared to my previous concussion. I also told the neurologist about how I'd gotten worse after getting completely exhausted (to the point of having to push my fingers into my ears, moving them rythmically, just to have the brain focus on the rythm and not my thoughts - in order to not vomit from severe nausea) when moving apartments and he told me that my progress was more in line with exhaustion syndrome (or is it called chronic fatigue syndrome? I am not sure about the name in english).

I researched exhaustion syndrome for a bit and found that according to a test and some articles, I had almost all the exact symptoms. However, as I started thinking about how exhausted I'd been before hitting my head (not very) and checking back with PCS symptoms, I found significant overlap.

Would you say that my neurologist just didn't know what he was talking about or that I might be suffering from something else than PCS? I have symptom-triggering anxiety that I've gotten after starting to fear getting worse, but I feel like I can distinguish this from the symptoms that I get even in a state of harmony and rest.

My current symptoms:
- Difficulty concentrating on reading for longer than 30-45 minutes
- Difficulty following complicated reasoning in speech, documentaries, books and audio books
- Overall fatigue
- Messed up balance and coordination
- Difficulty finding words when talking
- Dizziness when exposed to multiple stimuli at once (music in the background of conversation, listening to something while drawing)
- Hitting a brick wall with my thoughts when I've been talking about something complex/difficult for extended periods of time

Anxiety induced symptoms (can come when I have done something that I think might set me back in my progress)
- Severe fatigue
- Severe dizziness
- Slight nausea
- Severe difficulty in focusing on complex stimuli
- Difficulty with conversation

PS. Have you gotten better at separating your anxiety-induced symptoms from your regular symptoms? How did you get better at this?

I don't believe there is a "typical" progress to PCS. By scouring this forum you will see that PCS affects everybody a bit differently, likely do to the nature of the injury and personal pre-conditions.

I tend to think PCS is defined as the secondary set of symptoms that arise from the preliminary concussion. This is why there is a lot of variability in peoples experiences.

Hains

Yeah I suppose. I should have expected to hear that kind of talk from the neuro, considering how much people talk about that doctors rarely get this condition upon visiting them. Do you have anxiety-induced symptoms?

@smutsik
Since about two years I deal with symptoms that are caused by anxiety.

Also most of my symptoms are very similar to yours

How do you deal with it (the anxiety and the symptoms caused by it)?

Mindfulness practice can help de-sensitize your stress/anxiety response. It did for me. I can now recognize within seconds when I get anxious, and can sometimes steer my mental process away from it.

Many people recognize mindfulness as an effective tool. However, very few people are willing to sit down for 20 minutes a day to see the benefits....even though it is single-handily the most effective tool to overcome PCS.

Hains

I have not really found a way to deal with it.

Hains, what exactly do you do? Do you listen to audio books to help you calm down?
Anja

Currently, I have a daily practice of meditating in the morning for 20 minutes. I mix it up. Sometimes I sit quietly, focus on my breath, and recognize when thoughts pop up, I visualize them in ballons that are floating upwards and out of my "screen". When i get distracted, its okay, its part of the excercise, I just go back to my breath. There's some mornings where I cant quite focus well enough, so i listen to guided mediations from youtube or from the 10% Happier app.

During the day, when I notice my anxiety building up, I direct my attention to my breath... regardless of what i am in the process of doing. I often resort to box breathing for a few minutes. If my anxiety is real bad, then i try to focus on where the physical pain is. For me, its usually in my neck, back and chest. I simply just focus on the pain. It always dissipates when I do this. The problem is just remembering to do it.

Box breathing is breathing in for 4 seconds, holding for 4 seconds, exhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 4 seconds/repeat.

I would recommend that a beginner at mindfulness practice pick up a book from the library or off amazon. Grab any book with an 8-week program. This is the easiest way to learn. The beginner programs are mostly all 8-week programs. This is because it is well accepted in the scientific community that 8 weeks of meditating for 10 minutes per day has been proven to regenerate parts of the brain.

I learned using this book which can be bought used for $1.

Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World: Mark Williams, Danny Penman, Jon Kabat-Zinn Ph.D.: 861431812: Amazon.com: Books

Agreed, I have started on a Headspace-spree and hope to continue doing my 10-20 minutes a day. Apart from the benefits when it comes to anxiety, meditation has been shown to promote changes in white matter (higher axon density, higher prevalence of myelin) over a span of just 4 weeks. As PCS is theorized to be caused by disruptions in white matter, meditation seems to be a highly beneficial tool to deal with it.

Send me a PM if you'd like the article, I can't seem to post it because I have too few posts on my account.

I'm using the app Headspace, it has a 10 minutes a day for 10 days-program that you can try out for free, and if you subscribe you get access to hundreds of sessions that you can do. This is a guided meditation-programme, and as you get better at doing the meditation by yourself, you get less instructions and more freedom to go about the exercise yourself. I have completed 12 days in row and I feel significantly more calm and sharp during the days. Sleep seems to come easier too.

Thanks a lot for your answers. I will try to find the book and maybe an app in German. If not I will give it a try in English.