Exercise Intolerance Since Concussions
 

I suffered two concussions from skiing in March of 2017. Didn't think much of it until I started experiencing strange headaches every time I exercised. So I went to a neurologist who started me on vestibular therapy. This didn't do much for me because even the toughest vestibular exercises didn't cause me any problems. Felt pretty lost because I was still getting headaches from exercise but nothing else! The "typical" PCS triggers didnt cause me any problems.

Found a more knowledgeable neurologist who got me doing a version of the Buffalo Protocol to help improve my tolerance for exercise. Have been trying to do this off and on the last 8 months but have really struggled to make any progress. My problem is that during my workout I don't experience concussive symptoms or headaches, but it is when I stop exercising I get the headache. It isnt immediate, but usually 30 minutes to an hour after I get hit by a headache. Headaches usually last for a few hours but can linger for days. The headaches are not "painful", but it feels like I have an intense throbbing pressure in my head. My eyes get pressure behind them. These headaches leave me exhausted, and put me in a fog. It makes it hard to follow the Buffalo protocol because I cant judge how hard to go in a workout, and I have found that even small increases in heart rate during exercise will still give me a headache later.

Sorry for all the text, but just posting on here to tell my story and to see if anyone has any advice or has experienced something similar. My doctor and therapist don't have any answers, and at this point they just keep telling me that it will take time and to be patient. I haven't seen any improvement in this last year and have been feeling lost lately on what to do. I get random headaches that come and go some days, but they are mild compared to what I get after I exercise. I feel sharp in school, but feel trapped not being able to exercise.

I know many people on here have it way worse than me, so I feel lucky that the only thing I struggle with is exercise, but I would love to be able to be active again.

The Buffalo Protocol does not mean exercise until your symptoms return. It allows for delayed symptoms. Try lesser levels of exercise to see if the delayed headache manifests.

It may help to get a wrist blood pressure kit and see if your BP relates to your headaches.

Have you tried any headache meds? ibuprofen, aspirin, etc?

What pulse rate have you been targeting?

I have tried ibuprofen and acetaminophen without much luck. They dont make a noticeable difference.

That is a good idea about blood pressure. I will look into getting one. I have been using pulse rate monitor when I work out. Lately I have been keeping it below 110 because I have been just trying to walk/spin at the gym, but I still get headaches after these workouts.

When I need additional headache relief, I take acetaminophen and aspirin at max dose of each. My doctor told me to combine them. They provide very good headache relief together.

Icing the back of my head and neck sometimes helps.

mate, I literally feel your pain it took me 6 months to even get a doctor take me seriously enough to refer me to a neurologist. And like you I am DESPERATE to get exercising again. My head ache sounds very similar to yours pounding pressure especially behind the eye and brought on badly by exercise. The only thing I can recommend trying is lions mane as per my previous post. at the moment I have been head ache freeish for a week, from about 7-10day of taking them. if you do try them its important you get high quality as some cheaper one made it worse.

Luigi,

It took me 1.5 years to get past only being able to walk 500’ and another 2 years to be able to suffer no ill effects from time at the gym.

I did ok at the gym if I carefully managed my heart rate....if I got it up on the higher aerobic end for sustained periods I had real after effects. I just did everything slower and easier and was quite happy to be able to do that after 1.5 years of laying around.

Missed 3 ski seasons.

Dude, same thing here. I do 130-150 BPM for 45 minutes. Immediately post-workout I feel pretty damn good. But for the next few days or even weeks I just regress significantly...dull pain in the lower skull, brain fog and general malaise.

It sucks because the exercise definitely helps my anxiety, however the regression of symptoms just leads to further anxiety and depression.

I've been going consistently for 2 months now...hoping I can overcome the threshold.

Pizzamanluigi I've been struggling with exercise intolerance ever since my concussion in 2012. The Buffalo protocol has helped me to get going, but it took over 3 years to get me to a point where I can do my favorite hikes and walks without the fear of regressing myself.

If you're getting headaches after the exercises, dial it back. What kind of exercises are you doing? Weight? Cardio?
I would start with cardio and go very light on any kind of weight training. Once you get your cardio to a point where you don't see any problems, start adding weights very slowly.
Unfortunately there's no sure way to tell you how long this will take, everyone is different. Like I said it took me over 3 years to get my cardio back and I'm still overdoing it sometimes.

I get those if I work too hard. Mostly when my brain gets jostled. Even chewing a stick of gum does it. So weird.

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QWERTY,

Maybe slow it down some.

My cousin gave me some good advice one time when I was complaining to him I wasn’t the same at the gym....he said, “You’re in recovery stage, treat yourself as such. If you had a broken bone you wouldn’t be worried about slowing down because of it.”

Bud