[jd_rormy]

Hi everybody, I'm pretty new here. I got my PCS from a car accident 11 months ago and man has it been a rollercoaster. My symptoms are changing all the time, sometimes I'll have the same problems for a week, sometimes months. Lately my nausea has been somewhat better than normal, but now my fatigue has gotten worse. I've been dealing with fatigue ever since the accident, but the past couple of weeks its been hitting me even harder than usual. I've called in sick to work twice this past week because I just felt like I could barely bring myself to leave the apartment.

Is there anything that I can do to help with this fatigue? I ordered some vitamin D3 online because I saw some people suggested it in other threads, so hopefully that will help, but until it gets here are there any other suggestions people have to help lessen the fatigue?

Thanks everybody.

[Mark in Idaho]

jd

Sorry to hear of your struggles.

First, you have a good start by looking to nutrition. I would also add B-6, B-12, folic acid, Omega 3's, and all of the anti-oxidants. Avoid caffeine (one cup of coffee a day)

Regarding fatigue, have you tried keeping a journal? It may help diagnose fatigue triggers. I quickly get fatigued from reading, especially if it is complicated reading.

The other day, I bought a wooded puzzle of an aircraft carrier that was about 100 pieces. It required a lot of visual search8ing on a diagram to find the proper order of parts assembly. It took about 2 1/2 hours. I amazed myself and finished it. The next morning, I was a zombie. I sleep most of the day.

This delayed fatigue is common for me. I did the same after an intense two hour one on one conversation.

So, as you see, there are fatigue trigger that seem to be delayed. There are also sound and visual triggers. Being in an environment where there is visual or auditory stimuli beyond the level that your brain can handle can also cause the fatigue.

My biggest auditory trigger is hearing too many voices like being in a crowd of people where everyone is talking at the same time.

Another cause of fatigue can be poor sleep. Many with a concussion have breathing irregularities. This can be caused by an upper neck injury. If you have someone who can observe you sleep, have them pay attention to your breathing as you sleep. Sometimes, this will just be noticing you stirring as you start gasping for air as your brain restarts your breathing. A common sign of sleep apnea is weird or stressful dreams.

My wife notices me because my stirring causes her to wake up. I go to bed after her so that she is asleep before I get in bed in case I stir while I am falling asleep. I sometimes go through a body jerk period as I fall asleep.

It would help if you posted what symptoms you are experiencing.

I can email you a doc file of a great resource called TBI Survival Guide by Dr Glen Johnson. It used to be available online but the link is malfunctioning. Post your email address with "AT" instead of "@".

Hope this helps.

My best to you.

[jd_rormy]

Thanks for the reply Mark You give a lot of great advice.

I actually just recently began keeping a journal, writing down how I generally feel throughout the day.

My plan was to track my progress so that next time I went to the Neurologist I could be more specific when describing my symptoms and when I experience them, but you make a good point that it will make it easier to identify triggers.

I, too, find reading much more strenuous now, so sadly I do much less of it than I used to.

I think the thing you said that hit me hardest was about having delayed fatigue. When I start feeling the fatigue I have been trying to figure out what I've been doing that day that would cause it, but I never put the pieces together that it was things from the prevoius day that were causing my fatigue, and that actually makes a lot of sense.

"There are also sound and visual triggers. Being in an environment where there is visual or auditory stimuli beyond the level that your brain can handle can also cause the fatigue."

Boy do I know what you mean. Some days it's so bad that when my girlfriend and I go grocery shopping I have to go back out and wait in the car because I get so overwhelmed.

I also cannot handle anybody talking to me while I'm driving, although driving has become a challenge by itself. The car sickness mixed with the sensory overload make it a pretty miserable activity.

My symptoms are:

Physical: fatigue, weakness, occasional headaches, just a general "sick" feeling in my head a lot of the time, car sickness, dizziness and nausea.

Mental: slower processing, slightly worse memory, trouble staying focused, trouble thinking/making sense of my thoughts, trouble figuring out how to say what I'm trying to say (which is why my posts may seem poorly written at times), feeling half asleep or just sort of fuzzy most of the time, mood swings/being over-emotional, increased stress and anxiety, trouble handling stress and anxiety.

I will probably think of a few more later but that's all I got for now, it's been a long day and my brain is exhausted.

My email address is *removed for privacy - you can contact member via PM or forum email*

Thanks again for all your advice Mark. You're a very wise man

[Mark in Idaho]

You appear to have full blown PCS. Try to click ion my name and see if you can PM or email me. The TBI Survival Guide is very helpful.

Avoid busy grocery stores. Go shopping at odd hours when there are few people. Some stores are better than others. Some have too much signage and clutter. Taller ceilings may help. Try to minimize your visual field.

This is a bear of a problem. I still struggle with it after ten years.

Regarding the TBI GUide. You can read it online and cut and paste the web version into Word so you can print it. You can also print it directly from the web. It is at www.tbiguide.com

Click on the various links under List of Contents.

My best to you.

[jd_rormy]

Thanks so much for the TBI Guide link, its probably the best source of PCS info I've seen.

It appears that I can't message you, although I may just not know what I'm doing. I'm fairly new to the whole forum experience. I'll let you know if I figure it out

Take care.

[Mark in Idaho]

Newbie's to Nuero Talk do not have PM privileges. It take time and a number of posts before you get them.