This is almost certainly a result of low barometric pressure. I know that it's common for people with joint problems to have problems when the barometric pressure is low, and I would not be at all surprised if it also causes head injury symptoms to flare up in some people.

Hi, a vegan diet can be very beneficial for the brain. Be sure to include foods that are high in omega-3s, tryptophan, folate, calcium, vitamin D, and of course take a good B-12 supplement.

If you go to the website http://www.drnedley.com and get almost any of his books, they will tell you how to optimize your diet for brain health. The depression books are very specific, and although they focus on depression they come at it from a brain health perspective. The depression clinic I participated in relieved almost all of my symptoms after more than a year of PCS, and I started my vegan diet while there (I had previously been a lacto-ovo vegetarian).

There's a thread specifically on brain-friendly nutrition here: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...d.php?t=165807

When I was 15 I was on the back of a motorcycle with a fellow who pulled out in front of a car. I was knocked out and my helmet cracked. He pulled me up and I woke up and got on the back of his motorbike and we left. I vaguely remember leaving. I never went in to the doctor about this, but now I worry this may be affecting my processing of information, how I handle stress, how I remember things from 15 years ago. I am gifted in art. My question is-is there any way I can receive testing to see if this accident may have affected my processing and memory? Why do my eyes hurt when Im in florescent lighting and why is it taking longer to process information? Why do I wake up several times a night-I'm noticing these changes and I'm concerned. I'm 54 years old, very healthy, and Im not on any meds. I'm health conscous, and take vitamins daily,
Thank you

tdbc,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. It sounds like your are hitting the midlife version of PCS. As the brain ages, brain injuries from one's youth tend to become more prominent.

The testing your are asking about would be a NeuroPsych Assessment. It can diagnose your processing and other neurological functions. You also may benefit from a neuro-ophthalmological exam. Fluorescent light have a flicker that can be fatiguing.

Stress of any kind can make these symptoms worse. Sickness, emotional stress, physical stress, cognitive/mental stress, can all reduce the brain's ability to function.

Tell us more about your symptoms and the vitamins you take. We may have some advice to improve your brain's ability to tolerate day to day activities. You should try to limit caffeine, alcohol, MSG, artificial sweeteners, aluminum based antiperspirants, and a few other things. I'll comment more later after your respond.

My best to you.

Hi everybody - maybe someone can help me with a related problem: my 16-year-old son had a grade 3 concussion three years ago, unconscious for 5+ minutes, delirious for two hours. He was fully checked out and very careful for six weeks afterwards and seemed to recover fully.

About six months after that, he started to complain of not being able to sleep. It was intermittent insomnia at first but has grown increasingly more severe over time. We've tried everything - scrupulous sleep hygiene, melatonin (up to 90 mg at a time), theanine, benadryl, warm milk, warm baths, etc... The problem gets worse during school, but it's still bad during vacations and summers. He now regularly stays up at least one night a week and usually doesn't fall asleep until 3 or 4 a.m. When he does sleep, it's chaotic and not restful.

There's no question he's suffering from clinical depression, although which came first is unclear. I have found only one reference online that suggests that there can be long-term (and seemingly unrelated) neurological effects from a concussion. The CDC site doesn't support this idea, but they're the same people who claim there's no such thing as chronic lyme disease, a position with which I violently disagree.

At the time of his concussion, and for about two years afterwards, my son was a vegetarian. I tried to make sure he got enough balanced protein, but he's a teenager and hard to keep track of. Now I wonder if he needs some B12, at the very least.

Any ideas or help you can give will be much appreciated. Thanks so much for listening.

In addition to B12, you might have his calcium and vitamin D levels checked. Serotonin is converted to melatonin in the brain ONLY in the presence of vitamin D and calcium. If he is low in these, he will not be able to get restful sleep, no matter how much serotonin he has in his body.

Also, if he has clinical depression and is low in serotonin, that of course interferes with melatonin production as well. Sleep disturbances are actually the number one symptom of clinical depression.

We also had a thread a while ago that had a number of detailed suggestions for sleep. Here's the link: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...d.php?t=169324

That sounds so frustrating my Psychologist told me it would most like take up to three years to heal. I know 3 years after my bad injury and Concussion - I still struggled. I do a lot of community outreach work for AARP. At a conference recently on Dementia there was a top Neurologist from UNC and he said the way to best way to build brain cells was exercise.

I did some work and training with Brain Injured Adults back in '89 and I thought it depended on the injury. From what I have experienced I bet your effects are related- but I am far from a doctor. You may want to review your meds too. I know things change in our bodies, at different periods in life.

Hi all...
I'm new here and am dropping around as I have a doc appt tomorrow.

I fell 18 months ago at home, when I was 39, and ended up with what was described as a mid-grade TBI and whiplash. Since then, I have been dealing with a lot. At the time I fell, I was a grad student and planning on doing a PhD. I had to leave my program and then turned down a scholarship for a PhD as I just didn't think I could do it. I think I made the right decision but it's very depressing.
I suffer from headaches near the site of impact, as well as across my forehead. My headaches also stem from significant back and neck pain. I'm fatigued and have very low tolerance levels when aggravated. My daughter says she wishes mommy would come back and that kills me. So, I'm struggling right now. I just don't feel like the same person. Depression, anxiety, and fatigue, as
well.
So, I haven't been back to see a doc about this is in over a year. We moved out of the university community we were in and I have just gone on, trying to just plod my way through, focusing on what needs to be done. Finally, ready to go back and face that I need some help in dealing with this, whether it be on the physical or mental/emotional, or all of it. I have been scheduled for another MRI in June but tomorrow have my appt to discuss my symptoms with my doc. I know I have to do this but am nervous just the same. I have been living on my determination to get through and on homeopathics for a year and am really not excited about the potential of perhaps needing to get on to meds. I see there is talk in this stream about diet so I'll do some research.
Just looking for a place to learn and get some support from others who have been down this road.
Thanks.

I was finally living my dream and going to graduate school in 2009- when I had a bad car accident. I was told I was post Concussive- only a year later. In December 2012 I had another car accident. I am really struggling to find support and help. Don't know who I am right now and who I will be next month. I am very frustrated and depressed.

I feel the same often. It's tough. I was about to enter my second MA. Actually, the accident happened at home the night before classes started for Fall 2011 term. It makes me furious because I was whipping around trying to find things and in a panic and THAT is how I got in this situation. Tripped over a printer and banged my head on the corner wooden edge of the bed. I had moved myself, along with my family, to another province to do that program and then the night before---bang! Done. I try not to think about it because it is what it is and I am where I am, but I do get angry. I got to keep my TA post but had to drop out of studies and then said no to a PhD as I just felt I couldn't hack it emotionally or mentally. I thought I was going to be a Prof/researcher in social studies. Now, I can't find a job as, like many many others, I can't even get an interview. Too much education and too little experience is what I hear.
My only advice to you is that YOU are YOU, You are not your symptoms, as tough as those can be. We're still here. We do have to adapt and learn and face that things have changed. We've changed. But we're not gone. And you're not alone.