A constant weak head aches is not uncommon. Mine come and go and have for many years. I am quite certain mine are directly impacted by an upper cervical injury. Unfortunately, my health insurance is balking at covering the treatment I need.

Mild head aches are an easy symptom to tolerate, especially when compared to many of the other symptoms. Head aches are a good reminder to relax and/or rest.

Your story has helped me today. I've been off work for almost 3 months with PCS and have been trying to maintain my sanity. If you're interested, I have posted my story below. I continue to sit in dark, quiet rooms and don't go out much thanks to my husband who does the shopping and driving now that I am in this state. I have noticed my symptoms are less strong and less frequent and when I have a day like today, it brings me way down. Thanks so much for posting.

Here's my story:
In late January I was in a skiing accident and suffered a concussion although I didn't realize it at the time. I didn't blackout so I thought I'd be okay and for 2 days after, I continued my routine of going to the gym in the morning and then off to work. On the 3rd day I could barely wake up and about 2 hours into my work day, I could barely make out words on my computer screen or concentrate when having a conversation.

I went to see my doctor that afternoon and have seen him every week since. I also see someone who practices osteopathic techniques, a massage therapist and my symptoms have been decreasing slowly. A list of my symptoms include: migraines; a feeling of fullness all around my head; disturbed sleep - there have been many sleepless nights and various days where I could sleep for a full 24 hours; increase in dreams every time I sleep; dizziness when getting up from a seated position; daily nausea; a film over my vision; problems retaining information and difficulty concentration. I also experienced ringing in my ears 3 different days and a general feeling of being in a dream state.

The symptoms are improving, meaning they are less strong and less frequent. I still experience them most days. I have to say when I have a good day and feel more like myself, I feel GREAT! Then there are the days where I feel like I did during the first few weeks and I become depressed. My doctor has recently prescribed a drug for my migraines which is a very low dose of an anti-depressant. It's only been a few days so I can write more about that in the next few weeks.

I think it's important to see a therapist or life coach that can support anyone in this situation. There are so many emotions that come along with PCS and I have found it helpful to have one on one sessions to talk it through.

If I may ask what medicines has your Dr prescribed and are taking?

My doctor first prescribed amitriptyline but after 3 days of that, my eyes started to twitch so on Friday he presscribed a sister medication to that called apo-nortriptyline. Both were to have a dozy effect however last night I didn't fall asleep until 3:00 a.m. eventhough I took the pill at 8:00 p.m.

From my research and such, amitriptyline and nortriptyline are the most successful at the sleep and head ache issues. The dosage is usually small compared to the normal dose for these drugs, 10 mgs or so.

Ski, Have you had any intense scrutiny of your neck? Especially your upper neck. It is often overlooked. The autonomic nervous system dysfunctions you list (dizziness getting up, often due to low pulse and BP) can be caused by brain stem issues that can be caused by upper neck inflammation. I have had severe low BP and pulse from time to time. I can tie it to my upper neck injury.

The osteopath I sought treatment for my neck was not much help. He had already made up his mind that my symptoms were somatic.

Did you get a CT when you became so symptomatic on the third day. That is the optimum time for CT images to show any bleeds, etc. which would make me think that it is the time for peak effects from such injuries.

3:00 AM getting to sleep is not uncommon for me. Glad to hear you are doing better than I do. Just remembered, I need to go take my bedtime meds. Otherwise, I'll be up until 4:00 AM.

My best to you.

Mark, no I haven't had any problems with my neck other than the whiplash right after my accident which cleared up in a few days. The osteopath I see has been working with me since the beginning and we both have felt improvement in the movement of fluid in my head and body. He's been a great listener to me when I'm having a bad day as well. It really helps to have empathy around during this time. Recently, he was able to get to the area where I hit my head - prior to this there was too much pain so we worked on getting there gradually. It was quite a strange feeling, the closer he got to the spot the more panicky I got.

While I usually feel worse for a few days after the session, I have seen an improvement after that in terms of the duration and strength of my symptoms.

The nortriplyline dosage is 10mg right now - thanks for sharing your research. I do not like taking medications however, it is good to know that there has been some success with this one.

Oh and I had a CT done a few weeks after (for insurance purposes) - everything came back ok.

So I went for my second visit to a Headache clinic to see a headache specialist. They are still keeping me on Lamotrigine (anti-seizure) drug and Verapamil. She still wants me no matter what to sleep 8, no more than 9, hours and do not take anymore than a 30 min nap if I must. She also wants me to try normal activity and exercise if I keep it light. This seems very hard to do but she is insisting. It seems like she is against medicine and rest. She is wanting me to go see a Psychiatrist so we will see if that does anything.

Just letting people know what a headache specialist just told me today. Whether you believe in it or not or agree or disagree. I am not sure about sticking with the same medicine that hasnt helped for 2 months and to not rest. I guess we will see

Budman, I thought I'd share my thoughts on your last post. Take what you want and leave the rest...

Have you thought of getting a second opinion? My doctor also suggested napping no more than 20 min, several times a day because there are times where I can sleep for 12 hours and then nap for 3 hours straight through the day. I have found it is often painful to force myself and that it hasn't helped my inconsistentsleep patterns. I have also received advice to just allow your body to do what it needs to do. So, when I nap, I usually set a timer for 20 minutes and if I can get up, I do and if it's to painful, I don't.

I think that each individual knows their body and mind the best and that if you listen to yourself carefully, you will find what works for you. In regards to the meds, you seem uncomfortable continuing them - maybe this is important to discuss with the doctor?

I was wondering what exactly it means to rest - how can someone sit in a quiet dark room and do nothing.

I had a bike accident 3 weeks ago and collided with a cyclist - knocked off my bike and flat on my back unconscious for about a minute. they took me to the er - ct and xrays revealed no broken bones and no internal bleeding. I probably took 2 days to rest and sleep - residual dizziness, nausea and serious aches all over in first week. my mental state deteriorated though. I was already depressed and stressed from my job and had a conference to run in 3 weeks. I could not afford to take time off. I went into a serious decline emotionally and while my physical pain (no real headaches, some residual dizziness and my aches healed by week 3), I was getting waves of suicidal thoughts, extreme emotional states of sobbing and just mental and physical exhaustion.

Finally, after the conference, I saw a concussion specialist physical therapist who after the intake and questioning, immediately diagnosed me as pcs and gave me a note for work to take a week off for medical reasons so my brain could rest and heal.

Okay, so I was told no tv, no reading, no exercise, no email/internet, no working, sit in a dark quiet room. Now, how does someone do that exactly? How can I turn off my brain? I am often awake at 2 or 3 a.m. (that happend prior as well), I have major memory issues (although htat was also something I was experiencing prior as well) it's difficult to distinquish b/n pcs and already pre-existing stuff.

I'm happy to try to "rest" my brain - but I don't get what that means exactly.

any thoughts here?

thanks!

i was told to rest in a dark quiet room...no tv, no computer, etc...and I did this every day for months ...shut the door when the kids left for school and laid on the bed for hours. I don't think it helped much.

I still have issues with everything. MY neck and head are killing me. I see a chiropractor 3x week. I drive short distances only. My head starts killing me after just short chats with friends. I swear i can't do anything. And...that dark room thing didn't seem to work. From laying there all day i was not tired at night and tossed and turned alllll thru the night.

I have been taking ambien for 2 weeks now...sleep is better but i still feel awful all day.

tv, computer....still seems to be an issue. I feel awful after either (even 20 mins to half hour). I'm not sure if its neck issues, overstimulation (which it probably is the majority) or what! I'm off balance (like i'm on a boat) all day.

I try to walk or go on my spin bike, but sometimes I just feel so bad I don't even want to do that.

I also try to get out to the store...food shopping or say Target. I feel so bad afterwards. Its even worse if I go with a friend...guess the chatting and stores are a double whammy.