You say you had a pinched nerve in your neck that didn't cause you neck pain but gave you headaches and tingling in your fingers? Well how exactly did you figure that out? Was it the physiatrist that discovered the pinched nerve, and if so how? And how did you end up getting it treated?

As I mentioned before, the severity and intensity of my neck injury was such that for years I was sure that there was something going on there that had been missed. But like I said, I saw the NUCCA chiropractor who adjusted my C1 vertebrae over a period of 8 or 10 weeks (it was a while ago) and I didn't experience any noticeable improvement. He took a series of x-rays of my neck during that period, could he have missed something significant? Wouldn't realigning my spine free up any pinched nerves?

Sorry for my ignorance about this, its easy to get confused.

The link about the baseball player is really great, thanks for that. It makes me hopeful but also makes me sad. It seems like this is a never ending rabbit hole you can just keep running down. Its very tiring and frustrating but the other option is just to give up. Maybe I should call the PT mentioned in the article and ask him what he did. I have tried cranial-sacral therapy and had bad reactions to it. Of course I am left wondering if it is a bad form of therapy or if I just saw a bad practitioner.

I'm sorry to know that you struggle with your sense of self after this injury. I can very much relate. It feels like I have been stripped of everything that made me who I was. Good luck to you and thanks again for all your help.

If you read the articles and "research" papers about SCT for neurological injuries, you will find many inconsistencies. You will also find that there is a very limited number of clinics doing the therapy. If the therapies were so good, they would be done at many clinics worldwide.

Mike went to China for his SCT. His benefits are unknown because mike was trying every therapy under the sun. He appeared to have vast financial resources to spend on these therapies.

The simple logic of how the brain works shows the likelihood that SCT will help and injured brain. The brain has billions of neurons. Each neuron has thousands of axons (up to 10,000) These neurons and axons are organized over a 25 year period. Some rudimentary skills are developed during the first year of life and during gestation. Getting new neurons to grow and organize will take years to just start to notice a difference.

Those who suffer comas and other severe injuries have brain cells that become dormant. They are stimulated into action through therapy and continued challenges. The coma is the brains reaction to the severe injury. It goes into coma to cause the cells to become dormant so that they can heal. Even cells that are not damaged need to be dormant so they do not cause stimulation to the injured cells.

Rehab specialists follow strict criteria to avoid over stimulation as the brain starts to bring dormant cells back on-line. That is why current PCS protocol calls for cognitive rest. Cognitive Rehab Therapy is not even suggested until many other milestones have been met.

The anxiety I see in many posts is counter to healing. Getting anxious for a cure-all therapy is just as bad. Getting anxious from comparing recovery rates and wondering why you are not recovering at the same rate is also stressful.

So, remember that severe injuries with coma are very unlikely to have any comparison to PCS. They will likely have some focal injuries that will take years to heal if they even do heal. The rest of the brain needs to be re-awakened from the dormant state and retrained. Notice how some with severe injuries have complete intellectual/cognitive function but dysfunctions in motor skills or other specialized brain functions.

The "doctor fix me" demand is of no value. It is more a patient heal thyself. Or at least, patient, take a disciplined approach to your life and help your brain heal slowly in the ways that it can. The spontaneous recoveries are due to individual circumstances. We can not expect to have those same circumstances.

I have seen the ups and downs from at least 14 notable impacts to my brain. I started learning brain recovery skills in 1974 when I has a serious relapse of symptoms. The most important skill was stress reduction. We all have choices we can make to lower the stress levels in our lives.

Hope you can make some good choices.

My best to you all.

Dear Eddy
 

Dear Eddy,

I have been reading this thread and have been wanting to respond to your post for a few days.

When I read your entry I was so dumbfounded.

I can't even imagine how hard it has been for you to suffer for eight years.

My one and a half years seems so small.

I have been thinking of posting a reply but I just never knew what to say or how to express my deepest sympathies.

I would be lying if I haven't thought "what is the point?" on a daily basis.

Then I thought "With whom have I been hurt the most?"

And I realized those "friends" or people that don't acknowledge my PCS.

So, this is me acknowledging your suffering as a fellow twenty-something PCS'er.

I'm sure that the hundreds of viewers on this thread feel similarly.

Best wishes.

Hang in There
 

Just hang in there. I know that is is difficult. I am here if you need to talk. Thank you for putting yourself out there and becoming vulnerable and you're right...an online forum is better than nothing. :)

I went to a physical therapist (because all my doctor did was throw pain meds at me), thinking that I was going in to see her about shoulder pain. When she evaluated me, she found that it actually was a neck issue. Among other things, I had quite limited range of motion in my neck, though didn't realize it.

I had several months of physical therapy for that a couple years ago that helped a lot. That's partly what makes me so optimistic about the physiatrist clinic, because they are doing similar things at higher intensity.

I hear you. your singing to the choir . I have good days and bad days . When I have a good day I tend to push it too far. so after a good day. I have a few bad days. but I had a good day . that gives me hope that there will be better days . since you can't read now .maybe you can get books on tape or satellite radio . they play old radio shows.I know it is not much but it is some entertainment . whoever reads this to you should be able to help you set up something . and as for writing . I have not typed 1 word . I speak and it types so u can record your thoughts and have someone else type them.or you can get it voice command technology 4 your computer . if you were a writer you still are a writer. and I bet through all of this you do have a book in your head . good luck hope this helps some.

yar69,

When you have a good day then overdo it and have a few bad days, some research suggests you have undone the small step of progress you made to get to the good day.

The goal is to link as many good days together as possible. By learning the triggers or overload limits, it is possible to avoid them and link many good days together. I even learned how to rest up to prepare for a more intense day.

It is very difficult for me to respond to eddyx77. You bear a terrible burden. I am in my my 4th year. Luckily I had great doctors (all but one). My GP sent me to a good neurologist. A neurologist may run many test to rule out non-PCS problems, but his great contribution was sending me to cognitive therapy. Then to a competent neuropsychiatrist.

I had learned a lesson in a terrible fashion. A decade before my accident my ex-wife had a brain injury due to toxic chemical exposure. I hope I don't sound cruel, but this beautiful and talented woman seemed to embrace he disease, not deal with it. She refused cognitive therapy, seeming to dismiss its value. She developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

The end result, she left me to find a new life, but hers has turned into a disaster. Her self-treatment rests on alcohol.

When my injury was diagnosed as PCS, I vowed to seek the best doctors and undergo the best treatment. I won't work again, ever. But I do hope to wake up each day looking for progress. I hope you follow much of the advice on this Board and work towards physical and mental improvement. Take joy where you can find it, small steps forward. And take comfort in adapting as well you can to this horrible injury.

Willjan

Sorry to hear your state.

I was the same as yoy, wondering what the point of life is living like this...

Everywhere i turned there were no cures and I took it upon myself to find different ways to battle this problem.

Here's a thread i made with a list of things that have helped me.

If you need someone to talk to, Pm me your phone number or I'll PM you mine. You are not alone in this... And you must thank the powers that be that your are still alive and breathing. This is what has helped me most... Knowing that we could all be dead now... But we were given a chance to live.