FAQ/Help |
Calendar |
Search |
Today's Posts |
![]() |
|
Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Concussion Syndrome For traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post concussion syndrome (PCS). |
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
![]() |
#1 | ||
|
|||
Junior Member
|
Thank you all for your replies. It is helpful to hear from others dealing with some of the same issues. I found parts of that video useful in expressing some of what I am experiencing.
One more thing: I was just reminded this evening that I had sustained a concussion back in 1996. I missed work for a month for it, but I don't remember what the symptoms were and I haven't thought about it in a long time. I never noticed any long-term problems from it. Neither my doctor nor my neurologist know about the concussion. Will the fact that I have had a concussion previously have an impact on my treatment? Thanks again. |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#2 | ||
|
|||
Legendary
|
A previous concussion should not impact your treatment. It will only effect your length of recovery and amount of recovery. It likely made this concussion worse by causing your brain to be much more sensitive to any impact. I suggest you not mention it unless asked because it may confuse some doctors, especially any doctor hired by WC.
__________________
Mark in Idaho "Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10 |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#3 | ||
|
|||
Junior Member
|
I appreciate your responses. Being able to draw on experiences of those who have dealt with similar issues is an invaluable resource.
Gillian |
||
![]() |
![]() |
"Thanks for this!" says: | ginnie (01-09-2012), SpaceCadet (01-13-2012) |
![]() |
#4 | |||
|
||||
Member
|
Sorry I'm a little late responding to this...but here we go.
I am a 36 year old female. I fell at work on November 22, 2011 and hit my head on the concrete factory floor. I blacked out and don’t have any memory for immediately after the fall. I have been diagnosed with PCS and have been improving since. So sorry to hear about your fall...but I'm glad you found us here at NeuroTalk. I was assaulted back in June and don't have any memory of the event. I was also diagnosed with PCS in September. I have problems stuttering and sometimes I use the wrong words, although that has been improving. I'm at 6 months post-injury and I still have this problem. It's gotten better, but I still have days where I struggle with it all day. It can be quite annoying and very embarrassing if your talking to somebody that isn't close to you or doesn't know what your going through. I am having problems with sequencial memory and struggle to do things I used to do without thinking, like making coffee, cooking, or other activities that require more than one step. I do the right things, but the wrong order. I’ll sometimes put my dog in his kennel for the night then give him food in the other room. I frequently go into a room and have no idea what I went there for. Because of this and my now very short attention span, I can’t drive. I have days and moments like this all the time. It gets better. I wasn't able to drive before, but now I'm able to...though I still have days that I don't feel like I'm capable. I have always been a reader and I can’t read. I had to have a friend type in the security code for me to register for this site because I could not read the distorted letters or pick out words in the audio option. Never a big reader, but I find it hard to read at times. The letters will either look distorted or the background will make the letters kind of invisible. Since my memory and cognitive problems are off I have a hard time following along. I'll forget the words as I read them. I am writing because yesterday morning when I woke up I was totally disoriented. I had no idea what day it was, what month it was, I thought I was late for a job I had actually quit a few years ago. Every person has had a moment like this at some point, but the thing that concerns me is that this went on for an hour before I could orient myself. I went to bed with a terrible headache, but I don’t know that is related. I posted about this about a week or so ago...but I've been waking up completely disoriented as well. I'll have to struggle to remember my son's name, my mom's name, etc. and I'll have to lay in bed sometimes for 30 minutes before it all comes back to me. It's still happening to this day. Have you had any other experiences like this since? They seem to be happening a lot for me since they started...very scary. I’d like to know if this is common and I would be interested in things I can do to improve my memory problems. I can't tell you for sure if it's a common problem...I'd imagine it is, as I've read about people having similar experiences...but I can tell you from my stand-point, I'm having very similar problems to you...so your not alone. I wish you the best of luck with your recovery ![]() |
|||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#5 | ||
|
|||
Member
|
Welcome to neurotalk!
Take good care of yourself and get lots of rest. ![]() Try not to worry about the cognitive impairments that you are dealing with. (A lot of people think that worrying makes them worse, but I really think it's using the energy to worry that does it. In either case the result is the same.) Get out of environments that overwhelm you or overstimulate you (like maybe the mall or something like that). Getting overloaded cognitively will most likely make your symptoms worse. It will most likely all get better with some time. ![]() |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#6 | ||
|
|||
Junior Member
|
Nwsmith1984
Thank you for your response. I read these posts regularly because I am trying to understand what is happening to me and how I can compensate for the deficiencies that affect me most. I can’t let go of reading. Thanks to the postings of the other members, I have started reading easier works that I have read before. I find that helps a lot with remembering what I just read. I am following Mark in Idaho’s theory in building up endurance and blocking out lines with an index card. I am also reading text with larger print. What you describe is exactly what I have when I try to read. Sometimes the words just swim on the page. And if a sentence is too complicated I have no idea what I read leading up to it. And by the way, Mark in Idaho, I appreciate your re-posting of long posts with spaces added. I literally cannot read them otherwise. *** In regards to your question, I have not been so disoriented as then. Sometimes when I first get up I have to get my bearings, like you explain, but only for a few moments. But I had a different experience this morning, which I think is related. I thought I was awake this morning when I was really asleep. I had a very vivid dream in which, at a certain point I realized I was only dreaming, but I could not force myself to open my eyes. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t make myself breathe. When I did wake, it was in a panic and my head was pounding. I took my dog out, but I was too physically tired to get myself breakfast. I wasn’t breathing hard, and my lungs were not tight like an asthma problem, but I felt like I had no oxygen. It took me a few hours to recover. It was a scary experience. |
||
![]() |
![]() |
"Thanks for this!" says: | SpaceCadet (01-13-2012) |
![]() |
#7 | |||
|
||||
Member
|
Quote:
However I have yet to meet a doctor who is aware of this evidence, or who will accept it - which to be honest hasn't really mattered since it doesn't make any difference to their 'treatment'. Do be careful though since I see you had your injury at work. I found that whilst doctors had no interest in my concussion history, my work was very interested since I foolishly/concussedly told my manager I had had concussions before, and this was used to justify not giving me sick pay, since they argued that although my concussion happened at work they shouldn't have to pay because I had had concussions before. So I would advise not telling anyone this if you think it might cause you a similar problem. With regard to the reading, I really missed reading for a while as it would bring back all my symptoms. I found that I could listen to audiobooks during that time, you may want to try it. It seemed to go into my brain with fewer processing difficulties. And I see you mentioned difficulties mixing coffee. I found that caffeine made my symptoms worse, and have completely cut out both caffeine and alcohol. Best wishes
__________________
mTBI March 2011, spent around a year recovering. Since recovery I have achieved a Master's degree with distinction in Neurological Occupational Therapy |
|||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#8 | ||
|
|||
Junior Member
|
Quote:
I really appreciate your response to this post. I’m sorry for your trouble. In your situation, I’d say it sounds more like a response due to concussion rather than being foolish. Let’s put the blame where it goes. (Not to mention the fact that the company always gets you cornered when you are in a weakened condition.) I have read other posts on coffee. I have found that if I go without a half of a cup of coffee in the morning I have symptoms of withdrawal on top of the PCS. This includes headache, lack of focus, agitated…. You get the picture. I found that I have to have some kind of balance. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me. I wish you the best. Gil |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#9 | |||
|
||||
Member
|
Quote:
__________________
mTBI March 2011, spent around a year recovering. Since recovery I have achieved a Master's degree with distinction in Neurological Occupational Therapy |
|||
![]() |
![]() |
Reply |
|
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Does anybody else feel... "spacial disorientation"? | Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Concussion Syndrome | |||
New member. | New Member Introductions | |||
Hi, new member here | Spinal Disorders & Back Pain | |||
Hello I am a new member | New Member Introductions |