Hey guys,

I've posted in here a few times, let me give you a brief rundown of my PCS history.

I hit my head in the shower in December 2010.
I suffered light PCS until August 2011.
Pretty much healing up and feeling better every day now.

Does anyone else in my position have days where they feel sleepy and out of it all day? It doesn't happen often to me, maybe 2 or 3 times a month. I got almost 9 hours of sleep last night, but I still feel groggy all day.

I usually take an amino energy drink powder called "Optimum Nutrition Essential Amino Energy" in the morning to wake myself up as an alternative to coffee or other caffeine. Most of the time, this works great for me, but on these groggy days, it doesn't do much.

I've found that exercise sometimes helps as well.

Does anyone else experience this? And if so, what helps you?

Thanks! -Alex

Alex,

The Optimum Nutrition Essential Amino Energy has the caffeine equivalent of a strong cup of coffee. It also has sucralose, a chlorinated sugar substitute.

This is likely hitting your system pretty hard.

Do you notice any difference in your dreaming or any restlessness on these nights where you wake up groggy?

What other things are you consuming that may be unique from time to time?

Hi Mark,

I am interested in your perspective on dreams. Are they more vivid when PCS is stronger? Something else?

Are you taking any medications besides the supplement? I'm on amitriptyline which makes me feel very groggy in the mornings. It definitely takes a while to convince my body to get going.

I would try to avoid caffeine if I were you. The one or two days I've had it, it really made my symptoms worse.

I think if you are that exhausted, it is your body telling you to take it easy. Maybe some light exercise later in the day, but otherwise just take your time getting up and getting going. Don't push yourself in any way that requires artificial supplementation to maintain.

Hey everyone, sorry for not responding sooner.

To Mark, I'm not sure about the restlessness. Very rarely, I get restless some nights, but I haven't taken the time to notice if there is correlation between that and my grogginess. I will pay attention to see.

I usually have no problem with my energy supplement most days. For example, today I took it and feel perfectly normal.

I guess everybody just has those days where they're tired out and they seem to drag on forever. But, fortunately for me, this doesn't happen very often. On average, it's usually an average of about one day a month.

Hi Eown,

What is the dosage for the Amitryptiline? I am taking 25mg - very sedative so I usually go to bed a lot earlier than normal or won’t be able to get up before 9. The doc also prescribed lamotrigine and both work slightly different. I experience wild mood swings but they are not daily - at least I hope that doesn’t happen because they are very scary. I think everything is calming down and then something happens and I am in a very low spot or my mood turns extremely irritable\aggressive. I have to work very hard to keep my frustration and temper under control when I am in that state.
I was also prescribed tizanodine? For the headaches . I tr to only take that when the headache goes 7 or above. What pain level are your headaches generally ? Mine are5-6

I started at 25 mg of amitriptyline then went to 50 but couldn't tolerate the side effects so now I'm down to 30.

It was VERY VERY sedative when I started taking it but has gotten less so as time goes on. Still, it's hard to get up in the morning. I do try to take it earlier in the evening, too.

My headaches were running around 5-6 (occasionally 7-8) for the first six months or so post-concussion. Now I have days without headaches but 3-4 toward the evening is not at all uncommon. The 5-6s are getting more rare but still do happen if I over-exert myself too much.

I just got a prescription for imitrex to try when I feel one coming on. We'll see how it goes.

Are the lamotrigine and tizanodine something you take every day, or just when you feel one coming on?

jinga,

Have you had any seizures? The lamotrigine is for seizures.

The tizanodine is for muscle spasms due to MS. Do you have neck muscle spasms that may be causing your head aches? Have you had any diagnostic of your upper neck? The muscles that connect the upper neck to the skull often spasm in people who have suffered a concussion. A simple way to tell is by feeling the skull behind the ears. There will be tender spots that may radiate down to the upper neck area.

The common dose of amitriptyline for PCS insomnia and head aches is only 10 mgs.

wakey, the dreams I was mentioning are related to sleep apnea. When the brain does not get enough oxygen, dreams can get rather bazaar. PCS can often cause sleep apnea.

Yes the Tizonodine is for the headache\spasm - I suffered neck bulges and whiplash. The lamotrigine was to be taken to replace the amitryptiline after awhile because I complained of mood swings but the amitryptiline seems to be steadier and honestly I don’t like taking medication but I have to for the time being.

Alex New,

YES! I, unfortunately, have days when I am feeling foggy and completely out of it. I am sorry that you have that symptom as well.

It happened this past Saturday. I don't know what caused it, but I could not get out of bed until noon and then no matter how much I tried - and I did try - I was not able to do more than lie on the sofa most of the day and then go to bed early... My whole body ached.

It is very frustrating when it happens, because I can't predict it, and I never had anything like this before I had my concussion (except if I was sick with the flu or something like that.)

I wish I knew what would help. On a day like that, I just have to let my body rest. It takes over. There is no choice. I just assume that it is part of this process of mild traumatic brain injury.

The only thing that I can say is to take one day at a time.
I hope that you will get better soon.

ShellyK