Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Concussion Syndrome For traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post concussion syndrome (PCS).


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Old 03-09-2012, 03:50 PM #1
windseeker242 windseeker242 is offline
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Default Recurrence and Withdrawal

Hello all, I'm new to posting but an avid reader of this forum. I am a 24 year old male

On December 4th 2011 I suffered a nasty concussion skateboarding. Went to the ER and was observed for 2 hours then sent home. No scans were taken. I suffered brain fog - emotional instability and sleep issues for 2.5 weeks before they spontaneously resolved and I Felt %100 - It felt like I had a new lease on life.

Fast Forward to March 1st. I was out sailing (a Laser for those who are interested) and I received a small smack from the boom on the back of my head. That afternoon the feelings started to creeped back in.

Its now March 9th and I feel like I have made no progress. I quit both smoking tobacco and marijuana 4 days ago which i used to do quite regularly. I am in full blown withdrawal. Ironically, the tobacco withdrawal is hardly there (It feels masked by the brain fog) but the insomnia from the marijuana withdrawal is getting worse by the day.

My question\quest for hope is this. Do you think I am shocking my brain chemistry by quitting 2 substance cold turkey in the middle of my recovery.

Secondly, if anyone has gone through this (%100 recovery with a slight hit to cause a recurrence) did you recovery a second time? How long did it take?

It goes without saying that if I recover from this there will be some major lifestyle changes. No more smoke, no more skateboarding and I'm ok with that. Twice is enough to show me that I must be brain centric for the rest of my life.

Please some words of hope, I hardly go a day without a breakdown.
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Old 03-09-2012, 04:20 PM #2
xxxxcrystalxxxx xxxxcrystalxxxx is offline
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xxxxcrystalxxxx xxxxcrystalxxxx is offline
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Grin

Wow..you have alot of changes going on. Kudo's to you for quitting. I used to be a smoker and let me tell you quitting was the best thing for me. The withdrawels get easier. I will say my one year mark is coming up for me. I never ever thought I could do it, especially after my injury.

I would say alot is going on by stopping but I think its for the best to continue not smoking. Your brain will really appreciate it. Yes I think you are shocking your system but I quit before my injury and it was a shock to me then too.

I would say to continue to rest, rest, rest. Eat good foods and replenish your system with vitamins. Mark has a list that he recommends. I will say it's helping me.

As for your daily "breakdowns". I say, "let it out". You are lucky if you can. Its better than holding it all inside. I know it feels awful, we all have gone through these battles. You will get lots of support.

I will say good for you for quitting. Be determined and stay strong. After the third day the withdrawels should get easier. Oh yes, drink lots and lots of water. Flush those cigarette toxins out. Dont be suprised if you start coughing. All that crap gunked up in your lungs needs to come out. Just visualize yourself with healthy lungs. You will smell better, look better, have more money, and a sense of pride you have never felt before by succeeding in this journey.

:0)
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Old 03-09-2012, 04:36 PM #3
ginnie ginnie is offline
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Default hi windseeker

I quit smoking cigaretts cold turkey in 95. I drove home 1,300 miles angry at myself for becoming addicted to cigaretts. I never picked one up again. I used the anger in a possitive direction, and am glad I quit. It is my understanding that quiting smoking cigaretts is harder than quiting MJ. The addictive properties in MJ can be more psychological in nature than the nicotine in the cigaretts. Getting them out of your system once and for all is a very good thing to do. Noone said it would be easy here, just know that it can be done if you want to bad enough. It is worth any feelings of withdrawl you may feel for eitherone of them. Stick with it, I guarantee if you get through the first two weeks, you can do it! You feel so much better once you stop smoking anything. The number of harmful ingrediants in either one of them is not good long term. I do wish you all the best. Just do it! ginnie
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Old 03-09-2012, 04:49 PM #4
windseeker242 windseeker242 is offline
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Thank you for your reply!
Please link me marks list.

My breakdowns are all centered around my brain fog. I feel worse when I cry for a while so I try to avoid it. The tobacco withdrawal is not showing its ugly face for some reason. Which seems like a blessing but its kinda concerning in its self, when i was "normal" the withdrawal was terrible. Im coughing up crap and such but I could hardly care about that. I just want my head to feel normal again.

Which causes me to raise another question. Im having great difficulty getting to sleep but I am lucky to be in a position in life where I have nothing but time to recover (moved home, hence the smoke quit). Once Im asleep its night sweats and vivid dreams which is natural for marijuana withdrawal. I sleep about 2 - 3 hours at a time but I sleep often. Sometime If I nap too much during the day I wake up with that Overslept feeling. So I guess im trying to ask. Is there such thing as too much sleep when it comes to recovery?


Thank you all for your support.
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ginnie (03-10-2012)
Old 03-09-2012, 05:20 PM #5
Mark in Idaho Mark in Idaho is offline
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Windseeker,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear of your struggles.

You have made some excellent decisions. The struggles of cold turkey quitting will be worth it. The short term chemical shock to your brain is likely less than the benefit of your brain being free of these chemicals.

As Crystal said, getting your nutrition improved will enable your brain to cleanse of the toxins better and faster. You've ended the nicotine and THC. Now limit caffeine, alcohol, MSG, artificial sweeteners (aspartame is the worst) and artificial preservatives.

Get started with vitamin and other supplements. B-12 (500 to 1000 mcgs daily), a B-50 or B-100 complex, D3, all of the anti-oxidants, a good multi-vitamin like GNC Mega Men, Omega 3's fish oil, magnesium and calcium, and some other things I can't remember right now.

If you get back on the water, find a light weight helmet, a bike helmet is enough or any styrofoam shell helmet. I know what the boom is like. I used to sail Sunfish and Banshees. If you don't know the Banshee, it is similar to a Laser just not a racing class. The peacefulness of a good afternoon sailing could be good therapy and exercise. I used to sail after a day at work.

You probably have suffered that critical mass concussion in December. It has left you with a brain that is very sensitive to concussion or any brain jolts. It may get better but you should be prepared for a sensitive brain. Your skateboarding has likely given you a multitude of asymptomatic concussions and sub-concussive impacts. These likely have sensitized your brain to impacts.

So, take it easy. Keep working at your cleaned up life. And, let us know about your prolonged symptoms so we can help you with ways to deal with them.

My best to you.
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Old 03-09-2012, 05:43 PM #6
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Thank you Mark.

Is taking vitamins auctally going to help? It seems like a placebo effect?

I've been very very fortunate in that the worst of my symptoms was a spinning head and nasty brain fog right after the inital incident.

No major headache, no vision problems, if i do have memory impairment it must be quite slight. I do suffer of hypervigilance. The main issue is the lightheaded foggy feeling. Will that ever go away? I feel like due to my lack of other symptoms It should go away but the fear that it is permanent makes every day a serious struggle to go through. The foggy feeling prevents me from enjoying the basic things i used to enjoy. (Video games, watching movies, hanging out with groups of friend etc)

If somebody told me I can't skate or sail again, Ill be sad but Ill make it. I just want my daily normal life back. Any stories of similar experience will bring me a lot of hope
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Old 03-09-2012, 08:03 PM #7
Mark in Idaho Mark in Idaho is offline
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windseeker,

The value of vitamins and other supplements are to make up for the lack of adequate nutrition from our modern processed food diets and the accumulation of toxins in the brain. It is not a placebo effect.

B-12 is known to help with anxiety/hyper-vigilance. It is a part of the many nutrients that help the blood brain barrier remain strong. The blood brain barrier is like a blood filter that protects the brain from toxins. The rest of the vitamins and supplements all have important functions. You can get all of these nutrients from a good diet but you would need to eat huge amounts of some foods to get enough to help an injured brain.

Your complaints of the things you want to get back to is classic. They are all of the normal symptoms of concussion. <(Video games, watching movies, hanging out with groups of friend etc) > These are the things you need to avoid to recover. Some of us never regain an ability to immerse ourselves into crowds with lots of voices. I have to be very aware of 'voices' overload and leave the environment quickly. I use foam ear plugs to help me endure crowds.

Your foggy feelings are your brain struggling to function at full power. It is clogged with toxins that need to be cleared. Think of a car trying to run on dirty gasoline.

Hope you understand the importance of getting your brain clean. You have a history that leaves even more toxins in your brain.
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Old 03-10-2012, 09:34 AM #8
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I don't know how hard you hit your head, but any secondary knock, if not too serious, shouldn't set you back all the way. The symptoms should lift.

The withdrawal from the rec drugs could definitely make it difficult to pinpoint the concussion symptoms from your body's adaption to being off them.

I'm going from personal experience, from people I know personally, and from watching a hell of a lot of sports.
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Old 03-10-2012, 11:42 AM #9
windseeker242 windseeker242 is offline
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Thank you - hopefully the positive energy will carry through
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Old 03-10-2012, 11:54 AM #10
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Default Hi windseeker

Let all that positive energy give you strength. I am hoping you can be strong and channel whatever is negative, into good. take care, one day at a time. ginnie
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