Hi I am glad to have found this site it looks like there are a lot of well informed people here! I suffered a "minor" tbi during a training exercise in january of this year. (my second concussion in 5 yrs) I did not lose consciousness but did end up in the er diagnosed with pcs.and whiplash. Since then I have had dizziness, sensitivity to flourescent lights, ringing in the ears, chronic headaches, very emotional and prone to anxiety which I didnt really have issues with before. I have been off work for six weeks and going back on the 15th of april. Problem is, is that my symptoms except for the headaches are not going away! And although GREAT news that my CT, MRI, and inner ear tests all came back normal, I really am having trouble coping with the fact I cant run, do martial arts, even go on a long walk without getting fatigued and dizzy! (heart and lung and bloodwork great too) what do I do? Going for neuropsychological tests next if insurance will cover but shouldnt I be "better" now? I am not imagining these things but gosh I feel like those around me including docs think I am! Any advice is greatly appreciated...sorry for the novella!
~k~

I got a concussion from an auto accident more than 20 months ago and I'm still not better.

MRI's and CT Scans can not show microscopic damage done to brains and neurons are microscopic.

I'm much better than I was! But I'm still nowhere near the functioning level cognitively, physically or energetically that I was before that accident that caused all of this.

You should probably talk with your neurologist and/or PCP about postponing returning to work. An increase in activity when someone is stil experiencing symptoms might prolong them or make them worse.

I wasn't able to return to work for over a year and I'm still only able to work part time. I'm still getting better and my Dr. has given me a very good prognosis - but the brain can take a long time to heal.

Some people randomly get all better over night. You never know.

The thing is - your brain is trying to heal itself and it needs all the energy it can get in order to do that. So anything you do to take energy away from the healing process is prolonging the healing process. Make sense?

Most people here are advocates of healthy living in terms of nutrition. Vitamins, minerals, a good B-Complex, Omega Oils and other supplements can be very good for a normal brain and a godsend for a healing brain.

Exercise lightly to let your brain get the oxygen it needs but don't overdo it, or you might get worse.

I'm sorry you're dealing with a brain injury. Welcome to Neurotalk.

All of your insight is very helpful! Thank you for every bit of it...especially the vitamins I never thought of that. It is good to know that we are not alone in this...i am glad to hear you are doing better too although im sure not as.better as you would like to be but every bit helps -as I have recently learned

Hi and welcome to the forum. As you will hear over and over in these threads, every brain injury is different, so "shouldnt I be "better" now?" is dfficult to answer (I was off work and couldn't drive for 6 months with my TBI). I think your going for the neuro-psych evaluation is the right next step, they can evaluate for cognative deficits and other symptoms.

Glad you joined and best to you in your recovery journey.

wow! I just read your history...what a journey you have had...
it is great to read that things are looking better for you!

Dolfinwolf,

The others are right. Every brain injury is different.

You mentioned that this is your second concussion. If you put on gear and spar with your martial arts training, it is very likely that you have suffered many sub-concussive impacts. They are impacts to the head that do not cause concussion symptoms. You may have also had other concussions that were never diagnosed. Often, a concussion will not manifest any symptoms for a day or more after the impact.

I mention this because the cumulative effect of these impacts can cause a concussion to have much more prolonged effect.

So, as had been mentioned, the NeuroPsych Assessment will be a worthwhile diagnostic.

But, none of this will lead to a treatment that will speed up you recovery. Your brain needs time, rest, and quiet to recover.

Nutrition will help your brain detoxify. You should check your blood work and see if it included B-12 and folate levels. B-12 should be about 1000 pcgms/mL and folate should be greater than 20. Most B-12 tests consider 380 to be adequate. This is not the case for a compromised brain.

B-12 and folate are needed to restore your blood-brain barrier. This prevents toxins from reaching your brain.

Since you are still very early in the recovery process, proper rest and nutrition should help. April 15th return to work does not look likely. Maybe a reduced schedule will be OK.

What kind of work do you do?

I almost forgot, duh, my damaged brain working hard. LOL You ought to download the TBI Survival Guide at www.tbiguide.com and print out the 84 pages. Then, read through and highlight anything that sounds familiar. It will help you understand you symptoms and help you identify symptoms that you did not understand you even had.

Let us know how you are doing. There are lots of good people here.

My best to you.

Thank you mark! I will ask about my bloodwork specs! As far as work , I work at starbucks (they have been very helpful with my leave) as well as teach defensive tactics for a local police academy. I have completed the police academy but being an officer is obviously on hold indefinitely ...cant help others in this condition!
Thank you for the link as well!