[Bigblackbunny]

As I grew up, I was put in high pressure private schools, and my family had high expectations of me. I have accelerated at everything I have done in life, but my stress and depression climbed fast as well. When I got to freshman year in high school, my depression had me curled up in extreme pain on my bedroom floor, and I had a mental and emotional breakdown. During my breakdown, I got a bad concussion, and another one, just two days later. Ever since then, I have had a severe drop in cognitive function. I hear a piano playing every day, I hear screaming in my head when I get stressed, my jaw clenches shut so I can't talk if someone expects to much of me or makes me get sad, and I can see a blue library with organized shelves of memories (Math/Science/Happy/Pain/Inventions/Nightmares/Etc). Its like an overlap of my vision. I can go to each room in this library just by thinking about it, and pick tablets off the shelves. I can see pictures, and read things I used to know, off of them. What is wrong with me, and how can I get back to my old normal self?

[Mark in Idaho]

Bigblackbunny,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. You are bringing a new mix of issues. I hope I can help you get some understanding.

From my experience with depression, it sounds to me like you were grossly over-stressed by the pressures put on you. This results in a complex change in brain chemistry. Getting a concussion or two while the brain is in this weakened condition can combine to make the concussions much worse.

It sounds like you may also be suffering from a PTSD like condition.

You will likely benefit from the same treatment I received 30 years ago when I was rendered non-functional from depression. My psychiatrist specialized in ortho-molecular psychiatry. This is a specialty where the focus is to cleanse the brain of the toxins that have accumulated from the stress.

I was put on a fast to rid any allergic foods then given a bland hypoallergenic diet. I also started a mega nutrition regimen of B vitamins, C, E, niacin, magnesium, calcium and some others. It radically changed my life within a few months.

I can guarantee you will be cured but many of us with Post Concussion Syndrome use a similar regimen to help with our recovery. Our current regimen is:
B-12 (1000 mcgs daily)
a B-50 or B-100 complex
D3 (up to 5000)
C,
E,
magnesium,
calcium,
Omega 3, 6, and 9 fish oil
and a high potency multi-vitamin like GNC Mega Men or Mega Women

We also stop any caffeine, alcohol, MSG and artificial sweeteners (aspartame and sucralose are the worst)

Limit high sugar foods. Good meat protein is good for Essential Amino Acids.

It is also very important to get quiet rest. This means low stress and minimal visual and auditory stimulation. Only mild cognitive stimulation allows the brain to keep good blood flow without over stressing the brain.

Others will likely add to these comments. There are lots of good people here.

Please feel free to tell us anything you want. We have heard it all. It will help to know if you are male or female and some details about you concussions and past activities that may have caused even minor head impacts.

Is your family supporting you with your health needs or is the pressure to succeed still strong?

It will help if your posts have a double line space ever 5 lines or so. many of us struggle to follow from the end of one line to the start of the next if the paragraph is too many lines.

Hope this helps you get a start on your understanding.

My best to you.

[Bigblackbunny]

Mark,

Thank you for your reply. The information you have provided so far sounds interesting to me, and I will be taking your advice into practice.

One thing that actually did confuse me in your reply, is about the hypoallergenic diet. I have been tested for every allergy possible, and the only thing my body has reacted to, is sulfur used in some medications. Even those, only have mild side effects.

Of the regimen that you proposed, I have been taking the high potency multivitamin, B-12, C, E, Omegas, and fish oil. At this point, I can't see much of an effect, though I have been taking them for 9 months now.

My body takes a lot of nearly anything to get an effect from my observation. I even tested taking 1500 mgs of caffeine recently, and it barely gave me a boost.

My family is strange. They say that they will be supportive, but they still expect high results. Right now, I am running three businesses, studying AP Organic Chemistry, trying to sell a house, take care of a few sick people who have all been in the hospital in the past week, and much more. I am a certified caregiver.

Originally, I was trying to make my message short, so I left out a few other things. I'm not sure how significant they may be, but here they are.

1. When I get more stressed, the piano I hear playing, gets more complicated. It gets faster, adds more chords, gets what sounds like a second player, has other instruments join in, etc.

2. If I see someone miss-treating someone else, I find myself hearing what seams like an inner voice saying things like, "I will make you bleed, stab you, rip you apart." I never act upon it, as I'm actually a total softie. I think its just due to the massive abuse in a past school.

3. Ever since the concussions, my mind still loves the idea of sex, but I get frustrated when about to do it, as arousal just randomly shuts off now. This part is ruining a lot of my concentration in life. If anything I want most to find out how to fix this.

4. Even with 8 doctors trying to find out why, not a single one has come up with even the slightest idea, as to why I can no longer feel hunger. I don't get cravings, I have what seams like a less sensitive taste now, and I have no idea what my body will need next because of it. Anyone heard of this before?


Thank you for your help so far. I hope to hear from you soon!

[Mark in Idaho]

bunny,

I assume from you comments that you are a male high school student. It sounds like your stress load is way to high. It is likely the cause of most if not all of your struggles.

Have you had any blood work done? B-12, D3, folate, magnesium, Thyroid, sex hormones, stress hormones, blood sugar, etc. can indicate if your body is properly absorbing these nutrients.

Your thought issues sound an awful lot like PTSD. A high pressure life style makes PTSD miserable.

Regarding allergies, some simple food allergies can stress your immune system and stress your brain. The full spectrum of B's will help your immune system. Which multi-vitamin are you taking? Some have better amounts of the trace substances. The RDA's are useless for an injured brain and a stressed brain and body.

Are you on any meds?

What do you do to de-stress?

If you hardly responded to 1500 mgs of caffeine, maybe you are already at max adrenal effort. This would leave you system completely wiped out.

Have you ever been able to take an extended time off to rest?

Have you been involved in sports where you were subjected to any form of head impacts, even minor head impacts like heading a soccer ball?

[Bigblackbunny]

Mark,

I am actually out of high school, and out of college as well. My stress is from running three businesses, taking care of others, trying to sell my house to move to Colorado for the better business economy, and taking pre-college Organic Chem courses so that I will be able to fly though college when I go for it again. I previously went for network security.

On the other hand, you are right that I am Male

I have not had any blood work done due to lack of insurance right now. I have been using herbal medicines for my physical ailments, but am finding that my mental state is the problem. I study Herbology with my Organic Chemistry, as I use them side by side.

I do not live with my parents. I have not for a few years now. They live in another state, but we still keep in contact in order to discuss possible new business ideas, how to deal with employees, new laws that may effect the performance of businesses, and how to set up high profit arbitrages.

No medications, but to answer your question on what multi-vitamin it is, I'm taking a one-a-day high potency multi-vitamin.

To de-stress, I either study Organic Chem (I truly do love it), I build new prototypes for my inventions, I program simple computer programs or for inventions, I keep multiplying a number by itself in my head till I can't handle the size of a resulting number in memory, or sometimes I will just figure out the puzzles in a mensa book.

I think you may be right about me already being at my maximum adrenal effort. Someone told me a few months back that they think I may have adrenal exhaustion. I should probably look into that.

Hmmm, an extended time to rest... Do you mean as in, to sleep? Last night I got about 9.5 hours of sleep, if thats what you mean. Forgot to set my alarm clock.

The closest thing to a sports injury was when I got dehydrated during a soccer match back in high school, and blacked out from it. I swear the coach tried to kill me that day, he put me as center forward for the first time. I was usually sweeper.

I hope that helps!

[Mark in Idaho]

bunny,

So that explains AP organic chemistry for a non-high school student. It was confusing idea to evaluate.

As for the One a Day, even the High Potency is very low potency. They use the RDA for their values. The RDA values are far too low for an injured body.

What herbs and such are you consuming?

For rest, I mean taking a few weeks away from the intensity you are involved in. You may enjoy your intellectual endeavors but your brain needs a break. You sounds like a Type A ADD/ADHD personality. This alone can lead to psychosis.

Your history playing soccer means you have suffered more than your share of head impacts, both concussive and sub-concussive. The accumulate to a point of brain injury. Add a full diagnosed concussion or two and your brain is in tough shape.

As one who was part of the academic achievers in high school, I have followed my classmates. Those with the highest pressure to achieve and desire to achieve have had the highest rate of depression and bi-polar disorder. The brain has only so much tolerance for stress.

Recent research has demonstrated that multi-tasking is damaging to the brain. Just because people can do it does not mean it is good for the brain. The stress chemicals that build up in the brain can be devastating.

If you can not find a way to slow down and rest your brain cognitively, you will never get better. You risk getting much worse.

I have almost 40 years experience running my own businesses, with up to three at a time. I know what the stress does to the brain. I had to make changes in my choices for my mental health. What is the use of working so hard if you can't take time off to relax and decompress.

The injured brain needs continuous quiet rest not periodic rest. The concept of taking a sabbatical is to rest from work so the brain and body can recharge. My signature verse "be still" can also be more accurately be translated "Cease striving." I quote it because I know how much the brain needs this cessation from effort.

I have an invention in the pipeline right now. I hired a consultant to handle communications with potential licensees or those interested in purchasing my patent. I did this to remove the stress from my daily life. It is well worth it.

I also know that getting the proper health care, even when I need to spend cash because it is not covered by insurance, is worth it. It helps me be functional and productive.

You have choices to make. There are no quick fixes or ways to beat the system.

[Bigblackbunny]

No worries, I understand

What high potency multi-vitamin would you suggest?

For herbs, it really goes on and off of so many of them, depending on what I have. They serve their purpose, than they are out.

I even found that simple garlic is a potent antibiotic, and used it to knock what showed the symptoms of tonsillitis out of my system in about three days. Simply crush a clove, let it sit in room temperature for 15 minutes, than add it (uncooked) to a food you are about to eat, such as pasta sauce. Three garlic cloves a day knocks the tonsillitis away

I have tried maca, but that didn't effect me. Obviously used for a problem I was having a few posts up.

I have used what I believe was american ginseng to cool my body, as I have two tribes of indian in my blood, causing me to produce more heat. The american ginseng cools your body. Asian ginseng heats it up (good for the winter).

Other things I have used is acai berries, goji berries, bacopa, and eucalptus.

Stopping working drives my stress through the roof, than makes me suicidal. I'm afraid of doing that. Also, what seams like psychosis, kicked in a few years back. When I get to stressed that I can't handle it, I even start hallucinating a girl named Aelita. She tells me how to get through, and fix things for the day. Its not fun being that stressed though.

Would lucid dreaming help this any? I used to do that all the time. Its how I got my username. From a 40 year long, lucid dream.

I wish my inventions were the kind that I could just let out there like that. Mine are more hobby based, designed around electro-gravity and such.

Maybe I will get insurance through my company as a tax write-off soon.

[Mark in Idaho]

The GNC Mega Men is a good multi.

You need to be a bit careful with herbs and such. They may be effective for the issue at hand but they may aggravate your brain injury. Many patented drugs are designed to be like the active ingredient of herbs and other natural substances but without the other ingredients that may cause unwanted effects.

Bacopa sounds like it has SSRI and SNRI actions plus maybe some anti-oxidant value. The berries are anti-oxidants that can often be found in cheaper forms as Vit C, E, etc. There is great value to the brain from anti-oxidants.

The medical testing is a write off as medical expenses so paying cash gets you a write-off anyway. Health insurance often limits access to coverage for the lab work and specialists who do ortho-molecular psychiatry or life-extension medicine.

I have always paid for my own health insurance until I went on Medicare. I still needed to spend cash to get the special diagnostics and care for my head injury. Health insurance usually includes managed care that limits access to the specialists. The plans that include such coverage is very expensive so paying cash may actually save you money.

When you stop working, you need to fill the time with activities with a low cognitive load. Have you ever gone hiking for an extended time? Or, a multi-day river raft trip.

There are also people who use very hot spicy food to get a dopamine release to help their brains settle. It is like what is called a 'runner's high.' Anything you can do to cause a release of dopamine can be helpful.

Finding a way to slow your brain down will pay great dividends as you get older. You need to work diligently to find a solution to this.

My best to you.