When PCS symptoms start to come and go again, is this a sign you are getting better?
Today is the first day that head pressure/ache has been at a minimum, but I have had lots of numbness instead.
I can do more without any fatigue. Today I cleaned the toilets, mopped all the floors, weeded garden for 45 mins, rested before and after these, no fatigue tonight.
I have noise\light sensitivity now for the first time in five days.
I have had tinitus once this week.
I have been dizzy once this week.
I haven't taken migraine meds for 3 weeks.
Slept for 6 hrs last night. Previously 3-4hrs every night.
My symptoms were previously fairly constant
I am still only funtioning at 30%, but this time last week I was functioning at 5%. This must be a sign of change?

Good days are great! You want to have as many of those as possible. Don't overdo it or you will feel worse tomorrow. PCS is a big roller coaster and its easy to be upset when the good days end. Glad to hear you're having better days though!

CC

I agree with CC. Some good days are better than no good days for sure. Pace yourself. Don't overdo it or be upset if you backslide. I think it is a sign of adjusting to the situation and learning what causes problems and avoiding those things. But yes I do think it is a good sign. I don't think this is a chronic condition for everybody. Look at Lightrail, he got hit by a Lightrail and was in intensive care and has now been able to return to work. He still has some problems but they are manageable. I think that is the key to manage the symptoms.
So glad you are having some good days! Keep it up.
Brain

Mouse!,

The roller coaster is to be expected. When you are at 30%, try to moderate your activity level to maintain 30% as long as possible. You heal best by extending these better days as long as possible.

I am concerned that you are focusing on the details too much. This is a sign of anxiety. Try to just go with the flow without too much focus on the minor details. This will keep the stress chemicals lower in your brain allowing better healing.

My best to you.

I am just keen to know I may be getting better, because I have spent most of the last three months in a fuzzy haze, chronically fatigued, and most of this month suffering with severe head pressure/headaches and light/noise sensitivity. To be on my feet all day without having to lie down is a revelation, I have been like that all week. I can do so much more, so here's hoping!

mouse1,

Try to ignore any ideas about measuring whether you are getting better. Such anxiety is counter to recovery. And, you may think you can do so much more, but you should not do much at all.

Think of this. You have a hundred or more fonts on your computer. You could try to use them all regularly. But, your writing would look like chaos and you would feel chaotic as you tried to decide which font to change to next.

The concussed brain is the same. Just because you think you can, does not mean you should. No chaos is good for the brain. Boring is good. Excitement is not good.

Don't do anything any faster than you can deal and look at a deck of cards. Hand speed is a good speed for the injured brain. Simple stimulation with binary decisions, yes or no, not yes, no and 20 permutations in between. Get the idea.

One of the struggles the injured brain has is based on Digit span. This is the number of objects or ideas the brain can hold and process at the same time. It is like juggling. Juggling 2 items is not difficult. 3 items is more of a challenge. 4 and more can get quite challenging. The injured brain does better limited to lower digit span thought. In time, your ability to handle large digit span though will improve almost automatically. If you find you have crashed cognitively, look back at the digit span of your thought. You probably pushed your brain's limit.

A normal adult digit span is 8. A digit span of 8 is usually achieved at 8 years old. It can continue to increase for those with higher levels of intelligence and complex thought skills. It is stressful to the healthy brain to push for complex multi-tasking thought as the normal.

So, kick back, relax, and try not to worry about how fast and when you will get better. The only thing you can do to help with recovery is nothing or just a bit more than nothing.

My best to you.

Thanks for the advice, I have been going slow for a long time, I only watch an hour TV before bed, have limited visual and auditory stimulation and rested a lot. I have relapsed continually by aiming to get back to work every two weeks. Since basing my rehab at home and signing myself off work for a month I feel it is turning. I have to be active to turn my sleep pattern around, and it is working, I got another 6-7 hours sleep last night. This is because I am doing the things that do not provoke symptoms like weeding for upto an hour, cooking, housework, walking. Whilst avoiding the things that provoke symptoms like swimming, too much noise, light, stress, exercise, shopping centres etc. Its not just about resting, its also about pushing boundaries gradually and increasing activity without provoking symptoms, it seems to be working for me anyway because my last relapse was 8th Feb. Take care!

I and most of the experts don't agree with pushing boundaries. It is better to stay just below the trigger level. The more you can be active at 90% of your max, the better you will be. You want to have maximum blood flow through the brain without trigger symptoms. The brain is not like a muscle. Stress strengthens a weak muscle. Stress damages a weak brain.

That's fine, because I am currently operating at activity levels of about 15% or less what I did prior to injury. I think it's important to try things and go places where you may have had bad experiences. Today I went back to a store where I got completely overloaded at the check out and became very unwell a few weeks back. I completed a big shop there today, also went to two other shops and drove back home 10 miles without problems. Not the easiest thing to do, but it helps to put into perspective the progress you are making when you can achieve things where you previously failed.

I think it is better to try to understand the triggers at different locations/environments and learn to moderate them. Walking into a loud store just to test your tolerance does not good. Wearing ear plugs so you can walk into the noisy store allows your brain to continue healing without undue stress.

Driving at low traffic times allows one to keep stress low and driving safety higher. Testing one's brain's ability to tolerate a busy driving environment may end up with an accident that leaves others with debilitating head injuries. Been there, done that in response to a need to 'just get a task done.' Not worth the risk of hurting others much less the stress on my own brain.

The psychological based phobia treatment of immersion to desensitize from the phobia is not appropriate for brain injuries. We need to avoid to facilitate healing then slowly increase the stimulation is a moderated setting. Injured brains don't leave much room for on the job rehabilitation.

At the very least, it is best to beware of the triggers and be ready to leave a store or pull to the side of the road and stop. We can always sit in the car and let our brains settle down before proceeding on. I have had to do this myself.

When we learn what our triggers are, we can go about our days without anxiety about an unknown episode of meltdown knowing we can avoid these triggers. One melt down can undo weeks of recovery. Many of us have learned this the hard way.

My best to you.