[Alex V.]

Hi,
I'm new to neurotalk and I stumbled upon this forum when I was researching PCS. I suffered my original concussion approximately 10 months ago while playing hockey. I was hit in the head similar to the Sydney Crosby hit where I was blind sided. I fell back and my vision was slightly blurred for a moment but I continued playing and didn't think much of it at the time. I'm sure I've suffered many undiagnosed concussions through out my years of playing hockey but this is the first time that I've had problems after the original incident.

Foolishly, I continued to exercise multiple times per week and play hockey despite feeling extremely light headed to the point of almost passing out. As a hockey player it's normal to simply "suck it up" and play through the pain. As I now know I probably did more damage by doing so.

Most of my symptoms have gone with the exception of the dizziness and light headedness. It has only been within this past month that I have completely stopped working in order to focus on recovering. I've completely stopped all exercise because I can't do anything without becoming dizzy. I've tried extremely light walks for short periods of time and I still get dizzy from that.

I've been trying to cut down on anything that causes symptoms and have started to take vitamins everyday. Any advice on what I can do to help me recover is greatly appreciated! I'm only 22 and I want to get back to living a normal life! I'm willing to do whatever it takes.

Please help!

[cyclecrash]

Welcome to the group! I'm sorry you're still having these issues but its good to hear you only have one main problem and it might be a treatable one! Have you looked into vestibular rehabilitation? Its physiotherapy specifically for dizziness. I have been having it for 5 weeks now and it is helping my dizziness.

The other thing that might help would be getting your eyes checked and not by a normal optometrist. There are others that can post links for you but if you search for NORA you can find an eye specialist in your area.

I'm sure others will be along with their advice. You've found a good group here!

Good luck to you
CC

[Alex V.]

Thanks! I'll definitely look into both of those! The dizziness seems to only appear when exercising but can sometimes develop into a headache.

[mouse1]

I would say that you should avoid exercise altogether if it provokes your symptoms The key is doing the things that do not provoke symptoms and avoiding the things that do.. You should hopefully get through it, you have age on your side! Like yourself, I exercised 3 weeks after injury and now I am appriaching 4 months with pcs, I had dizzyness in the gym anda whole host of terrible symptoms after the dizzyness. After having lots of headaches, and head pressure, today I just have numbness in head instead. I hope I am on the road to recovery, and I hope you get there too.

[jmsarge]

I know exactly how you feel! I have passed the 1 year mark last month and don't know if I will have much improvement at this point.

Originally Posted by Alex V.

Hi,
I'm new to neurotalk and I stumbled upon this forum when I was researching PCS. I suffered my original concussion approximately 10 months ago while playing hockey. I was hit in the head similar to the Sydney Crosby hit where I was blind sided. I fell back and my vision was slightly blurred for a moment but I continued playing and didn't think much of it at the time. I'm sure I've suffered many undiagnosed concussions through out my years of playing hockey but this is the first time that I've had problems after the original incident.

Foolishly, I continued to exercise multiple times per week and play hockey despite feeling extremely light headed to the point of almost passing out. As a hockey player it's normal to simply "suck it up" and play through the pain. As I now know I probably did more damage by doing so.

Most of my symptoms have gone with the exception of the dizziness and light headedness. It has only been within this past month that I have completely stopped working in order to focus on recovering. I've completely stopped all exercise because I can't do anything without becoming dizzy. I've tried extremely light walks for short periods of time and I still get dizzy from that.

I've been trying to cut down on anything that causes symptoms and have started to take vitamins everyday. Any advice on what I can do to help me recover is greatly appreciated! I'm only 22 and I want to get back to living a normal life! I'm willing to do whatever it takes.

Please help!

[cyclecrash]

don't give up jmsarge! Try to do little things that make you happy to push yourself just a little bit. From what I found out today and have heard and read before, it's very important that you not let psychological issues make you worse. It's amazing how many physical symptoms are actually psychological causes! My neurologist said today that any new or worsening problems in a concussion are usually psychological in nature. Not that that makes them any less troublesome but they can be and need to be treated differently. Maybe seeing a psychologist would help.


Sorry back to Alex V. If you get dizzy during exercise a sports physio therapist or vestibular therapist sounds like the way to go! You should notice improvement quickly with them too which is nice so you don't wonder if you're wasting your time and money. From what I heard today from my neurologist, rest at this late stage is probably not the answer and could make things worse by causing fatigue, depression, etc. I hope you find a good physio person that can help!

Good luck
CC

[Alex V.]

I took your advice and booked a vestibular rehab appointment. I have high hopes! Especially since the dizzy spells seem to be my main problem. I'll keep you posted on my progress!

[Alex V.]

I agree that it is difficult to stay positive when day after day you wake up feeling terrible. I've been forced to become lazy not by choice which is completely against my nature. I keep thinking about being healthy again and how much better I'll feel. Right now I can't even imagine being able to do a simple jog without symptoms.

It's tough! Just stay positive and be optimistic!

[cyclecrash]

Good luck with the vestibular rehab! It doesn't work for everyone but is a good place to start. My vision is bad and dizziness so exercises with movement are a big problem. I can do some easy short time on recumbent bike though. Have you tried that? Not good to be inactive altogether if it can be avoided.

Let us know what the therapist says!

Good luck
CC

[DFayesMom]

I just wanted to put in my two cents and urge you to get your eyes checked by a neuro-optometrist. I've had four concussions in the last two years, the most recent one in November, and I have severe dizziness that makes it so I can't exercise or do a lot of other activities. I'd been doing vestibular rehab since October, but was not seeing a lot of progress. My frustrated physical therapist referred me to an optometrist, and it turns out that the big problem is with my eyes and I really need to do a totally different kind of rehab (though I may also need to do vestibular rehab afterwards as well). I should have seen a neuro-optometrist back in October!

It's great your signed up for vestibular therapy, but if you want to do everything you can to get well, see a neuro-optometrist too to get checked out. That way, you've covered all your bases! Also, remember that to get better, you really need to rest! When I first was off work and "resting", I still tried to do things around the house like scrub the baseboards and weed the garden. That is not resting! I ended up making my symptoms worse. Don't do that to yourself! Good luck!