[Tpont21]

Good afternoon everyone,

I had my 3 week follow up at the UPMC Concussion Clinic a few days ago. The doctors said they are very pleased with my progress. They said it looks like I'm doing very well in physical therapy and my scores were better on the IMPACT test. The only symptom I'm really having now is dizziness and a bit of anxiety. The dizziness typically gets worse when I am in crowds and busy places which in turn causes me to have anxiety.

The doctors said they want to see me again in 4-6 weeks at which time they expect me to be back at full-time at work. They said that I am good to start putting my foot on the gas pedal a bit more: increasing my workout intensities, going into crowds more often, etc. They said they expect me to be doing very well in 4-6 weeks. So that was encouraging news.

They also thought it's going to help me a lot to possibly go on a low dose of medication temporarily for another month. They prescribed me 30 tablets of 0.5 mg of Klonopin and said to take half a pill in the morning and half in the afternoon. They obviously emphasized that this isn't going to fix my problem, but it will be a crutch to help me deal with life during my recovery. The physical therapy is what is really going to help me recover.

The Klonopin seems to be working great. I'm nowhere near as nervous and I barely get any anxiety with going into crowds now. I feel like I'm smooth sailing. Although I do feel a bit "off" on the drug, I'm sure that's totally normal. And since I'm doing such a small dose (0.25mg twice a day) temporarily (1 month) I'm not worried about addiction or anything like that. I don't have an addictive personality to begin with. I am normally against medications but since its such a small dose and its temporary, I convinced myself it's okay. One bonus side effect is that I've noticed my sleep has improved since I began taking it.

Well, just wanted to provide an update to everyone. Hopefully in 4-6 more weeks I'll be feeling almost symptom free like the doctors think I will! Very encouraging. Just gotta keep at it!