[chocolatebell]

This is my first post, but I have been on here a lot in the past year. Thank you for sharing, your stories have been a huge help to me.

I am a horse trainer, and last year I was bucked off one of my training horses and was knocked out. It was my first diagnosed concussion (probably 7th looking back with what I know now), my neck and head CT was clear so they told me to take it easy, and I could return to work a week after my symptoms went away.

A week after my accident my husband left for a trip and I was on my own with my 15 month old son. I was still "taking it easy" i.e. not riding, not cleaning stalls, but I was still taking care of my son, cleaning the house, running errands, etc.

The day after my husband left my mom had to drive me to the ER because I became so dizzy I thought I was going to pass out. They told me to make sure someone was with me and my son until the dizziness went away.

By the end of my husband's 10 day trip I was so sick I could barely make it to the bathroom on my own, and someone else had to take care of my son 24/7. It took 3 months for me to be able to play with my son, and be alone with him for 10-15 minutes.

My main symptoms were headache, dizziness, nausea. I also have visual tracking issues, other visual issues, neck issues, some memory and cognitive issues which are not severe.

The things I found most helpful:

Vestibular therapy (I had to wait 6 months before I could tolerate vestibular therapy, but it was so helpful I was starting to work by month 7)

Medications (My physiatrist sucked, pressured me to go back to work as a horse trainer before I could drive, read, etc. and he refused to prescribe any medications, so I went 4 months before I was given anything to help prevent headaches, or help me sleep) Nortriptyline for migraine prevention, Relpax as an abortive, atenolol (I developed high BP during this time) and birth control to curb the hormonal migraines.

Rest - My idea of rest the first week was driving my son around, shopping with my niece and nephew, etc. I didn't realize that my brain needed rest, not just my body.

Learn to deal with worry and stress - The book "The Power of Self Coaching" helped me to learn how to deal with stress and stop worrying. It was life changing for me. Stress is inevitable with an injury like this, and with nothing else I could do my mind went crazy with worry for a while. My mom put this book on my kindle with the text to speak feature.

Find your triggers so you can avoid them. I learned that caffeine triggered that foggy feeling, and that made it much easier to give it up.

I started back to work 10 hours a week in march, and went VERY SLOWLY, adding about 6 hours a month, and this week was my first full week!! My migraines are controlled by the medication. I missed a dose last week and had a headache within 8 hours. My dizziness and fogginess is gone as long as I don't overdo it.

I can do pretty much everything I did before, but some things still have to be in small doses. I am riding again. I have given up training unbroke and problem horses, and am only taking clients with horses who I want to work with. I have shifted the focus of my ranch to raising beef cattle, and boarding.

It was a terribly long and arduous process, but overall I like who I am now better than who I was before. I got a chance to look at my life honestly, find what I value, and learn some much needed life lessons. I learned that I have a wonderful, supportive family, and I am the most thankful for that.