Hi everyone as you all know I've been struggling with these PCS symptoms which have altered my life, I hate all of it. It's been more than 8 months and I now believe this will be a life long endeavor. It's a constant struggle, and I miss the little things I use to do, that this condition has prevented me doing. My main goal is to be here as long as possible for my kids and my family if that means living a life with constant struggles.....then so be it.

ED

Hi Ed,
My daughter was dropped in a college class and landed on the back of her head. She too had bad headaches...What really helped was acupuncture. We we at the Stanford Integrative Clinic and this was her first experience w/ acupuncture. The type they did there was a super quick release of her headaches/head pressure but the effects would only last a few days. (Note she really never had headaches before the PCS)

Because the drive from our house to Stanford was stressful in itself. We looked locally for a doctor. Dr Rozenn of Santa Cruz has been super. You might want to contact her office to find out what type of acupuncture she uses. My daughter swears by it.

In addition, I think Berkeleybrain here on the forum wrote about a migraine free diet his dr prescribed. I believe he went to UCSF in the City. I haven't read a review from him about his diet but maybe you could PM him and ask.

There is a lot of information on this forum describing how to figure out what triggers your headache.

FYI...My daughter is still making gains and she is 2.5 yrs out. Her headaches are few right now. It does get better.

My best,

To the question you pose "Is a total recovery even possible?" I would say the answer is yes, it is possible. My TBI was categorized as moderate to severe (GCS was 11 upon hospital admission, I have five weeks of post traumatic amnesia, and 4 days retrograde amnesia).

I had significant deficits in cognitive functions following the injury, which got better over the months. Neuropsychological assessment 5 months post injury reported:

"On examination, the patient demonstrated intact cognition in all domains assessed including learning and memory, attention, processing speed, language skills and executive functions. He has shown an excellent recovery from his severe injury only five months ago. From a cognitive standpoint there are no concerns with respect to the patient returning to work full time or returning to driving”.

All brain injuries are different, and many survivors experience residual affects. In your post you offer that you believe your symptoms may be a lifelong condition. This also is possible. The question then becomes how best to move forward. To fulfill your stated goal “to be here as long as possible for my kids and my family”, embrace them and embrace yourself. You may indeed miss the little things you used to do. Look for other things that bring you joy. You can’t change what happened. You can look for things that bring you and your family joy and hold on to those.

All major life events, whether traumatic or benign, change us is some way. My life is different than it was before November 29 2010. In some ways it’s worse (I still walk with a cane for example), and in many ways it’s better. I have an enhanced appreciation for the fundamental goodness of people. I’ve enjoyed studying how the brain works. My wife and I have grown closer together. I can now fully appreciate joy in just being alive.

Eight months probably feels like forever to you. You have already made some adjustments, and there are more that can and will come.

Best to you as you continue on this journey.