Great to meet all of you. I am helping my brother who is 6 months into his recovery from a car accident.
A question he keeps asking but no doctors seem to have a good answer is, "If he takes tylenol to reduce his headache, will that mask his symptoms, which will then allow him to overdo it since his head won't hurt?"
The doctors really want his pain controlled but the only way my brother seems to know it is time to rest is when his head hurts. Any suggestions or answers?

Hi and welcome to NT.

What other symptoms does he present other than headaches, and how often are severe are they? I wouldn't see any reason not to take the Tylenol if this is effective in pain mitigation. I would say he should continue to be mindful of activities that exacerbate the headache, but absent other problematic symptoms a return to normal activities should be a normal part of the recovery process.

Helping..

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Your brother should be limiting his Tylenol use. It is not good for a concussed brain. It is also rough on the liver. It would be better if he only took it when a head ache can not be resolved with rest. Head ache is not the only sign of fatigue. Needing to 'stop to think' or strain to focus or reread a line of text are also signs of fatigue.

Hopefully, he has been told to get plenty of quiet rest, meaning low intensity activities with minimal visual and auditory stimulation.

I hope you can help him decide to get the quiet rest his brain needs.

My best to you both.

I asked this very question to my own doctor.

My doctor advised that it is alright to treat the headache with pain medication, but then one must stop the activities, recognizing that the headache was indicating a need to rest.

I find that I tend to just try to tough out the headache if possible, and that way I'm not tempted to continue to overdo it with cognitively demanding activities.

It is a challenge to manage, and I wish you good luck.

I just want to add that my doctors told me that if I constantly took OTC or other meds for my headaches it could cause a cycle of rebound headaches. That in the long run this would make it worse not better.

Thanks for your insights about others ways to measure fatigue. He is really trying to rest appropriately but as you know, it is difficult to accept the limitations of a TBI.
FYI: He has the full range of post concussion syndrome symptoms. The thing that has helped the most recently is acupuncture. Really decreased his pain and stress level.