Hi Members,

My Name is Rosa. I am 39 years old and live in London England.
First I would love to say what a great idea the creation of this support group for many of us out there drowning in fear and pain. Seriously if I never came across this site I would have sworn PCS was a myth as it is so difficult to relay to people how you actually feel. Many have thought it was just my mind and no actual pain. Really?? I have told them this is no pain anyone would want to pretend to have.

I had a freak accident last year June 2013. I was sleeping when I was woken by a loud knock at the door. I was expecting my friend but was just shocked, frightened by the loud knock of the door. I jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs. All the time wondering why I felt so strange. I luckily opened the front door (which I don’t even remember doing) and then fainted falling backwards, I was unconscious but my friend who was outside the door then pushed the door open to see me lights out of the floor. He was petrified but I was even more than him when I came around to try and understand why I was lying on the floor staring up at him.

He immediately took me to the hospital and did checks: CT SCAN, 24HRS ECG, EEG, MRI BRAIN SCAN, ECHOCARDIGRAM, CHEST X RAY, and FASTING BLOOD TESTS.. All negative/normal. So apparently I had a Vasi Sycope from getting up too quickly and when I was asleep. BOY OH BOY. The weeks and months that followed I likened it to “deaths door” as the nausea, dizziness, weakness, HEAD ACHES were way too excruciating for me to believe I wasn’t dying!

Was feeling better 8 months on but accidentally bumped my head on the back of a shelf in January 2014. It wasn’t a great bump but enough to aggravate the nerves of the brain again, setting back my recovery once again.
I have attempted twice to return to work as an IT Auditor but have been unlucky both times as by the time a month passes the migraines persist again.
I know I am still recovery just not at the rate I wish or my loved ones around would like me too. So along the road I have become more patient and know that one day it will be over.

Ongoing Treatment:

1) I do acupuncture once a week.
2) I do cardio Exercise for 1.5 hours 4 days a week at the gym
3) Taking 25mg amitriptyline at nights.
4) Supplements 1 x 0mega3 1250mg and 1 x Multivitamin.
5) Occasional Yoga classes and Aqua aerobics


Questions to the Forum:

1) Has anyone since having PCS been able to return to work full time with no symptoms? How long after your injury was this?

2) I have seen a supplement regime posted. Does this actually help? How long before will you notice a difference?

3) I don’t have headaches now but my current symptom feels like a “a numb sensation in the back right half of my head with a slow throbbing”. Any suggestions on how the take the edge off?

4) I am due to return to work next week on a phased return for 3 months as suggested by my neurologist. In anyone’s experience would you suggest returning to work with my current symptoms? I will be working 2 days per week for 5 hours. (That’s my Dilemma). Do I stay or do I go?

Regards,
Rosa

Hi Rosa and welcome to the Forum!

Brain injury is such an individual experience. Some people suffer serious head trauma, yet make pretty good recoveries. Others sustain seemingly minor injuries, yet are plagued forever by debilitating symptoms. Why? Nobody really knows. What we understand about the brain is dwarfed by what we don't.

I hope the Forum, and the support and hard learned wisdom of its TBI members, can help you make the best recovery possible. You're among understanding friends.

Just curious who DX your Post Traumatic Migraine?? Did they give you an idea when they maught resolve or is it a wait and see - I was given same DX but its going on 3yrs at this point.

Rosa,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. As Hockey said, peoples experiences are widely varied. Since you can work out for 1.5 hours multiple times per week, it sounds like you are doing well. A phased return to work sounds appropriate.

The vitamin regimen makes a big difference for some and only a small difference for others. It takes time to see a difference. It helps the brain tolerate stress.

Don't neglect your neck. You may have a subtle upper neck injury that gets inflamed. Icing and physical therapy can help.

You likely need to learn to recognize the subtle symptoms of over-doing it. Needing to reread a line of text or strain to focus your eyes or any such extra effort is a sign that your brain is becoming fatigued. Taking a short break will help. It may help to wear ear plugs to reduce background sounds while you work. If you can arrange to have a quiet break room available so you can take 10 minutes to rest your brain, it may be a big help.

The most important thing is to learn to listen to your own body/brain. Then you can moderate your activity level to avoid overload.

Recovery is not a single achievement. It is more of a work in progress where we have a moderated life to manage symptoms. Some have more residual symptoms that others. There are no ways to predict when and how symptoms will recover.

My best to you.

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Hi Jinga,

I am so sorry to hear you have been experiencing your symptoms for so long. My PTM was diagnosed by my neurologist by the second month since the concussion happened in June 2013. My symptom is a throbbing headache always at the back right side of my head which develops to a migraine. I can get on and do pretty much normal things. Live a normal life but the headaches when I commenced work on October 2013 were way to debilitating. Therefore I was off work again by mid November 2013. So have been off work up to this point. Was feeling better but as I said bumped my head accidentally in January 2014 and caused me to relapse yet again with the symptoms . My nuerologist have explained individuals with concussions are susceptible to other injuries easily, well this blog has confirmed that theory.

Questions:

1) How often are your migraines?
2) What method of pain relief do you use to alleviate the pain?
3) Have you tried the vitamin regime?
4) During the 3 years have you returned to working at all?

All the best
Rosa

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Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for reaching out!

So thank you for your advice as they say nothing tried nothing gained. Still skeptical about returning to work with my current residual symptoms but I guess I should just listen to my body. I have said this time around I will be more mindful i.e. Not undertaking a large workload, not having lunch at my desk whilst surfing the net, taking REGULAR breaks, Finding a empty meeting room on my lunch break and chill and listen to some meditative music and will definitely be getting those earplugs to kill background noise.

I also want to undertake and start as soon as possible my vitamin regime. I have listed the below as vitamins to start with. Please can you confirm the suggested dosage required for each. I have read your post but it seems to have changed over the years and I was getting slightly confused after going through each. So wrote down what I understood what your daily recommendations were:

B12 (500 to 1000 mcgs)
B-100
GNC MEGA Women- 1 DAILY
VITAMIN C
VITAMIN E
VITAMIN D3 (1000 TO 5000 MGS)
OMEGA 3.6.9 FISH OIL
CALCIUM
MAGNESIUM 500MGS
CURCUMIN 950MGS

Regards,
Rosa

Just popping in to make a small comment on your vitamin list:

1) make sure you take that B12 on an empty stomach, or it may not be absorbed properly.

2) recheck you magnesium label and make sure it is not the OXIDE form....as that is not absorbed from the GI tract and is basically only a laxative.

A little more fish oil, in addition to your mixed capsule or instead of it, may be more helpful for healing.

MrsD, do you think that there are any supplements TBI patients should avoid?

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Thank you misses D, I have just checked the label and it is from Oxide!!. Luckily I haven't opened it yet. So back to the store I go.
I actually bought one that was a mix of calcium and magnesium. Each caplet contained calcium 500g and Magnesium Oxide 250mg. Two caplets were the daily recommendation. Do you recommend this mix? Or should I just get each on its own? Of course excluding any containing MgO.

Thanks much
Rosa

Most supplements in stores are magnesium oxide...this is because it is cheap, people don't know better or doctors, and it allows for smaller tablet sizes.

But it is a waste to use it unless you are constipated. It is the main ingredient in Phillips Laxative tablets!

Most mixtures have the oxide form. So you will have to find a separate magnesium. A chelate like glycinate, or gluconate. SlowMag is delayed release chloride. There is a generic for SlowMag called Mag64, which is a bit less money.
SlowMag is at WalMart and you would start at one tablet twice a day. Calcium citrate-- CitraCal-- is a good calcium type.