[Laupala]

Hi everyone,

I've got a quick question for anyone who has received a NUCCA and felt better from it. Did you immediately notice a difference in headaches? Or did they gradually fade away? I'm 3.5 months in, still have headaches that seem to have gotten worse, or at least different after a backpacking trip that my doctor OK'd 3 weeks ago (rubber band type tension headaches on both sides of my head whereas before they were only on the left side, where I fell and hit), some difficulty concentrating, times of feeling really depressed and hopeless that I'll never get better, and overall just not feeling like myself. I had been really anxious about getting PCS early on, and had trouble sleeping and was put on klonopin for 2 months, which I'm thankfully off now. The anxiety has subsided, as this is already taking longer than I'd hoped, but still there somewhat.

My doctor (a concussion specialist) thought my headaches could be cervinogenic, so I decided to see a NUCCA chiropractor, and got my first adjustment today. So far I don't really notice a difference in headaches, although my mood does seem to be better, and some numbness in my left jaw and ear lobe that I've had for 2ish months has diminished. I know it might take time, so I haven't lost hope yet (although I'm still not completely sold on all aspects of NUCCA), and was wondering what people here experienced. Thanks in advance.

[Mark in Idaho]

A NUCCA therapy program will take a few weeks to see benefits. It may help or it may not. It depends if you can help your neck heal while the chiro continues treatments. Did he tell you to ice after each treatment ? You should be icing regularly.

[Laupala]

He did not tell me that, but I did ice a bit last night before bed. Also, I didn't really sleep last night - does this happen after adjustments? I thought this was supposed to help insomnia... I think part of the reason why I couldn't sleep was because I couldn't sleep in my stomach, which I often (but not exclusively) do. I finally got my sleeping back to normalish, I hope this was a one time thing.

[Jomar]

[There are three possible effects that are demonstrated after an adjustment;

Person feels no significant change.
Person feels a change in symptoms with immediate improvement.
Person experiences new short-term symptoms associated with functioning in a new structural position.

Long Answer: Responses to the adjustment vary from nothing, to muscle soreness, and from fatigue to a feeling of euphoria. Due to these individualized responses all patients are given a list of things they may experience so they are familiar with what responses are normal to expect. Due to the significant postural rebalancing that occurs with the upper cervical adjustment people will often feel stiff and sore for 2-4 days as the body adapts to its new position. This discomfort is usually associated only with the first and/or second adjustment.]
http://www.nucca.org/faq.php

Plenty of fluids might be a good idea after adjustments as well as after PT or massage.

Did you only have the c1c2 adjustment?
Did they do any other adjusting or treatment/therapies?

[Laupala]

They only did a C1 adjustment (I'm pretty sure that this particular chiropractor only does NUCCA adjustments). I really hope that this helps at least a little. I've just been feeling so hopeless that I'm never going to get better. I realize that compared to many on this board my symptoms are minor (I'm thankful for that, and truly amazed by the resilience of you all), but I just feel like my life is falling apart and I'm losing who I used to be and I can't stop it. I realize that there's a possibility I might never feel the same, and that terrifies and deeply saddens me, and while part of me thinks that I might be better able to handle this if I just said goodbye to my former self and started fresh, but there's still some hope in me for that old self to come back. Sorry, got a little off topic there...

[Jomar]

Those feelings are the stages of grief.. not only applies to loss of a loved one, but also the many bumps in the road of life that makes for major changes in our life.
Illness, injury, chronic pain, etc, for ourselves or a loved one..

http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-5-st...d-grief/000617

[Mark in Idaho]

Laupala,

It is best to let go of the old self and try to accept the new self. This can lower you frustration levels so your stress levels are reduced. There are plenty of work-arounds to use to get tasks done. Living with head aches is a tough part of PCS. Some times, it just takes time for the brain to adjust so the head aches go away. It took me six months of head aches before I saw relief. Another time, it took nine months.

Often, the old self slowly returns as we live as the new self.

Sounds like you saw a NUCCA purist. Some believe that if C-1 and C-2 are correct, the rest of the spine will self-correct. The icing should be a regular program. Any time you have a chance, ice with a flexible ice pack. If you have upper neck inflammation, icing regularly will help. I have directions for making crushable ice packs in the Vitamins and Supplements sticky at the top.

[Laupala]

Thanks for the responses. I know that saying goodbye to the old self would likely make things easier, it's just hard to do when I don't want to lose that self.

[Mark in Idaho]

Laupala,

For the time being, you have already lost your old self. Accept the new self in hopes that the new self can grow to be equal to or better than the old self.

There may be activities that you will never be able to return to. No one can say one way or the other. Being anxious will only delay your healing while making you miserable.

[Living_Dazed]

Laupala,

Our wise elders here give great advice about the new and old self and acceptance, letting go and it being a grieving process.

I think that saying its a grieving process is spot on. But it's a long challenging process. All of us would like to move through it quickly. The hard part is it's not final like grieving for a loved one that has passed.

We are still in a place of back and forth, and back and forth. Two steps forward and one back. I am trying to get used to the new normal which isn't all that new after 18 months. I JUST realized that Thursday.

So many of us here are in or have been in your emotional state. Know that there are many that will read your rant and commiserate with you, support you, encourage you, and teach you. You don't have to be alone

Hugs to you,

Jace