I apologize if my posts are a bit exasperating - I'm sure that it's frustrating to hear whining like this over comparatively minor symptoms, but I'm scared and want to take the best course of action to get back to living my life as soon as I can.

The headaches following the head bumps and whiplash I described aren't just local soreness, the spots aren't sore to the touch at all. Rather, they feel like the sorts of headaches I got in the places I initially got headaches after the concussion, hence my concern.

It'd be easier for me to link cause and effect if symptoms consistently became exacerbated after doing a certain activity, but for me it doesn't seem that they do. I always have at least some kind of headache, and they worsen at unclear times. I can go on a 4 day backpacking trip and not have symptoms worsen until days after I get back, and then I can be playing solitaire and feel like my brain is overloaded (and the next day be OK playing solitaire).

I agree I need to stop trying to understand all of this because it's taking more mental energy than I can spare, but trying to understand what's going on is usually my method of coping with difficulty.

You will have a long and stressful life if you need to understand every little difficulty. S... happens. Often, the only thing we can do is move on.

You say it is your personality to be detail oriented. It is best to focus this detail oriented characteristic where it is beneficial, not where it just raises anxiety levels. It took me into my 40's to realize that not every detail needs my attention. It is not healthy. I know many who were / are detail oriented who developed bipolar disorder in their later life. Their hyper attentiveness finally exhausted their brain until they crashed into depression.

Learn the serenity prayer.

Just because you do not make symptoms worse from an activity every time does not mean that activity should not be moderated.

You say you are scared and you want to get back to living your life as soon as possible. There is nothing you can do to speed things up. You can only slow your recovery. Accept your current state and learn to live with it. Over time, things will get better, probably when you are not even aware.

If your only symptom is head aches, you have nothing to be scared about. Take an ibuprofen or such and move on.

Headaches are just my most salient symptom, I also get cognitive overload when doing things like working on the computer or doing labwork, where it just feels like my brain is fizzling or something - it's not as though my thoughts are jumbled, it just feels like my brain is overloaded. The worst symptom is simply not feeling like my normal, sharp self, feeling overly anxious and depressed about my situation (although I don't feel this way all the time, just in bouts).

I know that there is nothing I can do to speed up my recovery, that's why I'm contemplating going home and starting from square one to eliminate everything that was slowing my recovery. Do you have suggestions for how I might structure this time? I guess my main question is should I do quiet rest and the same amount of minimal activity until my headaches are gone? Or in your opinion, should I just get home and relax and not think about it (which is likely easier said than done).

Hello,
My daughter had horrible headaches and we were introduced to acupuncture through the Integrative Clinic at Stanford Hospital. Yes the headaches went away almost immediately, not for good but generally for a day or two. We then found an acupuncturist locally and she went 2/week for over a year maybe two. This was super helpful. I don't know the type of acupuncture off hand that the local doctor used, but I will ask her once I see her today.

Also, stress, screen time, sunlight, anything that is your own sensitivity will increase headaches. For a year, my daughter wore sunglasses indoor and outside. She also found that putting a blue screen against her computer helped last year. (Most people don't tolerate blue, they like other color screens but blue was easier for her.

You kind of have to explore and find out what works for you.

My best,

When I was about 4 months in, my doctor told me that total rest would no longer benefit me. I can't remember the specifics, but after either 6 weeks or 3 months, total rest is no longer helpful (keep in mind that everybody is different, and this is just what he felt was right for me). He told me that working part-time (I'm a writer) would actually help my brain recover, as well as walking slowly for short distances (I have now worked my way up to doing 1.25 miles per day).

I'm 6 months in and am still in a lot of pain. I am also constantly fatigued and get overloaded easily. My advice isn't to start over at square one. Instead, I think you should continue doing your current activities, but on a smaller scale.

Example: If you normally jog 3 miles a day, jog 1 mile instead. If you usually work for 8 hours a day, try reducing your workload to 2 to 4 hours per day. If you text for 2 hours a day, try texting for 1. If you're taking 5 classes in school, cut your course load down to 6 credit hours.

Your symptoms aren't severe, so I don't think you have to totally cut out everything you enjoy. Keep in mind that I'm NOT a doctor.

Total, or at least mostly quiet rest, even after a month long setback followed by a headbump that set me back even more wouldn't help at this point? I know people have said that these headbumps are meaningless (and I haven't been thinking about it as much), but I've been getting headaches that are as bad as what I was experiencing right after the fall, if not worse at times.

I had no idea rest was no longer beneficial.... I am at 5 months and still take daily naps.. I walk 5 minute per hour unless I am sleeping...

So I've come back home, made the 17 hour drive over the course of 2 days with my dad. I've been home for a few days now, and have started on amitryptiline and am feeling worse headaches than I've felt yet - multiple kinds of headaches occuring simultaneously, which never used to happen, aggravated headaches even after short reading (unclear if this is worse since coming home, but in general it has been worse recently).

I've also jolted my head twice by walking into doors and hitting my shoulder. Yesterday I merely stepped slowly into a door with my shoulder, tried to shrug it off, but a few minutes later I noticed a slight ringing in my ears which hasn't gone away. Could these cumulative jolts and head bumps I've accumulated over the past few months be contributing to my worsening symptoms?

I'm trying to tell myself that it's just from the stress of a very eventful and emotional week last week, but this ear ringing and worsening headaches has me concerned. I know I should just shrug off these head bumps, but this additional symptom makes that hard.

You are over thinking every little event. Recover is a roller coaster, even without bumps and stresses. Rather than try to find a cause for every little change in symptoms, try to just move forward. 17 hours of driving would set me back for a week or two. I used to plan for a setback if I needed to drive to California.

Tinnitus and head aches are not a cause for alarm. They just are part of the roller coaster. It is not uncommon for someone with PCS to experience either for up to a year or more as the roller coaster slowly levels out. Nobody can predict the time line.

Reading can cause a head ache. You may need to moderate your reading.

Try to get help with your anxiety. You need to rest without anxiety.

I am almost 6 months out... My family and I were planning a vacation that would have had us in the car driving for 24 hours.. over 2 days... my neurologist advised against it and said that even if I made it with out having to go to the ER to kill a headache that I would not be able to enjoy my stay because of the stress from the drive...

(disclaimer... I also suffered a huge backslide this month and have had some new symptoms appear)