There is only a small part of cocoa powder that shows help for the brain. It is cocoa flavanol. M&M/MARS candy is working on ways to isolated and concentrate it for large scale production. Here is a link http://www.marscocoascience.com/cocoa-flavanol-advances.

You can get early versions of it as Cocoavia by Swanson and other brands on Amazon and such. It can be pricey.

[QUOTE -Thank you so much for your support.

I completely agree that trying to accept your 'new normal' is quite hard to do. I keep thinking that I became that person and athlete I was with the same brain that I have now. And if I continue to focus on healing like I did on racing events, then I can know I will get better despite the injury.

Not exercising at that level is extremely hard. Getting fatigued after 15 minutes gets pretty frustrating. Have you found exercises you can do that you can sustain for longer periods of time?

Also, what is your supplement routine like currently?

The social thing is very hard as well. Thank you again for your candidness. What you are going through is exactly that which I am adjusting to currently. It's hard but there has got to be a silver lining in here somewhere!![/QUOTE]


As athletes, we train longer and harder to improve, so going to the exact opposite where we need rest and patience is tough. It's hard to get excited about 15 successful minutes of exercising when it wears you out.

I had to quit looking at my old training logs and start from where I'm at. The old logs just depressed me, but the new ones help me to see my progress. It's still a struggle to accept it, but what choice do we have? I remember being excited the first time I swam 200 yards and a few seconds later I was in tears because I shouldn't be excited about 200 measly yards.

As you know by now, every concussion is different, plus the "extra" injuries complicate things. In my case, we learned that when my heart rate increases, my symptoms get worse. At first, the only exercise I could do was walking, very slowly, and if I went up even a slight incline, I had to stop and rest. Every few weeks we'd re-evaluate on a treadmill.

Over the last year, I've gone from being able to tolerate a HR of 90 to 150, but I'm more sensitive to heat. I could probably go longer on a treadmill, but I want to be outside!! My neck and shoulder issues complicate my attempts to return to cycling, but I've gone from being able to ride 7-8 miles to 20 miles before it's too uncomfortable. I'm facing shoulder surgery soon so will be putting my bike on the trainer, but it was important to me to face my fears and get back out there.

I started out doing my PT exercises at the gym after I was discharged. A PT friend who does training on the side helped me come up with a strength and flexibility routine, and that's been a lifesaver. I like the feedback I get - when I started I could lift x pounds or do x squats, and now I can do more, or it's easier, or I don't get as dizzy....

I'm following a lot of the supplement ideas from the thread on this site. I also tried something called Cellgevity that is supposed to help with production of glutathione which is supposed to help our brains. I took it for about 2 months and didn't see any benefits, and it was expensive so I dropped it. I have seen glutathione mentioned in a couple of other articles recently but haven't looked into it - the science confuses me and makes my head hurt

Social stuff - I volunteer at a lot of races - it's hard sometimes because I want so badly to race, but I think it's good for me. I allow myself a few seconds to be sad that I can't race, and then suck it up, cheer for everybody, and try to encourage those who are struggling. I get dizzy when a lot of people are going by, so I have to work around it and sometimes walk away, but that's ok.

I joined a group called Team Red White and Blue (Team RWB) as a civilian member. Our goal is to help veterans returning from duty to assimilate back into society through sport and social activity. I've met some awesome people, and it's been interesting because even though I can't understand what they've been through, a lot of them totally get the PCS issues and are so supportive.

I also found a support group - most of the people had more serious injuries than I did, but they don't hold that against me. We meet once a month just to talk, share tips, vent, or whatever.

Sorry my posts tend to get really long - hope I didn't make your headache worse!!

Dr. Nedley's depression recovery program is a 10-day intensive in-house holistic program. What makes it especially appropriate for PCS sufferers is that he focuses on brain health. He incorporates nutrition, exercise, water (both drinking sufficient water as well as hydrotherapy), being outdoors, appropriate amounts of rest, music therapy, and healthy spiritual and cognitive practices.

He does have some books you could use to try to incorporate some of the elements of the program on your own.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.

Hi, Ilikepolkadots,
For different reasons I suffer from some of the same problems as yourself, although my first serious injuries were also caused by a bike/car accident. My double vision is caused by a brain lesion and headaches are of the Cluster type. I also suffer severe Neurological Hypersensitivity.
All this impinges on my ability to reach a relaxed, meditative state, but I noticed in your post that you are utilising deep breathing techniques which trigger problems. At the start of some Buddhist meditation classes one is taught simply to concentrate on your breathing while learning to empty your mind. Do not change your breathing pattern, listen to it and slowly allow it to become the background to your empty mind.
It takes practice, peace and quiet and commitment, but has kept me going through most of the darkest hours and has quelled the majority of anxiety attacks.
Good luck with your recovery.

Hi Eowyn!

I actually just got this book from the library- I'm trying to look through it and it's pretty similar to others I've read. I'm curious a if I'm missing something with the 10 day program. Can you msg me or just post here a bit more about it? Thank you!

As athletes, we train longer and harder to improve, so going to the exact opposite where we need rest and patience is tough. It's hard to get excited about 15 successful minutes of exercising when it wears you out.

I had to quit looking at my old training logs and start from where I'm at. The old logs just depressed me, but the new ones help me to see my progress. It's still a struggle to accept it, but what choice do we have? I remember being excited the first time I swam 200 yards and a few seconds later I was in tears because I shouldn't be excited about 200 measly yards.

As you know by now, every concussion is different, plus the "extra" injuries complicate things. In my case, we learned that when my heart rate increases, my symptoms get worse. At first, the only exercise I could do was walking, very slowly, and if I went up even a slight incline, I had to stop and rest. Every few weeks we'd re-evaluate on a treadmill.

Over the last year, I've gone from being able to tolerate a HR of 90 to 150, but I'm more sensitive to heat. I could probably go longer on a treadmill, but I want to be outside!! My neck and shoulder issues complicate my attempts to return to cycling, but I've gone from being able to ride 7-8 miles to 20 miles before it's too uncomfortable. I'm facing shoulder surgery soon so will be putting my bike on the trainer, but it was important to me to face my fears and get back out there.

I started out doing my PT exercises at the gym after I was discharged. A PT friend who does training on the side helped me come up with a strength and flexibility routine, and that's been a lifesaver. I like the feedback I get - when I started I could lift x pounds or do x squats, and now I can do more, or it's easier, or I don't get as dizzy....

I'm following a lot of the supplement ideas from the thread on this site. I also tried something called Cellgevity that is supposed to help with production of glutathione which is supposed to help our brains. I took it for about 2 months and didn't see any benefits, and it was expensive so I dropped it. I have seen glutathione mentioned in a couple of other articles recently but haven't looked into it - the science confuses me and makes my head hurt

Social stuff - I volunteer at a lot of races - it's hard sometimes because I want so badly to race, but I think it's good for me. I allow myself a few seconds to be sad that I can't race, and then suck it up, cheer for everybody, and try to encourage those who are struggling. I get dizzy when a lot of people are going by, so I have to work around it and sometimes walk away, but that's ok.

I joined a group called Team Red White and Blue (Team RWB) as a civilian member. Our goal is to help veterans returning from duty to assimilate back into society through sport and social activity. I've met some awesome people, and it's been interesting because even though I can't understand what they've been through, a lot of them totally get the PCS issues and are so supportive.

I also found a support group - most of the people had more serious injuries than I did, but they don't hold that against me. We meet once a month just to talk, share tips, vent, or whatever.

Sorry my posts tend to get really long - hope I didn't make your headache worse!![/QUOTE]



oHmiGosh!! Our stories parallel so much!
I also volunteered at bike races but found it really depressed me though I was a cheerful cheer squad for my buds! It's so hard from going from winning events to being winded going upstairs!

I'm starting (finally with dr approval) to exercise again and am getting on a strength training program. I keep reminding myself that this is a new opportunity to start a program new but have all the knowledge from before! But it's hard!

How are you coping and what are your routines like?

Also my supplements are
Vit D
niacin- a lot! Like 2500-5000 a day
Nordic naturals fish oil
B12
Multi v
Potassium
Glucosamine
Looking into more amino acid building supplements at the moment and trying to get more info thanks to the vitamin supplements forum here=}

Love to hear more of your story and healing. pM me if you think of it!

Cheers

The 10-day intensive is just a lot more hands-on. You will get individual blood work done, have several 1-1 meetings with Dr. Nedley, and they guide you step-by-step through implementing all the aspects of the program and planning how you will incorporate it into daily life after you return home. Plus they serve really great food!

Hi, I pushed through for several years, and still do. Just a big lunkhead I guess.
I try to gauge the benefit vs the drawbacks of any activity before pursuing. You will definitely need much more rest than before, think of your condition like a serious broken bone that may require multiple surgeries and therapy over a long period of time. We can accept something like that as burdensome but necessary, so we need to view our head injury the same.
All the advice about anxiety is great, STRESS is the #1 trigger to worsen my symptoms. Try to find relaxing things, try not to worry, see psychologist that specializes in brain injury.
You will survive, you will endure.