After my concussion nearly 2 months ago, I've been suffering PCS symptoms.

So, the last 2 days, I've slept full 8 hours a night (I usually sleep 6-7 hours).

That was a very good thing to do, because when I woke up, I felt awesome! I didn't feel dizziness and headache any longer and I could finally focus. I still felt some very mild PCS symptoms, but they were so weak that it almost didn't matter!

A few hours later (yesterday), I started being anxious about something, and that brought back the PCS symptoms, sadly...

Today I woke up fine as well, but an hour ago or so I was on a bus. I was standing in the passage between chairs, and while standing the driver suddenly stopped the bus using the brake. Once that happened, I immediately was shaken quickly and powerfully in my place where I stood, and luckily I was holding in chair so I wasn't thrown backwards and didn't hit anything. Even though I didn't hit anything (only shaken by the stop), I felt very confused and dizzy immediately after this happened (I just hope that this thing doesn't count as another concussion, because it felt really bad when the bus went rapidly from driving an average-high speed to zero km/h. I also heard that a concussion can be caused from fast shaking of the body without hitting the head, so I hope this is not another concussion or a sub-concussion)...

Anyway, what do you recommend to do about that? Should I start taking supplements? I soon am planning to start taking 18 grams of Omega 3 daily for about 8 days to see how it goes. Do you recommend any other supplements to raise my tolerance for stress?

I feel like that after a good sleep my symptoms fade almost 100% and I perform extremely well, but the symptoms can be easily triggered from some psychological/physical stress. So do you guys have any recommendations for me?

Thanks,
-ProAgonist

Yes, take supplements. Read the Vitamins sticky for Nov 8, 2014. It is post 101. It has the latest updated vitamin and supplement regimen.

And NO. That sudden stop was not a concussion. Get over this idea of trying to define everything. It is not possible and counter-productive. It just caused an anxiety reaction. Your anxiety is causing you to regress. You need to find help with your anxiety.

Your thoughts are your worst enemy right now. Find somebody to help you learn to get control of them. Please.

My best to you.

Mark I dont know if its your symptoms or personality but you can be rather rude sometimes. There's no need to be so abrupt with people here.

ProAgonist-

I've read a some of your posts and glad you are feeling better. I'm not a dr but it does sound as if you have a mild concussion.

When you recieve these jolts or bumps you are not getting new concussions. You are feeling the old pain flare up. Just as you would if you recieved a bump to a wrist that was already sprained. Ideally these are avoided, of course, but unless it is a significant/repetitive force it is unlikly to make much of a difference. I cant even sit in a car/bus without a flare up, just from normal driving/engine rumble. We're a bit sensitive now.

You are just going to have to take it easy for awhile. Rest, eat healthily, listen to your bodies warning signals so you are not overwhelmed.

You do seem to suffer a lot of anxiety, and from the way you talk it sounds as if this precedes your concussion. Have you looked this up much? You may find some comfort and undertanding by research. Your not alone in feeling this and everyone is capable of learning control/coping mechanisms. (Most of the time, eh...)

I was raped when I was 16, was sucidal afterwards, self harming, manic depression and later realisastion of PTSD. I'm familiar with anxiety, depression, triggers ect. But I worked my way through it.

I stopped self harming (nearly five years without I think) and learned how to manage fallout from triggers, how to recognise when anxiety was rising and how to deal with the dark spirals.

Meditation is wonderful. Do it in a way that suits you. Have a pose of good posture that enables you to relax but dont get hung up on sitting crossed legged on a yoga mat with incense and ohms and wild eagles soaring overhead. A private, quite moment where you are relaxed is all you need to start with and the more you practise the more you will be able to reach this in a stimulating enviroment.

You have to realise your problems. What causes your anxiety? An underlying issue or current stress? Combination? When you get the anxious thoughts...dont fight them. Let them rise, and learn how to let them go. Learn to say no...this is my anxiety, this is not *me*. Perhaps write down notes for when you are feeling well and can form rational rebuttals. Remind yourself of this rationale when thoughts arise again. Accept and let go. The more you do it the easier it becomes.

It wont stop you feeling like crap sometimes but it will help you cope. I spent a year on acceptance alone, so used to fighting off those demons and memories and nightmares.

Since my injury I've noted the zoning out (do you get that?) is oddly similar to the resting place you can reach with mediation, though I havent been able to fully think the way i used to. It has certainly helped me deal with the frustatration/inablitities though.

Another good way, is to find something creative to do. Something for you, that you enjoy, thats calming/cathartic. Painting, writing, sculpting, knitting ect whatever sort of thing your into. And its good to train your brain back up to.

Good luck.

Thanks, you're right. I know I'm being too anxious right now, and I'm trying to gradually reduce that anxiety.


Hello Ash,

Yes, after the injury I've noticed "zoning out" - just not realizing what happens around me and feeling dumb. This doesn't happen 100% of the time but is triggered by stress.

I'm going to start taking an aggressively high dose Omega 3 daily soon to see how it goes. I've heard it's critical for treatment after brain injury, and the sooner you take it after injury, the better. Almost 2 months passed since my concussion, but I guess that even taking this after 2 months is better than after 10 years or never. I believe it is going to help me and it sounds very promising!

Also, Mark has said something that I find right - even though most people do great recoveries after a concussion or two, their brain has a lower stress tolerance - that means, emotional stress will cause your symptoms to return for a while after getting a concussion. I've found that right now, after sleeping well at night (at least 8 hours), I feel really good and I barely feel the concussion symptoms - but just a being with a little bit of anxiety will return the PCS symptoms... I right now deal with stress situations badly becuase they cause my symptoms to return, but I have a lot of hope it'll get better with time.

I've also read that after a concussion, an inflammation process can start in your brain and that process might be permanent and cause your symptoms. Omega 3 contains two fats (EPA&DHA) and one of them (EPA) has strong anti-inflammatory properties, so it can help a lot with reducing and eliminating inflammation in the brain after a concussion! The other fat, DHA, is just as important but plays another role - it helps get your neurons back to their full power and helps build their wall (30% of neurons' walls are made of DHA). Both are very important, so if you are interested in Omega 3, try to find a product containing high doses of both DHA and EPA (a pretty balanced ratio - doesn't have to be 50%-50% fat ratio, but also not 85%-15% fat ratio).

I'm going to start taking 18 grams of Omega 3 on a daily basis soon, and I recommend that you check out about extremely high doses of Omega 3 too - they might be very helpful after a concussion, especially if they are consumed just a few days or weeks after the concussion.

Have a good day!

-ProAgonist

ProAgonist,

Don't forget the B vitamins. They are needed for myelin sheath repair and health. B-12 is the most important but a balance dose of the rest is advisable. .

I'm not the sort ho feels comfortable chugging down around 50 pills a day like some do.

I take an efferescent multivitamin, often have porrige (fortified with another multi vitamen) and use diet control. I eat makerel most days and also have a fish diner once or twice a week. Green tea and green veg everyday.

The vitamen pills are only substituting what you can manage with a good diet. Its a lot cheaper to just eat healthily and you are getting the full benefit of original source, including elements that are not in the suppliments. And no base materials to mess up the PH of your stomach. I did start a diet thread...

That's not really what I meant by zoning out, thats more cognitive impairment, failing to distiguish individual sounds en masse ect. Zoning out is where you, well, literally zone out. Say reading and then your mind ust drifts off and loses focus with reality. In the early days I wouldnt even realiseI had done it until I noticed a loss of time.

It is difficult to get the higher levels of B vitamins and D3 without supplementation. The UK is commonly D3 deficient due to available sunlight. Same goes for Canada and the northern areas of the US.

I take the whole regimen plus others and only take 20 pieces. A scaled down version of the regimen could be accomplished with 6 to 10 pills. Multi-vitamins rarely have adequate amounts of the vitamins needed for a healing brain.

We need to remember there are two levels of nutrition. The RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) used by many nutrition analysts is the minimum amount needed to maintain a minimal level pf good health without consideration for injuries. Then, there is the level of nutrition needed to facilitate healing and the needs of a body that is under stress or does not absorb nutrients well.

It is well know that the injured brain needs higher levels of nutrients than a normal health conscious diet provides.

Can Vitamin E be helpful as well? It just comes in the same liquid with my Omega 3 and its fats so I'm interested in that.

Also, I saw you had written in the forum about sub-concussive impacts and their consequences which are cumulative.

So what does that mean? Is head banging for example a sub-concussive impact? I sometimes move my head rapidly to the side while listening to music or dancing, so does that count as head banging or as a sub-concussive impact? I mean, where is the limit between just moving the head in dancing and moving it too strong that it injures the brain? I do this a lot and after reading what you've said I think I might think twice about it next time (moving my head quickly while listening to music at parties and dancing)...

Also, what types of sub-concussive impacts exactly exist in addition to head banging? Are there any more things I should be careful of?

The common sub-concussive impacts are in sports. American football, soccer (heading the ball), hockey (body checks), and boxing/sparring in martial arts.

Head banging to music can be a serious problem. One Mom on here in the past has a son who ended up needing psychiatric care from aggressive head banging to music. I can easily see where head banging would be considered sub-concussive impacts of the worst kind. Most subconcussive impacts take place with substantial time between impacts, 30 seconds to many minutes. The trauma to a brain from 5 minutes of continuous head banging, even at the lower levels of banging to music can be a serious problem, especially to a brain that has suffered a concussion.

I would counsel anybody to not engage in head banging to music at all. There is already enough body movement in dancing without the head banging.

Regarding vitamin E, All of the anti-oxidants are valuable.

I don't understand the purpose of head banging. Do people get a rush from it or some other feeling ?

I'm not talking about aggressive head banging or something, just sometimes while dancing I move my head to the side.

For example, sometimes I have a sudden movement in my head to the side while listening to a good song and feeling good from it (not even dancing). It's just the rush (probably from adrenaline) that sometimes causes my head to move a little bit uncontrollably very quickly.

I was talking about just moving the head to your sides a little bit, nothing continuous.

Is this sudden movement to the sides as dangerous as head banging? It happens to me occassionally while listening to music, and also while dancing it's not very aggressive - it's just once in a few minutes.

So does it damage my brain more and more every time I do that?