Hi everyone

I got a concussion now 49 days ago and the doctor (GP) told me it was "mild", and that it would take less than a week to heal completely. I went back after a week and then it was pushed back two weeks, and then I went back again and it was pushed back to mid-May.

My symptoms seem fairly mild in the sense that I'm now able to ride the stationary bike at up to 90% of what I did before without symptoms. However, I work in front of the computer (finance/business) and find that my symptoms still present there, sometimes immediately, sometimes after 30 minutes or so:

• Globus sensation / lump in the throat feeling
• Nausea (less now than before)
• Very slight tingling / numbness on the left side of my face (I occasionally had this before the concussion)
• Convergence insufficiency (can't see my finger without double vision < 10-15 cm away)
• A bit of brain fogginess
• The feeling that I'm reading more "holistically" rather than word by word
• Just a weird, general feeling that I've "offended" my brain

Is anyone else in the same boat? If so, have you found anything that helps you improve?

I'm trying to run my own business and am putting in 3-4 hours per day (I would like to do 8-10 hours!). I don't notice any real cognitive issues (I'm 95-100% of normal), but I do get discouraged/frustrated by the symptoms and the fact that they're very, very slowly improving, if at all. This is in contrast to my ability to exercise, where it seems symptoms are receding rapidly. (Though I notice that when I walk, I seem to feel every little impact in my head--maybe I should be walking less? Or maybe this is just overreacting...)

Or, maybe it's just all in my head now? I recently quit my job to run this business, so maybe I have some sort of performance anxiety...

Thanks

Rob

Welcome, Rob.

I'm sorry you are going through a tough time. It is very frustrating when we are told the recovery will be brief and then it is no such thing! What I've been told at this point is to respond to my symptoms. When symptoms increase, you probably need to back off. When things are going well, keep going.

I think that exercise and using a computer/doing cognitive work are pretty different. Exercise provides blood flow to the brain and doesn't tax it much otherwise nor the vision. You don't sound like you have vestibular issues, so I'm not surprised that the exercise isn't a problem. On the other hand, the computer work is hard on the brain, and I don't think it's all in your head, as you say (ha ha ha). Even what you describe as "mild" symptoms of course have a big impact on the kind of work output you have come to expect for yourself. Absolutely. You're not crazy or imagining it. You have to accept that this is a recovery period.

For me, different symptoms improved at different rates and I think this is normal. Some things are all gone. Some are improving at a snail's pace, some at a greater pace, some have not improved at all. My dizziness was completely gone, but then a couple weeks ago I started having a little bit again, and I'm like, what the heck!?! It comes and it goes.

Please feel welcome to this board - there are a lot of knowledgeable and supportive people here. I wish you the best.

Julie

waboo386,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Also, welcome to the club of being treated by doctors who are often clueless about concussions.

Your sensitivity to running impacts could mean you have injured your neck. Upper neck injuries are quite common to concussions. The head bone is connected to the neck bone. Your throat feeling also suggests a neck injury.

If you are anxious about your new self-employment, a concussion will likely heighten that anxiety.

I suggest you take frequent breaks from the computer. Maybe 5 minutes out of every 30 minutes. Close your eyes and sit quietly for those 5 minutes. It should help.

My best to you.

Thanks so much, everyone. I think I'm going to be in basically binary mode--either working on my business, or listening to a podcast/audiobook with my eyes closed. I've wasted a lot of mental energy on checking my phone and watching TV, and that could probably be better spent elsewhere.

Mark in Idaho, I'm intrigued by your mention of neck injury. The doctor kept asking about that, but I've never felt it was all that bad even though the concussion was caused by whiplash. Even so, it's frequently tense. Do you have any suggestions on what I might do to help things? Maybe just massage it?

People with upper neck injuries due to concussion forces have found help with chiropractic, physical therapy and even osteopaths. The treatment should be gentle. No aggressive 'twist the head and pop the neck.' Also, PT's should not be pushing for range of motion, at least not in the beginning. Treatment should be focused on getting proper alignment/position so inflammation can be reduced. My PT did gentle traction and mobilization.

It takes weeks to heal these neck issues. Ligaments get stretched and strained and need to tighten up to hold the vertebra in proper position. It is extremely important to be disciplined with head and neck posture, especially when at rest or sleeping, over the next month or two. While treatment is ongoing, frequent icing can be beneficial.

The Vitamins sticky at the top has links to Upper Cervical chiro organizations and a recipe for making crushable ice packs.

Your doctor was off on his claim of healing from the concussion is a week or so but he was dead on about the whiplash.

Waboo,

Sorry about the smack.

I am self employed also. I missed all of last year from 4/12 to mid Jan of this year. Upon my return I felt like a child. I have a job that is Ag related and 15 hr days can be normal for 2 or 3 months...I came back to 2 days a week for 2 hours a day and running a vacuum cleaner was to much!

I am able to handle much more now but as Mark stated mental breaks are mandatory! I must shut down every now and then. I also found the anxiety over what was routine for me made me feel like a dang rookie, that is improving also.

I don't spend any work time in front of a computer but driving can wear me down....my daughter will be driving me around as needed this summer since she works for me.

Good luck on a speedy recovery and business success!

Bud

Thanks, guys, for the encouragement and suggestions.

Since posting, I've bought some supplements (Omega 3, Vitamin B complex, Vitamin D) and have set up some physio. Working today has been better than before, so I hope things continue to improve. The road is longer and winds more than I expected, but I'm still moving forward

What are the dosages in the B complex ? Most are less than optimal for a recovering brain. That is why B-12 is listed as a stand alone quantity.

B1 - 35mg
B2 - 15mg
B6 - 5mg
B12 - 10mcg
Niacinamide - 50mg
Pantothenic Acid - 18.3mg
Vitamin C - 300mg

Thanks

Hi everyone

I just wanted to post a quick update, mostly to encourage others, and partly to ask others' experience further down the road.

Regarding my initial symptoms, the only one that really remains is globus/a slight sinking feeling in my stomach once I work for a certain period of time, though I think I'm also able to self-generate this through anxiety. I'm working probably 6-8 hours/day in front of the computer now, and I do fatigue more as the day goes on. Has anybody else had experience with this? Based on how things have gone for me, I'm sure I'll be able to put in a 12 or 14 hour day (hopefully only during very busy times) without an issue maybe 4-6 months out from now, but certainly I can do what would normally be expected by an employer. Of course, I'm my own employer, so things aren't quite that simple.

I'm also exercising at full tilt (I'm a competitive squash player and got the injury on the squash court, and didn't return to that until probably a month and a half ago). I do find I get slightly dizzy on the squash court, but it gets worse as the rally goes on, and then once the rally ends, it resets. My squash goggles are also now 2 prescriptions out of date, and I was having slight dizziness issues there before the concussion, so there's that to think about. Physio helped tremendously, and I don't really ever feel that my brain is bouncing in my head anymore--so it probably was a neck issue.

I continue to keep a close eye on my convergence insufficiency, and have found it's improved drastically (in sunlight, I can probably see without double vision 3-5 cm away). This, to me, is the most objective bellwether of my condition, and I'm very encouraged by how good it has gotten.

The long and short is that there is hope for the slower recoveries--essentially of making a complete recovery--but it probably will take longer than you or your doctor expected.

Thanks for all the support, everyone. Regards

Rob