NeuroTalk Support Groups - Post Concussion Syndrome after car addicent.

NeuroTalk Support Groups (https://www.neurotalk.org/)

- Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Concussion Syndrome (https://www.neurotalk.org/traumatic-brain-injury-and-post-concussion-syndrome/)

- - Post Concussion Syndrome after car addicent. (https://www.neurotalk.org/traumatic-brain-injury-and-post-concussion-syndrome/226482-post-concussion-syndrome-car-addicent.html)

Isn't that a fact Super E!

Bud

Quote:

Originally Posted by qtipsq (Post 1173344)

Be cautious about dictors. All my doctors pointed me to the wrong path. This is a relatively new condition that doctors dont have a handle on. Your best doctor is your body, it will be giving you all sorts of signals. Listen to it. Also journal your recovery its theraputic. A super healthy diet is also key.

Thank you, I really need to focus on a healthy diet and cut out the crap!

Quote:

Originally Posted by poetrymom (Post 1173354)

So, read the vitamin stickie at the top and get what you can going in your system. These things will help you deal with stress which the injured brain does not like.

Vitamins and supplements are no cure all though.

Get your upper neck checked too. This can get out of whack in a car accident and the neck can mimic concussion issues.

Hang in there. You will pull through, but take it easy and reduce stress.

Take care!

poetrymom

Thanks for the support, I will definitely bring up the neck with my doctor when I see her next week.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho (Post 1173356)

LilyNYC,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear of your injury. It sounds like you would have a personal injury claim so that may be a way to get some financial help. Disability programs sometimes are easier to get if you agree to refund disability payments from future recovery in a Personal Injury claim. Check out to see if he has referrals to your area. An injury like your needs a knowledgeable attorney, not just any ambulance chaser.

You may be able to keep working if you can lower the activity/stress/intensity level. As was said, learn your triggers and avoid them if you can. An ER is full of stresses and triggers. What kind of work do you do in an ER ? Are you also a full time student ?

Jane McGonigal has some interesting things to say but her experience is unique to her. You mileage may vary. There is a saying. "If you have seen one head injury, you have seen ONE head injury." Pushing through because you are determined to get better can make for a long roller coaster ride. But, journaling your days, activities/symptoms is worthwhile.

Although it is a great goal to not get anxious or depressed, the injured brain often has less ability to tolerate stress thus making it difficult to avoid anxiety. But, try to not let your thoughts create anxiety. Your brain's reaction to environmental and cognitive/emotional stress ( sounds, light, cognitive load, emotional stress/relationships with people, etc) will create enough anxiety.

You don't say what your current symptoms are except struggling with anxiety attacks, etc. Likely, there were triggers that caused the attacks. It may have been an accumulation of small triggers or a single trigger.

The injured brain needs extra nutrition. The Vitamins sticky at the top has a good regimen. The most important are B-12, a B-50 Complex, D-3, Omega 3 oil, magnesium/calcium (they work better together). Vitacost is currently doing a BOGO 1/2 off sale if you need to stock up. I like their house brand.

As was said, most doctors are clueless. Without more severe symptoms to indicate a need, a CT Scan right away would have a premature high dose of radiation. Most are done to protect the doctor and profit the hospital more than benefit the patient.

Try to avoid responding to every little change in symptoms. The roller coaster of PCS is to be expected.

BTW, 85% of concussions resolve spontaneously within 6 weeks or so. Too much activity can extend this 6 week period.

We are here for you so don't hesitate to ask for help. But, try to avoid using a Smart Phone to follow online issues. Smart Phone users tend to become too anxious. Try to be patient and things will get better.

My best to you.

Mark in Idaho

Hi Mark,
Well unfortunately it was the driver's fault of the car that I was in. I am a RN in the ER. I'm trying to avoid as much stress as possible! Sometimes that makes things worse just by stressing the stress! Vicious cycle. I'm only a part time student at the moment. Luckily, when I'm at work, I seem to be distracted and more focused and seem to even forget my symptoms - unless the vertigo is really bad.

I like the idea of journaling, I was thinking of that before but I'm glad you brought it up. I've been writing lots down lately since my memory is poor to remember things here and there but I'm sure writing down symptoms and possibly finding a pattern would be very beneficial.

As far as symptoms, besides the anxiety, I've had non stop vertigo, thankfully it isn't horrible, but it's surely bothersome. What worries me the most though is my sense of time. One doctor thought it might be detachment/depersonalization/derealization which freaked me out even more!!! I've read the signs and symptoms of these but nothing I find seems to really fit what I'm experiencing. The sense of time for me is distorted in the way that I might have breakfast at 6:45AM, but come 7:00AM, it feels like it was much more than 15 minutes prior (maybe even feeling like hours or days ago) and it also doesn't feel like it's 100% there in the memory that I'm able to recall instantly like I used to be able to do. I can tell you what I ate, but I can't tell you super fine details the way I was able to before unless something was specifically called to my attention. I'm wondering if this is something else that others have experienced too? The same doc said that he had dealt with football players who experienced the same time sensation issue but I can't seem to find any info on this anywhere - which leads to your next point. I need to stop googling PCS and anxiety every hour, you're 100% right.

Thank you for your detailed vitamin regimen, I need to add some Curcumin and DHEA, I've been taking the rest for the past two weeks pretty consistently. My neurologist gave me a high concentration of Magnesium intravenously in office that was supposed to improve symptoms but I honestly don't see a difference sadly.

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hockey (Post 1173400)

Hi and welcome.
The others have given you some great advice, which I will second, and try not to repeat.

Instead, I will address an issue we share, problems with the sense of time. Yes, that is a manifestation of your TBI. In my case, hours and hours could pass, and I'd have no sense of that. I'd get up in the morning and then be surprised to find it was already dark.

In most instances, this goes away with, no pun intended, the passage of time. My awareness is better, now, but not perfect. I have yet to recover my ability to project time. You know, things like when you estimate how long it will take you to get somewhere, to meet someone.

As you're recovering, when you identify deficits (or others point them out, because TBI can induce a lack of self-awareness), you need to find ways to work around them. Don't deny deficits, or beat yourself up, trying to do things the old way. With TBI, the trick is to do what it takes to let you function as smoothly as possible.

In my case, on the time thing, I started to wear a big wristwatch, my family made a point of telling me the hour, several times a day, they would point out how long I'd been doing particular things, they helped me devise a schedule and used egg timers to help me move from one activity to another, etc...

To this day, if I need to project time into the future, my husband has to help me devise the schedule and, then, write it out, so I don't forget. I just can't keep it straight.

I was impressed that you were able to meditate your way out of the panic attack. That puts you in good stead to deal with that issue.

Still, I would suggest seeing a psychologist, who understands TBI, as soon as possible. I'm sure the lawyer, that you should also get ASAP, will recommend that. As well, he/she will tell you to carefully document all of your symptoms, etc... I'm not always sure that that's always best for the psychological wellbeing of TBI patients, but it is essential for the adversarial world of litigation.

Oh my god, thank you sooo much. It makes me so relieved to hear this. I've been going back and forth between a possible detachment disorder and PCS because of things I've been told. I was really worried that I was developing a psychiatric disorder because of the symptoms and I'm so glad you posted. Thank you SO much. I don't loose time, I seem to add time to things that have just happened making them seem like forever ago when it was only a few minutes - but I'm hoping that this is just another way of the TBI/PCS showing itself. Did you ever experience this side of things? I've been given an SSRI to decrease my cognitive impairments - here's hoping it works!

You have been such a help, thank you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bud (Post 1173580)

Lily,

I hope you pass through this real quick.

Don't be afraid to ask questions here if needed.

I really wish I would have started Marks vitamin regimine earlier...I started about 5 weeks ago and can tell a subtle but welcome difference, some of the rough edges are a bit smoother.

I have dealt with a ton of anxiety since my injury. It is part of the ride for some of us. You can conquer it, you might still sense a storm going on but you can make yourself calm down.

Bud

Thanks for your kind words, Bud. It is nice to know there are people out there who are able to give some insight through a very anxiety causing time in life. I hope that everyone who is kind enough to share some words heals just as quickly themselves if not already.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystical (Post 1173743)

Welcome! Yes, definitely follow Mark's vitamins regime. The best advice I got was from neuropsych and psychiatrist. Eat healthy and exercise when you can. But rest a lot at first, then watch for trigger signs and take breaks.

Hang in there! Stay strong!

Did you notice a significant difference with eating healthy and exercising if you weren't doing that as much before? I find that after exercise I become pretty dizzy and I'm really not even pushing myself at all - ex: today I did 30 min on the elliptical at a really easy level. Did you also experience this?
Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperElectric (Post 1174015)

The fact that you can recognise when a panic attack is imminent and calm it down is a positive sign. Sounds like mediation a few times a day could help a lot. Certainly brain rest, it's not always easy easy to recognise brain fatigue as it's not like tiredness and you can't push through it.

This is definitely a hard thing to identify and I don't think I'd be able to if you asked me right now. I guess it's when the vertigo starts to act up a little more for me and it's harder to concentrate that usual. Does this sound like something that you've experienced?

Thanks.

lilyNYC,

You have a legitimate claim against the driver's auto insurance company. Don't feel like it would be disloyal to your friend. The insurance company just looks at it as a number. The driver's policy covers the occupants of the car you were in and the other car(s). That is a big part of why we are required to carry auto insurance, so those in our car are covered if we mess up.

Most auto policies have a coverage called 'medical payments.' It is usually $5000 or so. It is a no fault coverage for medical care. It does not cover lost wages or pain and suffering, just the cost of medical care/deductibles and co-pays.

Try to relax when you get a comment like derealization, etc. They are just temporary conditions, not permanent diagnoses. The time issue is common and goes away as our brains heal. It can be part of the anxiety we experience. Anxiety messes up the time clock in our brain. I think it has more to do with focus and memory. Things that we would have remembered doing in the morning built the time span like a stack of bricks. When we do not focus on the morning activities even though we do them, some bricks go missing. It can help to use task lists. That way, we notice all the things we did and develop a sense of time for that period.

Remember the old saying, " I just lost track of time." It happens and is not a big deal.

My best to you.

Lily,

I had a difficult time with exercise. At around 3 months I figured I should be running again. It took awhile to figure out that I couldn't exercise at all.

At 9 months I started walking and had to stop again. Around 14 months I was able to walk and swim and now at 18 months I can run 1/4 mile.

Others seem to have no difficulty exercising.

My thought is to let your body be the judge. If after exercising for a few days your symptoms seem to be increasing, stop or slow down for awhile. You will know with a little experimentation what you are capable of.

Bud