[skythian]

Hello guys - I've been a NT lurker for some time, and have learned a lot from this forum. This will be a relatively long post, but I hope that posting about my symptoms might help others.

I hit my head on a tree as I was standing up in my front yard approximately 1.5 months ago, didn't lose consciousness, but felt a bit dizzy at first and had a headache for an hour or so. I didn't think it was a concussion, since it was such a minor impact, so I went for a 5K run a few days later and felt absolutely awful afterwards (pressure headache, irritable, dizzy).

Obviously I haven't run since then, and I took a couple of weeks off from work, the gym, basically everything. My outstanding symptoms are unilateral headaches on the left side of my head (where it was hit), and intolerance to exercise. At first, raising my heart rate at all would exacerbate my symptoms. I have followed the University of Buffalo regime for treating exercise intolerance, and have made some slow, steady progress. I couldn't raise my heart rate above 100 BPM at first, and I'm now able to hold 130 with almost no exacerbation in symptoms. This is, by far, the most difficult symptom of the injury. I was a competitive 5K runner before my concussion, and being able to run again is a high priority for me.

I haven't had any cognitive difficulty since the concussion (which I'm very thankful for), but my unilateral headache will pop up any time I drive to work (unfortunately my commute is about 45 minutes and it's a fairly rough road). The headache feels like tension, tingling and a slight burning on the injured side of my head. My left ear also starts feeling blocked when this headache comes on. Taking an ibuprofen or aleve before I drive helps quite a bit, but the overall symptom hasn't really gotten better or worse (I have good days and bad days, but overall no real change).

My questions are: when people talk about brain sensitivity on this forum, are you all talking about bilateral headaches, or just one side of your head being affected? My headaches are not severe, just a bit distracting. Is it safe to keep going to work and taking ibuprofen when I need it if I'm having no other symptoms? At this point, would taking medical leave and resting even help?

Without going into details, I'm a flight instructor, and it would be very detrimental for me to take time off of work. If I thought I was having cognitive problems in the plane, I would take a break for sure, but my headaches haven't seemed to worsen my flying ability. I just worry that I'm impeding my recovery by having to commute on a rough road and having my symptoms flare up.

Thanks for reading. Hopefully this finds you all during a "good brain day."

[Mark in Idaho]

I don't think taking medical leave will help. Avoiding headache triggers will be the most important. If cognitive load causes an increase in headaches, you should try to moderate your efforts.

As a pilot, you should be aware of any cognitive changes when flying at higher altitudes. Studies show that people who have suffered concussions are more sensitive to altitude that those who have not suffered a concussion. I had to stop flying because I was making mistakes when preparing to land after flying at 10,000 feet or so. The study showed notable cognitive performance declines at only 8,000 feet for those who had a concussion history.

[skythian]

Mark, thanks for the reply. Cognitive load isn't exacerbating my symptoms, which I'm thankful for. I can't really get around the commute to work unless I take medical leave, but I will work on leaning forward in the seat and maintaining a healthy diet (which I've focused on over the past few weeks).

I should add that I had a CT scan done a month after the injury and it came back negative.

[JBuckl]

I sit on a pillow in the car, and used to use a soft neck brace. I also take curcumin, which I noticed help maybe 10-20% (my rough guess). I found aleve to be much better for headaches than any other NSAID.

For me, my head sensitivity is in the front of my brain on both sides. I used to get a burning sensation, but now it mostly just feels like pressure. If I get a bad enough head turn, I stare and zone out really bad for a while, feeling dazed. But this has happened only twice.

To my surprise running doesn't cause symptoms if I don't overdue it, but a quick head turn can. Even the impact from showers leaves me a bit "off" for an hour or so. Thankfully, I'm well past the anxiety stage of having this, which can make a big difference.

[skythian]

JBuckl, I'm glad you can run. For me, running was my main stress relief activity before my injury. Obviously having that taken away from me has been very difficult.

I'll try the curcumin and pillow. I'm currently on a very high dosage of fish oil, and am curious to see if it helps over the next week. I feel like if I could just see an improvement in my brain sensitivity, I'd be on track for a full recovery. Just got back from the gym and was able to push my heart rate a little higher (up to 140) with minimal exacerbation of symptoms. I need to focus on not pushing too hard, but even seeing small gains prevents depression from setting in. I haven't struggled nearly as long as many of you, but I feel like having those continual positive reinforcements is crucial to recovery.

[Mark in Idaho]

skythian,

You are putting too short a time interval between increases in effort. The Buffalo Protocol does not increase heart rate as fast as you are. Your expectations of improvement are also to short term minded. Expecting short term improvements, even if just from fish oil, is setting yourself up for anxiety. At 6 weeks, you are still very early in your recovery.

Regardless of your concussion recovery, I am concerned that you feel so sensitive to depression. If your goal is to get in the left seat of some heavy metal, you would be wise to get some understanding as to why you are so sensitive. I highly recommend reading the Vitamins sticky at the top. The brain health supplements regimen is also good at helping the brain tolerate stress and be more depression resistant. Antidepressant and anti-anxiety meds are a quick way to lose your 2nd Class or 1st Class medical certificate.

[Mark in Idaho]

I neglected to commented about your bilateral vs unilateral head sensitivity. You appear to be confusing headaches and jarring/movement sensitivity. Many have one without the other. Most issues with head sensitivity relates to bumps or movement. Whether unilateral headaches or bilateral headaches, I don't think it makes any difference. Many have headaches that change locations, often for no discernible reason. But, either way, you are trying to define differences that are meaningless in the big picture.

[skythian]

Mark,

I haven't ever had a history of depression, and I am in no need of medication, but I think feeling a little down is probably normal during PCS. That's all I meant. Definitely well aware of what kinds of meds will kill my flight status.

I will admit that I'm still expecting a short recovery, and that's not realistic. I need to understand that this will take some time and come to terms with it.

[MicroMan]

Sky, I had no history of depression or any other mental unwellness issues. However, by 3 months after my mTBI depression set in and I had a year that I would happily like to permanently forget... just be aware that it is a common issue with those who have PCS.

Best of luck.