Expectations

Mark in Idaho · 02-28-2016, 09:34 AM

Windseeker,

Antidepressants do not cause addiction. There is not a 'I need to take my antidepressant xyz' effect. Many need to establish a routine to make sure they take their dose on time. They do have withdrawal side-effects for some than can be minimized by a slow taper off.

SheWhoMovesSlowly,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. How are you doing ?

Are you suffering PCS symptoms that would like help understanding ?

btw, If you use the Post Reply button at the lower left, it will not quote the whole previous post. It makes it easier to scroll through the posts without the long quoted posts.

Feel free to start your own thread so you can introduce yourself and tell us about your struggles. Use the New Thread button at the top left of the TBI/PCS Index page to get started.

My best to you.

brownehn · 02-28-2016, 09:49 AM

For one thing, your immediate problem is psychiatric. I have that situation as well and so do many PCS people. So focus on that as has already been suggested. Zoloft has worked very well on a lot of people and there are others as well. I think you need to get this incredibly negative krap going on--another problem shared by many PCS people--down so you can think and plan things better. Right now you seemed trapped in a self-destructive cycle.

I would guess you really need to be on disability at least for a while. PCS people need to shut down considerably. Working a job like that, if it doesn't fulfill you in some way, can just be counterproductive.

Friends and family are more important than ever. Sounds like you're cut off from that, similar to me. Try building a few on this forum, and elsewhere.

God be with us all.

thorx89 · 02-28-2016, 05:37 PM

You can try exercising instead of antidepressants:
http://www.lifehack.org/366661/natur...and-depression
I'm going to try to exercise some more. Been feeling very much like you lately.

LouiseN · 02-28-2016, 06:18 PM

I wish I had some great words of wisdom; what I have is what I experienced for me and everyone is different. I hit my head Thanksgiving weekend. I thought I'd be better in a few days, then weeks and then I realized I had to let go of what I thought and just be with whatever. I am just at the point where I really feel I am close to 100% recovery. I still get concussion fog brain or tired if I am overly stimulated. I know it is not anything like what you are going through but I had horrible symptoms and I reached out here like you are doing and I followed the protocols. Unlike you I was able to stay home and sleep when I needed. I stayed home much of the time. I really just started going out. I followed the vitamin regime and the Buffalo protocol. I wear a heart monitor to work out or go for a walk. I work on machines not free weights too much still. I sort of babied myself - but that sounds negative. If I gave myself a hard time it would show up in my symptoms. I realize it is a vicious cycle. I listened to lots of healing meditation tapes. I wear a mask to sleep so I can sleep. I have not been to a movie. I started watching TV and if it was too loud I lowered the sound or found something else. Give yourself a break and don't blame yourself or anyone else. Try meditation -I was fortunate I didn't have to take meds. There must be some places that can help. Comb through the emails here I did it was a life line. I am not judging or saying I have the answers; I am trying to be supportive so I hope it is coming off that way. I guess I am trying to say you are not alone. Maybe you can get a leave of absence or some medical subsidy. Tell the people you are around that you have this concussion; I tended to be quiet about it but when I opened up people understood. Get the MACK (found them on Amazon) earplugs I wear them in noisy places. I truly hope this has helped in some way. G-d Bless

SMSotr · 02-28-2016, 08:10 PM

Wind seeker,
Wish I had some words of wisdom to help you, but for now, all I can add is that you are not alone--all of us have similar issues from PCS, and all of us must continue to have hope that one day our fogginess and all the other lovely symptoms will disappear!
Until then, sending you hugs! We could all use a few good hugs...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

windseeker242 · 03-01-2016, 04:16 PM

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone.

I've got some real life changes I have to work on.

I've taken the last two days off of work to rest off the breakdown. Back tomorrow to take on the world!

My gratitude

seth8a · 03-01-2016, 04:59 PM

I'm so sorry to hear about your suffering. It sounds like you are suffering from a major depression, however. Have you thought about visiting with a neuropsychologist or someone versed in CBT? I think this might really, really help you. I was nearly hospitalized for depression 6 months after my head injury--but once I sought treatment was able to be whole again. It's a long process, but therapy is very worth it in the end.

Take good care . . . and please consider treatment for depression. NPs and psychologists are very different from psychiatrists, by the way, which it sounds like you have pursued.

Quote:

Originally Posted by windseeker242

Hello All.

I am 28

I started posting here about 4 years ago when I first got PCS. I was 24 years old.

I suffered a concussion falling off my skateboard in December 2011
I recovered in 16 days

February 29th 2012 I got "bumped" on my head and my symptoms started to creep back in. It took about a month for them to reach their zenith.

For the next 2 years I saw a slow recovery.

For the last 2 years I feel like I've slowly been getting sicker.

I've lost all my friends. My relationship with my family is severely strained.
I feel empty inside.

Should I just let go of expecting to recover?
My life consists of working to survive and then resting so I can go to work again the next day. I mean that literally. I come home from work and go straight to bed so that I can make it to work again the next day.

I can't stop working or I will starve.

I guess I don't really have a question here......I'm just hitting the wall where I can't hold it together anymore. I can't take it anymore. I'm afraid I am going to be sick like this until the time comes where I'm too sick to even get out of bed.

Movies were my primary "getaway" and even now I can't watch a couple kiss on screen or watch the "hero" do something cool.....I feel barraged by images of things I can never have or do.

I don't want to become a burden on my family.
I want to find love, a girlfriend but then I am paralyzed by fear that I am cursing someone else to a lifetime of caretaking.

I feel like I've died and haven't realized it yet. Sometime I wish I did die when I hit my head.

Life no longer feels like an adventure. It feels like a sentence.

Symptoms (I know your all going to ask)
Fatigue: mental and physical

If I do "too much"
Be it talking or walking or watching movies, I'll wake up the next morning feeling like I've been hit by a truck. My head is super foggy. Lights and sounds are overwhelming. My muscles and joints ache. I'll stutter and slur when I talk.

I describe it to the non-pcs'ers as "It feels like a flu and a hangover at the same time"

Really the "issue" is the sensitivity to bumps and exertion.
My weight has wasted away. I am skin and bones now.

I can't exercise, hold a long conversation.........anything stimulating really.

Driving is difficult for me. Hitting potholes or g-forces from acceleration or deceleration flair up my symptoms.

I feel like I'm cursed to "live" without being able to "live"
I feel like I'm waiting to die.

I'd take my life but I'm too much of a coward to do so.
I don't want to die.
I'm not ready to die.

I am afraid.

I'll be 29 this fall. Soon entering my 30's with no savings, assets or romantic interests.

Is this going to be the rest of my life?

I've spent countless hours googling the research and "potential treatments" but none of them are conclusive.

I keep hoping someone is going to have a breakthrough but when?

Will the breakthrough occur when I'm in my mid 40's and can't remember my own name?

I'm afraid of slipping into dementia without ever having really lived.

Again: I don't know why I'm writing this. There is no real question in here. We all know the realities of this condition. I feel like I'm whining and complaining.

Could somebody lie to me and tell me everything is going to be ok?

windseeker242 · 03-01-2016, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seth8a

I'm so sorry to hear about your suffering. It sounds like you are suffering from a major depression, however. Have you thought about visiting with a neuropsychologist or someone versed in CBT.

Nobody here like that.

seth8a · 03-02-2016, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by windseeker242

Nobody here like that.

Even if you live in the most rural of communities, you should be able to find someone, whether it be a social worker specializing in therapy, or an actual psychologist, well versed in CBT, which stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Neuropsychs are admittedly much harder to find, and they are usually on a shorter term basis, (as in interpreting a Neuropsych Assessment and then offering treatment recommendations).

I have to admit that I really do not feel like the person I was before my accident. I am better. I meditate, I am more relaxed, and I take things day by day. I admittedly still have some issues from my (what turned out to be) severe concussion, but with CBT and an SNRI called Effexor, I was able to get my life back. It really sounds like you are suffering from major depression.

There is a great book that may help you: "Full Catastrophe Living" by John Cabot Zinn. Most libraries have it--if not it can be ordered on Amazon.com.

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