Hello All,
I thought I was near all healed. Now I am not sure. I have never gotten over that feeling of being at sea. At least I did when I hadn't worked out for five days and when I worked out again (2x/week getting heart rate up) it came back. Mainly going from lying to standing up and some reversed.

I took my grandson to Museum on Tuesday and we went into Planetarium. The first room was dark with red light - I felt almost immediately nauseous. I had to close my eyes. Inside I kept my eyes closed almost the whole time. after I noticed very minor headaches on top of my head I thought it was just allergies.

Today I went to the gym to work out with my trainer- weight lifting. I started to get that off balance feeling. Then started feeling a bit weird. I started to cry for no reason. I told myself maybe it is like PTS the memory of the symptoms. We backed off. I told myself to breathe and I wasn't making this up just relax.

I came home and rested. Driving home I felt a tiny bit weird.

Can one have a relapse without hitting their head - or could that planetarium set off my symptoms? Like maybe I'm not as healed as I thought?

Thank you for your ongoing support and thoughts.

For some of us lifting weights can set all manner of things off, even just visiting a gym likewise, often because of the sensory overload.

And when in time you think all is back to normal it can hit when unexpected. Trying to find why; sometimes there appears to be a reason, sometimes not but fatigue, noise, lights, stimulation can be major players.

Loved the words thrown at me when suddenly I unexpectantly deteriorated big time on a family outing, "You learn how to cope, not manage it because you sometimes never know when it's coming even when you think you know it all". This from someone 20 years post accident.

LouiseN,

You will always be post concussion. PCS may raise its head without warning. It takes some trial and error to learn what triggers can set off a return of symptoms.

I can look back 50 years and see these setbacks. Even more so over the last 15 years. I have just learned to recognize what is happening so I do not make things worse and get upset.

Thank you chasann. The info helps. Yes, I had to focus hard and/or close my eyes on one machine. I also slowed down.

Thank you Mark In Idaho -( I forgot how to reply without your answer, oh well)
Makes sense to me; I appreciate your input.

Louise,

I started back to the gym this year after 1.75 years off from my accident.

I still don't always feel right but it is no longer affecting the intensity with which I can exercise, with the exception of needing a day off sooner than before my accident. I do think when the gym is busier and more of the treadmills are being used it upsets my system some and I have to keep my focus really narrow.

I tell my wife I have not felt as secure and stable as before yet I am back to skiing snow and water and that takes balance...despite feeling different the results seem to prove those feelings invalid. I admit to needing to tell myself most times to ignore, the thoughts that don't seem to disappear.

I know for certain I have to be much more result oriented...anxiety is pretty feeling centered in my experience.

Hang in there,
Bud

THANKS BUD!

I just talked to a preventative health doc and the example he used is like when a person has a stroke - their brain has to relearn and it creates new path ways to finding ways to do the things one did before and the brain is retraining after a head injury as well. It made sense and seems to apply and correlate even more to what you are saying.

I am hanging in there and encouraged to keep at it at a pace I can handle and let go of the expectations and fears that creep in. Definitely when I focus at the gym on a point out in front of me and/or close my eyes sometimes on a seated machine it helps when I get "set off". Changing positions sets it off so I wait to rebalance - the other day just totally threw me and I was frightened of regression. It is back to patience and realizing I am not done with this yet and I am relearning.