Hi,

It's been 18 months since I slipped and fell on the ice. I was on ice skates and wearing a helmet, but I went heels up and fell on my back and the back of my head whipped back and hit the ice. 1 year ago I re-injured it and the symptoms were worse than the initial injury.

At the end of the day yesterday I developed a headache. It doesn't happen everyday (I'm currently not working). I would like to describe what I did and see if someone can relate to my current condition.

In brief;

-I met my my neurologist and spoke for about 30 minutes. It was a long conversation.
-1 hour later I met my a therapist. This was another discussion where I had to articulate thoughts and it was a 1hr appointment
-Total mid-day driving time was about 1.5hrs
-I ran a few errands during the day as well

In reflecting on the days events it becomes clear to me that using my brain to articulate thoughts in conversations seems causing me headaches.

My question is now that loud noises and bright lights don't seem to be triggers anymore am I in the final healing stages now that I'm just getting headaches from conversations for the most part?

Thank you for your help.

There is no value in trying to categorize a 'healing state.' You could continue improving or you could slow down in your improvement. Nobody can suggest either situation.

I'm confused as to why a PCS patient/client would need to spend so much time talking with a doctor or therapist.

You may be over focused on your symptoms versus focusing on improvement. Some doctors and therapist can encourage one or the other.

If headaches from conversations are you only continuing symptom, have you noticed if all conversations trigger headaches or if there are just certain types of conversations that trigger headaches ? Are you pushing your memory during these conversation (struggling as you try to remember something) ? Do you tolerate quiet conversations differently than conversations with lots of ambient sounds ?

The point is simple. Some symptoms may remain for a long time and we can still move forward by tolerating those symptoms as just the cost of doing the task. We then choose whether the task is important enough to justify the headaches or fatigue.

I do many things with an "I know this is going to cost me." attitude going into the activity. Sort of like, If I run out to the garbage can in freezing temps without a jacket, I'll come back in shivering. I know this before and could have put on a coat but instead chose to tolerate the shivering.

The holidays are just this kind of situation. The many events with people and sounds can cause symptoms. If I get home fatigued or with a headache, it is not a big deal. It was the price of admission.

The researchers have found that those who learn to tolerate their symptoms recover much better than those who constantly identify and react to their symptoms.

Thanks Mark. The conversation with my therapist (psychologist/counseling) was about life issues that were separate from PCS. Actually PCS didn't come up at all.

In speaking with my neurologist we actually got off the topic of PCS and she lent an ear to hear some of the challenges I've had inter-personally with people that just seem unable to understand what I'm going through (i.e., "I think your concussion thing is ********! - from my father)

I'll try to pay attention to the type of conversations that give me trouble. I do know already that those conversations that tax my brain by using recall, analysis, and have emotional weight to them cause the most problems.

It's interesting, though. You mentioned that some professionals focus on symptoms too much and I believe this is true. Sometimes I'm asked to explain details of negative experiences in my life that I don't think is necessary. I try to take control early on so this doesn't happen as much.