Hello guys,

I've been spending some time here after I hit my head 67 days ago when walking up some stairs, but this is my first post (obviously). I went through a course at university during the first 30 days before accepting that I wouldn't get rid of my symptoms (severe dizzyness, fatigue, tired eyes, nausea if dizzyness got really bad, short term memory loss, etc) without dedication to resting. During the course I rested as much as I could, but I still did the obligatory stuff. This took up maybe 10 hours a week.

After the course was completed, I skipped the following course and set out to rest until I was healthy again. The first few days I had to take one hour naps a couple of times a day after just lying around, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, cooking and doing my laundry. By spending the majority of my time listening to audio books and drawing, I noticed I got better. After 30 days of resting like this, I could sit in front of YouTube for 3-4 hours without feeling substantial dizzyness. I went by the strategy of active rest - I did as much as I had energy for doing, and when I felt my energy dwindling, I went to bed and slept or listened to a podcast with the blinds down. This included seeing my girlfriend, talking to friends a couple of hours at a time and watching videos on YouTube. I generally didn't leave the apartment.

Then came the day that I moved apartments. My roomate had ended our contract due to him going on an exchange term, and I did way more than I had the capacity of doing. By the end of the day I laid in bed, trying not to throw up all over our (newly cleaned) floors, and the day after was awful as well. I went back to my home town to live with my parents for a couple of weeks, and my symptoms have gotten back to where they were a month ago - I have to take naps for hours every day and looking at screens makes me a little nauseous in a way that they didn't before.

I shold mention that I had a post concussive syndrome-episode exactly one year ago (I literally hit my head within the same week I did the year before), which took me 4-6 weeks to get through. I still noticed that my fingers slipped and typed the wrong letters on my keyboard some months later, but I was symptom free to the point where it didn't bother me.

I have two main questions:

- What do you think of my approach to rest? Any advice for changing it? I eat B12, B-complex, multivitamin, C-vitamin and Omega 3s in pretty large doses every day, sleep 8+ hours every night and try to do whatever I feel is fun, as long as it doesn't worsen my symptoms. This includes plowing through audio books (14 last month) and podcasts and drawing from time to time. I cram in some screen time when I feel fresh enough.

- Is the progress I made during the last 30 days likely thrown out the window after I overstrained myself 5 days ago when moving? Will recovery to where I was likely be faster than getting there the last time was or do I have to go through it all again?

These forums are a huge help, when I have the opportunity I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed to my sense of comfort in that there is information to get if you need it.

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

The research suggests 2 things about your condition.

1st. You should not be sleeping during the day. A short nap of 10 to 20 minutes during the middle of the day after a strenuous activity can be helpful to recharge but that time should be limited.

2nd. If you feel tired during the day, that suggests you are not getting quality sleep at night. Many with PCS do not get quality sleep. We need all of the stages of sleep for our brains to heal.

Sleeping during the day can have a negative effect on night time sleep. Night time sleep is when the sleep stages happen.

Moving could have inflamed an upper neck injury. These are usually subtle but the inflammation can trigger PCS symptoms. It is important to be disciplined with sleeping and resting head and neck posture to reduce strain on the neck so inflammation can resolve. Icing can help.

You are not specific about your active rest concept so I cannot address it. Many of us have had to learn the early signs of fatigue so we do not push past that fatigue threshold. We just lower our intensity.

Nobody can prognose your recovery. It is not worth the mental energy for you to be concerned about it. Just move forward from where you are now.

Thank you for your reply Mark,

Should I just stare into the wall while lying in bed when I feel the worst? I can feel fatigue creeping into an audiobook or podcast I'm listening to, and when I do I feel better with more energy to do things (like keep listening to the podcast) when I wake up. What can I do to ensure that I'm getting good sleep quality?

I was unclear about the moving part, I didn't actually move much. I hired some people to come and fetch my things - what I did do is walk a lot from point A to point B and I didn't rest when I felt tired. Instead I helped my roommate clean out our apartment until I felt I was about to be sick.

Is there any way to check if I have an inflammation in my neck? Should I try making myself an ice pack and see if I feel better?

The questions I had about my resting regimen was mostly about seeing if I was doing anything wrong by not having walks scheduled and so on. I spend most of my time sitting or lying in bed listening to audiobooks. Is there anything I could tell you about how I spend my days that could help you assess if I'm resting effectively?

And lastly, good point. Thanks again for your reply.