Hey Everyone,
First time posting and I'm looking to talk and get some advice. A little over a month ago I was found unconscious in my apartment complex lounge. I don't remember anything but I was seen sitting on a stool and we think I fell off and banged my head. I was taken to the hospital and CT scan showed a Epidural hematoma, parietal skull fracture and a concussion. I was in the ICU for several days and once I was discharged I was back in the ER the following two days due to severe head back. Thankfully, the blood was reabsorbed and doctors were shocked with how quickly I was recovering. My parents, fiancé and future in laws were amazing and I gave them quite a scare.

While I was home resting, it was very hard at times. I would feel depressed at random days and just get frustrated. I wasn't allowed to do anything. I finally started to go back to work (part time) last week and have been increasing my hours little by little. Yet, I have been very frustrated, unhappy and lack of energy and motivation the last few days. I feel burnt out. When I am at work, I have no desire to be there. I just feel sad.

I don't know if I have been doing to much. Every weekend this month I have been traveling. Weddings, family events. And I felt fine during them all and took it easy. No dancing and no drinking. I'm at the point I don't know what to do anymore. I'm debating if I should take off work a little more and just relax and try to get myself back to normal. Get my energy back.

A day before my accident, I had oral surgery. I got a dental implant. We think that I didn't eat or drink enough after the surgery and that led to dehydration, which made me get dizzy and end up falling. Anyways, last Friday I woke up and my gum was swollen. I rushed to the surgeon and he told me my body may be rejecting the implant. I go back this week to find out. Hopefully it's been getting better. But that was the lowest point. I felt so defeated when he told me that in Friday. Since then, I haven't been myself. I feel like I cannot catch a break.

Sorry this was long. Thanks for reading.

Hi there, and sorry you are having so much trouble.

I am 5 1/2 years post concussion and it was not as bad as yours. That said, I know full well the depression and feelings of irritability and frustration you are experiencing. You will probably need a lot more rest, take as much time off of work as you can to let your brain heal, and be kind to yourself.

Recovering from a traumatic brain injury is a slow process. You may have three steps forward and two back.

The emotional side of it can be tumultuous. Are you seeing a neurologist? You may need to go on medication to regulate your mood for awhile during the recovery period.

Rest, rest rest!! I can't emphasize that too much. I was off work for nearly two years, and I still have set backs all this time later. Your individual situation is just that, yours, and no one can predict how your own path of recovery is going to flow. But you will get better.

Take care, write again.

Laura

Nyy12351,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear of your fall.

I've had struggles with oral surgery due to crashing blood sugar because of no eating. Yikes. Did the doc consider if you threw a clot and had a ministroke and fell? If dehydration caused you to fall, you would likely have remembered not feeling good for a while before the fall. A TIA can be sudden onset. They commonly cause falls with the elderly.

btw, Bleeds start to resorb in just 72 hours. Imaging is best done at 72 hours to identify any bleeds because they are usually at peak size then quickly start resorbing.

Recovery can be a struggle. The total rest, no cognitive effort is old school. Now, they know better. Stimulating good blood flow in the brain is paramount. You should be trying to find things to keep your brain active in a non-stress way. Working with projects that are manual task oriented is good. The hands cannot work faster than a struggling brain can handle.

Idleness causes stress chemicals that are detrimental.

Good quality sleep is important. Far more important than quantity of sleep. Too much poor sleep is counter productive. You should be waking up alert if your sleep is quality sleep. If you feel sleepy during the day, it suggests you are not getting quality sleep. The neck trauma of many head injuries can cause inflammation that can interrupt proper sleep and breathing. They rarely consider neck issues when they see a serious brain or skull issue.

Subtle neck injuries are often a cause of headaches. These injuries do not show up on imaging. One just treats their neck as if it was injured with good sleep and resting posture and icing, etc. and things can slowly improve. gentle chiro and/or physical therapy can help. Gentle traction and mobilization to help things settle is helpful. Twist the head and pop the neck chiro treatments are often not helpful and may even aggravate an injury.

The brain needs all of the stages of sleep to heal. REM is when the neurons repair. Slow wave sleep is when the brain detoxifies. Both are important.

Your diet is important. Brain supplements and proper food and avoidance is good. Keeping a steady blood sugar may help with the daily swings. Low blood sugar can cause moods. The Vitamins sticky at the top has good info.

Your weekend activities may be successful but leave you fatigued for the weekdays. It is common that a bit of good hormones of a pleasant event can hide the stress your brain is enduring, even if you are taking it easy. Many of us know that these events, though enjoyable and symptoms free at the time will cause us to pay later. I just plan to have a poor day or two after such an activity.

Mindset helps. Expect to have a roller coaster ride. Expect to struggle with stimulation and maybe memory or executive functioning. Getting frustrated only makes things worse and raises stress levels slowing recovery.

Please feel free to tell us anything. We have heard it all.

My best to you.

Laura G,

Welcome back. How are you doing ?

Thank you for the advice.

I did see a neurologist and will go back in September for a check up. I spoke to my general doctor and he told me to see a therapist and go from there. If that doesn't help, then we can discuss medication.

You are right that there is a lot of emotional stuff I really didn't consider. I always went off how I felt physically and when I felt good, I just figured I was set to go. I have had some trouble accepting everything and that I actually had a TBI/Concussion.

I do feel good when I am busy or with family/friends, but it does cover up how I really feel. I had plans to go to FL next Thursday to visit my parents for a week and after talking it over with my parents and my boss, I changed my flight to leave Monday. I think what I need is to be around family, relax and just be gone for a little bit. Get out of my current area, my apartment and just really relax and take it easy. I won't be able to check the mail everyday worry about the hospital bills, I wont have to worry about work or traveling. I can just relax in Florida. Be with my parents, my fiancé and my dog. I think that will help and I will start fresh in August. I am hoping that helps. When I get back, I will see a therapist and also go to the Concussion Clinic.

I sleep well.. I think.. Some night it takes me a little while. Sometimes I just stay up and think about the accident and everything that has happened the past 1.5 months. I just need to rest and try to get back to a normal routine.

I have always eaten pretty healthy and work out but that has changed since the accident. I have lost a couple of pounds, but recently started walking on the treadmill and eventually running around. I love to cook and make veggies and chicken. I haven't cooked as much because I haven't been in the mood or have an appetite. Plus, I cannot smell/taste some stuff due to the fall so I am not dying to cook all the time or as much. I have been trying to eat plenty of salad and veggies. Next time I go to Costco, I plan on picking up specific vitamins I was told to take.

Thanks for the advice!

What vitamins were you told to take ? Costco has a limited selection. All the good sellers but not enough to fill a good regimen. I used to try to buy them at Costco. I needed to add vitamins from Amazon or Vitacost.com. Now, I buy almost everything at Vitacost. I use Costco for Omega 3 fish oil and maybe Vit C. Costco does not have a good B-12, Turmeric/curcumin nor a good cal-mag.

When you are in FL, keep in mind that long conversations or conversations with multiple people/voices can be a strain. The worst is when people talk over each other. Calm talking over a game of cards or such where the focus is not the need to maintain a conversation is better. Your family needs to be told about the need to slow and limit the intensity of conversations. They don't know any different.

Hi Mark,
I am doing OK, just had my neuropsych evaluation which I have been trying to get for YEARS, was authorized 2 years ago by Work Comp and was just a bear getting a provider and getting scheduled.

Interestingly, the extensive testing (9 hours in 3 sections, 2 back to back on separate days) has left me feeling really dizzy, nauseated, confused, sleepy and headachey. I hope my memory deficits show up on the tests, and I can get further assistance with that.

I have been back at work full time for over three years, but they put me in really difficult jobs which have been very taxing. Because you have to be certified as able to be full duty, I just kinda had to put up with it - took a lot of sick days as needed when too much mental taxing went on.

Sigh.

And so goes the recovery.

I am reading all your posts again about vitamins - have been off meds since end of March but been anxious and now becoming depressed. I hope the vitamin support will help to keep me off medication.

Physical therapy was the key to eliminating for a time the headaches, did traction and a bunch of stuff. I have to remember to exercise and stretch.

Thanks for asking; I appreciate your posts. Take care!