Hey everyone,

I just got back from a neurologist. In his opinion my development was atypical to the normal progress of PCS, as I don't have headaches and I described the blow that caused my concussion as pretty light compared to my previous concussion. I also told the neurologist about how I'd gotten worse after getting completely exhausted (to the point of having to push my fingers into my ears, moving them rythmically, just to have the brain focus on the rythm and not my thoughts - in order to not vomit from severe nausea) when moving apartments and he told me that my progress was more in line with exhaustion syndrome (or is it called chronic fatigue syndrome? I am not sure about the name in english).

I researched exhaustion syndrome for a bit and found that according to a test and some articles, I had almost all the exact symptoms. However, as I started thinking about how exhausted I'd been before hitting my head (not very) and checking back with PCS symptoms, I found significant overlap.

Would you say that my neurologist just didn't know what he was talking about or that I might be suffering from something else than PCS? I have symptom-triggering anxiety that I've gotten after starting to fear getting worse, but I feel like I can distinguish this from the symptoms that I get even in a state of harmony and rest.

My current symptoms:
- Difficulty concentrating on reading for longer than 30-45 minutes
- Difficulty following complicated reasoning in speech, documentaries, books and audio books
- Overall fatigue
- Messed up balance and coordination
- Difficulty finding words when talking
- Dizziness when exposed to multiple stimuli at once (music in the background of conversation, listening to something while drawing)
- Hitting a brick wall with my thoughts when I've been talking about something complex/difficult for extended periods of time

Anxiety induced symptoms (can come when I have done something that I think might set me back in my progress)
- Severe fatigue
- Severe dizziness
- Slight nausea
- Severe difficulty in focusing on complex stimuli
- Difficulty with conversation

PS. Have you gotten better at separating your anxiety-induced symptoms from your regular symptoms? How did you get better at this?

I don't believe there is a "typical" progress to PCS. By scouring this forum you will see that PCS affects everybody a bit differently, likely do to the nature of the injury and personal pre-conditions.

I tend to think PCS is defined as the secondary set of symptoms that arise from the preliminary concussion. This is why there is a lot of variability in peoples experiences.

Hains

Yeah I suppose. I should have expected to hear that kind of talk from the neuro, considering how much people talk about that doctors rarely get this condition upon visiting them. Do you have anxiety-induced symptoms?

@smutsik
Since about two years I deal with symptoms that are caused by anxiety.

Also most of my symptoms are very similar to yours

How do you deal with it (the anxiety and the symptoms caused by it)?

Mindfulness practice can help de-sensitize your stress/anxiety response. It did for me. I can now recognize within seconds when I get anxious, and can sometimes steer my mental process away from it.

Many people recognize mindfulness as an effective tool. However, very few people are willing to sit down for 20 minutes a day to see the benefits....even though it is single-handily the most effective tool to overcome PCS.

Hains