Hey guys,

How do you approach resting? What do you do that you feel is the most effective, apart from not doing things that bring back symptoms? Have you discovered something that put your recovery in high gear?

I'm currently 14 days into daily meditation with the app Headspace, which seems to be doing me good. I think my routine of trying to go to sleep the same time every night, meditating, following parts of the sticky vitamin regimen is working, but I'm looking for inspiration to progress further. Currently 4 months in, still having problems with dizzyness, executive functioning and fatigue.

Diet is huge. Eliminating inflammatory foods like sugar, refined carbs, and foods that you may be sensitive to can have a very large impact on your recovery. In my opinion, you can't go wrong by eating 'mostly' real foods... types that aren't packaged or processed. Following an 80/20 protocol is a smart move that allows flexibility.

Here is a list of "Brain Foods" published here: Kwik Brain 5: My 1 Favorite Brain Foods | Jim Kwik

1. Avocado.
Helps keep healthy blood flow
Good source of monounsaturated fats

2. Blueberries (or ‘brainberries!).
Protects your brain from oxidative stress
Reduces the effect of brain-aging conditions
Rats who ate blueberries had improved overall learning capacity and motor skills and were mentally younger

3. Broccoli.
Remarkable source of fiber
Rich in vitamin K, which is known to enhance cognitive function and improve brainpower

4. Coconut Oil.
Medium chain fatty acid, which ignites your body’s fat-burning furnaces to help create ketones

5. Eggs.
Full of memory-improving choline, Omega-3s, and vitamin E

6. Green Leafy Vegetables.
Spinach, kale, collard greens
Good sources of vitamin E and folate

7. Salmon.
Wild deepwater fish rich in Omega-3s and DHA
Sardines are also good.

8. Turmeric.
Reduces inflammation and helps boost antioxidant levels
Keeps your immune system healthy
Improves brain’s oxygen intake to you alert and able to process information
Recipe: I start my days with turmeric tea. I combine turmeric, pepper (to absorb the turmeric better), honey, coconut oil, and hot water.

9. Walnuts.
High levels of antioxidants and zinc
Rich in vitamin E, which protects your neurons
Wards off brain-aging conditions
Lots of magnesium, which improves your mood and thus your brain

10. Dark Chocolate.
Improves your focus, concentration, and mood
Stimulates endorphins
Generally, the darker the chocolate, the purer and better for your brain

Hains

Well, you're doing the right things!....and the suggestions are even better....

For me its YOGA,YOGA,YOGA......Hardest part is the ego...

I was a construction worker for 27 years before my TBI.

Learning to let go if things that cause a reaction was important. Learning to accept every return of a symptom was a big part of that. A "Here is my PCS springing up again. Give it a moment and go on." response was best.

I actually planned for a return of symptoms if I knew I was going to push my limits. If I had to go some place that was too much stimulation, I planned on a low key period after.

What do you mean by problems with executive functioning ? Can you give an example ?

Fatigue is often a sign of not getting quality sleep. It is best to wait to go to bed when you are sleepy rather than get in bed and try to go to sleepy. When you are sleepy, falling asleep should happen within a few minutes.

Many mistake being tired for being sleepy. Tired is a bodily issue. A bit of activity and strong breathing can resolve feeling tired. Sleepy is a brain issue.

Bed time is controlled by wake-up time. Getting up at the same time each day will do more to help one get to sleep at the same time. Sleeping in on weekends can disrupt the getting to sleep time.

Fatigue can in some situations be a symptom of excess stimulation. In that case, a few minutes of eyes closed rest can resolve the fatigue. I used to take 10 to 20 minute naps in my recliner and wake up ready to go. Naps should be limited to short periods and only one each day. Otherwise, they mess up the sleep rhythm for proper night sleep.

Have you been checked by a vestibular therapist of PT for your dizziness ?

Will look into that. I have just started researching things like BDNF which promote synapse plasticity and neurogenesis in the hippocampus, I feel like I've opened a door to a whole new world. I'll do a PubMed seach on all the foods you've listed. I remember starting to eat a bunch of walnuts because some source said that it contained DHA, but now another said that it doesn't and rather was a good source for ALA which in turn can be converted by the body to DHA but not very efficiently.
I'll dig into it, so much to learn!

I'll try yoga for sure, especially when I feel confident enough in my energy levels to walk more than an hour at a slow pace each day. As of now I feel like I can increase my exercise a whole lot more through walking before taking on a new discipline.

Do you think that a symptom returning is a gradual thing? Because sometimes I can feel slight hints of dizzyness or eye strain when reading or watching videos without it being very uncomfortable. Do you have a zero tolerance policy against all symptoms? I feel like I know that some symptoms are more common when I have some anxiety than others and thus I try to not get riled up when I suspect that a symptom might be coming with a lash of slight anxiety.

The executive functioning thing: I've noticed that my brain gets tired and notice signs of feeling off or a little dizzy when I've been doing things that require my brain to exercise selective attention focus while dismissing something else. This includes ignoring the lyrics to a song playing on low volume in the background while having a conversation with someone or shifting the focus from typing out something on the computer to a conversation with someone close to me repeatedly, at a quick pace. I am a psychology major but I haven't spent a whole lot of time researching executive functioning, so if my understanding of the concept is off that is why.

Regarding going to sleep when I feel sleepy: I am strange in the sense that I never go to bed when I feel restless or have anxiety. I just stay up for hours upon hours and procrastinate sleeping - in the past this hasn't caused a lot of problems because it's usually just one night in a row of several where I sleep okay, but now I feel like I can't give myself the freedom to risk messing up my sleep over something stupid. This is why I've tried establishing a routine of going to bed the same time - if I don't have one I'll move my bedtime further and further into the morning only to realize one day that I have to move it back. This results in poor sleep across the board.
I actually took your advice on longer naps a couple of months (or weeks, I don't know - time seems to go by differently with my PCS) ago and since then I think I've been sleeping better.

I haven't been checked, no. I've had pretty bad experiences with neurologists and doctors, so I've resorted to just keep at it with my current routine since I've been improving pretty steadily anyway. Routine and patience has been the two factors that seem most effective for me - trying to sleep well, not exposing myself to too challenging stimuli, eating alright, walking a little bit each day and meditating have made me significantly better over time. I'm sure I could be helped by a professional if I could just find one who wanted to help, but up to this point I haven't had much use for them since they don't seem to understand.

Neuroprotective Diets Are Associated with Better Cognitive Function: The Health and Retirement Study

Neuroprotective Diets Are Associated with Better Cognitive Function: The Health and Retirement Study - McEvoy - 217 - Journal of the American Geriatrics Society - Wiley Online Library

Mediterranean-style diets linked to better brain function in older adults -- ScienceDaily

smutsik,

[Do you think that a symptom returning is a gradual thing? Because sometimes I can feel slight hints of dizzyness or eye strain when reading or watching videos without it being very uncomfortable.]

It sounds like you are trying to micromanage symptoms and track micro symptoms. This is not good.


[Do you have a zero tolerance policy against all symptoms? I feel like I know that some symptoms are more common when I have some anxiety than others and thus I try to not get riled up when I suspect that a symptom might be coming with a lash of slight anxiety.]

Good, anxiety can take a symptom at a level of 1 and make it at level 5 to 10. Anxiety is the great magnifier.

[The executive functioning thing: I've noticed that my brain gets tired and notice signs of feeling off or a little dizzy when I've been doing things that require my brain to exercise selective attention focus while dismissing something else. This includes ignoring the lyrics to a song playing on low volume in the background while having a conversation with someone or shifting the focus from typing out something on the computer to a conversation with someone close to me repeatedly, at a quick pace. I am a psychology major but I haven't spent a whole lot of time researching executive functioning, so if my understanding of the concept is off that is why.]

This is an issue of filtering. The PCS brain often loses much of its ability to filer out background sensations, auditory, visual, and tactile. Those of us with experience with PCS use ear plugs or other ways to reduce background stimulation. I have had this lack of auditory filtering at a permanent level for almost 20 years.

[Regarding going to sleep when I feel sleepy: I am strange in the sense that I never go to bed when I feel restless or have anxiety. I just stay up for hours upon hours and procrastinate sleeping - in the past this hasn't caused a lot of problems because it's usually just one night in a row of several where I sleep okay, but now I feel like I can't give myself the freedom to risk messing up my sleep over something stupid. This is why I've tried establishing a routine of going to bed the same time - if I don't have one I'll move my bedtime further and further into the morning only to realize one day that I have to move it back. This results in poor sleep across the board.
I actually took your advice on longer naps a couple of months (or weeks, I don't know - time seems to go by differently with my PCS) ago and since then I think I've been sleeping better.]

You need to be disciplined to get up early and at the same time. Then, start shutting down your thought load and other stimulation a hour or two before bed.

[I haven't been checked, no. I've had pretty bad experiences with neurologists and doctors, so I've resorted to just keep at it with my current routine since I've been improving pretty steadily anyway.]

There are plenty of vestibular therapists, PT's are the most common. You don't need a doctor. Getting assessed will help you determine if it is vertigo or one of the many different sensations.


[Routine and patience has been the two factors that seem most effective for me - trying to sleep well, not exposing myself to too challenging stimuli, eating alright, walking a little bit each day and meditating have made me significantly better over time. I'm sure I could be helped by a professional if I could just find one who wanted to help, but up to this point I haven't had much use for them since they don't seem to understand.]

I think you course work in psychology may be working against yourself. You may be too prone to self-assessment. It is like watching TV medical shows. Everybody is suddenly complaining about the malady mentioned on the show. Dr OZ is one of the worst. Many of the minor PCS symptoms are just part of life. We don't even notice them until we put a PCS name on them.

Studies show that those who do best have accepted their PCS symptoms as part of life and just move on.

Don't forget than the stress of course work can contribute to many symptoms.

See if you can find a chair yoga class?
Senior centers and some park districts offer it....
Any old instructor is very aware of the difficulties as we age, or have injuries or diseases that make it harder...

Best of luck to you!

That's a good point I suppose, what severity on a scale of 1 to 10 do you consider significant when it comes to symptom severity?

I'm so sorry to hear that. I guess you've gotten this question a lot over the years, but what caused your PCS?

I'm not sure if this would work for me, I know I'm susceptible to staying up late if I feel restless. I'll give my current routine a go for a week or two and if I still don't feel like I'm getting quality sleep I'll shift to getting up at the same time each day.

Alright. I have been assessed by a PT who specializes in rehabilitation on whiplash injuries but he seemed to think that my neck was very relaxed, considering my condition. He seemed to be of the opinion that once you're in the process of actually healing, your neck gets stiff. I don't need anybody else to tell me how ridicculous that sounds, but I suppose it begs to question if I'm an exception, having a relaxed neck after all this.

You mean how I notice the anxiety? I suppose you have a point. However, I think it has to do more with my personality: I have a hard time settling with a situation when I feel like I could improve it. This has lead me to the not-always-so-healthy mindset of feeling that resting in order to get better is a matter of performance. I am yanking on this position with the calm that comes from my meditation practice, but if the symptoms persist for longer than 5 months I will have to rethink my attitude. That's when the term starts again.

Why do you need to track symptoms ? They are there. Move forward. Some symptoms do not have a recent trigger so all you can do is keep moving forward.

1 severe concussion in 1965 (10 years old) 3 moderate concussions over the years. 10 mild concussions over the years. Living with PCS since 1965. Kept moving forward through the ups and downs.

I attend a brain injury support group. A sleep expert who specializes in head injuries spoke to us and said get up time rules the ability to get to sleep. She said the only way to impact going to sleep is by wake up time. It sets the sleep cycle. btw, She follows sleep research and attends every sleep conference possible. We've suggested she write a book.

If your PT has not done any vestibular assessments, his care is limited. Your neck may be fine but you can still have vestibular issues. My wife developed a vestibular issue a few months ago. The same PT who treated her for skeletal/muscular issues previously used entirely different diagnostics and therapies to help her. Maybe a PT who specializes in VT would be worth while. You need to determine what kind of sensation you are sensing.
Dizziness can also be visually oriented.

Yes, a need to understand and fix everything is tough when it concerns PCS. PCS does not have any direct treatments. It is far more art than science.

[This has lead me to the not-always-so-healthy mindset of feeling that resting in order to get better is a matter of performance. I am yanking on this position with the calm that comes from my meditation practice, but if the symptoms persist for longer than 5 months I will have to rethink my attitude. That's when the term starts again. ]
I have no idea what you are trying to say with those comments.