Hi all,

I don't really know where to start, but I'd like to first say thank you to everyone on this forum that has posted their stories and advice. It has been a massive help to me to read through and I feel like I am now able to share my own story and contribute to the forum.

Firstly a little about myself, I'm a 24 year old male from Melbourne, Australia. Before my accident I was completing a degree in songwriting and music production, hoping to progress into a masters of music therapy.

On June 22nd this year I was in a car accident, I was turning into a car park through traffic that was stopped at a red light and was T-Boned by another vehicle that came flying around a corner and we didn't see each other, they collided head on with my passenger door/front left wheel, and I was pushed into a pole head on.

Initially the only injuries I suffered were severe bruising of the shoulder, hip and in between my ribs, and a very tight neck from the whiplash, but I counted myself very lucky that I didn't hit my head..

That was until around 2 weeks after the accident. Through my doctor I was referred to a physiotherapist who was treating me for the bruising, when I mentioned to her that I had developed a lot more symptoms, including headaches, fuzziness, trouble sleeping, bad memory etc. She mentioned the possibility of Post Concussion Syndrome, and it turned out she had gone through this herself.

I looked up what PCS was and could check off practically every symptom, headaches, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, bad memory, pressure and tension in my head, trouble sleeping, blurry vision, trouble concentrating, sensitivity to light and sound.


At first we struggled at times to even do any treatment as my body (I assume my subconscious) would pulse and twitch especially around my neck and my eyes, not relaxing enough to let my head fall into her hands for light massage of the pressure, but the treatment was the only relief I was getting for the pain. This was up until about 4-6 weeks ago when my twitching started to get much worse again, and my hands had started visibly shaking, since then I have not been seeing her.

Since around the same time I have been taking multiple supplements a day:
Zinc, Magnesium, Vitamin D, Fish Oil, Turmeric. I have also been using the App Headspace to meditate, once to twice a day which definitely helps me feel calmer.

There has been periods where I have gone to sit in the Spa daily, and even times where I got to go play a couple of rounds of golf, but for the past month or so I have pulled everything right back as I felt I was trying to do to much and life was just happening without focusing on recovery.

I have also been seeing a Psychologist who although doesn't specialise in PCS has worked with brain injuries before and has taken it upon herself to learn a lot about the injury, which has been very helpful. She recommended Neuropsych assessment.

I also have seen a specialist who is a Consultant Physician in Rehabilitation medicine, and has worked with PCS before. He agreed with the diagnosis and prescribed me a low dose of an antidepressant to help with the twitching/anxiety as well recommended Neuropsych assessment as the next step as to determine what other treatment I will need, so currently I am waiting to hear from the Neuropsych about when my first appointment will be.


As far as how I am feeling, I feel like every day is different, but I am constantly battling with these symptoms still, I have headaches, emotional outbursts, trouble remembering things, sensitivity to light and sounds trouble sleeping etc.

I used to be obsessed with music, always having something on in the background, and now I can't listen to anything, I haven't played or made music for over 4 months and I don't know if I will be able to again, or if I even want to. It's such a strange feeling.

But I think one of the hardest parts of all of this is being so bored all of the time, I can't work, I had to defer my studies. And honestly I spend the majority of my day being bored out of my brain. I don't know what else I can do to spend my time doing.

There is a couple of Xbox games I can play for short periods of time without causing too much to flare up, I have planted a small herb garden and tend to those every second day, I have tried to cook every meal as to give me something to do (prepare, cook, clean up). I walk my dog if my head is feeling up to it, I have bought a couple of Lego sets to keep my mind active whilst being away from screens, but even with these few activities, the frequency of my symptoms ends up with most of my day consisting of me sitting around with nothing to do that won't make me feel worse.


I apologise if this post is just a wall of information, doesn't make any sense or just isn't interesting. If there is anything I can elaborate on, please let me know. I don't really know what I'd like to get out of it, maybe someone to talk with, maybe someone has been through similar things or maybe I can help someone make sense of something, anyway I hope to be a positive and helpful addition to the forum, and my door is always open.

Thanks,

Nathan

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Hi Nate,

I'm sorry you're here because of injuries, but this can be a good resource for you.

I'm a musician and aspire to be a music therapist, and for long periods I could not play or sing. I can now though, and I am getting my life back.

The brain is amazing at healing, BUT it needs the right nutrients and right therapies to restore function.

No one can tell you how long your recovery will take. That's a load of crap if a doctor tells you a timeline.

What is your current fish oil dose and what brand do you take?

Brain Health Education and Research Institute | Omega-3 Protocol for Brain Health

This protocol helped me a lot and loads of others. I'm down to about 4-10 grams, depending on the day. Check out Dr. Lewis's book on Amazon too if interested.

Check out the vitamin sticky at the top of the page by Mark in Idaho. Great recommendations on there. I've found NAC to be massively helpful and it's cheap. Citrus flavonoids too. And curcumin (the extract of turmeric). Turmeric is great too, but curcumin is easier on the stomach at least for me and I can take higher doses.

Diet is important.

There are loads of other treatments I've done that I can share at a later time. For now, I suggest listening to this podcast and purchasing Dr. Engle's book. It's the best concussion guide I've seen. It's missing Matrix Repatterning therapy though.

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/pod...rain-injuries/

Hope this is helpful and please ask questions. We're here to help you recover.

-Jake

Nathan,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear of your wreck. It sounds like one my daughter got into a few years ago. Bruise sternum, cracked ribs, partial shoulder dislocation, strained pelvis from the seat belt. Severe whiplash with non-contact concussion. These are sometimes called brain stem concussions since the trauma is to the part of the neck that contains the brain stem.

There are a few things for you to consider.

It is likely most if not all of your symptoms are from your neck. Even the mental fatigue is a side-effect of your neck and poor blood flow in your neck that prevents restorative sleep.

Your priority should be to not strain your neck.
No golf with the head and shoulder twisting.

Find a way to get comfortable in a reclined position so you can sleep with straight head and neck posture.

Use anti inflammatory meds or supplements. Turmeric is useless. Concentrated curcumin with pepper extract is what you want. There is very little curcumin in turmeric (only a few percent of absorbable curcumin). You'd need to consume .25 to .5 liters a day to get the therapeutic benefit you need. 4 or more curcumin extract concentrate capsules will do better. Icing will also be good.

Your physiotherapist should be doing very gentle traction and mobilization. No range of motion exercises until neck symptoms subside substantially. The neck ligaments and tendons need to strengthen and heal.

You may need some meds to settle the nerve twitches. Gabapentin worked for me. There are other meds, too.

You are making a good choice in finding simple things to stay busy. Legos, real playing cards, and any manual activities to help you focus and give your brain gentle stimulus will be good.

Most important is to find a way to get some quality sleep. When you find a way, you will be surprise at how much better you feel, even if for a very short time. The more nights of good sleep, the more you will improve as you give you neck time to heal.

btw, It is not recommended to use a last name. Report your post to the admins with a comment to remove your last name and replace it with something relative to you.

My best to you.

Hi Jake,

Thanks for the detailed response.

Upon reading that, I will be getting a different Fish Oil today, as what I was currently taking was not up to that standard, I will also try the protocol dosing - Thank you.

I have also re-read the vitamin sticky and will be adding a few things to my daily regimen, this is what I have been taking:

Fish Oil: 6 tablets = 6000mg combined EPA and DHA of 300mg per capsule which I know no is too low
Zinc: Zinc (as amino acid chelate 125mg) 25mg
Magnesium: Total 325mg (form oxide - heavy 507mg, and amino acid chelate 150mg) Maganese 6mg(as amino acid chelate)
Vitamin D3: 1000IU x4
Tumeric: Curcuma longa ext. equiv Curcuminoids 1000mg

I have done some research following suggestions from yourself and Mark and will be adding/replacing:

More suitable Fish Oil
Curcumin: 600mg
Citrus bioflavonoids: 500 mg
Vitamin C: 500mg
Vitamin E: 500mg
B12: 1000mcg
B complex
Mega potency Multi

Will also try to find local or may have to order Niacin and NAC.

Can I ask your thoughts on this?

I will also be listening to the podcast this afternoon, and researching the fastest method to purchase the book and receive it here in Australia, is there any other books that you would recommend?

Thanks,

Nate

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your reply, I am sorry to hear about your daughter.

That does make a lot of sense, and something my physiotherapist had touched on earlier. I haven't seen her in over 3 weeks but am thinking of returning to her for treatment such as you described.

It is actually the reason I stopped, as she was trying to treat me in a exercise physiology sense (range of motion like you mentioned) and I felt that I needed more time doing gentle traction and mobilisation, thank you for the reassurance and I will take this on board when discussing with her what I am looking for in treatment.

I have another appointment with my specialist next week and on the 21st of November I have my first appointment with my Neuropsychologist (for neuropsych assessment)

I have reassessed my supplements today and looking forward I have came to this conclusion, do you have any further suggestions?

This is what I have been taking:

Fish Oil: 6 tablets = 6000mg combined EPA and DHA of 300mg per capsule which I know no is too low
Zinc: Zinc (as amino acid chelate 125mg) 25mg
Magnesium: Total 325mg (form oxide - heavy 507mg, and amino acid chelate 150mg) Maganese 6mg(as amino acid chelate)
Vitamin D3: 1000IU x4
Tumeric: Curcuma longa ext. equiv Curcuminoids 1000mg

I have done some research following suggestions from yourself, the sticky and Jake and will be adding/replacing:

Better Fish Oil
Curcumin: 600mg
Citrus bioflavonoids: 500 mg
Vitamin C: 500mg
Vitamin E: 500mg
B12: 1000mcg
B complex
Mega potency Multi

Will also try to find local or may have to order Niacin and NAC.

Oh I have also been taking Cipramil (citalopram as hydrobromide 20mg) half a tablet a day, as prescribed by my specialist 3 weeks ago.

Thank you for the concern, but it is not actually my last name, it is my online gaming persona (Tescor)

Cheers,

Nate

Nate,

If for whatever reason the fish oil makes you foggy, lower the dose. It happens in some people, though most do well with high doses.

I'd be careful with the "mega-dose" multi. Paired w/ a b-complex and extra b12, that can be too many b-vitamins which can actually cause damage.

I'm no supplement expert, so hopefully someone else can give advice.

BUT, I'd hold off on the niacin if you're getting a b-complex. It's in the complex. Less is more, meaning too much is damaging. Go for moderation with some supplements is my opinion.

Yes, I recommend others, but for now that one is great.

Why Isn't My Brain Working? is a great book too.

Dr. Doidge's two books are also great. The Brain's Way of Healing and The Brain That Heals/Changes Itself.

Niacin is well tolerated by most, if you can handle the flush.

These need clarification:
B complex
Mega potency Multi

There is B Complex which usually has lots of things and low amounts of most Bs and then there is B-50 Complex that has all of the Bs. Folate or folic acid is an important part, 500 mcgs or more. B-1, Thiamine is also good.
The Mega Potency Multi may be great or it may be of little value. The importance of a multi is getting the trace elements.

Thank you both again for the fast responses.

I spent most of the day researching and as well was worried about overloading, so have not worried about a Mega multi.

I also read about the niacin flush and looked at supplementing b3 with (nicotinamide) 500mg instead. But I have not added any extra B12 or B3.

Here is the Mega B that I have:

Cenovis Mega B:
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine Nitrate) 50mg
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavine) 25mg
Vitamin B3 (Nicotinamide) 50mg
Vitamin B5 (Calcium Pantothenate) 50mg
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride) 50mg
Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) 50mcg
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) 100mg
Biotin 50mcg
Folic Acid 200mcg
Inositol 50mcg
Choline Bitartrate 50mcg

As mentioned I have added better quality Fish Oil, Curcumin and Bioflavanoids.

Meaning my daily regime looks like this:

1x Nature’s Way Mega B: As above

1x Thompson's Super Bioflavonoid Complex: Total Ascorbic acid (vitamin c) 500 mg
Citrus bioflavonoids 500 mg
Rutin 100 mg

3x Cenovis Vitamin D: 1000iu

1x Cenovis Mega E: 500iu

1x Cenovis Zinc Plus: Zinc (as amino acid chelate 125mg) 25mg
Manganese (as amino acid chelate 20mg) 2mg
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride) 10mg

1x Bioglan Clinical Curcumin 600mg:
Curcuma longa (turmeric) rhizome, standardised to 95% curcuminoids
Piper nigrum (Black Pepper – Bioperine) fruit ext dry conc.



Nate

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Looks fine. A little light on folic acid but the multi likely has some. Adding some niacin and methylcobalamin B-12 (you don't need more cyanocobalamin B-12) and doubling or tripling the curcumin throughout the day would be worthwhile.

I get the niacin flush but know that the flushing niacin is the best. Plus, it is great for healthy skin. It has other health benefits, cholesterol, etc. The flush is over in a few minutes. Many find the flushing decreases over time with continued use.

Thanks Mark,

These were the ones I was looking at:

Nature's Own Activated Methyl B12:
B-12-1000mcg Methylcobalamin

Nature's Own Vitamin B3:
Vitamin B3 (nicotinamide) 500mg

Also here is the Mega Multi that I used to take before my accident, was worried about adding this to my daily regime:

Nature’s Own Mega Multi:
Vitamins:
Betacarotene 6mg
Vitamin B1 (thiamine nitrate) 50mg
Vitamin B2 (riboflavine) 30mg
Vitamin B3 (nicotinamide) 40mg
Vitamin B5 (calcium pantothenate) 70mg
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride) 40mg
Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) 40mcg
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) (from calcium ascorbate dihydrate 211.82mg) 175mg
Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol 5mcg) 200IU
Natural Vitamin E (d-alpha-Tocopheryl acid succinate 41.3mg) 50IU
Choline bitartrate 25mg
Biotin 50mcg
Folic acid 300mcg
Inositol 25mg
Minerals: Calcium(from carbonate 93.8mg and ascorbate dihydrate 211.82mg) 57mg
Magnesium (from oxide-heavy 128.9mg) 75mg
Potassium (from sulfate 8.9mg) 4mg
Iron (from ferrous fumarate 15.7mg) 4.9mg
Chromium (from picolinate 81.3mcg)10mcg
Manganese (from amino acid chelate 20mg) 2mg
Copper (from gluconate 200mcg) 28mcg
Zinc (from sulfate monohydrate 41mg) 15mg
Iodine (from potassium iodide 65mcg) 50mcg
Selenium (from selenomethionine 65mcg) 26mcg
Herbs: Extracts equiv. to dry:
Grape (Vitis vinifera) seed 600mg
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) rhizome 10mg
Damiana (Turnera diffusa) leaf 120mg
Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus) root 50mg
Gotu kola (Centella asiatica) herb 60mg
Hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata) herb top 100mg
Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) fruit 100mg
Korean Ginseng (Panax ginseng) root 75mg
Ginkgo biloba leaf 100mg
Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) fruit 50mg
Green tea (Camellia sinensis) leaf 20mg
Burra gokhru (Tribulus terrestris) fruit 15mg
Burra gokhru (Tribulus terrestris) root 85mg
Extracts equiv. to fresh:
Globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus) leaf 50mg
Oats (Avena sativa) herb 50mg
Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) fruit 30mg
Plus:
Citrus bioflavonoids extract 40mg
Lysine hydrochloride 50mg
Tyrosine 2mg
Lycopene 120mcg

I also used to take 100mg of 5-HTP before my accident but haven't since.

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