I am 12 months PCS and on 5 different drugs to control my headaches and mood(anger) problems.

Recent drug changes have made my headaches a little more tolerable and I think reduced the number of migraines each week.

I am left with extreme fatigue though. I sleep 10 or 11 hrs at night and then barely stay awake until my first of usually two naps each day.

I want to get back to work ASAP and am wondering if anyone has had any luck with meds for tiredness?

Thanks
Copper

http://www.medicine-in-motion.com/Patient_Education.htm

Hi Copper, check out above website for some good info on headaches and dizziness. The slideshow is good for those with occipital headaches. I also want to urge you to to see a physical therapist or a chiropractor who has experience with whiplash and cervical strain.

I - and my GP and Neurologist - didn't think I had anything wrong with my neck because I didn't have the typical neck pain and stiffness after my accident. But, as I learned almost a year later, pain can be referred to the head. In my case it was mostly the back of my head where many muscles attach to bone and the cervical spine. My chiropractor explained to me that those muscles healed in a shortened state and where trapping nerves, causing dizziness or what I call feeling whoozy. Several months of therapy have helped me a lot and I feel almost back to normal after a year and a halve. I am still taking about 15 mg of the Elavil at night as it helps me to relax.

Hope this helps. I don't have any answer about the meds., but hopefully you will be able to reduce some of them with a therapist. I would also try to do some regular exercises like riding a stationary bike. Just start out very slowly and increase in tiny increments and don't get discouraged if you feel worse at first, it all takes time and effort. Also, a warm bath before exercise and stretches and ice afterwards helps.

I think I could have recovered faster if I had known all this earlier. My concussion symtoms like memory problems, anxiety, noise sensitivity, etc. improved within a few months after my crash, but headaches, head sensitivity, and dizziness lingered for a long time.

You might research whiplash on the net - I found that it causes a lot of the same symtoms as PCS.

Hi there,
My neuro prescribed Provigal. It worked, but I had to quit taking it because it caused me to grind my teeth even more than I was already doing.

I'm sure some of the drugs you're taking are causing the sleepiness. I'm on two that do- seroquel and klonopin. I've been on them for about 18 months now, so I'm getting used to it.

I never did stop working, and I think that was the best advice my neuro gave me. She said that if I quit working, my brain would quit trying. I hated the idea of going to work with all of the problems I had, but went anyway. I think I made a quicker recovery due to that advice.

I still have lots of problems, but I'm able to work because of the drugs my neuro has me on.

hi copper

going back to work with the anger issue, do you think the anger will go away if you are placed under the stress, of your job, and the head aches resolve them self's ? I have just been placed on long term disability, with a review in October do you get angry with your self not being able to function or with the way you got the pcs, there are no magic pills only the work we can do on our self,s , drugs can muddle with cognition , I have come off meds but some times have to take Dihyrocodeine for head pain

if you need to chat pm me no probs

Thanks Vini for your reply.

My doctor put me on Celexa a couple of months ago (30mg) which has helped tremendously with the anger. Even when I do get angry I feel much more in control of it. It has made life much better for my loved ones.

My job can be very stressful and I am a little fearful of how I may respond to things. That fear is greatly overwhelmed though by my desire to get my life back.

I used to exercise hours everyday but do to exertional headaches cannot exercise other than walking. This is part of the anger puzzle for me as well I think.

I could have been killed in the accident so am still thankful that I am not bad off compared to many on this forum!!

Thanks again

Copper

Hi Copper - it is 7 years since my accident and I still have the fatigue problem. When I keep it under control I can get by without any headaches. But as soon as I push myself the headaches come back. I feel that they come from the tiredness as I believe that my brain when not tired still processes at the speed I used to think and process at. I don't think I ever appreciated the speed that I used to think at.

To be able to function I have to have 1 chill out session of a half hour at 11.30 every day and an hours sleep/lie down for an hour every afternoon around 2.30.

I have begged my doctor, psychiatrist and psychologist for something that could keep my awake all day - I even asked about party pills - after all if they can keep the young ones awake all night so they can dance then they should be able to keep my awake all day - simple reasoning! Needless to say I got a big no never to that one.

I did continue on with my job as Legal Executive - initially full time - it was horrific always felt like my brain was screaming and the headaches and tiredness were indescribable. Was eventually given a month off work but was told that there was nothing wrong with my brain as my IQ was still high and I had completed the psych tests well. Went back to work about 3 hours per day - starting at 10am, having my half hour chill out in my office with my door closed and finished work about 1.30-2.00 ish. That was pushed out till I got to about 6 hours a day by the government insurer - I was going home after work and collapsing on the bed incapable of doing anything and of course was that over tired I couldn't sleep. My blood pressure went crazy one day and I ended up in hospital - was told it was exhaustion and my systems were shutting down. Not long after that I fainted and knocked myself out again and was put back to 3 hours per day. I struggled with that carryon for 6 years until a year ago when I basically had a melt down and now can not work as I can't handel any pressure what so ever - for a while I could not go near my law firm but am now able to go in for a coffee and chat - can't step foot into my old office though.

I do have anger problems - I am angry with myself for not being able to do what I could do, angry that I did not have the correct treatment initially as I am certain that I would be a lot better now, angry that my husband left me 3months after the accident and that he did not believe me and still doesn't, angry with some of my friends who look at me and say you look really good and I get tired too - ex friends, angry that I can't run - doctor told me not to and running is jerky and shakes your brain and gives you massive head aches. I get angry with people who don't make any effort to do even simple things or who give anwers like I don't know to questions without even bothering to think first when it would be so easy for them. Any exercise over 6 km of fast walking causes massive headaches - migraines - it is all so frustrating. Alot of the time when people annoy me I don't say anything as I don't have the same control of my mouth.

You would have seen posts from Risiblegirl - she was taking modavigil at one stage, I asked my doctor if I could try it as it is meant to help with tiredness. Within half hour - hour of taking it I had a bad bad headache- and had to wait for it to wear off - needless to say that was the end of that.

After leaving hospital with the high blood pressure problem (that was a headache that made you want to smash your head against the wall) I was sent home with sevredol - take one tablet every four hours for the pain. Well I did and felt wonderful - first time in years without any could of headache what so ever - no fog - no tiredness wonderful. Got home from hospital and I was running around vacuuming, dusting, tidying everything in sight. Next day reported in to my GP and he asked me what I was taking - told him and he had a fit as he said it was morphine and to stop them immediately. I think that I would have been able to run or do any sport on that medication - but of course I would have become an addict and would constantly need more and more to feel as good!

I have been sent to a psychologist - that was to help me deal with grief - of course I did not believe I had anything to grieve about and why would I want to as I was going to get better and was going to make myself get better etc. Bad patient! I think she was trying to get me to accept now without trying constantly to win the battle against myself - she would constantly say - what would you be saying to a friend who was like this? So that gets back to being kind to yourself - we are all nice to others so why can't we by nice to ourselves?

Sorry I have burbled on and lost the thread of what I wanted to tell you. I am now trying ritalin, but have found that it gives me a headache as it winds down. The psychiatrist thought it might help with staying awake and being able to concentrate longer. My (new) husband thinks it has made a difference - the only thing that I have noticed is that I am more critical of others and more niggly - maybe it is giving me more energy to be cranky -I don't know.

There are the natural remedies like the fish oil and I did buy some genkgo biloba - it hasn't performed the miracles that I wanted!

My everyday drugs are efexor supposedly for depression in the morning - I suppose I have to admit that I was depressed.

Night time I have nortryptiline and zoplicone for sleeping. I too sleep around 10 hours at night and need the 2 rests during the day. Until you said that you did that as well I thought that I was the only person who had to do this.

I have forced myself to do without this routine at different times but have found that it is just not worth it as it takes a week to get back to where I was. Every now and then I do it just to see if maybe I am better - but no. With the extreme tiredness I simply end up dizzily falling over like my brain has no energy left to keep me upright.

With the exercise I think I read somewhere that the headache is caused by the increase in heart rate which ups the blood pressure - but yes I do know my limits there now, and have tested it twice since and ended up with the same result of the nasty vomitting migraine that doesn't stop without medical intervention - jabs.

Lynlee

Thanks Lynlee for the response!

Your tiredness sounds very similiar to mine. I feel bad for my wife as she has to pick up any slack I create in the household.

There is definetly a grieving process to this, especially with my loss of function. I miss exercising so much it hurts and have gained about 30 pounds.

Somedays I am optomistic about getting back to 100% but other days I wonder after a year if my brain is done all the healing it is going to do.

All th doctors I saw for the first couple of months said I would get back to 100%. The doctor I saw at the brian injury clinic a couple months ago was the first one to say that I may never get back to the 100mph schedule of work, martial arts, overtime, consulting, running, weight lifting...that I was before.

Been seing a Cognitive Therapy spec ialized psych who has helped a lot and taught me not to define myself by my accomplishments in athletics or work or anything anymore. I can just be.

The pain takes away from all moments in my life but THINGS COULD BE SO MUCH WORSE !!!

Stay strong Lynlee. Your not alone. Thank God for this forum so we can all feel like we're not crazy and that their are others who "get it"

I definately get it my life much as yours probaly was was great,normal,awesome life,i took for granted feeling normal and i pray that if given the chance i never will again i love this forum to as we all understand each other my dealings are more of a dizziness,vertigo,with dull headaches i hope we can all feel normal one day but part of me thinks that in wont happen but then i read that ppl almost always recover from this hell my brain showed no damage and i am still dealing with this good wishes to all!!!!!!