Last week I had my first really good day in a long time. I've been doing my vestibular eye exercises religiously for the past month or two (30-60 minutes a day, 6 days a week) and I think this contributed to it. On Sunday I noticed my vision was as stable as it has been in a long time. I was able to read for a much longer period of time and comprehend more information. One of the hardest exercises is the one that involves tracking a moving x. I found that I was able to increase the speed of this exercise dramatically.

Stable vision for me also means that A) I don't feel as dizzy and B) feel much sharper mentally. This improved mental acuity and endurance also meant I could work longer and do more complex tasks at the office. I can still only manage about 2-3 hrs a day, three days a week for those that are interested.

I was so delighted that I could barely get any sleep as well. However, unfortunately, this gain was short lived. As soon as the rest of the employees came in for lunch I started to feel dizzy and had to leave. By the end of the week this new peak became a distant memory. Hopefully I will get another taste of this in the next few weeks.

That's so exciting!! What great news!

As vision is my biggest challenge I have a couple questions for you. Did you have headaches along with your vision troubles? Also- did the mental clarity return when you had better vision days?

Thanks and keep on those exercises. I'm up to about 30 minutes a day and it wipes me out!

6 months of PCS, still having the symptoms of mild headache, dizziness. I can feel myself it getting better and stronger. During the 1st,2nd month of PCS, i felt fatigue all the time, now i can jog for 20 minutes without any symptoms. BUT, headache and dizziness still come at any moment, anytime, everyday

Hello, It seems most of us with PCS have many things in common, not just symptoms, but the ongoing and never ending trips from one dr to the next, this pill, that pill, this exercise...ect.. I have been on a journey now for over 4 years, I have 2 previous accidents in my history, the first was 10 yrs ago, on a snow mobile, and the last one was a car acccident, 4 years ago, and that was when my symptoms started and progressed, where I got whiplash both times... and was seen and treated by chiropractors often.

My symptoms were not only neck and back pain, but dizzy, fatigue, severe nausea, burning in my hands and feet, headaches, and what I call " body fog" basically I felt like I was drunk all of the time. Also, light and noise bothered a lot, and my vision started to get bad. Long story short... I found something called Atlas Orthogonal technique. The top 2 vertebra in the neck, the atlas and axis are critical to our central nervous system. If you have had a fall, a bump to the head, any kind of injury for that matter.. there is a very strong chance those 2 bones have been shifted.

There are only specific types of Chiropractic , upper cervical specialists that are trained in this treatment. Here in MN. there are only 5. This treatment was developed by Dr. Roy Sweat from Georgia. Its non invasive, gentle and truly is amazing. I have been being treated now for about 3 months, and my symptoms are about 50 percent better. Its going to be a journey back to health and to get my life back, but for the first time in 4 years, I have hope. Please Google this Atlas Orthogonal technique and research it. EVERYONE who has been dx with PCS needs to have their Atlas and Axis bones checked. Good luck to you all... God bless.

Reading the stories here encouraged me during my concussion, so I thought I would briefly share mine.

After falling and hitting my head, I had post concussion syndrome for about a year-and-a-half. During that time, I had periods where I thought I was getting better, only to get worse again. It felt as if my brain turned off and on...and off again.

My symptoms varied during different stages in the recovery. I suffered from multiple migraines a week for a period, could hardly make it more than a couple of minutes in a store, and had to quit my job. For months, I could not ride in the car, even as a passenger, for more than a couple of miles, and I literally lived within a very tiny radius of my home. My days consisted of mainly rest—I could hardly even handle normal conversations for very long. Background noises were hard to tune out for a very long time. My vision went blurry for a period. I could hardly think for huge periods of a day. Too much head movement caused my brain to shut down (I had to even be careful about nodding my head too many times).

Anyway, all that to say, it was very discouraging and felt as if I would never get better. But I did . I'm thankful to say that after about a year-and-a-half, I have made a full recovery, minus a little bit of eye strain that's still ironing out as my eyes get used to life again.

I’m so thankful to be better, but I’m also thankful for the journey, tough as it was. I learned a lot during the recovery. After all, when your brain doesn't work, you realize how much it normally does without you realizing it . It's truly a marvel of God's design. Even the fact that it can heal itself is incredible. We take so much in life for granted...yet it's really all a gift.

I know some of you reading this may be in a lot of pain right now and wonder where God is. Know that the Bible has answers. It explains that suffering and death wasn’t part of God’s design—it came because of man’s sin (Romans 5:12). It also tells of how Jesus came, lived the perfect life we could never live, and died in our place (2 Corinthians 5:21) so that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16) in Heaven, where there’ll be no more pain, sorrow, or death (Revelation 21:4). And God promises to be with those who have repented and trusted in Jesus, even in life’s darkest hours (Hebrews 13:5). I can’t tell you how many times in the recovery I reached the end of my own strength to endure—but I never reached the end of God’s love.

I hope this little testimony will be helpful to someone. May God bless and keep you through your own concussion journey. Look up—there is hope.

*For those who don't feel like reading this whole post... I recovered 99% after 8 months of improvements and setbacks!! A year in and I feel great. It is tough but for me, it did go away!!!*

It has been one year since my concussion which, like so many of you, caused a spiral of symptoms that without a doubt was the scariest, most horrible experience I have ever had.

Random dizziness, painful headaches, sudden vision change "spells", light and noise sensitivity, mild auditory hallucinations, extreme panic attacks, heart palpitations, intolerance to any exertion (couldn't walk two blocks to the store without getting lightheaded and having to sit down to rest), depression, very little concentration ability, short term memory loss and "lost thoughts", confusion, mental fogginess and "slowness" (at one point I thought I had lost any understanding of the concept of humor forever), sensitivity to head movement (nodding, cars, turning quickly), fear of being in public, inability to maintain a conversation, etc etc.

This took about 4 months of one step forward, one step back, over and over, to even START to improve in a lasting way. It was crushing when I realize my healing was not going to be linear in any way.. if I was better one day, I could be ten times worse the next.

Half the time I could not do anything but lay in the dark in the motel I was staying in with the tv on quietly, to attempt to distract myself even though I could only listen, not look at the screen, and put all my little energy into fending off an ever-present anxiety attack and try to not feel like I was falling off the edge of a cliff.

Doctors were useless, a common theme to many here I believe. I don't want to dwell on these symptoms any more, but I did want to return to say.. ***I GOT BETTER!!!*** <-- (purpose of post) And there is a good chance you will too.

Originally I pushed myself- I returned too quickly (2 months in, right after I really started feeling better) to a very physical job which made everything much, much, worse, and I was then laid out for the next few months in recovery. Eventually I returned to said job, when the symptoms subsided.

I still have slight vision issues (something akin to "afterimages" when I look away from something), and I sometimes get a little light headed when I exercise but not bad. Sometimes I feel as though I am still not as quick-witted as I once was, but I can live with that.

Anyway, I am now living a full, mentally and physically active life as a field biologist and am not hindered by the concussion that I, at the time, was so scared would have permanent effects. Please don't give up hope. Nutrition and supplements, family/friend support, and adequate rest can really work wonders for many people.

Also, thanks to those who post in this forum and respond to those that need your support. Even though I didn't post a lot, in the depths of that mysterious hell known as PCS I would spend a lot of time educating myself and boosting my hope and attitude by reading your kind and informative words.

Since most of my recovery was spent alone, reading this forum's posts was much of my support system. I hope those of you that are still in recovery begin to/continue to see improvement in your healing process.

So! For me, turned out there was light at the end of all this .... and it took me about 8 months. DO NOT give up!

Sorry for the late response. Sometimes I experience relatively mild headaches with my vision issues. However, it's mainly dizziness and extreme sensitivity to light, noise, movement and above all visual stimulation that plagues me the most.

Mental clarity and stamina definitely return on the days that my vision is better. It's pretty remarkable. Early last week I was able to work 4 and 5 hour days. I probably could have worked longer but I didn't want to push it. However, lately my issues have taken a turn for the worse. I basically haven't left the house since Saturday and am only starting to feel better.

I probably pushed it too much on Thursday. I was riding the exercise bike for an hour while watching hockey. I probably should have limited the bike ride to my usual 20 minute routine and turned the monitor off.

That being said, a year ago I would never have contemplated doing such a thing. So at least I am experiencing moments of progress.


I'm not sure what causes the visual issues to come back. Is it the climate, my diet, fatigue, periodic inflammation, or possibly a combination of multiple things?

I'm not sure if the vestibular exercises are helping me as much as I thought they were. At the very least they help guide my eyes and make me more cognizant of my issues.

Hello shortcircuit,

Thank you very much for your encouraging words. I am very happy for your progress. Can you please let us know what helped you the most?

Thanks,
Pinka

Thank you very much for the thoughtful post Shortcircuit.

Your experience is very similar to mine and the part about humour really resonated with me.

I haven't checked out the supplements forum, maybe that would be a good idea.

It's been about a year since my last update. I just wanted to come back and say that things are still going well. Sometimes some of my symptoms return (and a few of them never left), but I'm learning ways to prevent and/or cope with most of them.

I'm able to work 25 to 35 hours a week now, which makes me very happy. I'm working as a writer, which leaves me physically and mentally exhausted, but I'm able to do it. I'm now making enough money to pay my bills and support my children without struggling. When I first got my TBI, I was terrified I'd never get back to this level of stability.

I have learned that I cannot function without 9+ hours of sleep a night and B vitamins. Sometimes I slack on other things in my routine, but I can never slack on these two. I notice the effects immediately. If I fail to get enough sleep, I stumble over my words and fall around like I'm drunk.

I finally feel like I'm ready to start dating again. I have gone on 2 dates in the last few months, so that's a start.

My goal is to run a 5K this fall...very slowly...lol. We'll see how that goes.

I hope that all of you are doing well, too. I haven't logged in much this year, but I do still think of you guys often. Take care.