I had a concussion approximately 5 months ago. Is it normal to feel good for a few weeks and then "relapse" to where you don't feel like doing anything, have a headache, etc? When I feel good, I tend to do as much as a can to make up for the times when I feel really crappy. Then it just sort of hits me and I am tired all the time and have a hard time doing the things I really like to do.

I am frustrated.

It IS absolutely Normal, with this injury!
I've had my TBI since 98, and the past two weeks, here in the mid atlantic, have been hell. (Rainy, cool, low barometer).
I have been depressed, lethargic, and with the headaches, can't sleep well....

Yes, it's can you spell FRUSTRATION?

It's normal, but, treatable to an extant.


Do you have any meds? Are you still seeing a neurologist? Do you sleep well?
Do you have sleep apnea? Use a CPap?
I'm not a doctor, but you can see, there are LOTS of things that could be going on!

I wish you the best!

PM me if you wish.

Pete
asb

I posted earlier. The only reason I am seeing a neurologist is because I had a seizure prior to the head injury. While in the hospital ER, I had another seizure and the railing on the bed was not up and I fell out of bed landing on my head. The neurologist only recently acknowledged that I had a head injury in the first place. I am on meds for my seizures. I sleep well, almost too well. I love to work out and the past 3 weeks have been going at it all out because I had energy and it really made me feel good. Then, last Friday I got a headache and spent most of the weekend taking naps. I have two younger kids and I don't want them to remember me when they are older as the mom who was always sleeping. I was told at my last visit that I was anemic so I have been taking iron pills. I am trying to get my anti-epilepsy medication straightened out thinking that may have something to do with it. It just gets old really fast!

Sheds,

Yes, relapses are common. Except they are called "Decompensations." They are usually the result of a trigger. In your case, I would suggest that you over-worked trying to get as much done a possible when you were at the top of your game. This is a common behavior until we learn that we cannot over-do it. We can but we pay for it later.

Things that can cause decompensations are:
Too much stimulus, crowds, noise, visual clutter
Poor sleep
Pollution such as alcohol, bad diet, excitotoxins such a MSG, NutraSweet, Sucralose.
Mild bumps to the head.
Shaking like from riding down a rough road
Over-doing it.
Emotional stressors
Fever
Pain
Sneezing and coughing
Excessive physical activity
Excessive mental activity
Altitudes, usually above 8000 feet for extended periods
Apnea, sleep apnea both central and obstructive.
A good sign of sleep apnea is a overwhelming need to sleep early in the day. This is a good sign to get checked or have someone watch and listen to your breathing while you sleep

People with prolonged or chronic PCS and mTBI symptoms need to learn to pace themselves. If we want to over-do it to complete a task or social event, we need to plan on decompensating. I can expect a decompensation to last from 4 to 6 hours to as much a two weeks.

I have a recovery routine for when I have a bad decomp. To start my recovery, I go to my bedroom, leave the lights off, turn on my recovery music, and take a long nap.

We can also learn to avoid decomps by understanding when we are starting to over-do-it. At the first sign of a mental or emotional struggle, memory lapse, confusion, etc, we need to drop what we are doing and retreat to a recovery location. Some of the signs are; difficulty sorting out sounds, reading a line over and over, getting spaced out, startle response, blood pressure spikes, feeling sleepy, feeling weak, trouble focusing our eyes on an object, irritability, and a myriad of other symptoms that we learn to recognize.

Hope this helps. I have lived with PCS since I was 10 years old. It took me years to start to recognize the triggers. By avoiding them, I can be free of decomps for extended periods.

Check out Dr Glen Johnson's TBI Guide at www.TBIGuide.com.

You are spot on!

Emil

June marks my 2 year anniversary of the head injury that has caused the most problems (I've had another two since that time) and I've found that if I'm under any kind of physical or mental stress, I immediately go back to almost square one. It depends on how stressed I am.

Excellent post thankyou Mark!

Continued vertigo is my main problem.
Lack of sleep is my most obvious trigger for the vertigo... feeling stressed and tired.
Almost immediately after my initial injury I also developed a terrible fear of falling again. I guess that's an emotional response to a physical problem but the moment I stand on uneven ground or need to use stairs or go out in the rain on slippery surfaces the weakness comes over me and I'm ready to drop. It's a pain. <sigh>

I should read here more often. I see such excellent information posted.