(Reposting from the newbie forum to the brain injury forum... perhaps this is the more appropriate place for my questions.)


Hello everyone! I am new here. I am recovering slowly from a concussion (it was actually two blows to the head within a few days of each other --- a hard hit on the top of my head on a metal window handle in my bedroom, and a few days later the wooden bed frame behind my bed came loose and fell down on the left side of my head). I had just moved into a new apartment and clearly hadn't acquainted myself with the potential hazards of the house. I'm currently overseas (in Germany) and dealing with this pretty much on my own.

The accidents occurred around the first week of July, so it's been exactly a month now. I'm 31 years old, female, and in good shape and health otherwise.

I was having persistent swelling, pain and nausea even after three weeks and so finally went to see a neurologist. He did a CT scan which was normal and told me to just keep resting. Finally I started making progress over the past two weeks with rest, acupuncture and craniosacral therapy treatments. I was able to walk again without too much pain or swelling. I was feeling so much improved that a few days ago I decided to try going back to yoga as I have MISSED moving and working my body SO MUCH. The kind of yoga I do is Bikram yoga, which is a series of 26 poses performed in a heated room so that you sweat out toxins in the process. I think the heat wasn't such a good idea, as the day after the yoga I felt the swelling coming back and now it's been two days and I am feeling almost as if I'm back to square one with lots of swelling, pressure and pain, and the feeling that my brain is "loose" inside my head. I don't want to get depressed but feel myself slipping into a hole again, as now this is going to take weeks of rest and no sun -- again. I had come so far, and then I guess I pushed it too hard. I just miss exercising so much, and I miss sweating! Never thought I'd say that but it's true. I just feel so inactive and sedentary and not being able to exercise is depressing me.

The neurologist I saw was an emergency room doctor and isn't available for me to ask questions regarding rehabilitation but I'm considering seeing a different (private) neurologist soon. In the meantime, thought I'd seek feedback on this forum as it seems a lot of us are in the same (or similar) "boats".

My questions are, what's the best way to return to exercising?
Has anyone else had problems with heat and swelling?
Are you eventually able to go in the sun without swelling?
Are you eventually able to do intense exercise that raises your body temperature and heart rate and lets you SWEAT?

I want to stay "up" and positive and hopeful, so I hope to hear from some of you with encouraging words and not the opposite

Much love and many thanks.

Maria

P.S. By the way, cranio sacral therapy can be excellent for relieving the swelling following concussion. If you're having persistent pressure, swelling, nausea, perhaps cranio sacral therapy can help you as it did me. In my case he said the bones of the skull were moved a bit, not allowing for free flowing cerebrospinal fluid. Once he made some adjustments, the pressure started releasing and the morning after my first appointment, I noticed a remarkable difference. Just a tip in case anyone here is dealing with swelling and pressure as part of their PCS. Best of luck to all of you in your healing.