Is there any success stories out there for PCS?

[Brain patch]

Thank you Becky. That helped me a lot. You have a great attitude. I hope things work out so well for me and all my friends on here!
Brain

[SlateCity4]

Originally Posted by davec49

My name is Dave and this is my first post. I suffered a concussion at the end of November 2012. I've had an MRI and seen a neurologist who said I was fine. I suffered depression and anxiety from this concussion, two things that I never had to deal with and I am 49 years old. I am seeing a psychiatrist now who has put me on 10 mg of Lexapro. Before the concussion I was extremely active working out with weights and aerobic exercises nearly daily. After three months I tried to work out again and suffered a relapse. The depression came back and the anxiety. I also have blurred vision in my right eye that the eye dr says will go away soon. It is very frustrating not being able to exercise and when I think about that it makes my symptoms worse. Today has been an especially bad day as I am also very dizzy. Reading everyone's posts and realizing I am not alone with these symptoms is reassuring I just cant wait to get back to feeling normal again. I hope it is soon because these feelings are so frustrating.

Dave and others,

If you were an athlete before your injury it can be extremely frustrating as you try to exercise again. I sometimes felt like a "caged animal" during my convalescence as my identity and ability to deal with stress were in my lost athleticism. I always felt positve and powerful after a good workout, if this is you, you must find that in something else for now.

You need to be gentle with yourself and not demand that your body do what it use to do. As athletes, we were use to pushing through the pain and enduring. This is the worst possible thing to do! I reinjured myself many times trying to be what I was before my accident.

Follow your Doctors advice to the letter! Start gently stretching and modify your activity. If you are cleared by your doctor to walk, or lift weights go easy and light. Physical therapy might help. You will eventually heal and be able to be active again. If you cant do anything but rest, only rest. your body has muscle memory and can get back to some degree of fitness later. I know that It can be frustrating when you want to sweat and you can't! Buy yourself some "kickass" tennis shoes in honor of your vow to return!

You will get over this! Write your feelings and frustrations down by journaling! This helped me so much to deal with my anger, self doubt, etc. It also kept me positive as I was able to celebrate the small bits of progress that I was grateful for.

You might have to learn a new sport or modify your workouts in the future but you are still an athlete and always will be! Begain to train for your recovery by becoming mentally positive, grateful for what you have now, measure your success by small achievements, eating healthier than you ever have, use Pilates, yoga, or any other gentle exercise you can engage in. Keep your weight down and don't turn to food for comfort! I would do five squats from a chair everyday and stretch on my door jams. Lift five pound weights with handles laying flat on my bed as to not get dizzy. Small efforts will help!

I remember in the movie "Rocky" when he got knocked down for the count. Everyone thought it was over but he GOT BACK UP!!!..... Today, you can ask God to help get that Rocky spirit by declaring...

I MIGHT BE DOWN, BUT IM NOT OUT!!!

Your body will recover and you will become stronger than ever in time, but for now, know that this community will be here for you during this journey and believe that you will become a champion overcomer!!

Blessings,
Becky

[Renabrown2]

I thought I had recovered. I went back to my profession as a legal assistant after 15 months. I'm not as quick on my feet as I once was. I always get my work reviewed (my choosing ). I have had a relapse over the last 3 days with no occurrences in the last year. On here trying to figure out what child have caused the relapse now. No new injury.

[Mark in Idaho]

Rena,

If you could post a complete of everything you have done or eaten over the last two weeks or longer prior to your recent relapse, there is a good chance we can figure out what your trigger was. A big project at work, a conflict at work, a new food or drink, or many other changes or stresses can cause a relapse.

We're here to help if you can give us some ideas about what has changed in your life recently.

[Renabrown2]

As far as eating something new, I haven't. I'm such a picky eater so I don't try new things.
Conflict at work could be it. I normally have s slight one with my office manager. She is very mean. I normally ignore her, but lately it's been consistent. She's burnt out, I understand and it helps me to ignite her. The last couple of weeks I've found out that she's been padding the bills of our clients. She wanted me to add more time to their account and I won't. I can't with a good conscience cheat someone. Maybe that's it. I've been contemplating leaving because I feel if I stay I'm just as guilty. That's the only thing I can think of. I don't stress easily because I know that Good is in control of things so what's the point of worrying?

[davec49]

Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

Dave,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. What have you done to try to help with recovery ? The sticky thread at the top about Vitamins will help you help your brain. For those of us for whom recovery does not happen spontaneously, a more holistic approach is helpful.

Please tell us more about yourself, your daily activities, etc. Finding ways to reduce stress is very helpful.

My best to you.

Mark,
I started the vitamin regimen that you suggested yesterday. I have my own contractor business that miraculously I have been able to keep up and thrive. I try to walk my dogs for about a mile or so a day. My problem is that I dwell and dwell on things and once I do that I feel worse. When I am able to keep my thoughts elsewhere I do feel better. Sometimes I wonder if the Lexapro is contributing to the full head feeling that I have and the dizziness. I also have slight vision problems in my right eye that the ophthalmologist said should go away in time. My problem is I want to feel better now and when I don't it frustrates the heck out of me.

[Su seb]

I think many of us would agree that you nee to let go of the " get better now" plan. Trust that you are doing all you can to heal your brain and that trying to push the process will probably just slow it down.

Su seb

[davec49]

Originally Posted by Tpont21

I can personally attest to this issue. When I first started having symptoms I was worrying like CRAZY about my symptoms. I was stuck in this mindset that I would never get better and I permanently damaged my brain. It was causing me severe anxiety to the point I was having panic attacks.

As time went on I learned to accept the fact that what I was feeling is NORMAL for a concussed individual. And I had faith that with time, I will get better. When I simply changed my mindset I reduced a lot of my anxiety. I still get anxiety from time to time but it is much more under control. I know in my experience with PCS, I had much more control over my anxiety than I realized.

The trick is to stay positive! Know that you WILL get better with time and you need to be patient. Switching your mindset to this will relieve a great amount of anxiety.

After reading what you said I am going to really try to be more positive because I too worried about permanent brain damage and the anxiety of wondering if and when I would get better only makes things much worse. Tonight is the night I will stop the worrying and be thankful for everything that I do have. Thank you for your insight it is going to help me!