does anyone know anything about post-concussion syndrome?because i went back to the doctors yesterday and started explaining to mine about how I’ve been feeling lately, and he told me he believes that my actual concussion is gone,but that i have post-concussion syndrome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-concussion_syndrome#Causes
This has some information, but others may be able to talk to you about their personal experience.
I’ve had several concussions over my 35 years of riding, but none have had any lingering effects after the first 1-2 weeks.
Jingles for a speedy recovery!!
I know all about post-concussion syndrome. I’ve been living with it for the past three months.
First of all, I’m very sorry that you have to experience it. There’s no other way to put it: PCS sucks. BUT…it does get better.
If you do a google search for Post-Concussion Syndrome, you’ll come up with tons of information on what it is, the symptoms, and the theoretical resolution time frame (weeks to months, years in severe cases). For me, it was reassuring to read the symptoms and realize that what I was feeling was not imagined or that I was not going crazy. I have had pretty much every single PCS symptom at one time or another, but some are more pronounced. For me, attention, speed of processing, cognition, memory, headache, fatigue, coordination, and balance are the most pronounced, but I still struggle with all the others on a less pronounced level.
The information that doesn’t come up is how to live with PCS. The CDC has the best information on this: http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/index.html
If you are having ANY cognitive or physchological symptoms then you, your parents, your physician, and your school administrator need to go over one of these:
http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/headsup/pdf/ACE_care_plan_school_version_a.pdf
Trying to “push through” the cognitive symptoms can have a negative impact on your physical recovery. As much as it sucks to have to utilize the school support services, they help tremendously. I don’t know where I would be without the help of my disability accommodations. It’s hard to accept that support when you are a star-student, but it is vital to your recovery.
Physically, it is VERY important to get LOTS of sleep. For the first month I slept an average of ten hours per night with a 30-45 minute nap in the afternoon. Drink plenty of water (to the point where your kidneys are complaining), take vitamins/minerals and Omega-3 supplements (these help a lot!), and make sure to eat healthy food. You may find that you have cravings for certain things such as avocados, oranges, chicken, dairy, or anything else. Indulge these cravings - your body is telling you that you need these nutrients! But cravings for brownies, pizza, and ice cream don’t count, unfortunately 
Take it easy and avoid stimulation as much as possible - this includes TV, video games, internet (even COTH forums 
), reading, physical activity, and studying - this is where the adapted schoolwork will come in. You just won’t be able to study as much or as hard as you did before. Your schoolwork needs to be adjusted accordingly. Ideally, you should be out of school altogether right now, unless you are able to handle half-days or so without return of symptoms. When you can return, be sure your teachers and administrators know the nature of your injury and adapt work accordingly.
When you are allowed to return to physical activity (which may be weeks or even months from now, unfortunately), be sure to follow return-to-play guidelines very carefully. Start with light aerobic exercise, then gradually increase it over a couple days, move to some resistance training, then start flatwork until you have regained your balance and coordination enough to be safe over low fences and cavalletti, then increase to your previous level of jumping. This whole process may take another several weeks.
Your actual time of recovery is somewhat dependent on the severity of your injury, although some people with severe concussions never experience PCS, while others with mild concussions do. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get your concussion? Which part of your head hit? Did you lose consciousness? Is there any amount of time in which you experienced amnesia? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but generally, the more severe the concussion, the longer the recovery.
I highly recommend seeking the services of a speech-language pathologist while you are recovering. This is generally covered by insurance. They can give you exercises to do that will help your cognitive recovery, as well as give you strategies to maximize studying time, help with attention, etc. My speech-language pathologist has been invaluable to my recovery.
Again, I’m very sorry that you have to go through this. I hope you have a quick and complete recovery. You are young, and that will help. But be kind to yourself and take care of yourself. This is the biggest key to recovery. You will heal far faster by resting than you will by pushing yourself. The hardest part is actually doing that! It gets so incredibly frustrating and depressing to see everyone else having fun and enjoying themselves while you are left to deal with the symptoms of PCS - a condition that very few are even aware of and that no one can relate to unless they’ve experienced it themselves. But don’t give up hope. You’ll get there eventually.
Until then, jingles to you for a speedy recovery! PM me if you need anything!
A friend of mine suffers from post concussion syndrome. It has taken a lot of time for her to recover. She is taking baby steps and just started driving again. I’m very proud of her 
Again, I am going to say get a NEW, PROPERLY FITTING HELMET. You only have one brain, so you must take care of it. I remember hearing or reading,“If you hit your head hard enough to be thankful you were wearing it, you need a new one!” I had a bad accident and in the boredom of being laid up, I disected my helmet. The outside looked okay, just some very squished velvet, but the inside was a different story. The inner “foam” was very compressed where my head met the ground.
Good luck! You’ll be back to new in no time :yes:
Progesterone
Came across an article on an ER doc that awhile ago found that women recovered more quickly from brain injuries than men. He did a short study and found Progesterone was what made the difference.
Seems to have blossomed into a full trial study:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100219204407.htm
Might not hurt to add some progesterone cream to one’s treatment program…
I hope this clinical trials yields results, but it is not going to prove that Progesterone made the difference. Clinicial trials are rarely that definitive. The first in human trials seemed to show that progesterone has an effect in TBI, but it’s only with a very small N of 100. A larger trial will be more informative, but it’s still only about 1100 people. Of course, enrollment in such a trial is going to ex-post facto the TBI. You can follow this trial on http://clinicaltrials.gov.
I know how you feel. I’m laughing a little because all of us horsepeople are flat out nuts about ridding. Advice from a crusty old horse gal: Let yourself heal up good. You’ll be back in the saddle in no time. Get yourself a really good book on horses to feed the need in the meantime.
Feel better soon!
~Roberta
www.findaridingbuddy.com
I know how you feel. I’m laughing a little because all of us horsepeople are flat out nuts about ridding. Advice from a crusty old horse gal: Let yourself heal up good. You’ll be back in the saddle in no time. Get yourself a really good book on horses to feed the need in the meantime.
Feel better soon!
~Roberta
www.findaridingbuddy.com
