I'm not sure what to expect but my neurologist recommended this site to me.
I was involved in a ski accident in February this year; two snow boarders knocked me down. I was knocked out and rescued off the sloapes. I have lost an entire day's worth of memory and still don't have it back. I remember suddenly being in a hospital bed. Scans all came back clear according to the American medical notes and I monitored every 20 minutes during my overnight hospital stay for memory testing.
Since then I have stuffed from the following:
Very emotional
Fed up with most things
I can't lay on the back of my head, wear an Alice band or tie my hair in a certain way as its still too uncomfortable and sore
I can't jump or run as it feels like my head is bouncing and makes me need to hold my head in my hands
I feel like I'm losing my mind 5 months on.
I had an MRI scan on Friday and waiting for results but I feel my neurologist only suggested this to be safe. I am now seeing an osteopath and having acupuncture to see if this helps.
Has anyone been through this? Will I get back to normal ever? Am I going crazy?
Written by
Dancer1982
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I don't know if anyone has explained things to you but I was 9 months on from my fracture when a neuropsychologist explained to me. If you fall on your head your brain starts to shake and because there is nothing to absorb the energy it can wobble inside the skull for months.
Please stop trying to run jump or dance as it only adds to the wobble and can end up doing more damage than any original injury.
Give yourself a chance. Take it easy for a while.
Love n hugs
Xoxo
PS. Sorry it's taken so long to respond but the Garrett went flat .
Wow okay not even my neurologist told me this information!! I've been hitting the gym and teaching dance all this time (apart from the two weeks I was signed off)
Sadly there are many on here that have experienced the same symptoms. You are probably like the rest of at the early stage are sat there thinking what the heck is this ? I have banged my head before but nothing like this ! A severe concussion let alone a brain injury is one of the least talked about injuries. It gets the odd mention in the news when a sports person has to retire but that is it.
You are at the start of a journey that is going to take you a long time. Be prepared for a lot of slow progress and a number of set backs. You will discover more about yourself and about your brain over the coming months.
The best practical advice is to rest but keep mild activity going, your brain needs to slow down to start its own quirky repair process. So no running, jumping or anything that will jar your head.
The brain needs the right minerals and vitamins to feed the repair process, so plenty of protein, vegetables , nuts and fruit etc. try and cut down on any sugar, processed and fatty foods, no alcohol and reduce fizzy drinks.
You will find lots of support and help on this board.
Thank you so much for your reply. It's nice to talk to people that understand. I feel like my friends don't and are fed up with me; they just don't get it. You gave me more feedback then my actual neurologist!!
Many of us have found that Neurologists and Neuropsychologists know a lot about physiology but really very little about how it affects us as individuals and you would be genuinely surprised how different not only how each head injury affects us but each of the multiple symptoms are completely different.
I had many years of very intense first aid - even lectures on open heart massage but nothing much on what the effects of concussion are. Its mainly due to the whole health service being geared up to the front end of an injury and not the ongoing recovery.
One of the things that i have realised since my injury is that all the "old fashioned" advice is so apt for head injury recovery -
things like "fish for brains" is so true because of the protein. "Eat up your veg" etc,
Also things like how a lady and gentleman should walk - head up, eyes horizontal, one foot in front of the other as if you were walking on a line. Helps balance, co ordination, develops depth perception.
Stand up straight - I didn't realise that I leaned to one side when I was standing until someone put a mirror next to me and not only did I lean but swayed as well. I used to practice by a mirror each day until it was fixed.
Saving the worst till last - cod liver oil or omega 3, is excellent for helping the brain "recover"
The people here will understand. This is a select club! You can also always ring the Headway phone line who will listen 0808 800 2244 ( 9-5pm Mon to Fri.)
Ummm... don't expect your friends to 'get it' or understand. The brain is very complex and delicate but there is alot of useful literature out there.
Best wishes
Bonfire
Hi thanks for sharing. It is very early days so do try to take it step by step. I sustained severe head injuries when I fell off a horse albeit wearing a jockey crash hat - in 1989. I was unconscious for three days and my memory only started 'recording' patchily on day 10. Because every injury is unique they really cannot predict your particular 'path' that lies ahead. MRI is impressive but apart from bleeds/tumours/shrinkage really tells them virtually nowt!
It is not the medics who are in charge here (they are little more than temporarily interested observers) but your brain. It is remarkably competent and will be beavering away trying to repair so do cut it some slack. When it wants sleep for example obey! It sounds as though yours wants to 'float on a cushion' at the moment and you might find that mindfulness helps you to cooperate with this. I found that 'resistance was useless' - or rather that when I cooperated my brain was easy on me... These habits I believe led to my experience of two childbirths 6 and 9 years later as pain free (I was away with the fairies during third stage and was not even aware of first stage) as that is par excellence something one's brain just has to do irrespective of one's conscious mind.
I would say that it has been a definite plus psychologically that I had my accident whilst doing something of entirely my own choosing - horse riding - and whilst wearing optimum head protection. It seems that some people whose injuries were someone else's fault and entirely unpredictable do have an extra burden emotionally (the why me?). You were doing something you chose and collision accidents are entirely normal on the slopes - I used to love ski-ing too!
Oh and psychotherapy and 'happy pills' have been a great help too at various stages. The latter though need review and adjustment because whatever your GP prescribes at first is merely a starting point. You are the expert on you - as long as you are listening and assisting your unconscious brain that is.
Oh and now the internet is available - what a huge asset it is. Available 24/7 and enabling us to link up with others and not have to plough a lonely furrow. Thinking of you and wishing you the strength to see it through!
Slightly off topic, I did some research with the Snell foundation while they were in the UK into motorcycle and horse riding helmets. They rigged a simulator up to see what it was like being kicked in the head by a horse. The fired up the test rig took the readings and they thought it was too high. Tried and tried each time getting the same results. They went out and found a horse that would be comfortable being in the rig but also prone to kick out - when the got the results they were even higher.
They spend ages trying to figure out how to develop a helmet that would protect the head but realised at the time there were no materials available that could protect the head against a horse.
As others have said its a slow process and each individual injury is different and we recover at different paces. The fantastic thing is you can share your experiences here with like minded people.
I too suffered an abi last May and was out for a while 4.8 minutes with frontal lobe brain bleeds and it was awful the recovery was slow and awful. I felt and experienced all the things you mention. Although I lost my emotion and love but its coming back slowly.
Give Headway a call their numbers are on the site here and speak to your GP. Nick
Glad you found us! I have to admit to a sad smile when I read your post. Your accident was uncannily similar to what happened to me - except I was snowboarding, and I was knocked out by two skiers! Fair do's, I guess...
So to answer your questions:
1.lots of us (sadly) have been through similar, and this is a very supportive group.
2. You have a very good chance of getting back to normal, but be prepared for it to take time. In this situation we have to learn patience. Your brain is working very hard on repairing itself, which might make you feel slow, stupid and exhausted for a while, but improvements WILL come. (Each person has their own timescale. It might be helpful to keep some kind of journal of your symptoms, so that if you are feeling discouraged, you can read back and see that you really are making progress.)
3. You are definitely NOT going crazy! I thought I was too, but no, you are injured, not mad. Be gentle on yourself.
Everyone else has given great advice on diet, exercise etc., so I'll end there for now. P.S.Headway have some great leaflets explaining various aspects of injury and recovery,which you can download from their homepage.
I'm new to the group here, but completely understand your issues. My BI was weird, we're still none the wiser (9 years) later as to what caused it. I just developed an impressive sized blood clot on my brain.
I used to be a HUGE fan of ski-ing and horse riding and worked at the ski slopes here in the UK and as a part-time riding instructor, to be told I wouldn't be able to do either for some time was a REAL frustration. Fortunately (weird I should say that) I was 27 at the time, but developed a brain of about a 6 year old, so had to move back home with my parents, who really looked after me and somehow we managed to have a laugh each day.
I finally got permission to go back horse riding and later ski-ing. Having also lost chunks of my memory I was worried I would have forgotten aspects. Turns out I hadn't forgotten the physical technique, just all the jargon.
Others who have already replied to your question are right: Your brain has been shaken around kinda like you expect Tom Cruise to do in Cocktail! It takes time for it to settle down again, so don't give up hope it will. However as with anyone who takes a break from a sport, don't expect to go back the slopes and be as good as you were before, your muscles need time to re-develop again and you'll be more anxious of those around you. Take a good reliable bunch of friends with you the first few times you go out, kinda like as a body guard unit and even if you only get onto the nursery slopes just be grateful you're back up the mountain, it's one small step in the right direction with many more to come.
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but nothing much on what the effects of concussion are. Its mainly due to the whole health service being geared up to the front end of an injury and not the ongoing recovery.
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