University and Rehabilitation? (pcs, mtbi)

[SunChasing]

Hello all!

I have a dilemma! First, a little context; I am Joseph, I am 21 and I had a concussion (or mTBI) three years ago.

I had used cannabis (a very rare occasion), and fallen down a step into an overhang. I have persistent symptoms - fatigue, dizziness, slightly blurred vision, constant brain fog, memory, concentration and other cognitive issues, exercise intolerance, emotional issues.

It fluctuates, so sometimes I ‘crash’ and feel very very slow in the head, non-verbal and very slow moving or immobile; and sometimes I have more energy (though often will overdo it at these times). I recently think I had a non-epileptic seizure, but haven’t spoken to my doctor yet. As a sort of metric, I can meet with a friend for maybe 2 or 3 hours before I might start crashing and I need to go home.

I have just finished first year on a dance/design course in Amsterdam which includes some dance, some stage design, lighting, art studies, dramaturgy etc. It was an often intense year, usually 9-5 or 11-5, and I would crash most weeks, one or a few times.

I went to CognitiveFX in the US in October for two weeks, which showed small improvements, but I would often have setbacks. I have home rehab exercises from them, which I would do after 5, four days a week (took 1h30 to 3 hours each time, so I would often be at school until late!). When I focus on them, and am not too busy, I can feel progress, but school was just too busy to maintain progress.

Now onto the question; I have already decided to drop out of this course and move back to the UK, since it is too much for me.

Now, I am currently deliberating if I drop everything, take a gap year, and focus on my recovery, or if I join a Fine Arts course in Glasgow in September whilst also focusing on recovery.

(The course has great disability support, but its is the load I am questioning. It is 80% studio practice and 20% writing practice. Studio practice means independent time with your own studio space to work on projects, read books, be bored, doodle, have tutorials with staff and group critiques. Writing practice means lectures and essays.)

Being home is not a great or healthy environment for me on a gap year (I’ve done one before) so I would probably move, maybe to Glasgow for half the year, which I am financially fortunate to be able to do, but I would still get a part time job to provide some structure and income.

What are people’s experiences in pursuing rehabilitation some years after persistent post concussion symptoms, and are you still dropping everything to focus on it, or is it helpful for you to have work/study as a source of structure and motivation?

Any comments, advice, personal experience would be greatly appreciated, however big or small! Or, perhaps even wisdom as to how I can approach the question myself.

Love, Joseph

[pinkvision]

Take a year out and focus on full time rehab exercises. Because you are you are young you have lots of excess neural capacity and it can be trained.

Cog FX only focusses on some elements of rehab ie cognition.

If you've got the money go the full hog on rehab.

Head injury/ concussion has three basic elements, the physical/ neurological and psychological.

You sound psychologically good and you are positive so that should not be a problem.

From what you have written it sounds like you have physiological issues because you flake out with physical exertion. I've learned that these may be caused by cervical/ vestibular problems.

You can go to a 'sports concussion specialist' to get exercises for these. The sports industry are miles ahead of the health system in regards to cervical/ vestibular rehab.

Also from what you have written it sounds like you have sensory overload. Your brain is putting so much effort into processing sensory information that it crashes.

One of the biggest causes of this are in the visual system.

You can get your visual processing checked out by a neuro or behavioral optometrist; again the health system is miles behind in this area, so go private.

After you have gone through these you will find many of your symptoms come down to your cervical/ vestibular and visual sensory processing.

The remainder are emotional/body regulatory and then cognitive.

I had a TBI in 2017, the health service said I'd never recover but after trying neuroplasticity methods I found on YouTube I did start recovering many functions. During that time I did a research master's degree and studied my own recovery. I learned that by getting your rehab training in the right order makes a huge difference.

Start with the physiological/sensory then the emotional/body regulatory and after this move to the cognitive.

You'll find that most of what you think are cognitive issues are actually sensory processing and body regulatory issues.

By starting at Cog FX you are approaching it the wrong way around and that may be why it's not having much effect.

I started a YouTube channel covering much of what I have written, it's a bit heavy and boring at the moment but the info is all there, all up to date and researched during my master's degree.

Check it out because you may identify with some things and it may help you find a way to move forward.

I ultimately found intensive rehab, disciplined, hardcore, repetitive, day after day, week after week, month after month worked best.

That's why I suggested taking a year to put all your effort into rehab. Mixing it up with other things in life just prolongs the symptoms and makes them seem never ending.

youtube.com/@mendingbrokenb...