So what has helped me over the past year?
I've had a relatively small team of specialists so far: physiatrist, physiotherapist, family doctor, massage therapist. I'm considering cranial osteopathy and also myofascial release.
I look back and am amazed at all the struggles that I've fought and won. Over the past year there have been:
- headaches (like someone had a finger on each temple and was pushing in, slowly)
- light sensitivity
- moodiness
- irritability
- fatigue
- poor concentration
- poor focus
- feeling helpless
- feeling depressed
- insomnia
- apathy
- mental lapses
- memory issues
- what I like to call "chronic stupidity", which really is a culmination of all of the above
The light sentivity went away after almost 5 months. The headaches disappeared around the 7-8 month mark. I may have taken ibuprophen a few times, but I usually prefer to deal with headaches without drugs. They were debilitating, but never to the point where I was completely unable to function.
There was a miracle drug that I wished I had started on sooner. My physiatrist had recommended it early on but I resisted. That drug was Cipralex. It's usually used as an anti-depressant but taken in lower doses it can act as a mood stabilizer. Why is that important for someone suffering from a brain injury? So that the brain can focus itself on healing instead of wasting energy on (and failing to) maintain a constant mood.
As has been said many times by many people, concussion recovery is an individual thing - what may work for one person may not work for another, so don't give up!
