Corrine’s first concussion happened in 2009, when she was stopped at a light and rear-ended by another driver.
“I didn’t even know at the time that I had a concussion. I don’t even think I hit my head. The accident happened on a Thursday, and I waited until after the weekend to see my doctor,” says Corrine, who recently moved to the Kootenays after many years in Calgary.
The doctor asked her to count backwards from 100 in threes, and she couldn’t do it. After performing a few other tests, she was told she had a concussion and couldn’t go back to work.
“I was in shock. It wasn’t even that bad of a car accident, and I didn’t have any external injuries. But I didn’t understand at the time that the severe jolt causes your brain to slam inside your skull. I found out later that I actually had a brain bleed.”
The 2009 concussion was very serious, and unfortunately it wasn’t the only one. Corrine was also rear-ended in 2011, 2017 and 2022, each one compounding the concussion symptoms. She’s using every available tool to help recover — MRIs, acupuncture, massage, physiotherapy, osteopathy, counselling, psychologists, cranial specialists — and has experienced encouraging results after Pharmacist Michelle Gray, owner of Gray’s Compounding Pharmacy in Kimberley, suggested trying LifeWave Patches.
READ MORE: Use every tool available to help the body heal from a concussion
Concussion symptoms vary
“I used to be sharp as a razor, and now I’m a dull razor!” says Corrine, who still manages to find humour in her situation, despite many challenges.
Over the course of four concussions, she’s experienced a range of concussion symptoms:
- Slurring words
- Dropping items unexpectedly
- Limited concentration (10-20 minutes maximum) and decreased memory
- Unable to use a computer
- Ringing ears
- Neck and back pain
- Severe mood swings and irritability
- Dramatic changes in libido
- Disrupted sleep
- Reduced impulse control
- Reduced energy
“It affects all of your executive function. My co-workers didn’t understand what I was going through, and were frustrated that I could only work for a few hours a day. Eventually I had to stop working entirely, and go on disability. I lost a lot of friends because they didn’t understand why I had to cancel plans,” she says. “Each activity in your life is an event: coffee with a friend, doing the dishes, going to a medical appointment. And I can only do so many in a day before I need to rest.”
Encouraging results
Corrine first sought out Gray’s Compounding Pharmacy for help compounding a prescription for bioidentical hormones, and mentioned that she’d just suffered her fourth concussion. That’s when Michelle suggested noninvasive, non-transdermal, medication-free LifeWave Patches, which may stimulate stem cells and other healing systems in the body.
“What a difference. My fatigue has been cut in half. My emotional mood changes are less extreme — I still experience them sometimes, but they’re less frequent. I have better sleep. The LifeWave X39 Patch is supposed to improve mental clarity, and that has certainly been true for me — it’s shocking how much it’s helped.”
The patches (Corrine also used the Y-Age AEON patch) improved energy and decreased inflammation, allowing Corrine to do more activities per day — she still has to rest, but far less often. She had chronic inflammation around her knee after having surgery on it in the 90s, and noticed that the inflammation disappeared soon after applying the LifeWave Patches.
“I can’t tell you how much I was struggling — people don’t get it. A concussion is a brain injury. I’ll continue to work with a wide range of specialists, but if I hadn’t met Michelle I don’t know where I’d be.”
Call 250-427-0038 or email pharmacist@grayspharmacy.ca to reach Gray’s Compounding Pharmacy, or visit the store at 417B 304th St. on Highway 95 in Kimberley, open Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. Find a full list of services at facebook.com/grayspharmacy.
