Post concussion syndrome

[Lynsey-s]

Hi everyone, new to this. Head injury at work 6 weeks ago and struggling to cope with post concussion. Is anyone going through this aswell? Feel so low and don't seem to feel better day to day. Thanks guys.

[ballet2385]

I've had post concussive syndrome for 8 months and back to back concussions in two auto accidents. 2016 was not my year. Pushing yourself before your brain is ready will certainly make things worse. There is a lot of blogs and websites out there on PCS Post- Concussive Syndrome and new rehab programs that focus on exercise to decrease symptoms. It doesn't have any medications geared toward treatment or a cure. It's treated symptomatically, just putting a band- aid on it and I can attest that's not a good approach. If you have swelling that could have dangerous consequences in the head the steroid Dexamethasone as injection or 10 day dose pack is a viable option, but goodness the side effects of steroids on the body. It's just not like you've got a global standard of care for this injury like most medical diseases or procedures. I wouldn't suggest electric stimulation or a ten's unit for it made me very sick and caused my brain stroke like symptoms and post- concussive to flair. Sending electrical impulses to a brain that's already disrupted in it's impulses is no way to go from personal experience. I don't care what these doc tell you on that. Tell them to go bang their head then try it. Post Concussive can't be diagnosed with CT, MRI, or imaging. There are Spec scans and a new MRI that is lending some diagnostic assistance, but is not error or miss proof. Neuropsychological testing is the way to go to identify cognitive deficit of this syndrome. Inflammation is the biggest problem with the brain after injury and the body. Fish oil made with machete fish is best at controlling this inflammation in the body. Avoid fried foods, processed foods, too much caffeine, and sleeping aids (barbiturates) they make all these symptoms more severe. Get on a routine and sleep schedule. Take more breaks. Stop when you feel mentally exhausted. You may also purchase online and globally available retail and online through Walgreens pharmacy a brain supplement known as Folinic Plus- has everything you need to help naturally repair damaged brain neurons and cells. You can recover, but it will be slow. You're going to have to go the natural route on this one for the brain is not receptive to chemicals and it only jacks it up worse these manmade pharmaceuticals. I hope this helps. Facebook also has some PCS support groups. Feel better Lean Labs has the fish oil I'm talking about. Please consult with you GP or PCP as we call it in the US before taking any supplements and not that they can't interfere with prescription medications for they are technically drugs just one's derived from Earth and not synthetic or chemically created. There's not a high risk of allergic reaction to Folinic Plus, but air on the side of caution with fish if you have a known iodine or seafood allergy. This information from my own research and personal injury is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease and be a substitute for medical care by a licensed health professional.

Always consult your pharmacist as well to check for drug interaction before they occur and just to cross reference your supplements with any current medications.

Take Care-

[Lynsey-s in reply to ballet2385]

Thankyou so much for replying!! I have been given a sleeping tablet to sleep at night, as without it, the next day my headaches are so horrific. How did you hit your head? How do you feel these days? You give me a slight glimmer or hope, thanks x

[ballet2385 in reply to Lynsey-s]

Lynsey-s, there is a new nasal spray in clinical trials to treat the brain itself in clinical trials in the US and has not been FDA approved yet. Maybe available in Europe not sure though. It was developed by US pharmaceutical company. It just made the news here, so there's some hope for the both of us. It saves the brain from swelling that occurs post concussion and brain trauma which causes all of our symptoms and damage to brain matter and tissues. This is so awesome because the nasal spray will go right to the source and not be systemic and cause as many harsh or unwanted side effects. It can literally stop and lessen brain injury and damage to function and memory. It's just awesome. As for me, I'm doing better. My disability has been lagging behind with Disability and I decided that 2017 was my year to move on with my life and conquer this injury, so I decided to re- write my resume and apply for a job in my field. Little did I know that I'd get a call back the very next morning and then take a pre- employment skills set test that's standard for my field and make the highest score ever made, and the get offer six different high paying positions with this company. Well, it was lots of prayer, faith, great docs, loving mom, and rehab. Don't forget the Can Do attitude. I am amazed that I scored that high for it was a 90 minute assessment. I've not worked in almost a year since my head injuries. There's hope for us though! I wanted to share that with you. Continued blessings for a speedy recovery!

[steve55 in reply to Lynsey-s]

lyndsey s do you wear spectacles?

[Lynsey-s in reply to steve55]

Only for driving, but I have had my eyes checked and my vision is perfect

[sospan]

Like most of us you probably have bumped your head many times over the years and they were quite minor and didn't think much of them.

When you get a more significant one, it is so different like the worst hangover ever whilst still being drunk which lasts for days and days.

Are you receiving any treatment or doing anything for it yourself ?

[Lynsey-s in reply to sospan]

You're probably right. But this one has completely knocked me. I have seen many GP,s, many doctors at A&E departments and an eye specialist. All have said post concussion. They are probably right but it feels so much more! They have prescribed pain relief for headaches and sleeping tablets at night. I receive blood results today, checking for any inflammation in the blood vessels that trigger pain and my thyroid functioning. I have actually booked myself a private consultation with a Neurologist on Monday as I am really struggling to cope. I am normally very strong minded and can get through most things with little bother, but this has really affected me. Thankyou for replying!

[sospan in reply to Lynsey-s]

I never used to take days off for colds, bumps or other problems but the bang on the head I had really knocked me for a six.

The problem is as I and many others have found is that finding a specialist that really understand Head Injuries is really hard. Many concentrate on Alzheimer's, MS, Parkinsons etc. and as others have found, if there is no obvious trauma (big cut or surgery) can be quite dismissive of head injuries.

To counter this a lot of us have become our own "experts" by following articles and trying different remedies to try and progress our recovery. If you scan some of the previous posts for therapies, food, supplements, hormones etc. It is quite impressive the body of knowledge people have built up.

Feel free to ask any questions a lot of people have already walked down the path you are following

[Lynsey-s]

You are right. I hope this neurologist can help me in some ways. I will have a read of the articles on this site. I have considered getting some supplements which help the brain. Thanks for your help!!

[jayne_h]

Hi Lynsey,

Welcome to Headway. My mum has problems with PCS. She hit her head on a tap when washing her hair (at the back of the head on the left). She lost a lot of blood and felt dizzy. She was conscious enough to call her best friend who heard her pass out on the floor, where she most likely sustained another bash to her head. Paramedics broke into the house to rescue her.

Apart from the other comments here, on the subject of food and anti-inflammatory recipes, have a look at Tina M Sullivan, Nourish Your Noggin. They may help you. Coconut oil used for cooking, avocado, eggs to feed the brain, herbs such as tumeric and ginger may help you. You can have dark chocolate as well! There are some great recipes for smoothies.

You can also look at drdiane.com She is a psychologist herself and has had brain surgery and post concussion syndrome. Her book on brain injury is good.

Do call headway and get some of the leaflets. There are a lot of e books online. Headway is very helpful.

Recovery takes time. Remember to rest enough as well.

Take care and I hope you get well soon.

Jayne

[Lynsey-s in reply to jayne_h]

I had a similar injury. Slipped on a bathroom mat whilst putting shower head back and smashed my face on the bath taps. The wound itself is ok, just all the brain symptoms. Headaches (which can be dreadful) dizziness and insomnia are my main concerns at the moment. Have had lots of other symptoms that seemed to have passed. Thankyou so much I will take a look at all of your suggestions!

Hope your mum feels better soon, this post concussion business is terrible xx

[jayne_h]

On the subject of getting to sleep, did you try camomile and lavender herbal tea?

[auton143]

Hi Lynsey-s, I crashed my head against metal getting on a bus 8 months ago,although much better ,still get very tired,poor concentration,still can't eat my favourite foods, learn't through this wonderful furum that I'm not alone,hope you soon feel a little better but rest, so important xxxauton

[Lynsey-s in reply to auton143]

You poor thing! I haven't really experienced any memory or concentration problems, that must be awful.

I am resting as much as I can. Hope you feel better too, thankyou so much for replying xxxx

[Buel]

Hi all.

I've never posted on here before but felt the urge to on this.

Last August I received an elbow to the side of the head during a football match. There was blood but I felt fine and finished the game. I went to get the cut stitched the next day and the nurse asked if I was experiencing any symptoms of concussion, I laughed at the thought - me? Suffer concussion? Not likely, ha!

Then three days later I was at work and began to feel dizzy and just a bit slow. These symptoms continued over the weekend and I ended up having four weeks off work. A couple of things bothered me:

1. The symptoms of dizziness, being unable to focus my eyes as I used to and a feeling of being juuuust a little bit off the pace (I joked to my wife that "This is what it must feel like to be thick".....well I laughed!). It felt like it was never going to life but was deeply unpleasant to experience.

2. That no one seemed to understand what I was going through apart from the Doctors - I found this quite frustrating. Just because people couldn't see a wound, they couldn't understand that I was suffering. I still think about that now. I'm a mentally strong person but that really got to me.

The story that describes the concussion best is how I put my coffee pod in to the coffee machine, put my cup under, filled the machine with water and started the process.....but I could sense that there was something wrong but, for the life of me, I couldn't put my finger on the issue...and then after about ten seconds it clicked - there was no cup under the spout and the coffee was spraying everywhere!! Gosh I was shocked at that and how it simply wouldn't register what the issue was.

Luckily for me, it cleared up and I am now fine, apart from that once my alarm clock goes off I can no longer snooze whereas I could before. How odd.

I hope this is of some interest to the OP, or anyone, for that matter.

[Lynsey-s in reply to Buel]

Thanks for your reply! You give me hope. Glad you are now back to feeling good

[Buel]

I'll just add that at the time, it feels like you'll never recover....but the vast majority do!

Do you suffer similar symptoms? You haven't got a coffee machine have you?

[Lynsey-s in reply to Buel]

It does feel like this will never end you are right!! The first few weeks were unbearable, nausea, dizziness, headaches, insomnia. I now mainly experience quite bad headaches and insomnia 6 weeks on.

No coffee machine 😂😂😂

[Buel]

Would you please update on here when (yes, 'when') you recover. It'd be good to hear.

P.S. Do you experience the 'people not understanding' issue?

[Lynsey-s in reply to Buel]

Of course I will, I'm hoping sooner rather than later!

I do yeah, because it cannot be visibly seen, people don't understand.. it's frustrating ☹️

[Lynsey-s in reply to Buel]

Hi Buel!

Thought I'd update you as it has been a long time. I haven't recovered completely yet, I still suffer from headaches every day and my eyes still get very tired.

I am back at work full time and am back to leading a fairly normal life, seeing friends etc, but no late nights out or partying (sucks as I am only 24!). I see an acupuncturist who has helped me quite a lot. Still waiting for the day I am symptom free. It's been a rough year but I CAN see light at the end of the tunnel.

Hope you are still well

[Hidden]

Hi. Just wanted to thank you for posting this and the people with their replies. You all describe what I am currently going through with all the symptoms and it's hopeful to see that others have recovered. I can totally relate to the confusion and lack of empathy from some too! It's only been a week for me so am aware there will be a journey ahead with it all. How have people managed with work? Cheers. Hope everyone is well or at least on the way.

[Lynsey-s in reply to Hidden]

Sorry to hear that!! But you will definitely get there

I myself haven't returned to work yet, but I hope to return within the next few weeks.

How did you hurt yourself?

Rest rest rest! So important, hope you start feeling better soon

[Hidden in reply to Lynsey-s]

Stupid accident at home involving my head and the corner of the mantlepiece! I've been trying to rest up all week since it happened. Went to minor injuries to get it glued up when it happened and saw a lovely doctor on Friday who confirmed what I thought about it being concussion. Meant to be back at work tomorrow though.

Thank you for messaging back. Hopefully you can return to work soon enough and the headaches are on the decline.

[janemay]

Hi, this is my first post on here. Lynsey-sI am on a similar time line to you, and your post really struck a chord with me.

I banged my head on the car roof on Christmas Eve. Got a bit of a fright as it was quite hard, but did not think too much of it. A few days later I started getting a numb, tingly sensation and felt quite 'foggy' as a lot of contributors on here have described. On Jan 10th I had an excruciating headache in the middle of the night so called NHS 24 for an out of hours appointment and was sent to hospital where I had a CT scan which came back clear. I continued to have headaches and burning/tingling in the head, sleeplessness, anxiety and the foggy feeling, and was ery emotional and tearful. My symptoms are now mainly headaches and still getting a burning sensation on the top and back of my head. I have also been affected in other ways - I am usually very independent but have been staying with my parents as the though of living alone made me very anxious. Sometimes I feel really down about how long this has gone on for and how much my life has been disrupted because of it. I have also been frustrated at having good days and bad days and getting my hope up about recovery only to have headaches return with a vengeance.

What has helped me is plenty of rest, gentle exercise and fresh air - I have been walking on nice quiet routes near home. Yoga has helped with my anxiety. I am taking Omega 3, a Vitamin B complex and Magnesium/Zinc which seems to have helped. Also hitting a lot of the 'brain food' already mentioned above. I have found GPs and friends/family supportive so talking to them has been very helpful, and this forum really helps you realise you are not alone in how you feel.

I think the hardest thing at this stage is worrying about how long this is going to go on for so thanks to everyone who has posted here about their recovery!

I am hoping to go back to work on a phased return in two weeks. Although I am having a good week so far with mild head symptoms, it is still a bit daunting, even though I love my job. I am a teacher, and usually full of confidence, but, like you, I feel this has really affected me. I will see how it goes though as I have been warned against returning too soon. Best of luck with your recovery, and to everyone else on here.

[Cose]

My son had a concussion 4 years ago. Advice get your eyes tested any loss of balance dizziness diff reading. It took them 3 years to see that it was his eyes visual shift.

Manage your energy micro rests sunglasses osteopath physio chiropractic. Look for a concussion md . They are hard to find neurologists are pill pushers cbd oil for pain .

Hang in there your not alone

[ultoor in reply to Cose]

Hey I hope your son doing well, got a question for you, did not understand the last sentence about pills and CBD oil, do you think CBD oil can be helpful for the pain or are you trying to to say it is bad?

[Cose]

Yes I think CBD oil is good but not for teenagers under 20