Brain fog and cognitive issues !!

[Dean12]

Hi everyone, thought I would share my experience. I crashed my mountain bike 5 weeks ago bouncing the side of my head along the track. Wasn’t a particularly serious looking crash apparently, and I was wearing a full face crash helmet. After the crash I jumped straight up, told my friends I was fine and carried on riding. Towards the end if the day, my friends noticed I was repeating myself and started to seemvery confused. Next day I had ct scan, thankfully came back clear. Since then life’s been very difficult, after 5 weeks my cognitive function is still not right. I just don’t seem as quick mentally, and keep questioning myself. Short term memory isn’t great either, and to be honest I’m feeling miserable. I’m not drinking either, feel like a social leppa lol joking aside it’s a nightmare. I guess my question is, have you had similar recovery trajectory, if so give me hope I will be myself again.

[cat3]

Hi Dean. Well done for finding Headway. It's good you sought medical advice and that the scan was clear, but what a CT scan doesn't show is soft tissue damage. It's highly likely that the blows to your head have resulted in concussion which would account for the cognitive and memory issues, along with feeling generally down.

Concussion can last weeks or months, but you can speed up recovery by resting more than usual, getting regular quality sleep, drinking lots of water and continuing to avoid alcohol (sorry). If you're having bad headaches. dizziness or nausea you should see your GP for reassurance. But PCS (Post Concussion Syndrome) can be slow to heal, so be patient with yourself.

Here's a link to explain the condition further :- Good luck in dealing/coping with it.

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q...

Best wishes, Cat x

[LouBL0u]

Hi Dean

So sorry to hear you are feeling like this. I banged my head last year and was unconscious for 20 minutes. (CT and MRI normal) I had a couple of weeks off work with post concussion syndrome (PCS) too. I returned but two weeks later had to stop and some months later got diagnosed with FND (Functional Neurological disorder) The PCS changed lots of things in the short term - started swearing, smoking, had poor impulse control and judgement and felt like my brain had changed from a Ferrari to an old banger!

It may be wise to Go back to your GP and ask to be referred to a neurologist...

Take care everyone, Louise x

[sospan]

Hi Dean,

The delayed effects of the injury is quite common. Sometimes you can feel a little "off" for a few days. Have a read (if you can .....) of this article about John Barclay the Scottish rugby player bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union...

As mentioned in the earlier posts, a period of rest, no screen time / stress is required at the early stages to ease the symptoms

All the best on your recovery

[pinkvision]

Oh mate, that's so familiar, get to the GP immediately and get your referrals now for neurologist and neuro-psychology assessments. You could be waiting a long time otherwise. Two and a half years in myself, recovery is so slow.

Don't try to fight it, just sleep, plenty of water and real food and try to keep your mind positive.

Keep us all updated.

[RockyMountain]

Hi, my brain injury occured whilst mountain biking, although it is assumed that helmets protect. In some cases such as glancing blows to the side of the head they can be a problem.

The extra circumference and bulk can cause a centrifugal force effect and cause the brain to move especially at speed. It's well documented on some cycle injury forums.

As others have said it is very important that you get yourself to a neuro psyc' as they are best to diagnose and test.

Take care.

[blackperil]

Just a quick note to say that most people recover quickly and fully.

You will probably find that the majority of people on here will be long term PCS suffers so do not be overly alarmed at some of the responses, however due to the NHS waiting lists I support what pink visions saying and start your referrals off now. This will at least check out if your GP understands the condition and knows how to sign-post you to rehabilitation should you require it.

[Forty-something]

Hi I had a fall last December resulting in concussion and a brain bleed, I’m struggling with post concussion issues like you and more, I’ve not found anything to help, I have fibromyalgia too so the added symptoms are just multiplying I wish u well and hope u find something to help x

[Marc787]

Dean12, Im sorry about your injury. All what your saying is exactly what i can relate too. For me my PCS happened Dec 2018, almost a year now, during work I hit my head ducking under Matson container door. Daily headaches, dizziness, fatigue, sensitive to light and sounds, going out was a nightmare for me, to much stimulation on my brain. Anxiety and depression kicks in. I couldn't drive for almost 2 months. I slowly went back to work slowly progressing every month 2 hours to 7 hours a day from Jan. to now. Doing light duty to physical work. I was slowly feeling I was getting better around 4 months outs, But last week I got a 2nd set back of symptoms that came back again. So im back to light duty only 2 to 4 hours a day. It's going to be a very slow process to getting back to recovery. In the beginning i did 5 months concussion, physical therapy, 10 visits of cognitive therapy (psychologist). It helped but I feel I need to continue. Work comp will only allow so much. Sessions which that sucks! Rest is good, get help on concussion therapy, massages in your neck, head and upper back, vision exercise, if your doing physical things if the pain level is there stop, NEVER ever push through it will only makes it worst. I've done it and had to learn the hard way. We all can recover but it's going to be a very slow and long process. Take care and God bless....

[guavajuice22]

Hi Dean, I totally get what you mean about feeling less quick mentally and questioning yourself. After my TBI (bike accident without helmet) my doctor dismissed these symptoms as vague but I promise that it gets better. Over the past three months, my mental sharpness has gradually returned, as has my self-assurance, and while I'm not quite 100% yet, I have confidence that I will be soon, as will you. The worst part about post-concussion syndrome is the feeling that nothing is improving and that you will never get better, because every day you wake up and it feels like there's been no change. But as someone who's gone through it I assure you that things do get better. I found that one thing that works for me is instead of assessing whether I've improved on a daily basis, I assess it every week. That way, the improvements become clearer and less incremental.

I hope this helps and that you feel better in the not-too-distant future