Concussion and PMR.

[Pym1]

I haven’t posted for a long time having been coping pretty well, but would like advice from anyone who has experience of being concussed while reducing Pred.

I was diagnosed 2.5 years ago and have been reducing Pred with occasional hiccups.

A month ago I was concussed in a fall off an exercise ‘balance’ ball! I was a bit wary for a couple of weeks, but ok and continued exercise. I think I may have had whiplash, too.

The last week has been horrible with headaches moving to different places in my head, irritability, tiredness and occasional ‘migraine’ type shimmering vision. I had a ‘blip’ in my tapering in February and went from 4mg to 8.5. I’m in the process of moving back to 4 again and wonder whether 1mg a month is too much, it’s obviously more than 10%.

Any comments from people who’ve experienced similar issues would be appreciated. My consultant neurologist (I had a TIA and stroke a few years back) has arranged an MRI but I’m trying to cover all angles because it’s horrible (not just headaches but muscle pain, too).

Thanks for following post.

Pym1

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I'm sure they must have warned you that concussion can take a LONG time to resolve - if they didn't, they should have

healthline.com/health/concu...

As for whiplash - greatly underestimated by many doctors and can also last a long time.

Above all though - a fall can be enough to lead to a PMR flare:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

I somehow doubt you should be reducing at present.

[Pym1 in reply to PMRpro]

Many thanks for the considered and informative response. I was warned of after effects, but the possibility of them increasing after over a month didn’t register. The small but significant review of people having falls whilst in remission is certainly significant. I’ll speak to my doctor about increasing the dose again.

Thanks again, hope you’re keeping ok.

Simon

[SnazzyD]

My daughter had a minor head injury in the home and wasn’t knocked out, though went a bit peculiar a few minutes. She had concussion syndrome for 18 months, the worst of which were the first four severe headaches, motion sickness and mood swings. Headaches are still a feature two years later that are triggered by eye strain, moving in a vehicle for a couple of hours, touching the back of her head. Her head CT was clear. Not be be underestimated as they are realising now. I’d be wary of stressing the body out too much with reductions.

[Pym1 in reply to SnazzyD]

Many thanks for your input. I do hope your daughter makes a complete recovery soon. I will certainly take it more seriously. My symptoms were much like your daughter’s except I felt a bit washed out later on. A few days later I was exercising and cycling regularly, more recently - about a month later I’ve been feeling very lethargic. Obviously important to take it easier.

Again, thanks for your help.

Pym

[5lupins in reply to Pym1]

I would definitely go to gp or to a&e and explain you were concussed and now having headaches. Jen

[SnazzyD in reply to 5lupins]

After a couple of months, my daughter went to the GP who sent her back to A&E. she got very little help other than, “that’s concussion syndrome for you”. She got the CT because some of her head pain was concentrated and still acute around the impact area. It came back clear.

[5lupins in reply to SnazzyD]

If like your daughter it comes back clear then I think you can move forward without without the worry in the back of your mind. Concussion is more of a problem than I realised. A bit more info to store away. Thanks.

[SnazzyD in reply to 5lupins]

Hmm, not really because her life is still affected and any damage, as there clearly is some, is too much on a micro level to see of for the medics to care about. There is a clear dent in her head and oddly it didn’t show. Anyway, as with all these things in life, you have to wait as it plays out and deal with the changes as they come. Life’s ups and downs.

[5lupins in reply to SnazzyD]

That is really hard. I was interested because I had a fall some years ago and broke my hand and bruised all my face. I only remembered some weeks later that I had blacked out as I fell and the lady who helped me afterwards told me I was out cold for a few seconds. When I told gp she said no need for a scan. Deep down I wished I could have had one, but now I realise it isn’t always the answer.

I have just read your profile. May I say how grateful I am to you and all the cancer nurses who help people like me through difficult times. I could not have coped without the knowledge and care they continue to give.

You will have helped so many “Jens “ . Thank you.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to 5lupins]

I'm a tad disgusted at your GP - if you lost consciousness then a CT scan may well have been needed. But only A&E would have been able to assess that.

[SnazzyD in reply to 5lupins]

Initially my daughter didn’t have a scan because she wasn’t knocked out. I told them in A&E that she went very odd with dilated pupils but they weren’t moved. It’s a lottery!

[SnazzyD in reply to Pym1]

I forgot to say, exhaustion was a big part of it. Your difficulty now is knowing what to attribute to autoimmune things and what to head injury.