Hi,

My name is Patrick.

In the past (as a teenager) I sustained lots of head traumas from sports, but I always just walked it off and I never had any post-concussive symptoms.

In January 2013 I was in a car accident overseas - I was thrown full force into the ceiling of a taxi at about 80kmph (ceiling 1 inch from my head) when the taxi hit a large unmarked speed bump.

The doctors overseas never diagnosed it as "concussive", so I returned to Canada and tried to push on (at the time I was in my final semester of my undergraduate studies). As headaches worsened I ended up in a hospital in Canada in April where I was diagnosed with post-concussive syndrome. The out-patient clinic neurologist told me to "push myself" and to take a mild dosage of noretryptylin.

Within a month (May 2013) I was back to normal functioning; in one day I could do 30 minutes of cardio on a stationary bicycle, walk outdoors for an hour, go out with friends, etc. On occasion I bumped my head and this would bring back dizziness, nausea, & headaches for several days. But after the several days elapsed, my problems would clear and I was able to return to normal.

Since late August 2013 I have regressed. I have had a few innocent bumps to my head and after each incident I have plateaued at a lower level of functioning and greater level of cranial sensitivity than before.

In late spring/early summer 2013, when I "pushed myself", I would be able to achieve the same level of activity (or more) the next day. Since late summer 2013, pushing myself only makes things worse and all I can do is rest.

When I walk I feel the impact of my heels against the ground resonating in my head. I now wear basketball sneakers in my house to cushion the impact.

If I "miss a step" on the stairs, it will hurt terribly.

When I am in the car, bumps on the road hurt. Badly.

If I bump my head when I hug someone, the impact will echo throughout my head and hurt for a day and leave me in a worse-off state.

I have had to take a medical leave of absence from my Master's program because I cannot manage the commute (the train's rattling would trigger headaches and the overall academic work-load didn't allow me to cater to my symptoms when they arose due to deadlines).

Luckily I live with my Mom and I can rely on her to help with the mundane things (grocery shopping, house chores, etc.). I simply can't do any of this.

Has anyone been through a similar situation? How have you managed, and how have you gotten over it?

I have been through a gamut of tests with many doctors; Brain & spine MRI shows nothing, bloodwork is normal, etc. One neurologist says it's from the shearing force of the impact, another says I simply have tension headaches. They're guessing.

Are there any other tests I should pursue or diagnoses I should consider?

I go to physiotherapy once a week (he does osteopathic techniques, sacro-cranial therapy, etc.) - I get symptomatic relief in terms of headaches, but I can hardly walk around any better.

I eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and lean meat. Grain too. My diet is very healthy.

I need to get over this extreme cranial sensitivity. I realize that it will probably just take a long time, but I need to figure out how to best facilitate my recovery. Any help, advice, or discussion of similar situations would be much welcomed.

Warm regards,
Patrick