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Member
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Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 214
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 214
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I feel like even without a freak-out I still get the pain. My mind certainly freaks out in a certain subdued way (i.e. I'm not having a visceral reaction, but my mind is still giong over the event, thinking about it, etc.), but even when that subsides (as I think is happening quicker and quicker the more "experience" I get with dealing with this) the pain remains. Eventually it disappears (sometimes takes longer than a week!) from these imagined places, or, if a possible bump happened in one of my constant headache areas, it goes back to normal.
I guess there's nothing else to do but try to ignore the negativity and cultivate more positive thoughts until it subsides. My experience with these near misses have led me to wonder if my constant head pain might be a much exaggerated form of imagined pain. I still have other symptoms (visual info processing difficulties, some fatigue, mild occasional diziness, etc) so it's not as though headaches are my only difficulty, but they're certainly my most salient symptom. I guess there's no way to know.
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26 year-old PhD student in evolutionary biology, slipped on ice in Feb 2014 while clipping my fingernails and walking to save time (dumbest reason for PCS ever?). Initially just had headaches and didn't feel quite right, but a minor head bump 5 days later started a downward spiral of anxiety, depression, insomnia and fatigue. Had trouble concentrating on reading/looking at screens
April 2014 - did exertion test, passed, started exercising and doing more, but didn't feel much better.
May 2014 - Went on backpacking trip OK'd by doctor, trip itself went fine, but felt worse a few days after getting back, more difficulty concentrating, worse headaches.
June 2014 - Bumped head on ceiling walking slowly down stairs, no immediate symptoms, but caused worsening headahces, more difficulty concentrating and looking at screens. Have not felt as good as I did before this since this bump.
December 2014 - after feeling relatively better I went xc skiing and fell but didn't hit my head (something my psychologist who specializes in brain injuries told me he hoped would happen so I saw it was OK), felt worse
Feb 2015 - back in grad school, light teaching load and some research, nowhere close to operating at my full capacity. Still have constant headaches, difficulty reading/looking at screens, mild anxiety and depression, and just not feeling like my normal sharp self.
Trying, but struggling, to believe that I'll get back to my old self, or at least get close.
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