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Old 02-03-2018, 08:50 PM
BenW BenW is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 216
5 yr Member
BenW BenW is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 216
5 yr Member
Default Everyday impacts

Hi, new member here with an introduction and question (sorry if i have any grammar mistakes, english is my second language)

First off, Ive been dealing with pcs for several months now starting after my last diagnosed concussion in the summer 2017. I had to take a medical leave of absence from my college last semester because i was having bad physical symptoms as well as severe psychological issues(anxiety, depression, derealization) and the effort involved from school and part time job was making everything much worse.

I took the time off to recover and tried to do everything the doctors recommended (resting, light excercise, light socialization, mild activities, healthy diet etc) and my physical symptoms improved somewhat but the mental issues only got worse and that made it very difficult to properly assess my recovery as the psychological/cognitve stuff was kinda clouding evrything if that makes sense as it could be hard to tell what symotomes were caused by anxiety and what was from actual pcs(also because of a lot of brain fog which my docotor thinks is from anxiety). My physical symptoms were headaches, nausea(mostly motion sickness type feeling), very bad sleep issues, neck tension and strain, dizziness and maybe some other stuff but cant remember. These all seemed to improve quite a bit and aren’t very noticable day to day unless im really stressed or tired.

The doctor eventually said it would be ok for me to go back to school so since three weeks ago ( bginning of new semester) ive been back at my college but on a reduced course load to not put too much stress on my brain. Since ive been back my depression has been a lot better and ive been feeling happier in general but in the last couple months i have developped a new very debilitating and anxiety inducing symptom. This symptom is head sensitivity.

My head feels very sensitive to stuff like walking(the impact of stepping too hard or missing a step causes pain in my head), driving on bumby roads or bumby train ride(when its really bumby its like i can feel my brain rattle around inside my head) and even tiny things like someone sitting down next to me on the couch or walking by me on a wood floor(i can feel the vibrations in my head). Im also sensitive to mild head impacts like hugs with head contact, my girlfriend accidentally elbowing me or kissing me bit too hard and that kinda thing(i do everything i can to avoid it though).

These impacts dont seem to really worsen my condition per say but they can cause temporary pain and nausea which leads to anxiety attacks because i will worry that ive caused myself more brain damage. This feedback loop just makes me feel even more foggy and makes everything worse. Ive had doctors tell my that these things could not possibly cause damage to my brain and that its most likely health anxiety and maybe a neck issue but i just wanted to get the opinion and experience from people on this forum.

My daily routine of going to school involves quite a bit of walking, taking the metro train to and from school (the train sometimes shakes a lot and turns, brakes/accelerates pretty abruptely), i guess the occasional mild, unavoidable bumb and the head jerking caused from sneezing, jolting my head from being startled, shaking a bit from tense muscles, etc. The effects of these things on my sensitive head would be manageable if only i didnt have a huge amount of anxiety and fear surrounding them. Ive convinced myself that everyday im accumulating some damage to my brain that will eventually contribute to cte or something like that in the future.

I dont really know what to do cause doctors dont take me seriously or say they cant help me cause they dont know whats causing this problem and i need to just not focus on it. Im kind of stuck because i dont want to make myslef worse but also cant miss any more school. I guess im asking if anyone can either offer me some information on this sensitivity or at least some reassurance that they are not damaging my brain so that i dont have to focus on it as much.

I should also mention that after a long day with a lot of sensitivity i will experience a soreness feeling around the top and back of my head.
Thanks a lot to anyone who takes the time to read this and sorry if its not too long or not appropriate for this forum(idk im new).
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