I am a 22-year-old male and I live in New Jersey. I would like to consider myself a healthy person – I’ve always focused on fitness and nutrition. I don’t drink alcohol/caffeine and I don’t do drugs. Unfortunately, I have had 5 mild

concussions spread out over the past 5 years from non-contact sports and other unlucky accidents/idiot friends. I was never knocked out or unconscious. I suffered from months of PCS after each incident, some longer than others…but I

did always eventually recover. After the 4th concussion, I decided to retire from sports and give up other dangerous or symptom-triggering activities, such as going to loud clubs/bars, going on rides, etc. I am content with living my life a

little differently to save myself from another injury and subsequent long-term suffering. Although, I have always been a very active person and fitness is one of my passions so I did not want to give that up. After the 4th one, I pushed

through a year of constant debilitating headaches and still managed to graduate from college with a Finance degree academically ranked #1 in my class of 800+. The most recent accident happened ~6 months ago in October-17, just as I

was finally recovering from the previous concussion, when I was doing sit-ups on the carpeted gym floor and accidentally fell back too fast and bumped the back of my head against the floor. I tried to shake it off and even finished my

workout, telling myself that there’s no way I got another concussion from that. But when the concussed feeling (that I was very familiar with) didn’t go away, I instantly started to have anxiety and panic. I could not go through another

year or more of constant headaches. I am in the first year of my new job, and I am motivated to work hard and give my best impression. I take pride in my work ethic and determination but I was suffering a lot, and I reluctantly was

forced to take a 6-week medical leave after I ran out of sick days. 6 months later, I feel as though I haven’t made that much progress at all.


Here are my current symptoms with some description:

Chronic Headaches/Migraines – Head feels full of pressure, tight band around my head, heaviness, squeezing feeling, headache can move all around but is mainly on the sides and front of head

Chronic Dizziness/Lightheaded/Nausea/Vision Issues – I have 20/20 vision, but my vision feels off, fuzzy, like I see standard definition, not as sharp as it used to be, and my eyes feel like they aren’t focusing properly, sometimes I feel off-balance. I've had my eyes/vision checked and they are fine...I think this is a secondary issue to something else, but it is still extremely uncomfortable to feel this way 24/7.

Anxiety About Moving/Touching/Bumping Head – I am extremely fearful because I barely bumped my head on the floor and now I just don’t know if I am that vulnerable to another injury, setback or concussion. On top of the physical pain, my head has been super sensitive to the slightest movement or touch. My brain feels loose in my head like its rattling around every time I move, so I usually try to hold my neck still.


Here are some examples of things that I worry about daily:

-Hitting head in sleep/Falling asleep in a vehicle - I am concerned if I fall asleep in a vehicle that a hard brake or pot hole would throw my head into the window or seat. I also surround my head in pillows when I sleep every night.

-I must be very careful every time I get in and out of the car not to bump my head on the door frame.

-Going over bumpy roads in the car makes my symptoms worse.

-Moving my head too fast to look or turn makes me dizzy so I always move my body very slowly and gently.

-Getting Haircuts, Washing/Drying Hair & Face, Running/Jumping, Hugs & Kisses, Flossing/Brushing/Shaving – Since my head just feels so vulnerable now, I worry about these things leading to another head injury or setback if done too roughly.


These may sound silly to an outsider but for me, they are all real fears, and greatly interfere with my life on top of the physical pain. I had an MRI which was normal. I have seen multiple neurologists, ENT, optometrist, neuro

ophthalmologist, and an acupuncturist. I am currently going for Biofeedback therapy, but it has only been 1 session so I can’t say whether it has helped. I am hesitant about seeing a chiropractor as I don’t want my neck adjusted too fast.

I have tried vestibular therapy and vision therapy. Over-the-counter medicine doesn’t help. I have been on 30mg of amitriptyline for a few months but we have since raised the dosage to 50mg this week. Nothing has helped me. The

healing process has been extremely slow since the start, and lying in bed everyday was not helping, so I returned to work and have been working full time for 3 months now. I have a lot of ups and downs, but I am not sure if things are

moving in the right direction. The past 6 months have been the worst 6 months of my life by far. Since bumping my head, I have been suffering from constant headaches and dizziness every moment of every day – it has been a

nightmare. I have cried more over the past 6 months than the last 10 years of my life combined, and I have felt more depressed, anxious, angry and frustrated than ever because of the constant pain and not being able to live a normal

life. My parents and my girlfriend, and even my coworkers have been very supportive throughout. Although, as I am sure many of you on this forum have experienced, it is tough for anyone to understand what I am going through and

that just adds to the frustration. I just want to get my life back and be able to spend quality time with people that are important to me. I am tired of taking medicine that doesn’t help and seeing different doctors every week and not

making any progress. Here are some outstanding questions that I have...any answers, advice or other recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much! 😊


-Is it possible that bumping my head from doing sit-ups caused a concussion? Or is this just a relapse/setback since I never fully recovered from my previous one? It just doesn’t make sense to me how this small of a bump would cause this much misery, and now I have to constantly worry about protecting my head from everything.

-I have been recommended to try Topamax or Botox Injections, but am hesitant to try with side effects…does anyone have experience or opinions on these options?

-I don’t have any neck pain, but is it possible that the problem is stemming from my neck? Also, would I benefit from going for more vestibular therapy or an upper neck/sub occipital massage?

-Will my symptoms eventually get better with time? I am scared that the state I am in might be permanent since I’ve had a history of concussions (although they were all mild injuries).