Originally Posted by mothbox

In my searching for an answer and some form of security that I will get better I thought it won't be a bad idea to share my story and see if anyone can relate, has experienced it, or can provide any guidance.


The Accident:

Just over 4 months ago I came off my mountain bike and fell around 2 meter (head to ground), taking the full impact on my head, breaking my helmet, and going unconscious for between 30 seconds and 1 minute.

There was no broken bones and the only source of blood was from surface wounds caused by my sunglasses digging into my skin.

I had a few hours of amnesia and was taken to hospital from the scene where scans were done and I was kept for a couple of days.


A Few Days After:

Over this period I was in a dream like state which reduced significantly over the days that followed and I returned to work on reduced duties after 5 days.

The condition I was in felt much like a drunk / high sensation minus the buzz - a detachment from reality. This faded over the weeks but not completely. The feeling is a dreamy element to my conscious state. A feeling of not being entirely present. This effects short term memory and ability to think in detail without some time to sit down and think the problem through. I've associated this with what’s termed "brain fog" in many discussions but I'm not entirely sure if it is the same thing. Depersonalisation is another term which roughly fits my feeling.

I'm an engineer and found myself mentally drained very quickly. I found it difficult to remember, retain, basically difficulty doing anything complex. Tiredness was mental. I wasn't tired during the day but felt I needed to sleep earlier than usual, sleeping for 10 hours a night in general with no memory of dreams in the morning. It felt like extremely deep sleep. Tiredness increased the dreamy reality feeling.


1 Month After:

At this point in time I felt like my condition had stabilised overall. I had begun to remember dreams on waking but they always felt intense. The sense of not being entirely present remained.


2 Months After:

The neurologist determined at this stage I was on the path to recovery without any signs of permanent long term damage.


4 Months After:

Entering the fourth month since the accident I feel like my mental recovery has flat lined. The sense of a dreamy reality remained - not being entirely present in my conscious state. It doesn't feel like I'm dreaming, it just feels different to how I felt before. The terms I’ve found to best describe it is depersonalisation.


Future:

I hope that the depersonalisation is related to the effects of the concussion and will reduce over time. Obviously with no real information on this condition I’m unable to know for sure and in that lies a worry that I will need to live like this in the long term or that it will detreated and get worse, ultimately leading to a condition such as dementia.