Thank you!
My most recent 'major' was in May '19 (5 months), from which the dizziness and vision stemmed and have never improved. Other symptoms such as headache, fatigue, cognitive from the 'milder' events (Nov '18 and Mar '19) have steadily decreased almost disapearing and seem to be impacted mostly by vision items. The headache seems to be connected to the cervical area ... are those still migraines, or other?
A couple minor bumps/events seem to be more escalating for a week or two, only.
I'll take a look at the book.
I'm finding it difficult to find physicians who can help me understand this.
Thanks for the info on vision & vestibular lingering, the book, and sharing your experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BurritoWarrier
Hello!
How "inconsequential" were your most recent "bumps?" After an initial concussion, I had 5 instances of symptom recurrence from minor bumps/jolts to the body (like tripping and falling w/o hitting my head, etc.).
After 3 years of confusion about what was happening to me, I pursued a variety of second opinions. A leading concussion doctor (consults for the NFL, NHL, NBA, etc.) told me that when patients present symptoms as if there were having a whole new concussion (without nearly enough force to actually cause one), it's almost certainly a "migraine episode", as the symptoms can be very similar, but the pathology that triggers them is different from concussion and is triggered by sensory inputs--not stretching of the cells in the brain.
Mine are triggered by sudden movements (like falling and stopping suddenly), but a hit to the head can also be a trigger.
I don't have headache in the tradition way that you would think someone with migraine would experience headache, so I was very skeptical of this diagnosis, but migraine is a much broader disorder than people realize. It can cause pain, fatigue, and a huge variety of sensory sensitivities and disturbances with or without "headache".
When patients have vestibular (and, in turn) visual symptoms, it seems that it's common for these symptoms to linger beyond the acute phase of an episode (this is the case with me).
I am not saying this is for sure what you have, just presenting it as an option, given that you have been experiencing "concussions" from "inconsequential" events.
Reading the book "Heal your Headache" (hokey title, but actually written by a famous migraine doctor who practiced for many decades at Johns Hopkins) was what finally made me comfortable with the diagnosis. My symptoms fit so well.
If you DO, in fact, have migraine, preventative meds can help. From what I understand, they work by raising the trigger threshold so that these small bumps do not cause an episode, which, in turn, allows the rest of your symptoms to resolve.
Best of luck to you!
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