[peopleschamp]

Alrighty, I have quite a lengthy story for you all and really need some help.


In late September, I suffered a concussion during one of my football games.
I continued to play the remainder of the first quarter (I was injured on the opening kickoff). I basically "woke up" on the sidelines and remebered absolutely nothing. I didn't know where I was or who we were playing. My friends told me that I basically walked of the field making strange waving motions with my hands. I told the coach I felt like I was floating and he sent me to the trainer over on the bench. They also told me while I was sitting there I asked the same obvious questions over and over and over again; "Did I play good? Did I start? Did I make any tackles?" They also said I had an astonished look on my face as such = haha.

Anyways, at halftime they took me to the hospital. There I recieved a CT scan which came back negative and I went home to sleep for the night.

The next morning I went to the Sports Medicine Clinic nearby the town. I met a doctor who told me he had talked with me Friday night on the sidelines. I, however, dont even remeber ever seeing this guy! He tells me I have a grade 3 concussion. He said that I would need to sit out abit and take it easy.

After only a short week of resting, I returned to practice the next week for Monday's practice. I had passed all the impact tests and did physical activities with no symptoms. The entire week I had no headaches, no dizziness, no sickness, nothing.

So I practice for two days and the next wednesday in school was when it all started. I was sitting in 4th period and all of a suddent BAM. I feel really dizzy and I know where I am but I really dont. I feel like I'm going to faint. This experience lasted a HORRIBLE five minutes and then I finally asked to go to the nurse's office. When I got downstairs, I was terribly worried and felt as though I was fading away from everything: my surroundings, my conciousness, my life. I felt like I was going to die.
They called my parents and I was sent home for the day. I missed school the following day and then went our game that friday. I played two more weeks all the while feeling EXREME anxiety (which I have come to find closely resembles depersonalization) and then couldn't take it anymore. I had to see a doctor, who informed me of Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS). He told me to sit out the remaining two games of the season and I would probably be ready for basketball.

So...

I sat out those two weeks and then went to basketball the week after the end of the season. During my first week of basketball, we had a scrimmage during which I almost blacked out and had the same feeling of not knowing "what was going on" or "reality". So I went to the doctor and he recommended I sit out untill these symptomes resolved.





I finally returned to basketball in early January. My sypmtoms had not gone away though. The doc put me on Prozac to treat my unbearable DP and Depression.


Now I need help. I have seen a Neurologist twice, and family doctor three times, and I am currently seeing a counciler. My headcase has become an overbearing thought. Literally 24/7 I think about it and am constantly thinking about what I'm thinking about (Hope that makes sense ) I had a horrible time sleeping at nights and couldn't fal asleep w/o the television. Everytime I tried to w/o it, I would feel like I was goning to die. I dont have physical symptoms like headaches, etc. In fact, I never had the PCS headaches, though my grades have plummted horribly and I cannot enjoy anything because I cannot get the feeling that I dont "feel right" or that something is wrong with me out of my head. Its been 5+ months now; is this perminent?? I need help. Even though I wrote all this, words cannot the strange feelings I get such as unreality and that my mind will eventually fizzle and be unfunctional. How have I possibly made it this far?? Everyday for 2 hrs or so I come home on my Laptop and search the web vigorously for PCS symptoms and wish to find someone with similar feelings. I have been reasured time and time again that recovery for me looks good but I can't seem to fathem being NORMAL again. I have found some sites advertising products such as "Concutab" and "Cosotin" which "completely heal" PCS. Do they work?? Prozac hasnt helped much. I have been contemplating suicide for so long and need this obsession out of my head...PLEASE HELP

Thanks so much for listening to me....I needed to vent

[Chemar]

peopleschamp

I am so sorry to hear of what you are experiencing

Good that you have found NeuroTalk for support and caring, but also because we have many members with experience and knowledge on so many things....I am sure someone will have specific input for you here soon

In the meantime, do take a look around all the other forums here too, and post some more so that other members can also get to know you and maybe have some input for you with regard to your condition

[Alffe]

Welcome Peopleschamp, I'm no dr. but you almost sound like you are having panic attacks...maybe PTS from your first concussion experience?

I'm so sorry you are going through this...it must be very frightening! This is a good place to ask your questions. I hope you will soon get some answers.

[mrsD]

While it is very hard to respond to your questions in this format, I do have
an observation for you.

It appears that the Prozac you are taking is agitating you. You need to discuss this with your doctor and perhaps taper off to see if you feel better now without it. If you have been on it for several weeks, you will need a careful taper schedule to remove it. Doctors sometimes ADD another drug, and I don't agree with that in all cases. If a drug is not working well for you, it is time to
discuss a change. Going off by yourself cold turkey is not advisable as Prozac affects many systems in your body, and a sudden withdrawal can be very unpleasant.

I have not had experience with the products you posted. The first one, is just calcium/magnesium/zinc. Magnesium in general is a good mineral to take, for athletes, and others who do not eat whole foods and/or use caffeine in excess or have other medical treatments (diuretics) that deplete it. Since you are athletic, did your coaches have you take supplements then?
There is a magnesium thread here in the Vitamin forum:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=1138

Are you under 18? If so decisions for you are your parents' responsibility.
So you need to keep them in the loop.

[Cathy]

Please be very patient with yourself. I am not a doctor but when one of my daughters, lost her her best friend from cancer she started having the most horrible panic attacks I've ever seen to date. Her whole body froze - even her lips. She got so bad she didn't want to go out of the house and I was her 'safe place'. Do you seem to have one of those; a person or place that is the only place you feel safe? It seems that an onslaught of panic attacks can come from any one (or several) events that you understand or have trouble coming to terms with. In your case it sounds like because you don't really remember what that night was all about, any symptom can become large. And yes, I've heard others say they feel like they are going to die. And because it happened in an athletic setting, any other athletic setting might cause the same feelings.

My daughter found Zoloft and Xanax to help very much. The problem was in time she seemed to depend on them; they became her safety. She did get off them from sheer will and was fine for a number of years. She may need them again now but she is seeing a doctor first. She went also to counseling and she and I did A LOT of talking. First, I think some doctor needs to diagnose your condition very carefully. Do you have someone you can count on to listen no matter when or how often you need?

You can get better - I think it's the not knowing that is the most difficult. I hope and pray you get an answer quickly. I do agree with mrsd that the prozac may not be the correct medication for you; just an observation too.

Please take care,
Cathy

[sussieque]

Peopleschamp,

My daughter was involved in a serious car accident several years ago. She suffered a concussion amongst other injuries. After she recovered from her other injuries she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She had a lot of your same symptoms, lose of short term memory, thoughts of death, fear, panic attacks you name it. She was seen by several doctors, most wanting to put her on drugs. She finally went to a pychologist who preformed a treatment, called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR. EMDR was first used with patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but it's now being offered for problems ranging from panic attacks to the effects of depression, addiction, and low self-esteem.

EMDR was the only thing that actually helped her. I can not tell you how it works, I am not a doctor and I was not in the sessions with her. From what I understand you relive the accident (or whatever is a cause) and our able to release it's hold on you, somehow.

This treatment may be something you want to research and see if it would work for you. It certainly did for my daughter, she was fine once she completed her treatments and remains fine to this day.

Best of Luck and please don't give up, things will get better.

Sue

[peopleschamp]

Thanks everyone for your responses...


The Prozac was terrible the first week I took it but it has seemed to calm down abit.

Here are some other symptoms I have that I didn't mention previously:

1. Extreme fatigue all day (tired fatigue, not muscle fatigue)
2. I get extremely emotional and cry when I discuss my symptoms with a doctor.
3. I dream every night (not nightmares, but dreams)
4. I find it near impossible to remove myself from bed in the mornings
5. I am an avid young bodybuilder and seemed to develope an OCD with body hair..I hate it (weird, i know haha)
6. I fear these are permenant
7. It doesn't seem like there is anything wrong with me that I can accurately describe as physical and tangible.



This part is for Sue,

Thank you especially for your imput. I will look into that for certian. I had done research before and found VERY similar symptoms of PTSD and what I feel. I dont really know if that is it, however, because the injury was painless and I had been fine for the first week after it.




Thanks again to everyone...Any other help??

[sussieque]

peopleschamp,

Like I said before I am not a doctor, but I do know that what may cause all these symptoms does not need to start immediately after the incident. PTSD is not physical or tangible, so don't try to find a physical thing to point it to.

Your additional list is so typical of PTSD, my daughter had them all. She expericed horrible nightmares though, but the accident she was in was near fatal for her boyfriend at that time. She had nightmares about it and about all of us being killed in various ways, just really frightening things for her to go through. But, the important thing to remember is she did make it through and is fine today.

You take care, find someone you feel comfortable confiding your thoughts with and get the professional help that works for you. If you want to come here to vent, I'll listen, but remember I am NOT a doctor, I can only speak from my experience with my daughter.

I'll keep you in my prayers,

Sue

[yannimac]

Are you still lifting weights or running? I had a concussion 3 months ago and I am still feeling mild symptoms including light-headedness and nausea. I would stop lifting weights and exercising for a while if I was you. I felt really bad for 2 weeks after my concussion and then started feeling better. I decided to start lifting weights and exercising again 3 or 4 weeks after since I was feeling close to normal. I lifted hard for about 2 weeks. The symptoms slowly started to come back. I would feel light-headed after workout, then I started feeling like that all day long. So I quit working out again. Symptoms started going away. Felt ok after 3 weeks, then I started exercising again. First cardio on the bike which didnt really bother me, then I started lifting hard. Here come the symptoms again. After that, I decided its time to stop. What do you know, I start feeling better again. I have decided to take it easy until I feel normal for a month or 2. Then I will gradually start exercising again. I am sure thats not something you want to hear, seeing as how you are an athlete, but I really think you should take it easy for a few months and see what happens. Running is probably pretty bad for a concussion too. The brain is moving around in there every time you make impact with the ground - I don't think this can be good for a brain that is not fully healed.

Sounds like you are stressing yourself out and thinking about it too much. Stress is also going to slow your recovery. You are going to get better. Just take it easy and stop worrying yourself. Some people take 6 months to a year to feel normal after PCS.

Thats my 2 cents - I am not a doctor, but I have had 2 concussions and read alot about PCS.

[Nancy F]

My son 2 weeks ago was diagnosed with PCS, so I understand the syndrome can have a large realm of symptoms as you are describing. The lack of support for it does not help. The last thing you want to hear is that there is nothing wrong with you. You have a brain injury and it is manifesting itself with some personality and mood changes. You still are healing and although it probably seems like it has been forever need more time. It may be good for you to find something else that you can have success with as a distraction other than sports, until you can go back to it. I feel for you and hope you will start to enjoy life again. You are being challenged, hang in there. Stay in touch with other PCP people to track progress. All the media attention lately will help.