New Here, Hello!
 

Hi,

This is my 1st post. I have been lurking around for the past few weeks and finally thought I'd introduce myself.

My name is Patty and I was in a horseback riding accident on 8/9/2012. I have ridden horses for the past 38 years and have been teaching for the past 3 years and this is my first accident where I hit my head. I had just mounted my horse and within 30 seconds he spooked, started backing up quickly, he tripped and we both went down. I was wearing a helmet. I only remember him starting to back up, I do not remember falling. I remember bits and pieces in the the emergency room.

They did a CT and MRI and I had a subarachnoid hemorrhage. I was in the hospital for 4 days and then released.

My symptoms are:

brain fog
vertigo
balance problems
concentration problems
speech problems (finding words etc)
anger
anxiety
slight vision changes (colors changing,text size changing)
tingling
constant hand & feet movement - this happens all the time without my brain telling my fingers or toes to move, I hope this makes sense.

and the last two (that I remember at this time) are the most disturbing to me. I have gained about 15 lbs. I have been watching what I eat (except for today since it is my bday) and have been exercising daily, long walks and eliptical machine. I know that exercising causes my symptoms to be worse, but if I don't exercise then I get extremely anxious and I feel like I HAVE to exercise because I don't want to gain anymore weight. Oh, also, I quit smoking cigarettes the day of the accident.

The last symptom is not necessarily bad for me, but it is not normal. I used to get bad migraines before the accident. After the accident I noticed that I do not feel pain the same way, if at all. For the first few weeks I knew I had headaches by feeling the pulsating, but did not have any pain.

I also used to have bad neck and shoulder pain almost every day(which caused my headaches). That is totally gone. So other than the fogginess and dizziness that can come from walking too long, I do not feel muscle fatigue and I feel like I can just walk and walk and walk because my legs are almost numb like. I know this is not good for my symptoms. How concerned should I be about this lack of pain? Does anybody else have this problem?

Regarding the weight gain, I believe this is from quitting smoking and maybe there was some pituitary gland damage? I had hypothyroidism and on meds before the accident. My internist raised my meds just last week, I think just to appease me, but still no weight loss. Any ideas?

I have not driven a car since the accident. I have not been back to a Neurologist since the hospital, My internist doesn't think it is necessary, but I am now looking into finding one to get tested. Not sure what tests they are going to do at this stage, but I feel like I need answers.

Lastly, I know that a subarachnoid hemorrhage is pretty bad. Other than the brain bleeding, (mine stopped bleeding while still in the hospital) it seems like all the symptoms are the same as pcs. Am I missing something? Why do the drs say these are so much worse? Are my symptoms more apt to be permanent? Do I have a higher risk of another bleed? Any info would be helpful? My mother had a brain aneurysm at my exact age (46) and is now paralyzed and I guess I am a little freaked out and nervous for my future.

Sorry this is so long. I tried to put this in shorter paragraphs so it would be easier to read. I also have a problem with long paragraphs.

Thank you,

Patty

Patty,

Happy birthday.


Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear of the extent of your injury. Weight gain is not uncommon as we tend to be less active and sometimes need meds that cause weight gain. I doubt the increase in thyroid meds would make much of a change in only one week. Give it time.

Did your bleed appear to seal on its own? That should be a good sign.

Your symptoms sound like classic concussion symptoms. No way to tell if they are just from the bleed or the concussion too. It does not make much difference because you treat the symptoms, not the cause, except to keep the bleed from bleeding again.

There is nothing a neuro can do to test for concussion damage. Your neuro's only concern should be your bleed.

A head injury can mess up hormones and such. Many of us are into nutritional supplements to help our brains purge the toxins and strengthen. B-12 is the most important.

I can give you the whole list if you are interested. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, MSG and artificial sweeteners. Good meat protein is good for the amino acids and especially the essential fatty acids needed by your brain. Pork is the best for all of the amino acids needed.

Please feel free to post your needs and questions. I appreciate how you formatted your post with plenty of double spaces. It makes it so much easier to read when paragraphs are limited to 5 lines or so.

My best to you.

new here too!
 

Glad to find others like me. Suffered concussion in May 2011 in auto wreck. I developed light sensitivity and would suffer extreme fatique from overexposure to sunlight. Also developed vertigo early on, short term memory loss and a feeling that life was moving faster than I was moving. I had trouble with conversations to the point where I wouldnt talk to save embarrasment. I had problems with my peripheral vision while driving. Vehicles that would pass me scared me. Multi decision intersections caused large problems. I learned to stay away from busier streets. A couple of months later I developed a sensitivity to ambient noise and constant tinnitus. Living with 2 small children, barking dogs and the general hum of life drove me to the point where I would lash out at the ones I loved. I have no control of my fuse. That in turn drove me to become isolated from everyone. As the months went on watching TV and reading became more difficult. I could not remember what I had just read in the paragraph before. The TV seemed to shake or shudder. I had spells of Vertigo. 10 months into this I had a vertigo spell while holding my infant daughter. I fell and protected her but not myself. I suffered a 2nd concussion. Since then I spent months at a local outpatient PT/OT for Post Concussion Syndrome. I made progress visually but still have problems with light sensititivty. I was diagnosed with BPV a type of vertigo. I continue to have bad balance problems and a general lack of coordination. This has gone on for 17 months. 3 neurologists with a 4th appt soon, and my family doctor with little clues except for this will take time. I must mention that the pain meds Morphine and Percocets probably cause a little of the foggy feeling but no way are they the cause of the all symptoms. Currently I still suffer from all the previous mentioned symptoms in some capacity. I have had a headache continually for 17 months, pain in my eyes and a constant sick feeling. Lately I have brief sharp stabbing pains in my head. Some sort of trouble with the control my adrenaline. And even trouble remembering my little girls name. I fear that there is no turning this around. Anyone out there with suggestions where to go from here? Thanks for listening!

Thank you Mark for the information. I do not know if the bleed sealed on its own. My internist thought they may have given me steroids in the hospital. That is what he thought the weight gain was from in the beginning.

I wanted to go to the Neuro to have them test for balance problems, cognitive etc. I was going to apply for disability since I cannot work at this time. I thought having tests from the neuro would help.

I would love to have the list of supplements. I am not sure that I can afford them at this time. The diet that I follow to try to lose weight most of the time is the South Beach Diet. That is focused on high protein and low carbs. Not sure if it is the best diet for the brain or if I should have more carbs in the diet.

Gazoo, I totally understand what you are feeling especially about the feeling that life is moving faster than you are. I cannot believe it has been two months since the accident, I feel like I just got out of the hospital and cannot figure out what I have been doing for the past two months.

I also have the fear there is no turning this around. I feel like this is now part of me.

Hi Patty
 

Welcome to Neuro Talk. Sorry about your fall. I love riding too. I am 60 with other issues but I understand the PCS and some of the symptoms you have.

Others will be by to guide you also. You can and will get better. Many folks on this site improve, so have hope.

If anxiety is getting to be a bit much, go back to your neurologist, and write down all your questions OK? Write down all your current symptoms.

I believe the weight gain is from the stopping of smoking. this happens to most people who quit. good for you, just keep walking if you can and the weight will come off. It is worth the added pounds to get the habit out of your life! Don't stress about it, just get well and eat as healthy as you can.

I do know that PCS and any kind of bleed in the brain, takes time to recover from. I am glad the bleeding stopped in the hospital.

Try not to think about what happened to your mother. Remember just because our parents had something bad happen, that does not automatically doom you. You don't necessarly get what your parents had. Genetics is only one small part. You were healthy and riding when this accident occured. You can be healthy again.

Welcome again to Neuro Talk. You will find alot of friends and information here. ginnie:hug:

Hi there,
I am a nurse and deal with patients with subarachoid hemorrhages all the time. Number 1....Im a little disappointed they sent you home after only 4 days, because the most difficult days after a bleed are days 5-21 when your vessels begin to spasm (vasospasm) and can cause a lot of problems with decrease blood flow to the brain. Hopefully you were on the big white pills called Nimodipine for 3 weeks after your accident.

Also, did they do a Cerebral angiogram?? This is a test where they access your femoral artery (in your groin) thread a catheter up into the vessels in your neck and then inject contrast to illuminate the cerebral arteries to check for irregularities, including aneurysms. usually after someone has a subarachnoid hemorrhage, they do this procedure to see if they need to coil the artery that the bleed originated from. If your mother had an aneurysm, theres a chance with your genetics, you also have an aneursym and thats where you bled from when you had your impact. You said that it stopped on its own, so it makes me think the original location of the bleed has not been investigated or treated. This reason alone.....you MUST see a neurologist or neurointerventional doctor to have this procedure done to see if the neck of the aneurysm needs to be coiled so it doesnt have the chance to bleed again. You are definetly a high risk to bleed again.

If you live in Southern California, I can refer you to two amazing neuro-interventionalists that i work with daily at Scripps in La Jolla.

Ginnie - Thank you for the nice welcome and information!

Night nurse - I was a little surprised too that they let me out so quick I was not happy with the trauma doctor at the hospital. I felt like he was trying to send me home even earlier until I started throwing up on the 2nd night. I think he would have sent me home on the 3rd day if that didn't happen.

I was not on any meds that I know of other than pain meds and an iv in the hospital. I was not sent home with any meds other than pain also.

They did not do a cerebral angiogram either. Honestly, they didn't do much of anything once I was in the room other than feed me the 3rd and 4th day. :p I was on liquid diet the first two days.

No, the original location has not been investigated. The 1st CT on the night of the accident stated "the examination is notable for a zone of increased attenuation of the right parietal lobe in a curvilinear orientation along the sulci and this suggest the possibility of small subarachnoid hemorrhage"

2nd CT done the next day stated "Small amount of subarachnoid hemorrhage which appears less prominent on the new examination as compared to the previous examination over the right convexity."

The MRI also showed petechial hemorrhagic contusions. All of this is confusing to me. It doesn't state anywhere in the forms they gave me about any medication they may have used to stop the bleeding.

I did call the Concussion Institute in El Segundo, but when I spoke with my father and stepmother who would be driving me, they suggested finding someone closer. I am located in the San Fernando Valley. Do you know any good neuro-interventionalists in this area? La Jolla is quite a bit further and I don't know if I can get them to drive me.

Your primary care doctor should be able to refer you to someone who can do a cerebral angiogram. This can be done as an outpatient procedure. You would need to have nothing to eat after midnight. The procedure itself only takes an hour to hour and a half. But the recovery time is 6 hours because the pucture your femoral artery and you need to lay flat for 6 hours to make sure you dont bleed. They will give you moderate sedation, so you will be a little sleepy, but not knocked out.

Hi Patty,

Please be reassured that you are not alone. The bad news is this can be a bit of a long haul with new symptoms presenting on a daily basis. The good news is you will get all your answers and reassurance here!

I am so sorry that you suffered an accident along side a piece of life that I am sure you are passionate about ( horseriding). Typical hey. The fact you cannot ride for a while must be awful for you.

You were released too early from hospital as the nurse above explained. Please allow yourself some decent rest.

I know the whole weight gain thing is so annoying, but in the long hall you will lose it again. I gained 3 stone in 8 weeks after my accident, I have already lost 1!

Anyway this is about you.....take care, stay in touch. Mark knows everything, he will always advise you, he has studied our condition for yrs.

Thank you Nightnurse, I will be speaking with my dr. today. I'll see if he knows any neurologists in this area.

Peaches - Yes, I am really starting to realize the volatility of this head injury. In the past few weeks I had a few days where I actually felt clear, almost normal. But, I couldn't just leave it that way, I had to test it to see if I was really better. All I did was lay flat on my back and turn my head and whoosh, all the vertigo and fogginess came right back. And, I did the same thing yesterday when I felt clear. Geez, ya think I would learn to leave it alone and enjoy the clearness.

It has been very hard not riding. I have only been back to the barn once since the accident. I would like to get back on even if it is just walking.