Extreme Head Sensitivity
 

I am 17 years old and live in Austin, Texas. My story starts last April 25, 2012 when I received my 5th concussion playing football. All 5 of these concussions happened over 3 years and were very minor, I never lost consciousness and gave each one time to heal. That last one on April 25, however, gave me a headache that lasted for a year.

That headache has just recently gone away, praise the Lord, but it has been replaced by a far worse symptom. After that last concussion from football I gave up football but still stuck with baseball, which was going fine until I got hit lightly on the head with an underhand toss. This normally should not have caused any harm, but because of my acquired vulnerability from previous concussions I believe it gave me another concussion.

That hit happened mid February of this year, about 10 months after my previous concussion from football. Since I got hit with that baseball I have not been able to run or do anything active, because if I do I feel like my brain shakes around in my head.

This sensitivity has gotten so bad I can't ride in cars because of the bumps in the road, can't go out with friends, and can hardly walk because the vibrations are sent up to my head and it feels like I can feel my brain shake.

If I lightly bump my head or have it shake one day, I will feel very bad for about 3 days, headaches, drowsnines, all that, but I will feel pretty good again after 3 or four days of rest.

It is also weird because this shaking of my brain I feel usually happens on the top part of my head, where I have never received a concussion or been hit with anything, all of my concussion have been on the front of my head.

It does not seem logical that I could suddenly go from be able to do so much to not being able to run from a light hit from a baseball. Please let me know if you have any insight as to what is causing this and what I can do to help it heal. Could it have anything to do with the cerebrospinal fluid in my head?

My life has been completely put on hold and I am desperately looking for help and will do anything to get better. I have given up contact sports altogether and am currently completely resting myself. I just want to have my life back and be able to do the simple things in life-drive places, go out with friends, and even play golf. Please let me know if you share a similar situation or have any advice or help. Thanks so much and best of luck with your own PCS situation.

Dan,

It sounds like you have a good idea of the triggers (level of impact or shaking) and what to do after. You may never find the actual cause/injury. That does not mean you can't stop these relapses. Learn new behaviors to limit these impacts and shaking events. It may take some time to develop a tolerance for head movement. It took me quite some time.

I have to be careful riding in cars. I have explained the techniques I use to limit the shaking. We actually test drove cars over railroad tracks and other bumps to see how I responded to the bumps.

I have a horrible time with speed bumps even at a slow speed.

Try to keep track of the situations where you are exposed to bumps and shaking. Post them and I will comment about any things I do to limit the impact on my brain.

My best to you.

head sensitivity
 

Hi Dan,

it is very possible that the extreme sensitivity on top of your head giving you the sensation that your brain shakes , is actually coming from your neck.

Indeed he first two upper vertebrae (C1-C2)are often involved in post concussion syndrome mimicking /adding to the actual symptoms of head injury -often giving headaches and even vertigo.

Do a Google research "occipital neuralgia" you might recognise your symtoms.

An experienced, careful chiropractor would be able to evaluate and treat you with this condition.

Do not despair. There is always a solution.
Pepa

"An experienced, careful chiropractor would be able to evaluate and treat you with this condition." is a gross understatement. Most 'run of the mill' chiros will be too aggressive with C-1, C-2.

It helps to be willing to shop around for the chiro who is experienced and careful. They are very rare but worth the effort to find.

Most chiros focus on Wellness and the money train it provides. The few chiros who can adequately treat a specific injury like upper cervical get lost in the crowd.

Treatment alone will not resolve this instability. You need to do extensive self-care and disciplined behavior modification while this instability heals and strengthens. No quick fix here.

I have the exact same problem after several concussions. I never hug anyone. If they slightly "bump" my head when our cheeks meet, I get concussion symptoms for about a week. Then I feel fine again. The same happens if I drive on very bumpy roads. Be careful and just accept that you are very sensitive. You'll learn to live with it.

Thanks Pepa, I researched occipital neuralgia and some of the symptoms do ring a bell, I did not find a whole lot on the sensitivity to movement though.

I really appreciate you pointing me in that direction as well as your encouragement. Like you, I believe there is always a solution.

Thanks for the advice Mark, I will be sure to continue to be careful with my movements to protect my head while I search for a solution. I understand that multiple concussions lead to increased sensitivity to movement but I also believe there is another cause of what I am feeling.

After doing some research I found a few videos on patients who had PCS for quite a while and had cranial adjustments done and become completely symptom free. After looking further into this, I read that if one of the 22 bones in the head are set off track through head trauma, they can lead to increased pressure and reduce blood and cerebrospinal fluid flow.

I then noticed that there is a noticeable dent on the top of my head where two of the major bones meet, also right where I get the weird feeling and where I most commonly feel my brain "vibrate".

Anyway just wanted to share that with you, I dont know if you have looked into that for yourself or have heard of it.

Girl from Norway, I am very sorry to hear you are going through the same thing. How long have you been this way?

Since 2008. It has been a lot better over the years (I'm not that sensitive anymore) but I still have to be very careful.

Hey since you guys haven't posted on this thread in a year I was wondering whether or not you all healed from this extreme sensitivity and no longer experience. I am experiencing the exact same thing that you described. Thanks.

**
 

Check out this post concussedGuy

I'm trying to find out more about this because I'm struggling with this problem. I'll explain my story when I have more time.

Sorry the link didn't show. The thread is called Sensitive to jolting? I just started my own thread, which I'd encourage you to read. It explains my situation and what's helped me.

Healing Story
 

Concussedguy,

I am very sorry to hear you are suffering form the extreme head sensitivity. How long have you had it?

I am much, much better than I was 6 months ago when I started this thread. 6 moths ago I could hardly walk or ride in cars without feeling my brain shake inside my head and now I can run and jump without a problem.

This success has not come easy though, you have to be very careful not to hit your head during your time of healing. I had to become obsessed with protecting my head and not letting anything hit it.

Here is how I was healed: This is probably going to sound crazy, but I have been on a strict diet of eating only lean meats, fruits, and vegetables (basically a more extreme version of the Paleo diet) for 5 months now. I saw a nuero chiropractor out of Dallas, Texas who put me on the diet along with some supplements. THE DIET HAS COMPLETELY SAVED MY LIFE.

Please don't discard the diet as an option because it sounds too difficult or irrelevant to your situation; I thought the same thing at first too. Basically, the diet reduces all the swelling and inflammation in the brain and allows it to fully heal.

I strongly encourage you to buy in and give the diet a shot, just a few months and you will be on the outside looking back in on your situation, just as I am. If you have interest or any questions please ask, I am more than happy to help.

Best of luck

Thanks for the advice dan, I have started on the diet and am taking anti inflammatory supplements and my head sensitivity has started to decrease. I appreciate it man

Dear Dan,

I'm currently going through exactly what you described. It's debilitating and emotionally very strenuous.

I just made a new thread about 'Cranial Sensitivity (Post-Trauma) before I found your thread.

I'm curious - when you started to recover, was it very gradual? How did you find yourself able to walk around more without the sensitivity?

How did you balance between trying to push yourself and catering to the symptoms? I try to do a bit of mild cardio exercise on a stationary bicycle but after a few days it triggers too many symptoms.

Glad to hear you've gotten past your problems - it helps me think I'll eventually get past this.

Hi concussedguy,

I am not one of the people from the original thread, but I did have this symptom, really badly, to the extent that I had to wear very cushioned running shoes just to walk down the street because wearing shoes with normal soles meant that each step was too much of a jolt.

You'll be pleased to know that I substantially recovered to the extent that I can live a normal life without thinking about it (though I have to be careful and wouldn't be able to do a contact sport or something particularly jolting like that). It was one of the last symptoms of my PCS to disappear.

I am a health professional and I researched extensively to find any reference to this very disabling symptom in the health research literature - I didn't find anything much, just a few references to people being more susceptible to future concussions once they have had a few.

But as I say, I pretty much recovered from it, best wishes for your own recovery :)

Hey Dan
 

Did you go to carrick brain center? What all symptoms did you have and how are u doing now?

I am wondering if anyone has or had this problem of sensitive head and whether they were able to overcome it

Hey Patrick, how are you doing now, a year later?
 

Hi Patrick

I'm 1 year post-concussion and off and on I experience the same symptoms you were describing.

I'll be diligent for months, start to feel almost normal again, then the slightest bump or fast shake of my head will set me back again.

It has been a year since your post, just wondering if you have fully recovered and HOW you went about it??

Any advice/suggestions?

Thanks!

chicagohead,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Patrick has not been around in over a year.

Most of us have learned to not shake our heads. Please feel free to introduce yourself and tell us how we can help.

Personally, I always thought that this head sensitivity is a psychological factor, meaning that your mind reacts very anxious to any movement of the brain. But after I got rid of this anxiety, i still experience that I can feel some faster movements, without worrying about it. So I would expect that there is indeed a physical influence as well on the nerves in the brain, that causes this feelings. Unless no one is able to look inside, one cannot really tell where this comes from.

I know what you mean...
 

Im going through the exact same thing. I'm 23 years old and my life has been on hold for almost a year now with this being the major symptom... I don't know what to do.

Reading through this thread makes my consider wether it could be really the neck that is responsible for my symptoms. Since a rough bus ride 2 days ago my condition has extremely worsened. My main symptom is debilitating headache, meaning that I only start to feel something when I strained my brain too much. Does this also speak for a neck issue?

the other symptoms are slurred speech, tiredness, sleeping issues(including a bad twitching problem) dizziness, light and sound sensitivity, and extreme head sensitivity.

I haven't checked my neck yet, as the concussion was caused by a tennis ball that hit me on the forehead. Never thought that something like this can displace a vertebra.

I also get sleep starts(hypnic jerks) on and off. Its like my leg, shoulder or my head would jerk/twitch just when I am falling asleep. Do you also have the same thing ? It all started after about 10 months after my concussion and after I took dimenhydrinate and cinnarizine tablets for my vertigo. So I doubt if this problem is because of my concussion. I hope it goes away it's so scary!

I have all forms of twitches you could imagine. Even my jaw twitches, what makes my teeth bite together. I experience this since the second week after my concussion.

I first really noticed this feeling of sensitivity when I was in the passenger seat of my girlfriend's car. She was driving me to a neurology appointment so it was pretty much necessary to go. The car doesn't have the best suspension/shocks. We live in New Hampshire and this winter has been horrible with snow and ice. There are a lot of holes and bumps on the roads.

I realized if you wear earplugs you can notice certain actions that shake the head and in turn cause symptoms. Obviously driving in a car, or a bus ride is unavoidable in order to live one's life, but I was surprised to find that my boots were causing a lot of bumping and even just my regular walk on the tile floor in my kitchen was too. Since then, I have tried to take softer steps and it seems to be helping. Still, it is quite disconcerting to think that this is how sensitive my brain will be for the rest of my life. I guess that means no more basketball for me!

Danny, I am so sorry for your troubles. Have you taken any doctors opinion about this ? When did you have concussion ? What are your symptoms and what medications are you on ?

Thanks Galaxy. I am sure my symptoms are less severe than most on here, but they still are quite debilitating.

I've seen several doctors including a neurologist I'm currently under the care of. They all say the same thing pretty much - give yourself cognitive and physical rest. Then, they tell you 3 months, and raise that to 6 months. That's where I'm at.
I have tried to do that as much as I can but I am currently a Chemical Engineering Student at college.

First concussion that produced symptoms was on 10/2/2014
I have taken amitriptyline for insomnia and headaches but discontinued that because of nasty side effects.
I take lorazepam (up to 2mg/day) for anxiety and occassionally Lunesta for insomnia. I was prescribed these for conditions I had prior to the concussion. Unfortunately, both diagnosed conditions have gotten a lot worse.

Thanks for your interest. What about you? What symptoms are you dealing with? Any things you have found to help? When was your concussion?

You can see more about my story in this thread:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread213768.html

DannyT, your story is almost a copy of mine.

I suffered the first concussion on 30th september. I was fully recovered in the last days of october. The second concussion happened on 21st of November.
I also didn't notice it at the first moment. The next morning was the point when I realized what happened. Since that day I am not able to do anything. No TV, no smartphone, no reading, and very little computer time.

I am also a student at university(like you). I took complete rest for the whole semester, hoping that I will be fully recovered when the next semester starts.

So that driving incident throws me definately back, I can't estimate how far(3 days passed and no real improvement). How did the situation develop in your case, after you had this rough car ride?

Hey Griffin,

It seems there are a lot of us students going through this horrible phase.

The car ride was on Wednesday and I seem to be slowly improving since then, so I can't say it has had too much of an effect. I still can't watch TV or have long conversations, but my headaches have improved since resting. I have not been to class since then and am planning on withdrawing for health reasons.

Amazingly, I was able to finish last semester with a 3.52gpa in very difficult courses. I honestly don't know how I did it - I had a lot of help from my professors. I have been unable to repeat that performance this semester and I need to take a leave of absence. I'm afraid that if I push myself too hard for too long my brain will be permanently damaged.

I find that my condition is worsened by emotional triggers. Like last Friday evening, after going to classes, I felt fine and decided to take my girlfriend out to dinner. Bad decision - the restaurant was crowded and extremely noisy. We were seated and there was this child next to our table who had an ipad, and some loud toy that kept going off every minute, and he kept getting up and running around screaming.

We had to leave the restaurant before the rolls were even out. Then my girlfriend and I had a huge fight. There was screaming and crying. This set me back for over a week. That weekend I was feeling as bad as the first weeks after the concussion.

Anyway, I wish you the best in your recovery. I know how difficult it is to be forced on the sidelines while everyone else is at college. When does your upcoming semester begin?

It starts on monday.

Well in your case the car drive wasn't that rough I guess? You said at least that you are able to do some things. I'm down since tuesday, have to stay in bed the whole day. I also feel like in the first days after my concussion. It's quite amaizing that everyday stuff like car or bus drives have such an effect. At least in my case i would say the bus was just shaking for a few seconds, it did not hit a real pothole that would cause the passangers to lift. Let's hope it's no new concussion.

The ride was pretty rough with a lot of potholes, it just didn't affect me as much as other events have. I was in bed Friday evening after the restaurant through Wed.

I doubt it was a concussion. Can you think of any things that might be causing the symptoms to flare up again? Like you said it was only for a few seconds. It's hard to believe it would have such a dramatic effect.

Good luck with the semester! I know how much anxiety it can cause. Have you thought about taking another semester off because of your increased symptoms? It might not be the worst idea. I know that I tried to push myself too hard this semester and am going to have to withdraw and lose some tuition.

Can you describe the feeling you get upon potholes? All this gets better with time don't worry. I am recovering from this symptom too. Take fish oil and curcumin suppliment. It reduces the inflammation if that's the cause of it.I think possible causes can be neck or inner ear for this sensitivity? Any thoughts? Do you think potholes can damage the recovering brain? I doubt . it can at the most irritate some nerve or inflammation in my opinion .thoughts ?

Also eat a lot of blueberries. I think it helped with my fatigue and brain fog big time

The potholes cause a feeling of dizziness after and then a wave of emotions like confusion, then anger and anxiety.

It's funny I take all the things you mentioned. Maybe we are doing something right! Curcumin, Omega-3's (High DHA and EPA content), blueberries. I can't really tell if they are helping that much, but I continue to take them in hopes of getting better. These are said to reduce inflammation so it makes sense to keep taking them to hopefully reduce inflammation of nerve tissue.

I doubt that the potholes damage the brain but I do think they can prevent healing. The problem is we need to get places and just have to suck it up for now I guess.

I definitely have neck sensitivity. It doesn't help that I've had to shovel a lot of snow this winter which I'm sure has been the reason for a lot of my continuing problems. This puts tremendous strain on the neck muscles.

I think we should just let mother nature take care of our injuries and heal them. Our necks will heal with right posture and regular icing as Mark in Idaho says. Chiropractors can be pretty harsh so I avoid them and don't want to take any risks. At least we can give it some time maybe 6-7 months before thinking about the next step
There is a renowned herb called ashwagandha (Indian ginseng) for stress and depression. It has worked miraculously for millions all over the world. Best alternative to drugs without side effects in my opinion. It calms the mind and makes us more adaptive to the situation. You will easily get it on amazon if your interested but take an opinion of some holistic doctor. Its claimed that it even helps regenerate brain cells and i think one study was conducted regarding this in varanasi, india.

Good luck

I've heard of it and done some research on it. I was definitely interested in getting some just didn't know what brand and all the usual questions. Are you taking it now?

Yea I take it. Few of the good brands are Himalaya, planet ayurveda and organic India

Well I'm sure it was the bus ride. The same thing happened to me in late january. Back then I didn't know why i suddenly felt that bad(I first thought it were the twitches). The shake only occured for about 10-15 seconds i would say. honestly i dont know how much my head absorbed of it. I will go to that spot and record it, from the outside, maybe to undersand the situation better.

About the concussion concern - No one can tell if this would be sufficient for a new concussion. If yes, it would be probably the most ridiculous thing ever. I would mean that my brain cells are too fragile for everyday life. And all that 3 months after the initual injury. The only thing i know is that excactly the same symptoms occur like right after the concussion(especially extreme fatigueness, even after 11 hours of sleep and deep (belly) breathing) - speaks for a new brain injury.

I planned to start studying again, because I felt pretty good. At the moment
I absolutely don't know where my standpoint is. 4 days passed - no improvement

I was thinking about a vertebra issue or PTSD. Both seems unlikely to me.

One week is over now and I'm still unable to get up. Knowing now that this incident resulted in a major setback makes me sad and really frustrated. 3 months for nothing, it feels like I start at square 1 again. I'm still searching for an explanation. Everyone tells you to not hit your head again. That's it. Nobody says be careful with any physical influence, also everyday phenonemons.

Writing this post costs me enough energy to be done for the day. :(

Hang in there Griffin,

I'm sure it will get better with time. I'm sure you are doing this but remember to keep stress to a minimum and try to keep positive thoughts in your head. This is very difficult as I myself wonder if I will ever get better.


All we can do is keep pushing and taking every day as it comes. I know if you continue to fight you will feel better soon enough. Just don't give up on the basics like nutrition and sleep hygeine.