How soon did your symptoms appear?
 

I'm trying to get an idea how quickly symptoms appear for people post-TBI. I myself am trying to remember, but it happened some 36 years ago, and at the time wasn't really told all the things I should have been on the lookout for. I do remember feeling perfectly fine directly after discharge from the hospital, but after X weeks/months the health issues began.

It does take time for brain cells to die, and this is mainly what causes the lead time as I understand it. I've heard anything from a few weeks to a few months. How about you?

As the knowledgeable doctors say "When you've seen one brain injury, you've seen one brain injury"

I know that I have had a lag between the injury and the symptoms but the lag has varied with no relation to the injury.

Just after impact I felt hot, nausiated, dizzy, disortiented and very spaced out. Once I got to the Emergency department my head was hurting and I felt very very tired.

I actully thought I was ok the next day, but by that evening I started feeling like I was on major cold medicine, and then the other symptoms started happening.

I remember being pretty freaked out because I new nothing about head injuries/concussions, and my doctor had not told me what symptoms I might expect.

Now my biggest issues are the headaches (tension/migraine combos), extreme fatigue, and noise sensitivities. The others are a bit less.

My symptoms took about 3 months to manifest. I woke up in the middle of the night and the world came crashing down on me.

Its been a constant decline since.

My symptoms appeared a couple weeks after my accident, just like you. I had no idea about PCS. I believe the symptoms probably didn't disappear like I thought, as I wasn't looking for signs, but they continued to manifest for months. Some come and go, and others didn't start until many months after. Of course, I can't remember lots <grin>, so I can never say anything for sure! It is very hard not to know your brain anymore. My accident was in August 2010, and I have had worsening of symptoms to date. From the little bit I know, since i am a woman and am over 40, I fall into a group of people who have this longer sometimes than young people. Probably as we have had our heads knocked around more <grin> Didn't know about dying brain cells. My first day on this site.

In all my concussions, symptoms appeared mostly within 24 hours. Never felt any symptom right after the impact though... Except for being unconscious after my 4th concussion for some time (less than 10 minutes)

The worst hit me at about 2 weeks. I noticed headache, memory issues, extreme fatigue same day but these symptoms worsened and new ones came along over the first two weeks.

For the most part....my symptoms appeared immediately. Headaches, vision problems, hallucinations, dizziness, tinnitus, expressive aphasia, stutter, photophobia, brain fog, issues with planning and carrying out tasks, etc.
I remember i developed a tremor about 4 weeks after the accident, so that was a delayed symptom. I began to make significant improvements about 6 months after the accident.

I had symptoms immediately, headache, brain fog, and denial. I also couldn't even open my eyes in the sunlight. That's how I knew I was in trouble. As the week went on my symptoms got worse. Unsteady gait. I couldn't stand without swaying back and forth. I couldn't close my eyes or I'd fall over. Worsening headache, crying. Neck and back pain as well showed up about a week later. The whooshing sounds didn't show up until about a month into this. Intense ear pain as well.

My injury was on a Tuesday Afternoon.,
That thursday afternoon I notice symptoms, went to ER.
Friday I took off work, slept half the day, felt better.
Saturday I hung around the house and was lazy, was feeling better.
Sunday morning I felt normal, expected to be going back to work Monday.
Sunday night, the muscle in the back of my head and neck swelled up, my symptoms came back 10 times worse, and I have yet to realize a major improvement that does not come from medicine. That was 3 months ago.
also, on that Sunday night, I popped a lymph node in my neck; no dr. can tell me why that happened.

So, I got better then got worse, in a matter of a weekend.

I knew something was wrong right away.

Within an hour of my injury I felt detached, unable to speak coherently, dizzy, nauseous, crying jags....lost track of time and memory for several months...my injury occurred in July 2010 and my first "real" memory is Labor Day weekend...September 2010...I remember feeling like I just "woke up"...

Of all of the incidents that I have experienced in my lifetime thus far, this one has been THE most frightening for me....:(