One week in, and I'm freaked.
 

Hi all,

I'm so grateful to find a place like this to be able to get support.

Last Thursday (the 27th of December), I fell while ice skating and hit the back of my head on the ice. I'm lucky in that I didn't black out, and didn't even experience any confusion or dizziness. I had a headache, so I went to the ER and they sent me home with some Tylenol and info on concussions. For the next two days I rested, and was feeling better, but the next day I woke up feeling hungover - a terrible headache and nausea. I went back to the ER and the doctor told me I was probably experience post-concussion syndrome.

Since I left, I have been experiencing headaches. Not much more than that, though. I've been taking Motrin and a Percocet here and there to manage them. Yesterday, I felt so much better, and I even read for an hour. Today, though, I have a headache that won't go away. I'm feeling extremely anxious as I am a freelancer and have a job coming up on Tuesday that is very very important to me. I am obviously quite worried.

I know my symptoms are on the milder end of the spectrum, but does anyone have any words of wisdom, or is anyone experiencing something simliar? What is it like to go back to work?

Thank you for your time.

Most of us probably couldn't even consider going on the computer or reading at one week! Hopefully you are one of the majority that is better in a couple weeks. My recommendation to you would be to take it very seriously.

No tv, no reading, no computer, no smartphone etc. For as long as you can. It would be best if you limited all noises too. Music, conversations, etc.

You'll probably also hear the regular advice of no alcohol, caffeine, sugar, msg, etc.

Basically you need to completely rest your brain and give it the best environment and nutrients to heal!

Good luck and I hope you recover over the weekend and we never hear from you again! Good luck on Tuesday.

CC

Penny you are very early in your recovery. One of the hardest things to learn is patience. PCS is a marathon not a sprint. Be kind to yourself, ask any questions you may have we will try to answer them as best we can.

Thank you so much for your quick response! That's very helpful to hear. I am 29 and I've never had a concussion before (never played sports, don't ride bikes, don't go in for thrills :) ), and staying inside all the time makes my mind wander to bad places.

It's hard to say no to my computer and to reading. I'll try just laying quietly tonight in bed before sleep.

Not drinking alcohol or eating a lot of sugar has already been very nice to my waistline! :p

Thank you so much for replying! I really appreciate that. I live in New York City and I have a fast-paced job, so I'm not used to NOT sprinting! :)

You don't say what area your freelancing is in, but I assume it has something to do with reading? Or is it just having to be out and about?

Rest up as well as you can before your job, and prepare for the fact that you will probably have a "crash" afterwards -- doing it will probably make you feel much worse the next few days, so plan to take it easy afterwards if you can.

penny,

At this point, you are not suffering from Post Concussion Syndrome. You are suffering from a concussion. PCS is not really considered as a diagnosis until 6 to 8 weeks after a concussion. You may well recover spontaneously in the next few days or weeks. I do suggest you try to lower your stress levels for this job on Tuesday. If you can, find a quiet place where you can work with minimal visual and audio distractions.

You have a great opportunity. Many with a concussion will try to push through and tough it out. For some, this is not a problem. For others, this causes a delay in recovery. There are some here who did not learn to get the quiet rest their brain needs until after struggling for 6 months.

You would do well to avoid caffeine, MSG, artificial sweeteners, aluminum based antiperspirants, and also try to moderate your activity and work load. It is a lot easier to rest for a week or two more than mess up your job opportunities for the next number of months.

Quiet rest means low intensity activities with moderated screen and sound exposures.

And, don't forget to use ice on your upper neck and back of your head. The upper neck is often tweeked by the impact and this can be a big part of the head aches experienced. 15 on, 30 off as often as is comfortable. A zip lock baggy with 1 part rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol and 3 parts water will freeze into a crushable ice pack.

My best to you.

Mark, thanks very much for your reply.

The doctor in the ER who attended to me is the one who diagnosed me with Post Concussion Syndrome. I'm learning there's quite a bit of disconnect, disagreement, and misunderstanding about concussions. I suppose time will tell.

Today I had quite a nasty headache that wouldn't go away, but it occurred to me that since I had the concussion, I have cut out alcohol and caffeine completely, so I might be experiencing some mild withdrawal from that as well. That idea calmed me a bit.

My job is one that requires quite a bit of memory and concentration, so I'm nervous about what to expect. In the last week, I have experienced very little cognitive problems. Should I be concerned about more popping up unexpectedly?

Eowyn, thanks for replying. My job has a lot to do with reading, concentration, and memory. I'm a bit worried.

As I mentioned to Mark, I have not noticed many alarming cognitive problems thus far, so I'm hoping that bodes well for the coming weeks.

Penny I have seen this stated before If you have seen one brain injury then you have only seen one brain injury. Each is different and no-one can predict how you will feel one month, week or tomorrow. Try not to stress and take care of yourself.

Hi Penny,

I can tell you from my experience about a year of ago of getting my first concussion that what may help you quite a bit right now (aside from rest of course!) is getting yourself reoriented with life post-concussion. You've already started in that by coming to this board and reaching out. Browse the different topics and get a feel for what others are going through. Simply having the benefit of information can help you feel less "lost." It can also help to know you aren't the only one who's gone through a similar experience.

Educating yourself will give you an outlet for the post-concussion jitters (the "I don't know what's going on? What is life with this concussion like? What should I expect?" feeling.) Like it's been said, you may very well recover very quickly. Don't try to doom yourself right away to a recovery that lasts years. Also, don't feel rushed or like your concussion is invalidated because it "isn't that bad" or "you haven't had it that long." You have a brain injury, period. Be kind to yourself, and don't worry about it be too bad or not bad enough. It is what it is and no injury is a competition!

Right now, rest :) Don't worry about work yet. I know in life we are told "plan ahead! always be five steps down the road! be the first, be the winner!" but that's not how concussions act. They don't fit nicely into a box. Concussion are not about control, about trying to force yourself to achieve a certain recovery rate. Learn to slow down. Yes, I said learn! I had to learn what it meant to *pause* life. If you must have a goal, set a goal to get rid of goals ;)

If you recover quickly, then great! Be happy! Celebrate the fact that it was a big deal for a while but it didn't drag you into the pit for the long haul! And don't feel guilty for getting well soon.

If you don't recover quickly, then just keep hanging in there. Celebrate the little things and don't kill yourself with your expectations. Don't feel guilty for needing the "extra" time to recover. This is a brain injury, not the flu.

Wishing you the best!

You are the sweetest. Thank you so much for your reply.

Everything will work out
 

Hey Penny,
I've been going through PCS for seven months now. I've seen every doctor in Cincinnati and finally am on the way to recovery. My expected time of recovery is 12-18 months. Is this your first concussion? I've had five. Having nausea and headaches are common a couple days after the concussion. If it continues for awhile you might want to think of talking to your doctor about depression meds or anti-anxiety medicine. Hopefully your symptoms go away rapidly.