Newbie with a concussion - advice please!
 

Hi Everyone!

So glad to find this forum!!!

2 weeks ago today I passed out in the shower and landed on my head and face. I was out for about 45 seconds. My DH got me out of the shower and then I passed out again, hitting the back of my head. I cant remember much except seeing him calling to me and then thinking I was going to be late for work. We went to the hospital, and I spent 3 nights as I was dehydrated and it caused low blood volume. They did a CT and an MRI which came back normal. I had terrible headaches in the hospital and dizziness as well. I also notice the first night an annoying loud ringing in my ears!!

My GP recommende no work last week or this week for me. Im still experiencing dizziness, extreme fatigue, sleeping alot, ringing in the ears, balance issues at times and headaches at times although they are not nearly as intense as they were.

So on Thursday, Im going to a concussion/vestibular specialist. What would I expect to happen in that appt that is different from my GP? or what I did in the hospital?

Also, my bruising is almost gone, but it was across my forehead, bridge of my nose, under my eye, under my chin, on my neck, collarbone and hip. Like a diagonal line where I hit the edge of the tub. I also had alot of pain in the back of my neck. Im thinking of getting a massage???

Thoughts? Help???

Thanks, Wendy:)

Wendy,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. You fall sounds awful Ouch.

What you are experiencing is common to concussion. You are still very early in your recovery so try to take it easy and not worry.

The concussion specialist may have more skills than your GP or not. The vestibular assessment will be good. Rather than a simple neck massage, ask the concussion specialist about a referral to someone who can properly examine your neck. Neck injuries often make concussion symptoms worse. Getting neck issues resolved will be a big help in your recovery. A physiatrist (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation ) may be helpful.

Let us know what the concussion specialist says. Then we will have some better understanding of your situation.

In the mean time, get quiet rest and avoid stress.

Check out the thread Vitamins and supplements, It has some good links at the bottom of the post.

My best to you.

Thanks Mark!!

Question - does anyone find that they have good days and bad? It can be so weird?? Also, anyone experience car sickness post concussion?

Yes, the Post Concussion Syndrome roller coaster can be quite a wild ride. It helps to look back and try to identify triggers that may have cause the relapse.

Car sickness is also common. There can be too much sensitivity to the physical movement of the car or a sensitivity to the movement of the visual objects outside the car. It helps to focus on things that are far from the car. Those things within a few car lengths will challenge your brain's ability to visually process.

I rarely had problems with sea sickness. I could relax and even lay down in a rocking boat. Now, I am very sensitive and have mastered the behavior know as 'barking at the seals.'

FYI, If you use the Post Reply button at the bottom left, it will not quote the previous post.

Hi Everyone!

I saw the vestibular guy, and they said I have migranes which cause vertigo instead of pain like we usually think of them. They started me on a 10mg dose of nortriptalin to help...not seeing any change yet.

Last night I tried a yoga class, and I think it has thrown me for a loop! Im super duper tired today and my vertigo has increased as well. Maybe I should wait on doing that again!

So, aside from seeing a neurologist in the hospital, my GP and the vestibular guy (who is a neuro ent), do I need to see anyone else? I do have a name of a Dr who specializes in concussions, Dr. Bley in wilmington, DE....but it looks like he does alot of sports concussions. So I dont know if I need to bother with that or not?

They have recommended 2 more weeks off of work and then 2 weeks of part time before returning full time to work. Does that sound reasonable? They approved it as FMLA.

THanks for any advice, Wendy:confused:

If you want to get better as quickly as possible you need to be resting. At your early stage if you strictly give yourself cognitive and physical rest you will likely be fine in a couple weeks based on statistics. That means no yoga, tv, reading, computer, smartphone, radio etc. You need to keep noise and visual stimulation down.

Its best probably NOT to drive around seeing this doctor, or that massage therapist or chiropractor because all the driving around is too much stimulation and not resting!

Rest! Good luck.

CC

Fortunately no driving for me - Hubby and I work around his schedule.

So what in the world do you do when not doing anything? I sleep sooo much right now!

There's lots of threads on how to pass time but the basic theme is to do things that are manual and not electronic. That way you control the speed of information going to your brain. Embrace your inner child or artist! Some ideas: puzzles, painting, colouring, baking, lego, latch hook, knitting. Then there's always meditation, warm baths, manicure/pedicure, etc. If it doesn't increase any symptoms or cause dizziness you could take a short walk.

Just some thoughts. Being bored is a good thing right now!

Take care
CC

Question - can things appear that werent there in the beginning right after the concussion? Like yesterday, when I took that yoga class, I had a REALLY hard time hearing the teacher...it was like the voice volume was the same as the volume of the fans in the room and the sound of the person breathing next to me - I couldnt pick out her voice in that environment???? Also, tonight, when sitting across from my husband at dinner, I noticed he had 4 eyes....if I tried real hard, I could make it go away, but i had to really focus to get him back down to his usual 2 eyes.....was this all just because I was tired or ?????

Hopefully someone more experienced can explain but the simple answer is, yes, new things can pop up especially if you're overdoing it. Also, some things take a while to start. I had things that didn't start till one month after.

Hopefully you can start strict rest and stop all the new symptoms. There are people you can see for the eye problems but try rest first and see if it goes away.

CC

Wendy,

Is this Dr. Bley ?

- if so - He is a fully trained Osteopathic, Youth Sports Medicine Doc
- He most likely is offering Musculoskeletal Manipulation therapy options;

Neither of which you really need or want at this stage of your recovery...

Mark has a good Supplement listing in these threads that is very useful to help your system in recovery; Ice to your neck is actually what you need most of all, while arranging an evaluation by a Physiatrist/Physical Medicine / Rehabilitation specialist, to plan out a recovery course.

Your doc is most likely diagnosing the "Migraines" as they are common occurences to concussion injured persons.... and Nortritylline does take some time to reach a steady state in each person who takes it; so you may need periodic adjustments in the dose or not, dependent on time and usuage; keep up with the Neurologist on that point. You may even find its not for you and need something different - you and the doc will decide that.

The way you described your injury is very clear, you did receive head and neck injury, including the concussion; and its not unusual to have negative findings on imaging studies. Sometimes, later studies have to be done, as/if new findings occur just to assure nothing new has evolved; again, that will be up to you and your main doc (your gatekeeper).

The vision, the hearing troubles, the fatigue, are all part and parcel of the post-concussive state - your body is telling you : it is time to STOP what you are doing , REST, and that means everything you have seen everyone here state is necessary..........it is the most important part of recovery at this time of your injury phase.

Now, FMLA - go back to your doc, and ask them for temporary, long term, intermittent FMLA, for the Headaches, and ask them to include the fatigue, and any other distressing symptom you have been experiencing. Why? Because, you do not know what is to come; no one does. And if you gather that bit of support paperwork up front , now, it will save you stressful time later.

What does that give you - it gives you the full use of your FMLA time available, 26 weeks, useable, intermittently; so if you have a half day of work and it gets bad, you have the paperwork protection to go home; if you are up all night and can't function to go to work, you have the paperwork to miss a day . Of course, HR will use your sick time or however things work at your work site, but you have the proper paperwork already in place for your head injury protection.

Best wishes.

Wendy,

new symptoms can show up as late as 6 to 8 weeks after the injury. Stressing your brain can makes this even more likely. The injured brain struggles to heal up the injured parts/cells. When it finally gives up trying to heal those areas/cells, it shuts them down and they get absorbed by your body system. This is why good quiet rest is so important to good recovery.

Any yoga positions with the brain lower than the heart can put stress on the brain. They should be avoided.

While I was researching relief from my intractable head aches, I found that some head aches respond to Melatonin. Mine usually respond to aspirin, acetaminophen/paracetamol, or the two combined. This time, nothing gave me relief.

Try some Melatonin. It is easy to take compared to other meds/supplements.

In my research, I have found very few concussion specialists who are any more than sports medicine docs who have pulled together a multi-disciplinary team to grab as much opportunity to bill the entire care of a team. They form this team around the standards set by ImPACT, Head Minder, and other Computerized Neurocognitive Assessment tools. They end up with captive patients who are not allowed to return to play until they have completed the full protocol.

It appears that sports medicine/concussion clinics are the new boutique medical clinics for this decade.

Good brain nutrition is important because the brain usually is damaged in the myelin, axon and glymph tissues. Low stress living and good nutrition allows the tissues to heal.