8 months PCS update
 

Here i am 8 months after having a hard fall on concerete impacting my right side of my head. I was disoriented after the fall however not sure I blacked out, if so it may or may not have been for long. However the hit was intense.

To date i'm able to exercise and socialize however I get immensely exhausted afterward.

Here are my current issues that i'm struggling with:

1. Fatigue. I'm not sure if this is due to insomnia that left me at 1-3 hours of sleep per night after the injury. I'm now sleeping 4-6 hours per night which is a big imporvement.

2. Tinnitus. I got Tinnitus in my right ear from the fall. The tinnitus seems to be slowly starting to fade however at times it can still be bother some. The first 3 months the Tinnitus was absolutely Crazy loud and i could not do anything. i was also sensitive to all sounds. Tinnitus is a strange symptom that i feel like my body is telling me to slow down.

3. Light issues: As soon as it gets dark out my body and brain want to shut down. I never had this before however it is very bothersome. I figure it's from lack of sleep.

4. Brain Fog: Brain fog and times of confusion still come and go.

Resolved: Most headaches are gone, anxiety is mostly gone, balance issues resolved.

They say that what's not healed in 12 months becomes Chronic or life-long. It's not easy however i do my best to march forward.

"They say that what's not healed in 12 months becomes Chronic or life-long."

This is not a valid statement. There are lots of such statements about concussions. Many here on NT have seen fabulous improvements in their second or later years.

Duration of sleep and quality of sleep (REM sleep) both impact fatigue issues.

The light issue may just be what is called sundowning. It refers to later in the day after a routine number of hours have elapsed since the last sleep period. I bet that you would do better if you were getting better sleep.

What are you doing during those hours where you would usually be sleeping ?

How long before going to sleep do you start preparing to go to sleep ?

Good to hear you're doing better in some respects.

How did you get rid of your headaches? Time?

HI Mark-

Thanks for your feedback. greatly appreciated.

Yes i continue to get tired early on. I just have not been able to sleep more than 4-5 hours a night (at most) since March of this year. I think this is related to the Tinnitus that can at times be difficult to cope with.

I don't prepare to go to sleep until around 11pm and then i usually fall asleep however the problem is waking up early (usually 4 am) after having fallen asleep at 1am-ish.

Also my Tinnitus is only in my right ear. It's a huge mystery as my hearing is normal for the most part. Perhaps it's related to the jaw/chin which also took a blow and am now left with clicking sound in that right ear when i open my jaw.

This was my first ever concussion. I'm not sure how long i was knocked out for, maybe only a few seconds however the accident was very severe and instead of being 30 i feel like i'm 60.

You need to be slowing your evening down hours before you try to go to sleep. You may benefit from having something to eat before you go to sleep. Your brain needs good food energy to sleep. If you blood sugar drops, it can disrupt your sleep. Most meals last about 5 hours then the body starts pulling energy from stores in the liver. If this stored up energy does not work well, your energy can drop and cause you to wake up.

This does not work for everybody but for some it makes a big difference.

You should also consider how to be as comfortable as possible. Your mattress, sheets, pillow, pajamas, temperature, etc can all help you sleep through minor disruptions. The PCS brain can easily be disrupted by minor sensations. Reducing these sensations can be helpful.

My best to you.

Ha, welcome to my world, I'm 8 1/2 months in and experiencing the same. I keep reading that the sleep disturbance eventually sorts itself out. I think I'm sleeping slightly more than I did, but not by much. Sometimes I wake with a 'thick' head, like I've been upside down - probably a bad sleeping position but most the time I just wake and just can't get off again. I think the tinnitus plays a role.

Apart from your jaw issues my symptoms and progress seem pretty similar to yours. Long may we continue to get better!

I am nearing 8 months guys and doing better now with regards to sleep. Anyone tried to figure out if tinnitus is a neurological damage or inner ear damage ? It seems doctors can only assume but no one can say for sure. A little nap in the afternoon will set it in for the rest of the day so I avaid those power naps.my ENT says it will go away 100% with time. No idea if he was serious or just trying to calm me down

My doctor said my tinnitus was neurological in a matter of fact way. I guess if someone is hit near the ear it would be both. Without a thorough examination it would be hard to judge. Mines calmed down to the point I hardly notice it in the day, and it doesn't always bother me at night except sometimes when I wake in the night. Ive never been able to work out why I wake after about 4 hours. On a few occasions I've had up to 6 1/2 maybe 7 hours when I've been beat but then I find it hard to sleep the following night. I complained to my elderly mother the other day and she just said the body takes the sleep it needs lol. Not sure ma.

Hey, I feel your pain. I'm not a doc but I might have some insight that could help. From experience I could venture a guess that you're waking up cause of a dip in your blood sugar during sleep or dehydration or a combination of both and this is aggravating your symptoms enough that you wake up.

I suffered many months with waking up with headaches and not being able to go back to sleep cause of them. Now as part of my concussion routine (lol unbelievable that I now have a concussion routine but its true) anytime before I go to sleep and if I get up in the middle of the night I eat a couple scoops of yogurt or eat a little snack of quick sugar and down a glass of water. The combination has helped me finally be able to get some decent healing sleep. Give it a try, see if it helps : )

I've been suggesting this need for food energy to sleep for ages. I find that complex carbs or some protein is best. If you can afford it, a low glycemic snack like Glucerna may work well. Otherwise, look up the Glycemic Index and choose foods with a low glycemic value. This means they last longer in your system. Be careful. This is also an easy way to put on a few pounds.

By eating the proper food before sleep, I can easily sleep through the night. I routinely wake up at the same time in the morning without an alarm. This is likely due to the food energy being depleted at that time. I make it about 8 to 9 hours since my snack.

I think you're onto something big here. :winky: Sleeping is when you're healing best so that's when you would need nutrients to heal the most.

I've thought about this whole nutrient thing quite a bit, as I'm sure you can imagine I've had lots of 'thinking' time lately, that if you become sensitive to light, noise, movement, etc. having blood nutrient levels trigger symptoms as well isn't a far stretch. Man, how debilitating this whole PCS thing is

3 weeks after my concussion
 

Hi everyone I suffered a concussion on 10/31/14 I struck the back of my head at work. I received a laceration which required staples to close. I was fine for about 3 hours after concussion then got headache dizzy and vomited. Went back to ER ct scan was taken to confirm concussion. Vision was blurry and would change from clear to blurry. 13 days after concussion got severe headache and was seeing double vision numbers and letters looked like fractions on top of others. Went back to ER ct scan with contrast this time all scans came back ok according to neurologist mind you this is workmens comp dr. He said I am cleared to go back to work. I do not feel well today 11/20/14 I have a headache all day stuffy ears and pain was on left side of neck this morning and now on right dizzy but eyes are fine. Aside from the 13th and today I haven't been dizzy but headaches and neck pain has been since beginning. I'm irritable today kind of yelled at brother but didn't mean it. I just want to get better any ideas to help.
Thanks and God Bless

Italianman479,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Your experience is quite normal. You should look into why your neck is sore. Most concussions include a subtle neck injury that can be a cause of symptoms or make them worse. Being a WC case, you probably need to try to return to work. Refusing to follow the WC docs orders can cause problems. You can always cut the day short and come home. Keep a journal of your struggles to work and any symptoms you may have. Dizziness needs to be addressed. Perhaps a vestibular work-up should be requested.

What kind of work do you do ?

You should try to avoid audio and visual stimulation.

My best to you.

Mark thanks I am a state government employee and work with heavy machinery so that's my problem.

Welcome Italianman479. :Wave-Hello:

Tonight I feel better
 

Tonight I only took 1 Tylenol instead of 2 and headaches are calm at the moment. Let's hope this is a good sign that all is healing well:)

You need to know one important fact about concussions. If a symptom lessens or goes away, it does not matter until that symptom has stayed away for at least a week or even two. This is the roller coaster of PCS. Do not let a single good day sucker you into overdoing it so you end up with weeks of bad days.

ItalianMan,

What did the first ER CT Scan show to confirm a concussion ? CT Scans do not image the microscopic injury concussions cause. Did it show a brain contusion ? They do not usually show up on a CT Scan until the second day or later.

They didn't say neurologist compared it to scan I had in July 2014 10/31 and 11/13. He just kept saying I am fine go back to work you are fine scans show brain is normal. He was so unprofessional I wrote down some questions and when I asked him he kept saying your fine go back to work I am clearing you. You have concussion all symptoms of concussion. I asked him do I have pcs he said no it will go away in time. I see that he was much more concerned with the interest of the insurance company than me. Is there a scan that can tell any damage or internal problems? Should I request a MRI?

Thanks, I'll give it a go, getting fed up of broken sleep surely it will get back to normal soon. Being tired and unable to sleep is plain cruel!