How easy is it to get a concussion?
 

Hey all,

I'm a bit embarrassed by my situation, because I feel like it's not as serious as most head injuries, but the worry has been consuming my life for the past month.

Now let me preface this all by saying that I've always had health anxiety and OCD. And for a while even before this incident I had been having anxiety about a past concussion I had 10 years ago, and I had been worried that it was still effecting me cognitively.

Anyways, a month ago I hit my head while standing up into bunk bed. Immediately my anxiety kicked in that this was a concussion even though aside form the pain of the bump I had no symptoms. About 5 minutes later I felt nauseous, which fed my anxiety more that this was in fact a concussion. However, it very well could have been the anxiety. Two days later I saw a doctor who said he didn't think it was a concussion, and my nausea went away almost immediately (anxiety?).

So that is all fine and good, but here's what I'm really worried about, and I know it sounds stupid. But with my OCD, I always tend to reenact events that I'm worried about, I'm not sure why, but I think that I'm trying to disprove to myself that I even need to be worried about the event. Anyways, that doesn't work so well when I'm worried about hitting my head, and over the past month while reenacting, I've accidentally tapped my head against the bed multiple times. Not hard at all, but like how you would tap your finger on a desk...

I've since basically broken that bad habit, but I'm worried that those small taps could have reconcussed me. Would those be hard enough hits to do damage? I'm just so worried about my brain at this point with school starting up in a week, and I'm worried I did permanent damage.

Sorry for the long rant, and thanks for reading :)

JOHN_TITOR,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

No, that was not a concussion. It takes quite an impact to cause a concussion. It was a head bump with related trauma to your skin and the nerve layers beneath. It takes about 50 to 60 G's to cause a concussion.

Life will serve up plenty of these head bumps and possibly a real concussion if you are not lucky. Anxiety is a good way to increase your risk as it can negatively impact coordination. Getting a handle on your OCD and anxiety will reap great benefits. Many of us have found good brain nutrition strengthens our tolerance for stress. The Vitamins sticky at the top has a good regimen. I encourage you to be pro-active and help you brain out.

You could have someone help you with desensitization training by touch and tapping on your head with their fingers as you sit with your eyes closed. You goal is to learn to not respond. Responses and be learned and unlearned. It will take many separate sessions for this unlearned response to help.

I almost forgot, John Titor. You can go back to the future to learn about the latest in concussion science. LOL

Haha, thanks for the reply, you've really helped put some things in perspective!

It's hard to get a perspective on 50 to 60 Gs. What would that be compared too?

Also, if I got a small bump and the next night I got a headache, would that be a concussion, or could it be the worrying about the hit all day leads to the headache that night?

50 to 60 G's would make your head feel like 200 pounds. A sudden stop in a car can generate about 2 G's at most.

Think of putting a 200 pound weight on your hand as it was on the floor. Your hand would feel smashed.

A concussion would have some immediate symptoms that may increase over time. A struggle to focus, think, balance, and many more.

In football, there is an injury called a sub-concussive impact. These are the frequent bell ringers from helmet to helmet hits and such that last only a second. It takes hundreds of these in a month or two to accumulate to damage.

Remember, Correlation does not mean causation.

Thank you!

I just want you to know that you've really helped put things in perspective for me, and helped me to calm down a whole lot in just a few short posts!

Hi JOhn. I learned a lot here, too. Kind of in same situation. I had an airbag go off on me but got a lot of symptoms. I am not sure but will be screened since they did not go away. I wonder if I may have hit my head on something flying in the car because NO ONE else I know ever got hurt by an airbag and I gont hammered. I am small, but still. Maybe it is just stress.Probably stress.

Hey, I just saw this post, but yeah I totally get what you are going through with potentially confusing anxiety symptoms with concussions symptoms. They're extremely similar, and I still can't really tell them apart. I have noticed that when I worry about something the symptoms tend to show up more, so that makes me think that in my case that anxiety may be the main culprit, but who knows?

Oh, and Mark, if your still reading the chat I had a question that maybe you could answer, as you seem pretty knowledgeable on the topic.

So I am trying to treat my anxiety through weight lifting, because I'm hesitant about taking medication, and excercise has been shown to be a natural antidepressant.

Anyways, I've had some increasing anxiety that may be irrational. One of the machines that I have been using involves sitting up with your back and head against a chair and pushing up the weights. However, when I wasn't careful and lowered the weights down too fast, the weights hitting down made a shockwave that went through the the seat, and I've felt it in my head. Very similar to what you'd feel if you hit the backrest of a wooden chair if you were sitting in it.

Because my head doesn't actually move, but rather just feels the jolt, could this cause a concussion, or am I overreacting? It's a case of not knowing whether this is all my anxiety or not. And dwelling on it isn't helping any.

You could find exercises that use no machines , walking, yoga , speed walking , free weights, floor exercises...then there will be less anxiety and less of a concern about possible jerks or shock waves and such..

I agree with Jo*mar. Avoid the machines that can have these impacts. Or, learn to do them without dropping the weights.

I don't care for weights because they can lead to muscle tension. More fluid activities are my choice. I swim.

Have you tried taking 5-HTP and maybe L-Theanine to help with your anxiety?

Are you taking the supplement regimen (I forget) ? It helps the brain tolerate stress.

Yeah I'm planning on changing things up so that I'm not doing anything that increases my anxiety about being jolted. Weight training seemed like a good choice because it's no impact, and keeps me active. But looking at the past, if my head is stationary the whole time, and the jolt doesn't really move it, would that be safe for my brain?

And no, I'm really only supplementing with fish oil right now. I didn't mention it, but I was diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer last year. But the replacement hormone I'm on can interact with a lot of medications, which is why I'm so hesitant to supplement at this point.

If you are going to do exercising, just take steps to minimize impacts. But, the shake of the chair from banging the weights should not be a problem, at all.

So, I assume you had the slow growing thyroid cancer. Have you made any dietary changes to enhance your immune function ?

Livestrong shows some supplement interactions. Synthroid Interactions With Vitamins | LIVESTRONG.COM None are bad. They just slow or reduce the absorption of synthroid.

Separating the time you take the synthroid and the supplements should be good but you should tell your doctor and get checked to see that your levels are good. There are plenty of list about interactions. Since you will be on synthroid for life, it would be worthwhile to familiarize yourself with the the list. Here is another: Worst Pills

But, if you are an anxious person, you need the B's, D-3 and such. Plus, they will help your immune system stay strong. Read the Vitamins sticky at the top. Only the magnesium and calcium need to be taken separate of the synthroid by 4 hours. High fiber foods also should be eaten 2 hour after taking your med.

A common vegetable intense immune strengthening anti-cancer diet is high fiber and anti-inflammatory.

Yeah, mine was slow growing, apparently going many years without being noticed. But the surgery's went fine, and now there is hardly any evidence of disease!

I do like the idea of the supplements. For both the anxiety and the brain health! I think I'll email the list to my endocrinologist and see what she thinks, but hopefully they'll work out fine.

Would there be any supplements that are more useful than others if money is tight?

You can do the whole basic supplement regimen for a little over a $1 a day. The B-12, B-50 Complex, D-3, C and E are the most important. 5-HTP may do wonders for your anxiety. L-Theanine, too. Both are cheap. I buy all of mine at Vitacost.com in the Vitacost brand when they have their BOGO Buy One, Get One for 50% off, sales. My wife and I spend about $160 combined every 3 months.

My wife had a thyroid cancer scare and we learned that the slow growing thyroid cancers are very treatable. The fast growing are deadly. MD Anderson could never determine what my wife's lump/enlarged thyroid was. That was over 6 years ago and she still has all of it. Just some trouble swallowing so chewing has to be good. Glad to hear you are doing well.