Benzodiazepines
 

Hey folks.

Hit my head 10/12. PCS since then. I've been very up and down emotionally, and have experienced an dramatic increase in my anxiety (a pre-existing condition, but severity has worsened since the mTBI).

Anyway, the Doc prescribed Ativan. I am desperately seeking relief from my anxiety, and am eager to take the Ativan, but I'm wary of compounding any PCS symptoms by taking what I understand to be a pretty heavy drug.

Does anyone have any experience or insights regarding benzodiazapines and PCS? I suspect they will help with the anxiety, but could they make other symptoms worse?

Thanks everybody. Happy New Year.

mpshube,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. You have found a good place.

Benzos are worth careful consideration. They will leave you feeling sleepy. You also need to avoid stimulants such as caffeine while taking a benzo.

Actually, caffeine, alcohol, MSG and artificial sweeteners are all contra-indicated when recovering from a concussion.

Your anxiety is likely made worse by the way your concussion creates a severe sensitivity to audio and visual stimulations.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your struggles and symptoms. There are lots of things you can do to help your brain recover. There are also many here who have experience with what you are going through.

My best to you.

Thanks Mark.

The injury occurred when I hit the back of my head on the ice while playing hockey in late October of this year [2012].

2.5 months after the incident, the headaches are beginning to subside, but I'm still suffering from cognitive deficits, and inability to concentrate, and I just feel different (this is perhaps the most disturbing symptom). As I mentioned in the OP, anxiety and depression have been severe. At times I feel so detached from my normal self. I'm having a hard time coping with this.

Sometimes, actually, I've felt almost 100%, but the littlest things will aggrivate symptoms. Minor disturbances, like walking or turning my head too quickly, for example, are apt to bring on a headache or dazed feeling, or make me nauseous. Is this normal? I've taken to walking on my toes to prevent this.

It seems that everything I do aggravates my symptoms. I've confined myself to a very narrow range of activity, and it's killing me. I've stopped most reading and computer use. No T.V. But it's been 2 months and I'm getting restless. I don't want to resign myself to this limited lifestyle. No more hockey--ok, fine. But man, I've got to go for a run, read a book, something... but I don't want to hurt myself, or make my condition worse. That's what seems to happen when I do any of these things. Really struggling, and I'd appreciate any support or guidance.

I'm taking supps (fish oil, Bcomplex, multi) and started meds (SSRI) for the anxiety. Books on tape have been a helpful, tolerable activity. Met with a Neurologist- he wasn't helpful. He actually told me that if I get a headache or other symptoms while performing an activity I should just ignore it and keep doing what I was doing. Is that wise advice?

I think I'll repost this comment in another thread to get some more general support. I hope that doesn't violate any forum etiquette.

I want to second Wakey's advice about looking into vestibular rehabilitation. From the symptoms you're describing (especially the nausea from movement), it sounds like it could help.

I've gotten some mileage out of audiobooks myself. If you can use the computer just briefly, you can also search for podcasts on topics that interest you. Also, you can download free text-to-voice software that will allow you to highlight text and have it read back to you. Natural Reader is a good free one.

http://www.naturalreaders.com/

Text Aloud has much better voices but costs money:

http://www.nextup.com/TextAloud/

As for your doctor who told you to work through the headaches, that is terrible advice; it is the exact opposite of what you should do. Any time you notice symptoms increasing or acting up, it's time to rest.

If you have the money, I'd recommend purchasing a weighted blanket (google it and purchase online). It has an inhibitory effect on the nervous system. When I get anxious and/or overstimulated, it helps me to settle down within minutes.

Like you, I've been restricted to a very narrow range of activity for a long time, though I'm gradually tolerating more. I understand very well how frustrating and depressing this is. I spent months sitting in the dark listening to audiobooks--and little else.

Hang in there. Peace.

mpshube,

I doubt you will get the kind of understanding in another forum like you will get here. Your symptoms sound like classic PCS. When ever you get a head ache, ice your upper neck immediately. As I mentioned, you need to learn to turn at your shoulder not at your neck. I have this exact same problem.

The SSRI should help with the anxiety. You should ask about getting a betta-blocker for anxiety attacks. It can be a big help, is quick acting, and does not have the risks of a benzo. I keep propanolol inn the medicine cabinet for such time.

You likely need a high quality image of your upper neck. This is a common injury area.

More later.

My best to you.

Hi my name is Lynn I hope you dont mind if i jump on this thread but i am in a situation right now that involves this. I had a drug overdose 9 months ago and developed panic disorder mildly and then a month later I got in a bus accident where i was thrown several feet and smashed my head. I had a clear MRI but developed very bad panic disorder after this and started to get horrible muscle tension headaches. This put me out of commission for the last 7 months as I went thru a trial and error of all sorts of psych meds to calm the anxiety so that my head could heal. It seemed like the more muscle tension i had the worse the anxiety was. I had horrible experiences on all psych meds. they made me very sick - had a bad run with propanoal, Zoloft, Geodon, Lexapro, Gabapentin- Finally in June i switched to benzos--ativan (.50) a day and then did that for 2 1/2 months and then switched to klonopin for a month and then had horrible feelings of being out of it on that drug and tapered off everything.

Had some very scary sensations while on ativan- like feeling i was gonna faint and weird head rushes and slowed down feelings. it was even more of a nightmare coming off klonopin- severe depersonalziation, dizziness, brain fog fuzziness. I am now 10 weeks off all psych meds and the really horrible thing is because i never have experienced post concussion without meds i dont know if what im experiencing is still withdrawal symptoms or if it is fact what remains of my injury. i am still very dizzy, fuzzy headed, bad brain fog, lightheaded, weird shooting nerve pain through my body, random feelings where my head feels slow and sluggish. All sorts of nasty things.
I know alot of people suffer from benzo withdrawal symptoms that go on for a long time and are similar to post concussion stuff. thats what im worried about. is not knowing which is which.

Do you have any experience with knowing what its like to come off benzos and have a post concussion syndrome? id like to cross my fingers an hope the intensity of what im going thru is benzo withdrawal but honestly i really dont know. its totally destroying my life. im trying to be med free hoping that maybe alot of this stuff was bad side effects to med sensitivity .

All im saying on top of all this is be very careful before starting to take benzos. they may make the situation worse.

would love any info about any of this. alot of these symptoms i never had to this extreme before i got on benzos.. but then again i was almost always on meds from the jump of post concussion so i really dont know.

Thanks for the advice, xanadu00. I'm imagining that weighted blanket... it sounds nice! A month in the dark listening to audiobooks? Sounds like what I need, but my financial situation won't allow it. Can I still recover? Or am I really damaging my chances here? I'm on my feet and moving up to 8 hrs a night at my job, and while I can rest on my days off and might be able to get a few extra days, I'm afraid I have to continue for the most part. If I don't take a few weeks for seriously quiet rest, am I just going to remain like this indefinitely?