Post Concussion Sydrome
 

hi everybody

i'm 20 and i had a concussion 5 weeks ago. i was dizzy a bit for 1-2 days after incident. thereafter, i was totally recovered and everything was okay.

Strangely, i started to have headaches and feel dizzy 2 weeks after my concussion. now, i am still suffering from headaches (not constant, once in a while). Meanwhile i have consulted a neurologist, she prescribed me citoles and thomaphyrin. Additionally my CT scan and blood test are okay.

i wonder that, can i recover from these headaches fully and can i regain my thinking skill. If yes how long does it take?

finally, should i use citoles?

thanks in advance.

Neither drugs is available in the US or North America. There is little data available regarding them. From the little that is available, Thomaphyrin has some serious risks, including addiction.

Post concussion head aches can resolve on their own or can last a life time. There are no standards for prognosis regarding head aches.

Many of use use pain relievers to control or alleviate our head aches. Tylenol work well enough for me.

citoles is a anti-depressant. thompaphyrin is pain-killer.

to be specific, my only symptom is headache, no sleep disturbance, no vision problems, no nausea, no vomiting, no dilated pupils. however, i don't feel strong in mental aspect.

is this definetly post-concussion syndrome?
i wonder how long does it take to recover fully? is it possible?

It sounds like you have what I call a 'mud headache.' The head aches in an overall way. Not severely painful by a groggy pain that seems to make thought feel bogged down.

A common treatment for PCS headache is amitriptyline (Elavil). It is usually taken in low doses, 10 mgs or so. It is a tri-cyclic anti-depressant.

The citoles has very minimal reference online. It appears to have some similarities to Lexapro, an SSRI anti-depressant.

I am not a medical professional so I can only share my thoughts based on our experiences. My daughter suffers with headaches as a result of a concussion. I have learned from asking numerous doctors, that they just can't answer how long it will take. Most concussions resolve in a matter of months. However, each concussion is unique and healing times vary. It is possible that your headaches could resolve any day now or it may take awhile. Based on our experience, I would suggest starting a headache journal to see if you can find triggers for your headaches so you can avoid them. Headaches aggravate PCS symptoms. Your brain needs to rest and heal from the concussion and headaches certainly interfere with the rest. I would suggest stopping any activitiy immediately that causes a headache or when a headache is present. Don't try to push thru the headache as it may only get worse and take longer to recover. Rest in a dark quite room until the headache passes. I do believe that you will regain your thinking skill. In additon to the injury itself, it is hard to think clearly when you have frequent headaches and headaches are also exhausting. Rest and try to avoid headaches at all cost. I have found the Brain Injury Association of Amercia to be a phenomenal resource and highly recommend this organization. Hang in there and know it will get better in time. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

first of all, thanks a lot. you put a smile on my face :)
but bad news is my headaches are worsening for one week. it is now like continious dull pain on my head. i feel like i returned the top of the whole story. it was ten days ago, i said that thumbs up! i got over it completely but it seems that pain is back.

is such fluctuations in headache pattern is normal?

what do you suggest? thanks in advance

Physical and mental stress can bring back symptoms.

1st concusion - please help
 

I suffered a concusion Sat Mar 28. Was told to lay low and rest did so however was not able to go to work tues - fri the following week. Finally that sat I went to the er and got checked out. Was told my scan was good and take soma Vicadin for pain and take some promethazine for sleep. Did so went to work on Monday was off on tues as I found out the hard way I was alergic to Vicadin and suffered dearly. Stopped taking it and had the most real dream I ever have had in my life. During the day off I have some peculiar yet not too terrifying hallucinatons (while reading a book it seemed tendrils were coming from my fingers - went to sleep and saw little green and red dots coming from my hands and was amuzed as it seemed I could project them) fell asleep and had the dream I just spoke about. Wed the 7th day as usual. however when I went to sleep I saw the dots again. Even before I was asleep it seemed I heard noises yet could not find them - realized they were in my head (like radio stations of music I do not listen to - but they were coherant songs - as I drifted off I tried to change the channel in my head - did and found myself in a real world, color end of the world game with teams pitted against teams on a quest for death or something like that. As I got up I could still hear though not see the game in my head - took a shower - still heard though a bit more muted and went to sleep on the couch - still heard the noises and saw the litte red and green dots enter through my toes and travel up my body - also felt the more these things got into me they were attracting some out film or some thing like feathery lint cover the outside of my body - still can feel it now - I am scared out of my mind.

Sorry for the ramble as this is my first post. Any thoughts? Suggestions?

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Dear Podcast,

I am sorry that I did not see that you sent me a question until now or I would have replied sooner. How are you feeling?

Late to answer your question but yes, there can be fluctuations in headache pattern.

A few times, my daughter was doing so well, that we thought this may be behind her and then the headaches can back when least expected.

The key for her is to stop ANY activity at the first sign of a headache. For example, if you are reading and feel a slight but tolerable headache coming on.....stop immediately and rest before it gets worse. Wait for the headache to pass before resuming.

Same goes for loud noises or bright rooms. Used to be a huge problem for my daughter but now, just sometimes. It doesn't pay for her to try to tolerate it. It only makes the headaches come back and last longer and hurt more. She needs to remove herself asap if the environment is bringing on a headache.

For us, it has helped to evaluate what may have brought the headache on and learn from that. Sometimes, you can't pinpoint anything that triggered it but it helps if you can.

For my daughter, usually her problems come in school with too much cognitive exertion. She has learned to stop and rest until it passes and that has helped. With time, she continues to improve and also has learned many strategies that have helped.

Hope you are feeling better, let me know.