Missing my marbles! (A vent)
 

I'm new to this whole thing and am of course just hoping it will go away. I've found it frustrating that the docs haven't said much to me, so it's nice to find this forum.

Had a bike accident 3 weeks ago and was out cold for 5 minutes. (Is this a long time? I have no idea.) And that was with a helmet. No recollection of the accident. Checked out okay with CT scan and xrays at the hospital and had a headache for about 2 days, then a transient one for the next week or so.

Then I felt fine! Great, even! Concussion - no biggie. Now I'm not so sure.

Some days okay, others I feel very tired and the headaches continue to nag me. Usually headaches are a rarity for me, but I've been taking Tylenol on a pretty much daily basis. Today it even started to cause some difficulties in focus for me. Dizziness too. I'm tired and am sure I'll be in bed very early tonight.

So for what I've gathered online, rest is pretty much the only thing to do. Should I even bother going back to my family doc? Or am I just a nuisance?

This is such a weird thing, to feel fine and then have it come back and bite you in the ***!

Thanks for reading my vent.

usually getting knocked out for a short period of time is not an indicator of injury severity. make sure you get plenty of physical and cognitive rest. keep brain stimulation to a minimum if you can. this is important in the first few weeks post concussion.

eat plenty of foods high in B vitamins and take a fish oil supplement if you can. also if its tolerable, get out more. your body uses sunlight for vit. D which is important for brain function.

your family doctor won't be able to do much except prescribing medication for indivual symptoms.

Symptoms can take a long time to manifest themselves. I would suggest scheduling follow-ups with your family doctor until you feel better, consistently.

I agree with the previous posts. Important for nutrition, congnitive rest, and for your doctors to know what symptoms are plaguing you. You may need to even take time off of work, so important for your doctor or more specifically a neurologist who specializes in concussions to follow you and your symptoms. I had to be started on multiple different meds for symptoms. Sometimes tylenol or motrin just isnt strong enough and doest target the migraine or cluster headaches that pop up. I am on Fiorinal for breakthrough headaches. Nortriptyline nightly for longer lasting headache control, and percocet when neither does the trick. Concussions are soooo complicated!

It is hard to get enough of the kind of nutrition your brain needs to flush out the toxins from a concussion from just eating good foods. The B vitamins, Omega 3's (DHA) D3, a good dose of the anti-oxidants, and a few other supplements will help your brain flush the toxins.

An important issue to consider is what foods to avoid. Caffeine, MSG and any processed soy products are counter to your brain's recovery, same for alcohol. Limit caffeine and alcohol to one serving per day max.

Your 5 minute LOC is indicative of a serious concussion. It just does not have much bearing on the long term consequences. What it is most indicative of is the fact that your brain has seriously reacted to the impact. The next time your brain gets jostled, your symptoms will most likely be much worse. Avoid activities that have such a risk, especially during the next year or two.

Your amnesia is also an indicator of the level of injury. Some memory of your fall may become available in the future after your brain has settled down.

Your best recovery will include rest, rest and more rest. This means no strenuous cognitive efforts, limiting visual, auditory and other sensory stimuli.

Casual walks and activities can be helpful as they keep your blood flowing and help with the anxiety from boredom. Simple manual tasks can help with the boredom. Your hands tend to limit the speed your brain needs to react. I spent time sorting things in my shop. Needle point, crocheting, cross stitch, artistic painting, and such can allow the brain to maintain a casual focus.

Hope you can find relief from your head aches. they can be a struggle. Avoid using Tylenol for extended periods. Switch to enteric aspirin to give your liver a break from the Tylenol.

My best to you.

Welcome! I think the above posts sum it up very well.....a lot of rest, good nutrition, and continued working with your dr as needed for your various symptoms. In my situation, my primary dr ended up being far more helpful in terms of managing everything.

Best of luck to you!! ;)

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the advice. I really appreciate it and plan to do my best to rest and eat well while I recover. (And also to try not to hit my head again!) Thank you especially for the nutrition advice - this is something that has long been of personal interest to me and I plan to also do some more research on this front.
MM