Vision problems after 2 weeks of head injury
 

Hi,
I am new to this forum. I am 28 years old, I had a hit in the head while playing paddle ball in Tikwando class. It was my master's right hand elbow that hit on top of my head. I was a bit dizzy but was fine for a week or so. Then I had flu for a week and right after the flu I started having vision problems. After couple of weeks I felt really dizzy. Its been 3 months since I feel like vision is off. I feel like dizzy sometimes. I stopped driving completely because I feel like I am going to run into someone. I have been having sleeping problems but for the past couple of days I slept relatively better. I had my MRI and CT scans done and everything came negative. I went to ENT specialist and he ruled out any ear related diseases. I went to see one Neurologist and he said I might have Basilar Migranes. But I don't have headaches. I went to see couple of Opthamologists and one of them said it is PCS. I am going to see another Neurologist on Monday.

I work in IT. Even though my vision is off I have been going to work and trying to do something but I am having a hard time concentrating and seeing the screen. Do I have PCS? I have been worried and I feel like committing suicide all the time. Will my vision problems go away? I am planning to go to Mayo Clinic which is kind of close to me.

What should I be doing?

pavant,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear you are feeling so bad.

Your vision problems may very well be from your concussion. A NeuroOphthalmologist may be able to help you. There are some vision therapies that may help.

You likely have other symptoms, too. You commented about concentration problems.

Your should start a week or two of rest between outing to see any specialists you may find. Concussion is difficult to diagnose and treat, even at the Mayo Clinic. Rest and reducing stimulation are the best methods of recovery.

Some have success with tinted glasses. It just depends on the root problem.

I posted some nutritional guidelines in LisaGH's thread that you should follow. Tae kwon do should be stopped for a month or two. The impacting/jarring movements are too harsh on your brain. This does not even consider any direct impacts to you head.

So, get some good rest. Give your brain time. Concussions heal very slowly.

My best to you.

Will my vision get any better?
 

Thanks for your reply Mark. Do you think my vision will ever get better? I see everything but I feel like my brain is not able to process what I am seeing. I feel like everything is fuzzy and there is big cloud in my head. I am having a hard time working and it doesn't help that I have to work on computer all day long.

I have been living here alone (with a roomie) in the US and my parents are in India. I have a house and I am not sure what to do with it and everyday I feel like dying. I wonder how are other people coping with PCS.

Hi pavant,

Everyone copes with dealing with PCS differently. Before the concussion I sustained, I was a very level-headed, optimistic, hyper-active chick who loved life, so I imagine that I cope with it better than others and I have still have had some very serious periods of depression, sadness and anxiety.

Mostly, I try very hard to focus on and remember that I am still getting better and that my prognosis is very good and that this is temporary.

I had a lot of vison problems for a long time after the concussion I sustained too. I had my eyes checked out and my Dr. an Optometrist and an Ophthamologist all said that my eyes were fine but that my brain wasn't able to process the information coming from them fast enough.

It took minutes for my eyes to focus on something close if I moved my eyes from something far away and vice versa. It is so much better now!! It only takes a little bit longer than what I perceive to be normal. But the concussion I sustained happened 20 months ago... there is no way to guess how long it might take your brain to heal so you have normal vision again. It could just snap back into place one day suddenly, or it could take weeks. I hope it doesn't take months - it's pretty annoying!

I know a member on this forum has gone to vision therapy and highly recommends it. It's expensive and most insurance companies don't cover it at all. Maybe you could try that in an effort to hasten the recovery time. (Hopefully, she will chime in here too...)

welcome pavant
 

I can relate to the visual problems you are experiencing. I have had tbi and my eys do not focus very well when going near to far or vice versa. I was told I have convergence insufficiency and accomodation disorder which requires visual therapy. My insurance does not cover it and I can't afford it so I live with it. Mine came from abuse (getting beat in the head a lot)...my eye doctor stated that the test shown results of a person that has had a head on collision (in which I haven't). Hope you get the therapy you require and your recovery is very soon. Keep your head up.

Thanks EsthersDoll and ladydeedee for your encouraging words. I hope my vision gets better soon. I am just going crazy everyday.

EsthersDoll, How long did it take for you to get to your normal vision?

ladydeedee I fee sorry for you that you can't afford the visual therapy.

I still don't feel like my vision is really normal yet... you have to understand though, the concussion I had gave me increased intracranial pressure, iicp, for almost 6 months and I had to have a lumbar puncture to relieve that pressure. In those six months I became much worse than I was the first few weeks after the initial concussion.

The initial concussion was about 20 months ago. The lumbar puncture was about 14 months ago.

I think trying to compare your injury, symptoms and recovery time to mine is comparing apples to oranges.

I think you should see an optometrist and see if they recommend visual therapy, or if they think it will go away on its own as the issues I'm having are.

My vision was a bit blurred in one eye for a couple of months after concussion. It got progressively better over that period and by the third month it was close to normal, and the fourth it was back to normal.

At the month and a half mark I flunked an eye exam as part of a medical. Be patient and it should return to normal in short time.

I had ten weeks of vision therapy last summer after my concussion. Even though my medical eye exam was completely normal, my Visual Efficiency Evaluation showed that my eyes were not working well together and were having trouble switching from close to far. This made it difficult for me to read, use the computer, and do other visual tasks.

My insurance did cover ten sessions, but only ten. I saw major improvements but had to stop after ten. Fortunately, I was able to get back to reading and driving in that time. I would highly recommend that you find an optometrist who can give you a Visual Efficiency Exam. It is DIFFERENT from a regular medical eye exam.

I got the referral to my eye doctor from this website: http://www.braininjuries.org

Good luck!

Help - for a friend
 

I have a friend who fell when playing basketball - he will not go to the dr. - said they will tell him he has a concussion - he has no insurance - he has memory loss, dizziness, his gait appears off, appears as if his neck is stiff, he turns his whole body when he turns his head - when I ask if his neck hurts he says no - in the last two days, his two front teeth separated - I'm afraid it is very serious - he blows it off - what can be going on?