New to site and scared
 

:( Hi guys. I have heavily been searching google for answers about my PCS and it has always gotten me to this site so I decided to become a member and take active part.

On December 27th I was at the gym and a 50 lb bar hit me in the top of my head while I was exercising with it. It didnt fall from far. About a foot above my noggin. I was holding the bar at the time and they (my hands) buckled at the elbows, thus making me drop the bar on my head while I was still holding it (if that makes sense).

I did not pass out from the stinger. My vision was a little foggy, like someone had let a light smoke into the room. I went to the ER promptly. They did a CT scan and it came out negative (no fractures in skull or bleeding in brain). They also gave me naproxen for anti-inflammatory and told me to take it as needed. There was a soft-spot on the top of my head that hurt for about a week and a pain developed in the back of my skull as well. The "Lumpy" part, right where the skull meets the back of the neck. The pain was off and on and it the onset would be very sudden. Sometimes it would last for 5 mins, sometimes it would last for the rest of the day. Sometimes the pain was a sharp stabbing pain, sometimes it was an aching pain. The pain would persist in both the top of my head (where I hit myself), and the back of my head. The top of my head all the way to my ear drum would tingle only on my left side like there were ants crawling all over that region. My hearing in just my right ear would go dim out randomly and pop if I took a deep gulp of saliva or ate. It would pop as if I was on an airplane. This never happened in the left ear.

Seven days after my ER visit, I had a sharp pain so bad (sudden onset in the back of my head) while I was watching TV one evening. It was so bad that my eyes begin to water just out of reflex. I wasnt crying. I went to the ER again and this time it was another doctor. He did another CT scan and asked me if I had bad sinus problems after the scan. I told him on occasion. But never any ear popping. He told me that my CT scan was negative (like the first one) and told me to take ibeuprofin as needed because I had a muscle strain. He told me to lay off the gym for 5 days. I have done that. I went to the gym last night and hit it like I regularly do. Moderate intensity. I had no problems.

This morning though, When I was sleeping I was turning over from one side to the other and I just let my head "plop" onto my pillow. I was in mid-sleep and briefly awoke to complete my turning over. My head plopped from about a foot above my pillow onto my pillow and it (my head) landed on its side-- The right temple side. Right after this I had a slight headache in the right side of my head and it went away when I woke up from my nap. Now the ache has gone to the left side of my head in the temple region, and in my neck on the right side.

My questions are:
1. With my initial hit, did I suffer a severe concussion given my symptoms? My ER doctor and my family doctor did not give me an answer to this question when I asked them.

2. When I plopped my head on the temple during my nap, are the lingering aches a sign that i have reconcussed myself? I am really worried that I might have, and I do not want to go to the doctor/ER unless I absolutely have to.

I apologize for the long first post. But please help me guys. I am deeply worried.:(:confused:

ADD-ON: I just want to add that for about 10 days after my initial hit, I heard a light ringing in my ears. It stopped until this morning.

After my incident this morning, I have it again. It is very light and I almost have to listen for it to hear it.

In both situations, the ringing came and went randomly and lasted for about 15-20 seconds. This ringing only happens in my right ear for some reason.

six,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sounds like you got quite a hit.

Your questions are not answerable. They are of no importance anyway.

Your symptoms are all that matters.

If you have any new symptoms like a loss of vision or muscle control or tingling on one side of your body or face, get to the ER. An extreme head ache would also justify a trip to the ER.

What symptoms are you experiencing now?

What are you doing to help with recovery?

Hi mark. Thanks for the response.
I hit my head on the top , closer to the front. I am experiencing pain off and on at the top but it is towards the back of my head. I dont understand why it doesnt hurt where the impact took place.
I am currently taking 800mgs of ibuprofen spread across two servings a day. The doc in the ER the second time totally disregarded the naproxen and told me to take Tylenol or ibeuprofin because I had a muscle strain. The tingly feeling come on randomly for about 5 mins and leaves. It only happens on the right side of my head. From the top to the ear. My face does not feel tingly. I habe no loss of vision in that i have not been blinded. The rooms dont seem hazy anymore. I have not experienced loss of muscle contol. Its just that wyen I do experience pain in my head, it is in the back of the head from rigth above where the skull ends, all the way down the sides of my neck.The faint ringing has stopped in my right ear but came for about a few seconds today.
I went to the gym today and my head hurts in the back so I think i will lay off that again for a while.
Other than the ibuprofen, I have done nothing between 12/27 (day of incident) and 1/11 except get plenty of sleep, and sit on the couch watching tv. This is to ensure that I got plenty of rest. Could my concussion be acting up with my sinuses? The doctor did ask me if I had bad sinuses before he gave me the results of my second scan.

I am so lost and do not knoe what to do. I feel like a blind man in the dark just searching for what is wrong and how I can fix it :(
My family doctor just keeps telling me that it takes 6 weeks for a concussion to heal and if it doesnt by then, he will refer me to a neurologist.

I don't know the answer to your specific question but i do think you need to get a second opinion from you family doc an see what they have to say about all your symptoms an if you are still not happy with the answers your getting then make appointment to see a neuro doc talk the sooner you do that the better i think plus it usually takes time to see one anyways... what i have learned is hat you cant depend on anyone to take care of your health but you so keep on fighting to feel better i hope nothing but happiness an good health to you

The TV is actually not very restful for your brain. That was a mistake I made when I first got my concussion -- I was resting my body but not my brain. You need both physical rest and brain rest in order to recover.

Here are some natural things you can do to strengthen your brain:

- Eat a whole foods (clean eating) diet high in omega-3s and tryptophan. Take 3 tbsp of ground flax seed in juice every morning for a complete daily dose of both and then whatever you eat during the day is bonus. I also switched to a vegan diet, which is optimal for getting the nutrients you need across the blood-brain barrier, but at a minimum eat whole foods (not processed foods).

- Be sure to stay well hydrated. Drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily (i.e. if you weigh 100lbs, drink 50 oz. of water).

- There are also hot and cold water treatments you can do to increase circulation to the brain. In the shower, alternate 3 minutes of hot water with 1 minute of cold for at least 3 cycles. The greater the temperature contrast, the greater the benefit (just be sure not to scald yourself). Don't get the very hot water on your head, but do get it on your shoulders. Cold water is okay to get on your head. Always end on cold.

- Sunlight through the skin is good for vitamin D and through the eyes is good for melatonin (sleeping at night).

- Listening to baroque music (such as Bach) can help strengthen frontal lobe function (provided it does not increase symptoms).

- Exercise (even light exercise such as walking) can reduce harmful biochemicals and release endorphins. Again, be sure you are keeping it gentle enough to avoid symptoms.

- Avoid caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and other non-prescribed drugs.

- Avoid or strictly limit television, video games, smart phone, and computer usage.

- Get fresh air daily and take 10-20 minutes specifically to do deep diaphragmatic breathing.

- Try to have regular times for sleeping and waking.

- Connect with spiritual practice, even something as small as making a list of 3-5 things you are grateful for.

These things will strengthen the brain naturally and shouldn't interfere with any medications or treatments your doctors want to use.

Medically speaking, the two things that helped me the most were having my vision evaluated for vision therapy and seeing a physiatrist. These links may help you find practitioners in your area.

http://www.braininjuries.org
http://www.nora.cc
http://www.aapmr.org/patients/findph...s/default.aspx

six,

You need to try to separate your symptoms. Pain, especially head and neck pain are difficult symptoms. Pain meds are not reliable. It just depends on the individual. Sensitivity to touch is more a physical/structural pain.

The concussion symptoms would be the internal head aches, dizziness, confusion, sensitivity to light and sound, insomnia, memory problems, anxiety attacks, problems focusing, etc.

Eowyn has some great advice. I believe you need far more than a vegan diet can provide. The brain needs meat protein based amino acids. It is very difficult to get equivalents in a vegan diet. If I can find the research that supports this again, I will post it.

It sounds like you have a neck injury that would benefit from treatment and frequent icing. As Eowyn said, a physiatrist may help or a Physical Therapist or chiropractor. The treatment should be gentle. No twist and pop. Ice after each treatment. It can take 6 weeks or longer for the neck to START to strengthen.

Read the thread about vitamins and supplements. It has some more information.

My best to you.

wow thank you guys for the overwhelming response.
Eowyn, I really like the baroque music suggestion. I listened to it all through the night on internet radio on my ipad. At first, the front of my head felt weird and tingly, but then it gave me a feeling of alertness and I had a degree of brain clarity that I did not experience yesterday. It also gave me awesome sleep. I think I will listen to it more often.
Also, thank you for the advice about the TV. After you posted that, I read some one on here say that TV and videogames are bad for brain recovery because they require too much focus.
Mark, I like meat too much to go on a vegan diet lol.
I am an avid strength trainer. My diet consists of 250 grams of proteins that come from chicken, red meat, protein shakes.
I take in 200 grams of carbs from oats, rice, potatoes, 100% organic wheat bread.
I taken in about 80 g of fats from nuts (pecans, flax seed powder, fish oil)
For multi-vitamin, I take ADAM from NOW foods. I believe it is a sports multivitamin that has over 200 + % of all vitamins, minerals, organ support enzymes, and so on.
I have just bought a bottle of Chlorella. I plan to take it as soon as my Internet shipment arrives. I believe it has 3g of serving per day.

Mark, it is funny you mention the chiropracter, because the ER doctor told me not to go to him to get my neck popped ever again. My chiropracter is my grandfather and he has been popping my neck for my sinuses for a while. I will take your advice and go back to him to see what he recommends.

Also, I guess I do not know how to distinguish between the pain I am experiencing. From your last post, I believe you are saying that pain on the surface of the head would be muscles, but brain pain would be deep inside my head. Like in the center? Is that correct?

As for anxiety, I am the worst. If I fear something is going to get me or harm me, I panic and my heartbeat gets strong and irregular, my hands and legs get clammy and sweaty.

A vegan diet is not for everyone. It can be difficult to do properly, especially without proper education and practice. The main thing is to eat whole foods (not processed) and to eat a diet high in omega-3s and tryptophan. Those are nutrients that are very important for brain health. There are others (folic acid, etc) but omega-3s and tryptophan are the top ones.

The nuts and seeds that you are eating are GREAT.