First concussion last Saturday
 

Hi everyone,

To preface my post: I'm sure you have all seen questions about this tons of times already, and you may be tired of saying the same thing over and over again. I totally understand, but would really love some input. I just had a concussion for the first time last Saturday, so I've been recovering for a little over a week, but reading through lots of posts is still very tiring on my brain, as I'm sure you understand.

So, I fell off a horse last Saturday, the 23rd of February. I've been recovering pretty well, I think, but I'm experiencing some weird things and I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same experience.

The story is: I was riding a horse, cantering, and was leaning pretty far forward. I knew I was, so I was trying to sit back, and the horse wasn't going where I wanted him to so I was steering him...and suddenly was on my back on the ground. I don't really remember falling, and I don't know if I was unconscious. I felt fine afterwards, just dazed, and I even managed to drive home.

I was on the phone for part of the drive and was mixing up words, saying "bridge" when I meant "tunnel," and at that point I knew something might be wrong. By the time I got home, I knew something wasn't right, and I was feeling very strange. I quizzed myself on my name, address, phone number, family members...I remembered everything.

I thought maybe I just needed to eat, so I had some lunch. Then started getting very sleepy and cold, even though I was wearing long pants and long sleeves. I curled up in bed and my boyfriend called me at my request about half an hour prior, and I was falling asleep. He said I should go to the doctor. I somehow got out of bed and took a shower and was falling asleep in the shower and realized I really did need to see a doctor.

I went to a walk in clinic down the street and he said I really should go to the ER. By that time, I was sitting in a chair with my head tipping backwards, falling asleep, and I was forcing myself to stay awake. I couldn't remember what time I had the fall, and could barely remember what happened. I still don't really. All I remember is the moment before and the moment after I fell.

And yes I was wearing a helmet! Thank god!

So I ended up going to the ER...The walk in clinic doctor gave me $10 for a cab, which was super nice of him. The ER observed me for about 4 hours and did a CT scan, which was normal. I took a week off work and did very minimal work from home. I went in today for the first time since the fall and did a half day. Then came home and took a nap. I set my alarm for 45 minutes later, but ended up turning it off and going back to bed for a total of 2.5 hours.

So, what I'm experiencing are some strange things...

1. I can literally feel my brain. At least, it seems like it. I was sitting in church the other day, and the right side of my head felt really tense and strange, and the left felt normal. It was like there was a straight line down the side of my head, and I could feel both halves. I thought maybe the right side of my head was feeling so strange because there was music being played and singing, and it was coming from my right.

And these kinds of things have been happening a lot. At work today, I was very aware of my brain needing energy to think. I'm sure I'm just feeling swelling in my head, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever had this kind of feeling before? Feeling the different areas of your brain?

My mom had a car accident in '94 and she said she could feel her brain in 3 distinct parts, not 2. I also know that your temporal lobes and your frontal lobes handle ”memory and hearing” and ”problem solving and judgment and motor function,” respectively (according to WebMD), so I thought that was kind of interesting.

2. My neck spasms. The weird thing is, I didn't really hurt my neck. My lower back was cramped for a few days because I seem to have landed on my butt, then my back, then my head bounced (according to my instructor who saw me fall). And my upper back cramped a bit. My neck was sore for a day. But that was it.

Yet, I'll just be sitting here, and my neck will spasm and my head will move involuntarily. Anyone else ever have that after a head injury? I remember it happening after I had a car accident in 2005, but that was whiplash, not a concussion.

3. I'm so tired. Like I said earlier, I came home and wanted to take a 45 minute nap but instead took a 2.5 hour nap. And my body feels pretty fatigued, and I'm yawning a lot. Sometimes walking up a slight incline is very tiring. Is this common after a concussion?

I feel like there are some other strange things I've noticed...I'll post them if I remember.

I'm also seeing my doctor tomorrow. I am working another half day tomorrow and seeing how I feel. I don't really have sick leave or sick days, so I feel like I might have to start doing full days again, but I'm worried about that, since it hasn't even been 2 weeks since I fell.

sorry for the long post. I really would appreciate any input. Thank you so so so much! :Bow:

kambrielle,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. You had quite a fall. Please don't try to minimize it. You neck can be injured as your back and other parts of your body. The whiplash like forces as you hit the ground can cause a lot of trauma to the whole spine.

Neck spasms are quite common. Plus, muscles spasms/tender spots behind the ears are common. These are usually related to trauma from the base of the skull (occiput) and down. The C-1 (atlas ) to occiput joint is easily injured and will not manifest like a pinched or stuck neck like the lower joints tend to. Chiropractors can help but one needs to be careful to get gentle treatments to the neck. The twist the head and pop the neck is usually too aggressive.

You should be very careful about driving. Your tiredness can be a big problem when behind the wheel.

Feel free to tell us anything you need help with. We have seen and heard it all. Try to get quiet rest so your brain can try to heal.

My best to you.

Hi Mark, thanks for your response. So, it's normal to be so tired and want to just sleep all the time?

It's funny, because in between I wasn't super tired, and I thought I was on the road to recovery. Now I'm having trouble getting out of bed...

Hi kambrielle,

Its very important at such an early stage to get cognitive rest as well as physical rest. Make sure you are avoiding visual and auditory stimulation from computers, tvs, conversations, radio, etc. Now is not the time to be doing research online or watching long movies! You will almost definitely recover fully if you take it seriously and rest!

I wish someone had been more clear what "rest" meant when I was first injured because I thought it mostly meant take naps! Its normal to be tired. Take naps as needed and get as much sleep as you can at night.

Drink lots of water, no alcohol, eat very well (avoid processed foods, sugar, artificial sweetener, etc), take your vitamins, warm epsom salt baths and just relax and don't worry!

Everything you're experiencing is normal and will get better! If possible a bit more time off work or part days would be good. Now get off the computer, turn off the tv and rest ;)

Take care
CC

Thanks CC. I wish I could take time off from work but we don't have sick leave. If I take time off totally I have to use vacation days (of which I have 3 total so far this year) or not pay rent, which is not an option. I wish I could take time off, but the least I can do right now is half days in the office and the rest from home, which goes against getting rest. It's very frustrating. If I lived in Germany (where I have citizenship) I could get paid time off, but the North American system is so backward.

I also saw my doctor today and he said to rest but not take naps because I've been having a hard time falling asleep at night.

I'm really feeling the irritability symptom I've read about right now...And I'm currently on a very jerky bus and thus feeling nauseous.

I spoke to my doctor. He thinks working from home would be the best thing. So I spoke with our accountant/office manager and he has no problem with me working from home. I'm just wondering now...If I'm doing work from home, which involves being on the computer for long hours...Am I slowing my recovery down?

Also...Is it maybe a good idea to see a neurologist? Or should I wait?

Sorry for all these replies, I'm just...really not sure what's going on right now. :p

Just my opinion but I wouldn't worry about seeing a neurologist at this point. Your symptoms will probably be gone before you even see her. My neurologist didn't want to see me until 6 months after my concussion because there's nothing she can do anyhow and 85%+ of people are better long before then anyhow.

Believe me when I say that you really shouldn't be even reading on this website! You are recovering from a concussion but you don't have post concussion syndrome and reading about the minority of people that still have issues and their symptoms will only make you anxious and feel worse.

You need to seriously limit texting, internet surfing, etc until you're feeling better. If you have to work then get through that by taking frequent breaks and when you're done rest your eyes. Don't take breaks and check emails or Facebook!

Having a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep is normal too. Again, try to keep your brain as calm as possible before bed. Try the warm bath!

Just my experiences but I hope you get better quickly and don't need to worry any more!

Take care,
CC

I think it's going to be hard to avoid working...Gotta pay rent and eat...But I think working from home will be better so I can take breaks as you said...and can work in my bed with my cats. ;)

On that note, I am sending any documents I need for work to myself and making like a tree...

I haven't heard that line in ages.... Making like a tree and leaving.

When you are working from home, clear your workspace of visual clutter. If you can, remove pictures from the wall behind your computer screen. Your brain sees these visual images and needs to work to ignore them. If you give a location a try and your eyes want to dart around to images behind your screen, it means your brain is struggling to ignore those images. If you find that you get bleary eyed and find yourself staring into space or at something, it means you brain is struggling. Take a break and close your eyes for a moment. If you need to read a document, try using text to speech and closing your eyes. Most computers have text to speech. In Windows, it is usually under Accessories in the program list.

Here in the US, we have the time off you mention. It is called FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) They don't usually pay your wages but that is what saving accounts are for. Either way, the employee pays for time off in reduced wages, higher taxes, or other benefits trade-offs. In Germany, the employer calculates your wages to include the government mandated annual vacation/sick time off.

Just like with concussions, there are no free lunches.

My best to you.