New Member with a couple questions
 

I was involved in an MVA on Feb. 19, 2013. I was stopped at a stop sign when a tractor trailer doing 30 mph rear ended me. Sent my car through the intersection, sideswiped another car sitting at the SS coming the other way, ricocheted off of that car went over a snow bank and was stopped when I ran into another snow bank on the other side of a driveway. I remember the impact, which broke my driver’s seat, and thinking to myself as I lay flat on my back looking at the interior ceiling of the car “why is everything brown?” and “why am I rocking” as I bounced off of the car and went over the snow bank. When the car hit the snow and stopped I sat up, unplugged my iPod, put it in my jacket pocket, and passed out. I awoke a few minutes later to a policeman looking in my driver’s side window. I was able to stand while the EMT’s guided me to a stretcher (after they put the neck brace on) and I was transported to the hospital.

Upon arrival a physician examined my eyes and told me that I had a concussion. I was taken for a CAT scan and had a couple of doctors examine me while in the room. They gave me 4 mg’s of morphine and sent me home. Total time in the ER was about 3 hours.

They told me that if I still had a headache in a week I should see a physician. Which I did.

Absent any real good guidance I made some mistakes in my recovery, suffered a setback and have not been ‘good’ since.

At this point any kind of exertion causes a headache and the foggy feeling to return. Headaches and fog are daily. The last ‘clear’ day that I had was last Friday, which was the day after an MRI.

The MRI resulted in a diagnosis of Migraine Associated Vasculopathy. I can’t find anything on line about that and was hoping someone here could decipher that for me.

I am currently waiting for an appointment with a neurologist and was hoping to get some feedback on what I should look for when I get there and some questions to ask.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Hi! Welcome! I'm just wondering how did the physician diagnose you had a concussion? Thank you!

If you have a concussion, you should go to a quiet room with no noise, keep sunlight out and rest, rest, rest! Do not watch TV, listen to the radio or read and keep well away from computers and video games. It might just hopefully save you a lot of trouble in the weeks ahead if you do this, because it is possible to get some lingering symptoms from concussion. Do not do anything for the moment if possible, definately nothing strenuous, and certainly no exercise.

If you get migraines you should go to a darkened room and rest, avoiding stimulation. If you have noise and light sensitivity wear sunglasses and ear plugs. I found Imigran very helpful for migraine.

One question you should be asking is what meds are you going to be given if you have migraine. If you have questions write them down before meeting the neuro.

Hi bluehiroko,

The doctor had one of those little flashlights, shined it into each eye and said "you have a concussion!" Elapsed time of exam approximately 1 second...:)

I neglected to mention that I'm 57 years old, in good physical condition, non-smoker.

The doctor likely noticed a weak pupil constriction response or maybe nystagmus . Nystagmus is when the eye jumps as it tries to move. The common test is horizontal nystagmus. The doctor asked you to follow his pen as he moves it from side to side. The pupil response is done by flashing the flashlight at the eye and watching the speed of pupil contraction. A slow reaction is a positive sign of head injury.

Migraine Associated Vasculopathy is a very broad term. It just means the vasculature in the brain is irritated (maybe dilated) and causing migraines. It is common for a concussion to cause the brains vascular system to lose control over blood flow. This is why it is important to avoid a second concussion. The blood pressure can cause serious brain swelling when this happens.

Mark, thanks for the response.

I actually feel better now, having a definition for the MAV. I'm hopeful that the vasculature will return to normal over time.

I have another question
 

I'm not sure what the "correct" protocal for posting on this site is so rather than start an entirely new thread I thought I would keep my questions in this one. If this is incorrect or confusing please let me know.

I was hoping someone could explain why I am always fatigued. Fatigue kept me home from work today. Before my concussion I rarely missed work, in the first seven weeks after the accident I missed 21 out of a possible 35 work days.

Now I miss about 1 day a week due to extreme fatigue. Usually brought on by very low levels of exertion. A couple of weeks ago I walked six flights of stairs at a very slow pace and missed the next work day with a migraine and the day after that with fatigue.

Hopefully someone here who has experienced this can comment.

Thanks in advance.

This is something that has begun happening to me as well. I was fortunate that I had a few pain-free weeks, but recently little things have been cascading into bad headaches and fatigue as well. For instance, I walked to the supermarket yesterday and felt like I was going to pass out from fatigue, had a horrific headache to go with it. I almost feel like I am slowly regressing at times.

I don't know the reason behind it. My guess is that it is the brain trying to cope with limited resources and getting overwhelmed. Everyone here is right... quiet rest is best. I notice that if I sit at the computer for too long, my head begins to feel heavy on my neck, I get a headache, tinnitus, ear pressure, etc.

Fatigue
 

I was one of those people that hadn't used a sick day in nine years. And I had endless energy.

Now I am 7 months pcs and still can't work full time. My brain feels like it is like a battery that I can't charge. I can only charge it a little bit and then it drains to empty again.
Su seb