is it all psychological?
 

Hi, I am 23 and 3.5 months ago, a metal rod fell down on the back of my head from maybe 4ft while I was lying face down. I did not lose consciousness and had no memory loss or anything, only some headache at the back of my head.
On the way home I started paranoidly googling what region of the brain it was and if the hit could have an impact on my brain capacity, etc.
During the next days my headache didn't get better and I had a constant feeling of dizziness, so I went to the doctor. He said it is probably only a bruise and told me to put some ice on it and wait a few more days.
At home I continued googling and diagnosed myself with a concussion. So I continued doing research to find out what the worst possible outcome could be and stumbled accross PCS.
My symptoms didn't get better so I went to the doctor again, who only advised me to wait some more. At the next visit he sent me to an otologist to check my vestibular system, but nothing was diagnosed. So I was sent off to a neurologist. Then i got an MRI of the brain, which turned out to be fine.
2 months after the accident, the neurologist started giving me amitriptylin and told me it's all a psychological problem and my brain and in fact everything else is totally fine. The doctor also got me an MRI of the cervical spine, which also turned out to be fine.
I started taking the amitryptilin and went on holiday, which turned out to be great and my symptoms were gone. However, I was constantly tired and fuzzy-brained due to the amitryptilin.
When I came back I had to study for exams so I stopped taking it (I am a very ambitious and high achieving student). Then my symptoms (headaches, dizziness) came back and I started to feel depressive and felt totally helpless and did bad in the exams.
So at the moment I am not taking anything and I am getting headaches and nausea every evening. When I am in a car or a train I also immediately get nausea, which was nit the case before the accident. I have no idea what to do since all my doctors tell me everything is fine and I just have to get my mind off of it and carry on. They advise not to rest, but instead to get active.
Personally I feel that I have lost every bit of quality in my life and feel totally helpless.

mjay2k8,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. What you are experiencing is common to those who get concussions. Unfortunately, your doctors are not well informed or are attributing your symptoms to anxiety. You sound like an anxious person.

First, slow down and turn off the ambition so your brain can heal. The brain only heals during rest, at least during the early stages of a concussion. The only physical and cognitive activity you should be doing is light, maybe a walk in a quiet area and doing some simple cognitive tasks. No studying. No reading for comprehension. Driving and the train are far too stimulating.

Amitriptyline is a common med for PCS. It should be taken in a small dose (10 to 20 mgs) as an aid to sleep and to help with headaches.

Read the sticky at the top about Vitamins and Supplements. Your brain needs extra nutrition to help it clear the toxins out and repair.

In time, things will get better. Learning to live a lower stress lifestyle will be beneficial. This concussion may have reduced your brain's ability to tolerate stress. This is not uncommon. So, try to relax and let your brain heal. You may still have some inflammation in your upper neck so icing it may help with headaches.

Please feel free to tell us how you are doing. There are plenty of good people here.

My best to you.

Thank you marc. Doing some reading here made me feel less helpless.
You are right, I would consider myself as an anxious person.
However, I really start to believe that for me the symptoms are mostly psychological. The best time I had during the last 3 Months was a noisy and busy night out in a club with some good friends (no alcohol involved), during which I was free of symptoms. I guess, I am not like most other pcs cases...

I think it is likely you did suffer a concussion. Then, as you obsessed about it, you made it worse or prevented any healing. Now, it is hard to tell the difference between the original organic symptoms and your anxiety caused symptoms. The only way to tell is to take time off, get good psychological support about your anxieties and let time try to heal.

You will find that your anxiety prone behaviors will be counter to a long and successful life, to the point that it often leads to worse psychological and even psychiatric problems. Over my life, I have noticed those who are the most tightly wound from an anxiety perspective tend to suffer the most psych problems later in life.

Keep in mind that anxiety is a toxic polluter of the brain. Toxins prevent healing. The Vitamins regimen I use is designed to help with this toxic environment.

My best to you.

a quick update:
I am back on Amitryptilin (only 10mg per day), which seems to help.
I am free of symptoms now, except when I obsess about, which happens in the evenings, but talking with friends helps, I even have some completely symptom free days now. Sometimes I have trouble finding specific words, which makes me mad, because I instantly attribute every lapse of my brain to my concussion.
For the future I plan to do Autogenic training to cope with my anxiety problems and to relax, did anyone here try that?

There is no reason to get mad when you can't find a specific word. It only makes it worse. When this happens, take a breath and relax and see what happens. Some of us have had word finding problems for years. Be glad you don't spurt out the wrong word and end up embarrassed or laughing.

Learning skills to deal with your anxiety will pay lifelong benefits, especially with a concussion history.

It sounds like you and I are in similar situations. I'm 24 and sustained a mild-moderate TBI after being run over by a car a couple of months ago.

I've been perfectly comfortable with crowds and noisy places since the accident, which members of my recovery team are always surprised about. I've mentioned going to the mall or to a concert and they always ask how I felt afterwards. I always feel fine, just tired! I think everyone just has different reactions post-injury.

It's good that you're symptom-free! I've been having a lot of symptom-free days lately as well, but they still pop up at times.

Hi,
Sorry you are going through this, as always Mark has some great advice for you.

I suffered a concussion in late March of this year and it's been very rough.

Definitely try not to get mad when you can't find certain words, I did that all the time, to begin with it upset me then I realized I just had to go with the flow so to speak, now it's not as bad.