One month post concussion... lingering cognitive symptoms
 

Hi everyone,

I've been checking this forum since I had my concussion one month ago. After the first couple of weeks, my physical symptoms subsided, and now I am dealing primarily with cognitive problems. It feels like my brain is wrapped in a blanket. I have a hard time remembering things, or thinking of the right word to say. Also, when I am typing out long sentences, it is very difficult to keep my thoughts organized, or remember what the beginning of the sentence was about, or how ideas relate.

Most of the long-term posts I see relate to physical symptoms, such as headaches, which I am not having.

1. Did anyone else have these cognitive problems? When did they go away for you?
2. Is there anything I can do to speed up cognitive recovery?

Hi and welcome. I did have all the cognitive symptoms you describe. My initial neuropsychological assessment noted:

"Patient shows significant difficulties with visuospatial learning and recall, as well as mental flexibility and multitasking. He displays weaknesses in aspects of executive system functioning (retrieval of learned information, mental flexibility, abstract reasoning, problem solving, and verbal fluency).”

For me progress was gradual and weren't fully resolved for about five months.

I did receive speech and occupational therapy in the hospital, which began the recovery process. If you are seeing a MD such as a physiatrist (also called physical medicine and rehabilitation) they should be able to refer you.

Some things I did on my own that were helpful was working with arithmetic flash cards (when in hospital I couldn't correctly solve 7 x 4 = ?). Crossword puzzles may be helpful. Start with simple ones and move to harder ones.

If you struggle with reading comprehension (I did), I suggest keeping your reading to short articles (newspaper, magazines) rather than anything real heavy.

Quiet rest is also important. Balance rest with activities.

As concussions go yours is fairly recent, with rest and moderate cognitive activities I suspect you will start seeing continued progress.

Best to you :hug: