How to know when it's serious?
 

This might be kind of a stupid question, and being a very anxious hypochondriac is what is making me ask this.. I've been wondering, how does one know when symptoms are serious enough to seek medical help? Being a hypochondriac I feel like I go to the doctor for every little thing, and it's quite embarrassing so in this case I want to get some advice before I run off to the doctor for nothing again..

When I hit my head a month ago I got a CT scan that came back normal. But the last few days I have noticed myself getting dark circles around my eyes, and of course I had to google it and came up with raccoon eyes, checked behind my ears and they were red and a bit tender to the touch on one side and I can't tell if it's a bruise there or not. I am freaking out but my mother just laughs at me and tells me to stop overreacting.

Is it possible for a fracture to start bleeding one month after injury, even with a normal CT(I read they sometimes miss basilar skull fractures on these scans)? Would there be other symptoms if this was the case? The dark circles could just be from crying and sleeping very little the last few days, I just don't know, I can't tell hypochondria from a real medical issues in this case.. :( Since I caused myself a relapse about a week ago after working out, I am scared I might have damaged my brain to the point of bleeding, even though my nausea is almost gone and I feel better in general..

Any advice will be greatly appreciated! :)

Lack of sleep & lots of crying can cause red circles/bags under eyes.
You could be dehydrated also, drink some clear fluids and see it that helps the eyes..

Thank you for your tips! I will try drinking some more water and get some sleep and hope for the best!

I agree with Jo*Mar.

You need to find ways to accept your current condition so you brain can get the stress free rest it needs to heal. Constant anxiety is by far more of a problem than an occasional minor head bump. Anxiety floods your brain with toxins that slow recovery.

Bleeding with a skull fracture would usually occur immediately following the trauma, and is normally considered a life threatening event; both would show up on a CT scan.

That said, a concussion will frequently not show up on a CT. As you will read through the posts here, common post concussion symptoms can include headache, dizziness, sensitivity to light and noise, insomnia and tinnitus.

Psychological symptoms can include anxiety and depression, attention and memory deficits.

If your overall cognitive functioning hasn't changed since the head bump I agree with Jo*mar and Mark that your general anxiety and insomnia is the likely cause of the dark circles. Are you seeking help for the anxiety disorder?

You are probably right, the cause of the dark circles are most likely due to anxiety and just overall poor health. I am seeking help for my anxiety but the waiting list for a therapist is long and I can't afford to pay for a private therspist. I had to leave university two years ago due to multiple chemical sensitivities and overall just being stressed out and I am still trying to manage that plus a total food intolerance living on an elemental diet I will be prescribed for just one more month so all of that with the fear of starving plus this concussion is just too much for me right now, I just don't know what to do or where to turn. I'm sorry for babbling. Thanks for replying to me even though I sound like a crazy person lol! :)

lunalu,

Who are you getting your diet help from ? I've been through an elimination diet regimen and they should not cause anxiety. I don't understand your 'fear of starving.' If you have a prescribed diet, you should be in good shape.

I have a dietician who takes care of my diet. I'm not sure we are talking about the same thing, I mean like nutritional drinks is what I'm living on, a special kind made for people with allergies. Before I got it prescribed I was starving due to having almost no safe foods and that is what I fear will happen again since I'm still reacting to foods i try. I suspect a mast cell activation disorder due to negative allergy-testing but I'm not being taken seriously by doctors. It's really just an unfortunate situation all together. :(

What kinds of reactions are you having to various foods ? Have you tried any of the self-managed 'bland food diets' used in elimination diet programs ?

Here is one similar to what my doctor prescribed years ago.
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/elimination-diet

I also know that anxiety can cause severe food reactions. I lost 30 pounds last summer due to anxiety cause gastrointestinal problems.

Finding a doctor who can help you with anxiety may help you with your GI issues.

My best to you.

My face mouth and throat swell up and I get a rash, sometimes really bad pain in my bones and severe acid reflux. I get very anxious aswell and I feel lile my system interprets food as danger, my nervous system just freaks out so there is definitely an anxiety factor if not cause for this, but it's really hard to manage on my own, when eating feels like dying it's really not fun!:( What kind of GI reactions did you get and how did you get better?

On the plus side, my mental concussion symptoms has subsided thanks to doing some eft on myself so that feels great! :)