Waiting to Get into a Doctor Regarding Possible PCS
 

I'm 28 year old female roller derby skater who took a bad hit to the face in the second to last week of June this year (so much for splurging on the good hockey helmet). The hit knocked me on my butt, and I went out of the game for a few minutes, but I was evaluated by our EMT and released back into play during the second half. I didn't lose consciousness, throw up, or lose any time before or after the hit. For all intents and purposes I thought that I didn't have a concussion.

1-2 weeks later I started noticing some memory problems. On a Tuesday I was speaking to a friend about how busy I'd been that weekend, but I couldn't remember what I'd done. It took a good 10 minutes for it to all come back to me.

I also started experiencing other neurological symptoms: fuzzy headedness, slowed reading comprehension, and what others on he describe as dizziness (though for me it feels more like being drunk - my brain is a step or two behind my eyes when I turn my head.) I'm an attorney, so my work involves lots of reading off screens and lots of critical thinking. I also work below an atrium so my cubicle is inordinately bright. By the end of the day in that environment the front of my head starts to feel heavy and I feel an overwhelming urge to look down instead of in front of me. I've also been getting these sensations that I can only describe as goosebumps on my brain.

I described my symptoms to a friend in the medical field who insisted that I see a doctor. Due to my lousy insurance all I could do was go to urgent care. The doctor I saw was concerned about the duration of my symptoms. He did a physical, neurological exam on me (reflex stimulation, eye tracking, and coordination) that I passed, but he prescribed an MRI because he was worried I might have a brain bleed.

MRI came back unremarkable but included this line in the description: "There is a small foci of CSF signal along the inferior right basal ganglion region likely related to slightly prominent perivascular spaces. [sic]" Since I don't have a doctor to interpret this for me, I did some research that indicated prominent perivascular spaces are related to MS.

Now I have begun to wonder if I had a concussion in the first place, since I didn't exhibit any of the standard concussion symptoms after my hit. MS and PSC share a fairly analogous symptom list. I've been trying to get in to see a neurologist so that someone can review my scans and actually explain to me what's going on, but the earliest I can get in is mid-September.

This waiting is killing me. My symptoms also aren't improving that much either. I was on vacation last week and did notice some abatement there, but I also made some foolish choices while out of town, including riding a roller coaster and drinking fairly regularly.

I just want to start to feel better, but I'm also really holding out hope that these symptoms aren't indicative of something worse.

Welcome!

I wanted to do Roller Derby so bad but after this last accident I have realized I will just have to watch :(

Did you have any symptoms of fuzziness or memory before? If not, does MS run in your family? I wonder if the CSF is just protecting a damaged part of the brain where there is damage.. that is the body's response.. think about a knee or a wrist.. gets inflamed and the fluid builds up...

What part of the country are you in?

Elektra,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

I experienced a cluster of symptoms that mimicked MS. When I brought them up to my neuro, he reassured me that MS would have been glaringly obvious in my recent MRI. It does not sound like your small foci is glaringly obvious. I suggest you try to relax and be patient.

I do recommend you hang up your skates. Your sensitivity to head impacts leaves me concerned.

My best to you.

Hi Sarah,

I don't recall having any of these symptoms before hand, and if I did clearly they weren't as prominent as they are now. To the best of my knowledge no one in my family has MS, which decreases my risk but doesn't eliminate it. I just think I'll feel better when I talk to someone who understands doctor speak better than I do. My MRI was read by the on-site radiologist where i had my testing done, but she's not my actual doctor so I didn't get to speak to her or ask any followup questions. They just emailed me a report and suggested I follow up with a neuro. But your medical hypothesis does make sense.

I'm sorry to hear your won't be playing, although like Mark in Idaho suggested I am currently evaluating what role the sport might play in my future. I've been skating for two years and I was just starting to get good when I got hurt. It's really an amazing sport populated by a whole host of awesome people, and I miss it something fierce. If you're interested in getting involved I highly suggest you look into refereeing, since the refs get to skate but don't get hit, or working as a non-skating official (time keepers, penalty monitors, etc.) It really takes a village to host a roller derby bout and there's lots of room for participation if you're interested.

Oh, and I'm just outside Chicago.

Being a referee is a great idea!! thanks! once this is all over I will look into it...

When my neuro waived her white flag last month, she told me I could go to Chicago, Ann Arbor or Dallas for additional help... I chose Dallas since my parents are here even though Chicago is so close.. there are a lot of great neuros up there... are you going to the Northshore group?