Bumped My Head
 

Hey all,

I'm 2 years out and had been really doing well. Working almost full time for the summer, living on my own, and having fun and traveling on weekends. My only symptoms that are still occurring are vestibular issues (mostly just ear pain), some fatigue/brain fog, and headaches from my neck and jaw. None of this really affected my day to day activities.

However, on Sunday afternoon I was getting something out of my car and hit my head on the door frame. It was a significant enough hit where I said "Ow!" and felt my head was sore immediately. I didn't really think it was enough to cause a concussion but then again I know we are more vulnerable if we had prior ones. I tried to calm my anxiety but felt a little queasy on my ride home and a little dazed (but that could've just been a long weekend of traveling).

I felt fine the rest of the night, it wasn't until Monday morning when I was getting ready for work that I felt light headed and needed to lay down. I fell asleep for ~1 hour and then felt better the rest of the day (I called in sick from work but I went for a 20 minute walk, supermarket, watched tv, etc.) all with no problem.

For the most part I'd say I feel fine except for a few troubling "symptoms". The lightheaded feeling (not like im going to faint but just breaking out in cold sweat and feeling a little dazed), and slight nausea. These symptoms are NOT normal for me, and they have been coming and going since I hit my head. I also have a headache and soreness at the top of my head where I hit it, although I get these headaches often from my neck. So really just the lightheaded/queasiness is worrisome.

Should I seek medical attention? Do I have a concussion or could it just be an inflammation of symptoms? If I knew for sure I had one I would just be ready to lie in a dark room and recover but I'm not really sure that I have one to be honest so I'm not sure what to do.

Any help?

Have you considered upper cervical chiropractic care?
Your C1 C2 probably got misaligned from the first hit and possible again with this new bump..
More info about it can be searched , or found in the sticky threads..
Up C Spine
Up C Spine - A New Approach - Sign / Symptom Checklist

JoMar,

I have considered it, but I just can't afford it right now. I hope when I'm employed full-time I can try it out because nothing else has helped my neck.

Do you think I could have just aggravated my neck and not re-concussed myself? I'm thinking that could be it but I'm not sure.

Also, an update...my eyes feel strained now, too, and a little blurry at times :( very worried

Why would you think it would not be able to cause/aggravate a concussion? a PILLOW (heavy one tho) smacked on my head and significantly worsened my concussion symptoms

I second this. Sounds to me like you've re-aggravated your neck injury. Inflammation around the C1 can affect the cranial nerves, which can result in the symptoms you've mentioned.

Hains

A heavy pillow did not aggravate a concussion. It aggravated anxiety. Same symptoms. Different cause.

This bump into the door frame caused a startle, a tender spot that is keeping you aware of the impact and maybe aggravated your neck. The tenderness is because there are lots of nerves in the 7 layers of skin outside the skull. They can take a long time to settle down.

The muscle tension alone from the tenderness can cause symptoms.

Please try to remember how the brain can tend to replay old symptoms when there is a later event that is similar to the real injury. The sensation of symptoms are real. Think of it as a flashback and how real they can feel.

Some ice and things to distract you and you will be fine.

is there any evidence for that "playback" thing? I notice that doctors do highly advise not getting any bump, jolt or shake to the head after a concussion, no matter concussive or otherwise. There should be a reason for that no?

I think the Drs warning is to make sure people don't go back to any risky activities too soon..

I gotta say when you're confused as heck, and your depth perception is messed up, every activity is a potential hazard.

The key is to slow down. We used to be able to trust subconscious actions. Many of us need to slow down and make conscious movements.

And, YES, the literature speaks about how the brain memorizes responses and can connect a serious event and the results of that event to a very minor event that has similarities and use it to trigger the responses to the serious event.

Ask somebody who has cut themselves bad. Often, a slight prick or cut will trigger an extreme reaction. Same goes for burns.

It is a part of our survival mechanism. It just over-reacts in some cases for some people.