Panic! Possible new concussion!
 

Hello everyone,

I'm so depressed right now.

I've been doing good for a long time, but yesterday I hit my head on a lamp hanging from the ceiling. I've tried that before, but this lamp weights around 15-25 pounds i guess and is made of stiff heavy iron - looks like this one, but a little bigger:

Visual Comfort CHC112�AB E. F. Chapman English 4 Light 13 inch Antique-Burnished Brass Chandelier Ceiling Light in Antique Burnished Brass

The problem was that I stood and leaned towards a chair with my head about 10 cm below the lamp and when I got up, I hit the ring that you can see in the picture. I was hit on the top of the back part of my head. When the impact happened the lamp moved a bit and my head changed course a little. I think it was a medium/semi-hard hit – because my head was not stopped, because I guess I didnt hit the lamp direct from below, but with an angle, and that is why the lamp and my head moved but the lamp definitely shook.

I think I hit it with light to medium force because although I absolutely felt pain, it wasn't that much and only for some seconds. I have not gotten a goose egg, and I remember everything and did not get a metallic taste in my mouth or got confused or similar. I did not get visual problems and didnt see any stars. But I was mentally chocked.

It is 20 hours ago and I now have a number of symptoms such as stiff neck and shoulders, a little tension headache, strained eyes, fatigue and a general malaise feeling. I have a hard time coping with company.

I think I have gotten a new concussion, because the lamp weights so much, and it takes a lot of force to make a 20 pound lamp move. And this impact is probably the worst since my original concussion 3½ years ago.

But I really hope that someone will comment the above because I am freaking right now, and only see the worst outcome. If I saw another person experience the impact, I am not sure I would think that it is anough to constitute a concussion – at least not before my history with concussions started. But I am also very sensitive.

How would you look at the impact – a new concussion, an aggravation of my old injury (concussion/whiplash) or does it takes more force to constitute a concussion? I know that nobody can say for sure, but any thoughts are welcome.

And does it make my outcome worse, that I was only hit on a small surface (because I hit the ring which is stiff iron)), and the impact force therefore is concenterated in a small area or? And what are your experiences – have you gotten concussions with only a short time and small amount of pain from the impact?

Best regards (and sorry for my bad english)

- TheNorwegian

I just realise, that not all I wrote makes sense - but I was in extreem panic. I still am, but have calmed a little.

My health has declined during the day, so I guess I have to face that this is a new concussion or perhaps a new or aggravated neck injury. I surely have a lot of neck injury symptoms.

It is just so frustrating to have "lost" my life, and then getting it back just to loose it all again. But you probably now the feeling. I have no one else to talk to, so thanks for listening.

Best regards

I have great doubt you could and did concuss yourself from such a deal.

Headache or sore spot yes but concussion, no.

Bud

Not a concussion. You may have bruised the skin and nerves under the skin. This is your anxiety flaring up.
The glancing blow takes all the impact force out of the hit.

You would benefit from learning a sentence to repeat in these occasions, "Just a bump. Not a concussion. I'll be fine."

Thanks Mark and Bud
 

But what about a upper neck injury - is it possible that I made a new neck injury or that I aggravated a existing injury?

I am having a lot of symptoms from the neck, and especially a "new" symptom worries me: when laying flat down it feels like I am having a increase in pressure in head. Anyone tried this? I suppose it is neck related.

Best regards and thanks again

Basic home/self care ...
Treat the neck / muscles with topical rub product (icy hot or such) & Ibuprofen.
Massage or whatever works for you..
Ice the sore spot /lump

I bet the neck is a tension issue. You may have jerked your neck in response to the bump or your anxiety has set you into a muscle tension response. The shoulders and neck are often the most effected by stress that causes muscle tension.

Ice and ibuprofen. Maybe a glass of wine to relax.

Thanks Mark, for taking time to answer me.

Well, I did ice it and I have taken iboprofen and aspirin, but it is only getting worse. Now I am getting a serious headache when reading or watching television. It feels like stabbing in my brain.

I agree with you and Bud, that this cant be a concussion - the force was simply not big enough, but can it be a kind of vertical compression which has injured my upper neck? It was a medium hard hit. But in that case I just cant understand that it really is enough to give me a new neck injury - my neck must be one of the weakest in the world! But I fear this really much because after my original whiplash injury 4 years ago I had the same problem with headache from reading, and it took me almost a year to recover from...

Really dark times ahead;-(

Sorry forgot, also thanks to Jo"mar:-)

Do you realize how your mind is giving you permission to get worse?

If you predict a bad outcome and have an anxious mind, that bad outcome is sure to happen.

Instead, look forward to feeling better. Stop looking for symptoms. Simply ignore them. A headache may seem hard to ignore until you have experienced them for months on end and just need to get on with life. One takes some aspirin and acetaminophen/paracetamol/Tylenol to reduce the intensity. That reduced intensity is seen as a relief and enjoyed, rather than complained about "The headache did not go away completely."

I have tinnitus 24/7 at about 65 dB. I can focus on it or I can ignore it. I choose to ignore it.

btw, aspirin and paracetamol can be safely combined at maximum dose. My headache doctor told me to combine them. Just take a break from them every few days if you need them continuously.