Second concussion
 

Hi all,
I wanted to look for a bit of support as I had something a little scary happen to me while I’m recovering from my second concussion. First a bit of background - I hit my head right on the top when I was at work. It was two weeks ago today. I didn’t black out, I didn’t see stars but it was a pretty good whack. I had a small headache and goose egg but didn’t think anything of it. It was two days later that I started to feel foggy and couldn’t focus. So I went to the doctor and they gave me a week off work.

Fast forward to two days ago, I’ve slowly been able to incorporate tv back into my routine. I was playing video games and the center of my vision started to go a bit blurry, like I had looked at something really bright and it left an imprint on my vision. Then a small colourful zig zag line formed along the periphery of my right eyeline. It kind of had a pattern of a kaleidoscope. I was freaking out and thought I had done some serious damage to my eyes by playing video games so I turned them off and went to bed. The whole thing cleared up in about 25 minutes and I just felt super scared after. No pain in my head or anything.

One of my friends told me they have had that happen to them and it’s when they get a migraine. So I looked it up and sure enough they are called auras or ocular migraines.

This is the first time I’ve ever had a migraine, I don’t typically get headaches or anything like that (unless I bump my head on something) but now I’m afraid with this second concussion I’ll keep getting more. It really freaked me out. Should I go back to see the doctor? I made an appointment with my eye doctor just to get things looked at but should I go back to my regular doctor and let them know I had this migraine?

Thanks so much!

I never had migraines before, then had 4 concussions, and then had an ocular migraine. I had the aura combined with the headache which lasted for around a day. I was very scared I would become a migrainer, but it has been 1 year since the ocular migraine and I have not had another. My experience may not mirror yours, but there is a good chance it was a one time occurence, or a rare one.

You should still see a doctor to rule anything else out.

Video games are 100 times more taxing on the brain than TV.

A pretty good whack with nothing but a head ache and goose egg is not a reason to take a week of work. The sedentary week is not healthy for your brain. But, an industrial doctor earns his/her pay by diagnosing something.

I've had an ocular migraine. Scary the first time. I don't think it would bother me if I had another. The over-stimulation of the video games were likely a contributing factor.

Thanks Mark,
I’m back at work half days this week - it’s still difficult to focus on my work, screens in general make me feel out of it. They don’t give me lasting headaches but I just feel a bit disoriented when I look away from them. I had an eye doc apt yesterday and he mentioned after a hit to the head sometimes your eye muscles can be shaken up a bit and it might take some time for them to strengthen which is why I might feel a little disoriented or have headaches.

I’m supposed to start back at work full time next week but am feeling a little nervous about it - I don’t want to overdo anything and set myself back. I was watching a video by Concussion Doc who said the evidence shows you can’t actually set yourself back and the worst overdoing it can do is make your symptoms feel a little worse for a few hours or a day but it benefits your brain in the long run.

I expect a lot of my symptoms are made worse by my high anxiety but I’m just so nervous of lengthening the time I have these symptoms. I hate not feeling like myself.

The latest research says start a re-entry into normal activities after 24 hours of moderated rest, not naps. The important part is stimulating good blood flow to the brain to reduce the cascade of concussion symptoms by flushing the toxins.

I'm not impressed with Concussion Doc. He is a chiro who has made a business out of his protocols. He presents his videos with all the awareness of an ignorant person. They are filled with echoes.

He affiliates with quacks.

Yes, he has some basic information right but his claims go too far.

I banged top of my head into a 4x10 beam , saw stars & fell to the ground, was a bit affected for a week or 2, finding the right words at times was my main symptom.
Symptoms might depend on where we hit our head.

But give it a bit of time and minimize things that trigger actual symptoms.
Sort out the worry from the real things..
Worrying is wasted time & effort..and drains you..