Post concussion syndrome or not?
 

Hi,

I am new here and just wanted to find out what happened to others and if I need to be concered about something other than post concussion syndrome.

About 4 weeks ago I fell and took a hard blow to the left side of my head. The hit included the entire side of my head, face and jaw. I did not lose conscienous and remember everything. After the fall I remained in the floor for about 10 minutes before getting up. I had a really severe headache for the remainder of the day but the next day I was fine.

About 2 weeks ago I started having severe headaches on a daily basis and lasting most of the day.

Is it possible that I could have post concussion syndrome without symptoms for the two weeks after the fall?

Welcome to the forum.

PCS is a possibility with a fall like that. So is a neck injury. I suffered headaches for years after one of my many injuries...my neck x-rays showed a lot of twisted vertabrae when I finally started consulting a chiropractor. Took some time and a lot of therapy to settle things down.

Are you experiencing any other symptoms of PCS?

I have severe headaches and I'm really tired most of the time. The doc's never mentioned a neck injury but it is very ironic that you mentioned it. I spoke to a family member last night, who is a physical therapist, and she said I should have my neck checked out since I hit my shoulder on my way down and the shoulder was what was sore for several days.

Thanks for the information. I think I will consult with my chiro today and see if I can get some relieve.

Hi gagracie.

It does sound like pcs and yes it does happen like that - you are ok for a while afterwards and then the headaches, tiredness and "yuck" feelings start. I think it is to do with the bruising in the brain. Are you able to avoid the headaches by limiting your activities? Like if you feel a headache coming on are you able to stop what you are doing and rest?

Definitely have your neck checked out - you would be so lucky if your neck is out of place and don't have pcs.

Lynlee

Hi gagracie,

Sorry about your accident. PCS is no fun, but a lot of people do overcome it. My son went about a week between injury and the onset of severe headaches. Ended up out of commission for about 3 months in all, but didn't start improving until after a couple weeks of complete rest...no stimuli such as TV, computer, reading, etc. Baking turned out to be his outlet.

Relief for the headaches was difficult. Regular pain relievers only took the edge off and other meds didn't seem to help either. We resorted to our Chiropractor who told me he couldn't stop the headaches, but if there was any stressors coming from the neck area, he would be able to relieve them. (He had a whiplash type hit on the hockey boards). He used laser therapy. We also sought out a sacral psycotherapist who helped with relaxation techniques and something called "zero balancing." I can't say for sure what helped and what didn't. I do know that at the time there was very little relief and on the day he had those appointments, my son's discomfort was lessened.

Good luck and take it easy.

Sandy