My daughter received her initial concussion back in October and has been dealing with PCS issues since. On Father's day, my daughter fainted in the shower - cut her chin and hit her head again. We went to the ER to get her chin stitched up and they did an EKG. She had abnormal PVC's and sent us to a cardiologist.

Her heart is fine. It's normal to have abnormal PVC's (so why are they considered, abnormal, I don't know). We also discussed the fainting, lightheaded, fatigue and morning issues. These were present prior to the concussion but not to the same extent as they are now. He said that her autonomic nervous system isn't functioning properly. If you have a system that is already struggling when an illness or trauma occurs, it is even harder for their system to recover. This is could explain why it took my daughter a really long time to recover from a mono like virus she had in 7th grade.

There is so much overlap with PCS symptoms - it's hard to know what is what. Has anyone else been diagnosed with this?

I have had recurring autonomic nervous system malfunctions. My blood pressure has dropped to 80/40. Tough to stand up like that. My problems are due to upper neck injuries.

Her problem could be a result of head/neck movements while shampooing her hair or such. I have to be careful with head/neck position, especially shaving my face or toweling my hair dry.

She may have a neck problem that was made worse by her concussion impact. very few doctors consider that if the head is impacted, the neck is impacted too. Some generic chiropractors can help, some very good Physical Therapist can too. There is a sub specialty in chiro called Upper Cervical Chiropractic. www.NUCCA.org is one web site.

She may have inflammation that impact blood flow. This is worth getting checked out. She does not need any more head impacts.

Does she play soccer? Heading a soccer ball is rough on the neck and brain. This may be a contributing cause. She should NEVER head a soccer ball again.

Hope this helps.

My best to you two.

Thanks Mark. Her fainting in the shower was caused by sitting n hot water and then then standing up too quickly. She is currently with a NUCCA chiropractor. It's been helpful.

She doesn't play soccer any longer. She played on her school's CYO team through 7th grade. She wasn't super into it, so heading wasn't something she did nor did they really practice it. If she were playing, heading the ball would definitely be out.

Hi,

I have had fainting issues for the past five months (am a year post concussion), and had a fluctuating blood pressure. My neuro told me to increase my salt intake, eat regularily and to have snacks every 2 hours.

It helped for a bit, but I have also found the more active I am, the more I get dizzy, black out and faint. I can get dizzy from laying and then standing, or just from sitting to standing. I also find that the more dizzy I am, the more vertigo I get as well.

I had a big concussion when I was a teenager, and I would faint down stairways and smash my face on desks, or just fall on the floor. They resolved after about a year, but it is still an unnerving time.

My neuro also said that the concussed brain has a difficult time controlling the blood pressure and it should resolve in time, so its best to have the salt and good nutrition.

Good luck!

Tengboche,

Your doc's recommendation for eating regularly and having a snack every 2 hours sounds like a treatment for hypoglycemia. I am hypoglycemic and need to do this. I do not see how it would affect BP issues. The salt also sounds like an odd way to increase BP.

It sounds like you may be better off testing your blood sugar levels and keeping a journal of your caloric intake. PCS can cause odd things with hormones including insulin which regulates glucose levels.

There is some research that suggests that an injured brain may not metabolize glucose properly. In this case, Medium Chain Triglycerides are suggested. MCT's help support a higher level of ketones that the brain uses when it cannot metabolize glucose or is lacking glucose. The acetone breath of hypoglycemia is due to the ketones released from the liver as it attempts to keep the brain alive.

Coconut oil is 66% MCT's. Virgin coconut oil is the healthiest kind of coconut oil. Processed coconut oil is not a good health food.

We have been told by three different doctors (neurologist, cardiologist and ER doctor) to have my daughter increase her fluid and salt intake to help with her lightheadedness and fainting. She was told to drink at least 80 oz of fluids. I had one doctor recommend that taking half your body weight and use that as a guide for how many ounces to drink daily. I believe the goal with the fluids/salt is to increase your overall blood volume. If it is too low, your blood pressure will drop.

When you are going from laying/sitting to standng, you might try moving your legs around and tensing your leg muscles to get the blood moving.