About two weeks ago I was swimming in my lake and my friend thought it would be funny to chuck a huge rock at me so she did and it hit me right on the forehead, close to my temple. And it hurt so bad so I swam to shore and started to cry. I could hardly talk and I was seeing stars. But after about two minutes or so it went away and so I went on swimming. Last thursday I went to bed feeling as normal as could be then woke up friday feeling weird. My thoughts were foggy, I felt Depressed and more anxious then usual. I have a Panic disorder so I thought it was just normal. I started researching and found Post Concussion Syndrome and I thought that was exactly what I had. Dizziness, Trouble thinking and concentrating, My panic attacks are worse, my Depression happens more often, my mood changes quickly, I'm also fatigued for most of the day.

But the worst thing about this whole ordeal is my thinking. I feel like I'm above my body watching my life happen without me present in it. I've also recently started to get Occular Migrains. I'm so worried about myself... I'm only 14 to and I just started school. I haven't really been able to focus right and my thinking is impaired. I have a meeting with my doctor on the 22 about my Anxiety and I'm going to talk to her about PCS. Do you think that's what I have? My doctor thinks it's my Panic attacks that are making my thoughts weird. But I want to hear your peoples opinions. Thanks to who ever reads this.

welcome shamu

quite often we hear of people with delayed symptoms so try not to worry

being hit on the head with a big rock would be more than enough to concuss you

tell your doctor all about it and let us know how you get on

plenty of rest and sleep will help recovery so make sure you get it

Thank you for replying! And I will let you know when I get done with my appointment. My symptoms are slowly starting to get better. My thinking is becoming more clear and i've controlled my anxiety and depsression for now.

shamuboy,

Concussion and anxiety can be a terrible mix of problems. Each can exacerbate the other. I have an anxiety disorder, likely from my concussion history and a traumatic event. It is hard to differentiate the PCS symptoms from the anxiety symptoms. There is so much overlap.

Was this the first time you have had a bump to your head?

How is you diet? Anxiety disorder can be made worse by poor diet.

Avoid caffeine, MSG, aspartame and other stimulating foods. They make anxiety much worse.

Are you on any medications for your anxiety? Any blood pressure meds?
I have some blood pressure meds to help be get down from the high blood pressure from an anxiety attack. For some, it is easier or better to treat the individual episodes than medicate 24/7. It is also very important to learn anxiety triggers. Then you can learn to modify your environment and make thought choices (CBT, Cognitive Behavior Therapy) as you notice the triggers.

You are awful young to be going through this on your own. Do you have someone with you when you visit the doctor? You need the support and advocacy of a guardian/parent.

Please, keep us informed of how you are doing.

My best to you.

My diet is very poor. I am only about a 120 pounds but I eat a lot but don't seem to gain weight.

I am on medication for my Anxiety, Depression, and Panic. It's a generic called Sentraline. I'm taking about 50 MG but my doctor said people my age are usually taking 200 MG. Which scares me... It makes me think that my medication is making it way worse.

And yes, this is probably one of the first times I have ever got hit in the head that hard. Right after it happened I noticed that I was seeing stars and dizzy and couldn't talk, but a few minutes later I felt normal and fine with just nothing but a headache. I didn't think of anything at the time of PCS or a concussion..

Then on a Friday morning I woke up feeling not myself. My thoughts seemed... quiet. They were so quiet, not as loud as they used to be. And that's the worst part of the whole thing. Because I can barely hear my own thoughts, I feel like I'm above my body watching my life go on and on. And it hurts because of school, though I seem to be doing okay in school so far. I have to wait until the 22 for the doctor to look at me and I'm really excited to know more about it. I just want to feel the same. I'm miserable and nobody knows it.

I'm seeing a counselor at school now but sooner or later I might need a shrink or something along those lines. My panic attacks are becoming less and less now... does that mean that I'm starting to get a little better? And I find myself tired a lot, but I'm busy so maybe thats why I'm so tired.

I just have a question or two. What is up with my thinking? Is it PCS or something different? Can it be something different? And since I'm so young will I start to feel better soon? Or late. Thanks for reading. You guys are really helping me.

hi shamu

improvement is something you are noticing thats a really good sign with concussion healing is so slow we can hardly notice changes .

but if you think how you felt when this began and fast froward to now. you will see how far you have come. now fast forward it another 3 months of improvement and you will be in a better place HUH

now getting back to normal depending on the severity of the injury, for some this may not be possible

but the younger you are and the more you take care of your self the better the out come

reference points to look back, are 3 months 6 months 1 year and 2 years

at any of these points you could be back to normal or even a matter of weeks

so take hart and do the best you can each day

The severity of how big the rock was and how hard it hit me was not that bad now that I think about it. I hit my head about two months before that even harder. Hmm. So if I'm on the pathway to recovery I'll just keep doing what I do everyday. I'll let you all know how my doctor appointment goes. Thanks for everything!

shamuboy,

I would highly recommend that you ask to be referred to a pediatric psychiatrist with a specialty in panic disorders and hopefully with knowledge of concussion issues.. At your age, there are many factors to be concerned with. You current doc is very wise at dosing only 50 mgs. The adolescent brain is very sensitive to SSRI's like Sertraline (Zoloft). Plus, the clinical research show no difference is gained from a higher dose.

Personally, I believe that only psychiatrists should be allowed to prescribe psychotropic drugs, especially for pediatric or adolescent patients.

You previous head hit may be connected to the second. Multiple Impact Syndrome results from impacts that happen to a previously impacted brain. The research shows that the closer the timing, the lower the impact forces need to be to cause symptoms.

Now, you need to look to the future. Your brain has shown you that it is sensitive to impacts. This means two things. One, you should make every effort to avoid any further brain trauma. This includes the physical impact forces but also the chemical trauma of recreational chemicals, whether they are alcohol, THC, or something stronger.

Two, you should start treating your brain as an injured organ and start giving it good nutrition. This means avoiding bad foods or excesses of such as caffeine and aspartame (Equal or Nutrasweet artificial sweeteners) and consuming a good diet rich in B vitamins, folic acid, Omega 3's, D3, and all of the anti-oxidants. It would be best to take supplements at 2 to 4 times the RDA or even more. Avoid the Energy or Power drinks. The individual ingredients can be both good and bad for a brain but the valid medical standards are not there.

As vini says, time is already starting to show you improvements. Time is a serious part of the recover scheme for concussion.

Let us know how you are doing.

My best to you.

I went to the doctor three days ago. Sorry, I didn't post after. I signed up for the school play "footloose." and got in so I've been very busy. I've been starting to feel a little better too. My doctor says that it can't be PCS. She thinks it's just because my brain pretty much went dead over the summer cause all I did was stay on the computer. I don't know. If it doesn't go away in like six or so months I'll ask to see a neurologist. But my thinking is becoming a lot clearer now. I just feel so unreal and dreamy all the time. It's the weirdest thing. Anyways. Thanks for all your support!

Shamuboy,

Your story and symptoms seem very similar to mine. I have also experienced the feeling of being disconnected to my body and have had trouble concentrating. My brain is foggy and it feels as if i just need to shake my head up and put everything back in its place. I have often said to myself "i just wanna be me again''.
I have also been struggling with lots of anxiety and depression. There are herbal remedies that seem to help me. Kava kava root for depression and st. johns whart for anxiety.
since you are young i think you will heal soon. I am young like you and my symptoms where almost gone after about a month, but then i drank with my friends and the symptoms returned.
If you are patient and understand what your going through takes time to heal coping is much easier. Good luck and if you have any anxiety tips let me know.