Hey guys, so I've been reading on here a bit and thought I'd post. Ended up getting a bad concussion from an elbow to my left temple while playing hockey back in April of this year.
After the worst headache/dizzyness/nausea/fog/noise and light sensitivity symptoms I'd ever felt lasting about a month I finally started feeling somewhat better.

I had the symptom of having your brain extra sensitive to movement. At first I had to be careful rising after tying my shoes cause it felt like my brain was rattling, brushing my teeth was also awful to do since my brain felt like it was getting shaken. So I know how awful and debilitating it is going through this, honestly it's the worst medical issue I have ever had to deal with. After 5 months now if I over exert myself I get the sensitivity to movement come on still, just not as bad as during the first month or so.

Anyways, I was recently diagnosed as being hypoglycaemic (having lower than normal blood sugar) and I found that it has been one of the triggers to my head pressures/head pains that I have been continually getting. It's almost as if my brain has become hyper sensitive to the blood sugar levels in my system because of this.

I've been trying to be careful with when I eat and making sure I have a bite of trail mix every hour or so and I've found that the head pressures, while still there, don't come on as severely or as often as long as I don't over exert myself!! Just to make it clear, I still have other things that trigger these head pressures that I seem to have daily.
I still can't stay on a computer too long (writing this is actually starting to give me head pressure), I can't read longer than half hour, I still can't run or play sports cause the impact brings on symptoms, getting dehydrated brings on symptoms still, etc. But I have found that making sure I try and regulate my blood sugar has made things a little more tolerable.

I wanted to share because I know the pain and frustration you are all going through and I thought this whole blood sugar sensitivity thing might be a head pain/pressure/symptom trigger for some of you as well. Maybe it might make dealing with this recovery a bit better and reduce some of the pain that you guys might be experiencing.

I'll leave it at that, I hope that sharing this can help reduce some of the symptoms in people with post concussion syndrome

I'd say cheers, but I haven't even been able to drink for the past 5 months lol
Guh, friggin concussion

seabass123,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. I also have tendencies to be hypoglycemic. Has you doc told you whether you are reactive hypoglycemic. This is where the blood sugar spikes up and down after consuming sugars or calorie intense food. A 5 hour glucose tolerance test will show this.

Learning how your body handles different foods can take time but the result can be worthwhile. Reducing the peaks and valleys by proper eating can be great. Consuming cinnamon can be helpful.

OMG, yes. I have these symptoms, I can't ride my bike, or lift anything, or talk loud, ride too far in a car, or anything. The pressure is scary.

Thanks Mark : )

Apparently it's just hypoglycaemia. I did that 5 hour blood sugar test and it seems my blood sugar is normal for the first 2 hours ( no reactive hyperglycaemia ) and then at about 3 hours it bottoms to something like 2.4 whatever units it was measured in for an hour or so then goes back to normal. Now days I'm trying to eat a snack every hour or two and I think it does help minimize blood sugar from being a symptom trigger but still doesn't eliminate the symptoms.

I'm at 6 and a half months now post concussion and the sharp head pains I was getting over my left temple before have almost disappeared now. I manage to have head pressure symptom free moments now (what a relief they are when I get them) and I take this as a sign of progress. I managed to have a day here and there where I experienced little to no symptoms (they feel like the best days of my life now when I have them) but they are still far and few between. I'm still only working half days and I find that I generally have to come home after work and lay down to decrease pressure and other symptoms.

My doctor prescribed extra strength naproxen because I could not work with the headaches I was getting and it helps but I still feel like a shell of what I was doing before. Like a lot of people, I'm sure, at work I have trouble concentrating, focusing, remembering things that were just said to me and I find myself drawing a lot of blanks when I'm talking now or trying to remember even the simplest of things. So frustrating

I'm getting to see a neurologist Nov. 27 so I'm excited for that. Hopefully get some more insight into what I'm dealing with and recovery. One of the tips I've taken from this site is to write down what my symptoms have been, triggers, etc. Hopefully it'll help when I see the neurologist coming up. My doctor hasn't said much and most of what I've learned has been off the net. So glad that this forum exists!

I wish everybody out there dealing with a concussion decreased symptoms, symptom free moments, days or complete recovery depending on where you're at with your injury.

I've also tried to contact some people in my area about starting a concussion support group on some of the good days I've had but I'm going to have to wait till my symptoms subside a bit more to pursue this fully. I'll have to hit up this forum for ideas for something like that soon.

Anyways, talk to you guys soon : )

Don't get your hopes too high for your appointment with the neuro. Many of us have found most neuros to be of marginal or no value.

Hey man, I've had issues with the exercise thing too. It seemed logical to me that exercising would improve blood flow and strengthen the blood vessels around the brain etc, but obviously it isn't as simple as that when you have damaged them. I think the key thing to do is to gradually introduce light exercise over time, and keep your diet absolutely impeccable.

As always, doctors and neuros have been absolutely useless when it comes to information related to head injuries. You're basically left to figure out everything for yourself. Good luck.

I too cannot workout, though its still early, 5 months or so, Its super frustrating I know. I just wanted to add that if it is a blood sugar issue, though it might seem extreme, I was on a ketogenic diet prior to this TBI and will be going back to it this week as I have had a terrrible time with diet and the feeling of hypoglycemia just compounds issues I have had. Its worth noting that there is some evidence that ketone bodies are very neuroprotective. So if you do not want to go to the extreme of ketogenic dieting, its possible to ingest coconut oil or a MCT oil to give you the alternate fuel source for the brain. I would be glad to explain further if its something you would be interested in hearing about. Great for mental clarity and having no peaks and valleys of the hypo hyper glycemia stuff

MVTBI how would you describe your head pressure? How does it feel ? Does it come and go? The pressure only on one side or particular area?

Thanks.

Definitely buddy, at this point I'm trying to learn as much as possible about this PCS I'm dealing with so I'd like to hear about it. Let me know. Maybe I'll start eating a spoonfull with every meal. I've been eating flax seed oil cause of the extra omega 3's, eating salmon for the same reason, olive oil cause it's supposedly good for ya, eating all sorts of vegetables with every meal, snacks every hour of chocolate or trail mix to keep a steady blood sugar, so adding an extra thing or two in there ain't no thing at this point lol. I'm headed out on a walk know, usually seems to help this head pressure I seem to constantly get. Anyways, chat with you soon bud.

For me it was pressure in the front part of my head with pain behind my eye. Initially I tried to continue my workouts heavy lifting etc, quickly found that it would increase pressure but more so for me it was fog and confusion would come on.

I am at the point now where if I tax myself its almost a delayed oncoming of symptoms, it might be hours or the next day but I will pay for it in terms of the tension headache, fog, and general feeling of being unwell emotionally and all that stuff.

I am dying to get back in the the gym to set some PRs but its gonna be a lonnnnnggg time before I am there again. Hang in there, maybe step back to square one and slowly bring it back up? everyone is different and I am new to this PCS stuff but I have accepted that if I want 1 good day to turn to 2 I need not push myself over the edge when I feel good.. Hope things get better for you.