Originally Posted by iggle24

Hello all,

For two months now I have been dealing with what I now suspect to be post concussion syndrome. Prior to reading many of the threads on this forum I wasn't even aware that some people suffer long term effects from minor head injuries.

2 months ago I was horsing around with some friends when I fell and hit the back of my head. It hurt considerably...but as there was no loss of consciousness or naseau vomiting (all of which happened for my sister when she suffered a concussion) I just assumed it was like any other time I've bumped my head in my life and moved on from it. That night I went out and got drunk with friends. The next morning I woke up feeling awful with a nasty hangover, which I thought odd since I tolerate alcohol very well and never get hangovers. Later that night I started feeling sick like I had to throw up but never actually did...I would have passed this off as a simple stomach bug if it weren't for an uncomfortable feeling in my chest and heart palpitations...this concerned me as ive never been able to feel my heart like this without strenuous exercise so I went to see my doctor the next day and after an EKG and blood test came back normal he told me it was probably anxiety and sent me on my way.

Well over the next week or two I started experiencing extreme sleep disruption where id wake up 1.5 hours after falling asleep with racing heart and feeling of intense dread. I also felt sort of spacy when I was awake like I wasn't emotionally connected with the people around me. My bowel movements went haywire...I experienced sexual dysfunction for the first time in my life...basically my body was going haywire and combined with the lack of sleep and fact that I was trying to study for an exam in the midst of all this I felt that I was having a nervous breakdown....though for the life of me I could not comprehend why this would be happening to me.

I went back to the doctor to tell him about the new strange symptoms and he once again said it was anxiety (based on the normal blood test) and sent me on my way with an ambien prescription to help me sleep (which did not help).

At about the two week mark the anxiety lowered and my sleep improved a slight bit to where I could sleep for a bit longer at a time and i didnt feel panicked when I woke up...I thought this was a sign that I was recovering but the feeling of cloudiness persisted during the day and everything still felt dreamlike. Now 2 months later the following symptoms persist ...

-loss of appetite
-heart palpitations (not constant..usually present when I lay down to go to sleep)
-cloudy feeling in head...some say brain fog
-derealization (most noticeable when outside...frustrating symptom as it has made social situations awkward whereas I am normally an extroverted individual)
-lack of ability to concentrate
-insomnia(truly the most frustrating symptom...getting into bed just feels different...body is unable to relax...I miss the way it used to feel crawling into bed after a long day)
-reduced libido
-cold hands/feet/nose
-muscle twitches throughouts legs and arms
-slight ear pain/pressure
-some tinnitus when things are quiet
-fatigue
-light sensitivity


Strangely I am only experiencing very minor headaches that don't even really bother me at all. This factor is causing me some residual doubt over whether what I'm going through is actually post concussion syndrome.

I am truly lost and overwhelmed with this sudden ****-storm that life has thrown at me. This has truly been the worst experience I have ever had and the scary part is that I don't see an end in sight. All of the joy has been sucked out of my life...I feel as if I have been stripped of my personalit. In 2 months I have rapidly transformed from a happy healthy optimistic 24 year old to an absolute neurotic wreck. I wanted a physical diagnosis so badly for what I was experiencing just so I could reassure myself that I am not going insane but now the prospect of permanent brain damage seems just as scary.

I have seen many people on here make the comment about how frustrating it can be to not have people be able to understand what you are going through and let me tell you that I sympathize with you whole heartedly. I called my parents crying telling them about what I was going through and they both think that there is something that I'm not telling them. They keep trying to guess reasons why I'm acting the way I am. Recently I went home for a week and they think that because I can walk and talk and look normal that there is nothing wrong with me. They think that I have just all of a sudden turned into some weak person who can't handle stress.

I can't tell if I have been affected by this cognitively or not. I feel mentally slower but I have been able to pass two exams in the midst of this crisis. I am a medical student and fear that these problems are going to affect my ability to perform. I have a very important exam several months from now that I am supposed to be spending the majority of my time studying for and instead I am completely consumed by thoughts about how I feel throughout the day. Without going too far into my personal life I have a very, very strong reason not to take time off from school to deal with this issue so I intend to mentally push through it and hope for recovery. On the other hand I fear from what I've read on some of these threads that I may be ruining my chance at a full recovery if I continue trying to live my life normally. I already believe that drinking heavily the day after injury and the anxiety over my health has made this thing worse. Is full rest really nessecary for a full recovery?

I also would appreciate any advice on tests that I should get done. As I am a broke student I need the most cost efficient medical tests to aid in identifying any fixable problems. I am thinking now that I should get to a neurologist and an endocrinologist. I definitely want to get my hormones checked...I should probably get an MRI done though I doubt it will show anything at this point.


Most importantly...I need advice on how best to approach this topic with my parents so that they might better understand what I'm going through. I'm not searching for pity...just having them believe that their is something wrong would help at this point. I go to school on the other side of the country and live alone and I don't know how to cope with this without some social support. I appreciate you all listening to my story as well as any advice that anyone might have.

Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

iggles post is from March 2011. He has not been around in years.