[Terowyn]

Hi, I posted here a few months ago regarding an incident where I was under the influence and hit my head, and noticed a constant brain fog a week or two after. I've gotten an MRI(which was negative) and I've talked to a psychiatrist, and according to him I'm just severely depressed.

The thing is, right after the incident, I came home after living on my own for almost a year, and I started sleeping far too much(10-12 hours a day), and have kind of hibernated since, barely talking to anyone I know. I also eat a lot, and I do get headaches but they aren't as frequent as when I was extremely stressed out and anxious a few months ago, and they're just mild tension headaches. The only thing that's actually disabling me in anyway is the constant brain fog. I didn't even call it brain fog until I found out that's what many people call it online, but to me it's more as if my internal dialogue very quiet or non-existant, and that I can't think coherently and have lost my sense of humor, social skills, or almost my entire ability to think. The thing is, I did go to a bar for my birthday, and decided to have 2 beers, and I had a beer on a few other occasions as well, and I didn't have any headaches the following days and didn't feel as if alcohol affected anything. So basically my only real symptom is this cognitive dysfunction, which is 24/7.

The psychiatrist told me that this is common in depression, and especially atypical depression(sleeping too much, eating too much, etc.) because the hypersomnia and anxiety also have an effect on the way you think. He recommended prozac which I will try, but I have to wait a week to see my physician, and I've grown quite anxious. One thing I'm scared of that I was reading about is chronic traumatic encephalopathy, where the brain slowly degenerates, but I'm only 19 and I haven't played contact sports(I have been in a few fights and hit by a baseball a few times thought :$)

Oh and one other thing, I'm not sure what it was, but back in January for a few days I started feeling happier(not better in thinking, just cheerful) and was waking up for a few days with energy and not 4 hours late, and jogging everyday, and one day I woke up in the morning, and until I went downstairs and started watching TV, I felt as if my thinking was clearer and that it wasn't totally back, but I could actually have a train of thought in my head and it was somewhat clear. Then went downstairs, followed my sluggish routine and watched TV for a few hours, and it disappeared.

So I'm just wondering, does this sound like it's depression or PCS? I just really need to know what approach to take, and whether the prozac will even help this at all. Not to mention my anxiety is all over the place, and I really want to get my life on track again... Thanks

[Mark in Idaho]

I'll address just one issue. I think I have addressed it before.

CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) takes time to develop. It results from multiple concussion but more commonly from hundreds and thousands of sub-concussive impacts.

It does not usually manifest until the 40's except for the rare athlete who has started their string of concussions and sub-concussive impacts at a very young age. With full contact sport sometimes starting at 6 or 7, some players subject their brains to high numbers of impacts before they reach their teens.

It does not sound like you are in this risk group.

Depression can be a part of PCS so you last question is not directly answerable. Anxiety about CTE or other issues can contribute to both depression and other PCS symptoms.

Those pesky little symptoms of aberrant thoughts and struggles are the main reason for improving nutrition. And not just taking a few vitamins but also avoiding substances that can be bad to the brain. Just because you did not have any head aches after drinking a few beers does not mean your brain was not effected by the alcohol.

The happy time almost sounds like a period of mania. I have had them but have never been able to identify what or why.

It sounds like you may need to think a bit more about lifestyle issues. Only you know all of the various behaviors that can contribute to PCS struggles.