Hi there,

I am new to the forums after doing much research on TBI and PCS. I will try to keep this concise. I am a 31 y/o female and have recently been experiencing very disturbing memory problems, along with difficulty concentrating.

I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD, Fibromyalgia, Erythromelalgia, and Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR, or silent reflux). In the last 6 years, I've also been diagnosed with Migraines and IBS.

I had two head injuries when I was young; one at (approximately) age 10 and one at 12.

The first injury was when I ran right into a neighbor. We hit heads, and I had a huge goose-egg on my forehead. I was not unconcious.

The second injury was playing softball. I was hit directly in the eye with a softball thrown by a grown man (the sun blinded me), and knocked unconcious for approximately 2 minutes. I am not sure if I hit my head again when I fell, but that is a possibility. I had a swollen, black eye.

My parents did not take me to the doctor for either of these. They observed me for 24-48 hours to ensure I was "normal", so no tests were ever conducted and nothing was diagnosed. I suspect I had a concussion for at least one injury.

As an adult, the only thing I remember hitting my head on is the car door frame - thinking I had "cleared" it, but only to find out (painfully) that I hadn't.

As long as I can remember, I have always had the following symptoms:

Absent-minded (lost keys, forgot homework, etc.)
Fatigued
Headaches
Irritable
Difficulty with Balance (would walk into still objects)

As an adult, in addition to the above, I've seen an increase in the following:

Depression
Anxiety
Increased memory loss (forget names, can't find words, don't remember entire conversations, etc.)
Difficulty concentrating and focusing
Color Vision Deficiency - More than one eye specialist has told me this is rare, but unlikely to have been caused by the softball/black eye incident. My mother is a carrier, but my father isn't colorblind. I am no scientist, but a female has to have two copies of a faulty gene to be colorblind.

In the past I've had both an MRI and CT Scan, when trying to figure what was causing headaches, and they must have been normal. I was not notified otherwise.

I am wondering if a diagnosis can be made after close to 20 years after the last injury. I made an appointment with my neurologist, as he is the first likely step in all of this. At every appointment, he does a simple neurological diagnostic/function test (flashlight, eye movement, reflexes, walking, etc.) which I am assuming have been normal. My doctor hasn't shown any concern.

I know that no one here can give medical advice, but any help you could provide in the way of knowledge or personal experience would be MOST helpful.

You could be experiencing some of these problems as a result of your concussions. Usually, age related return of symptoms from concussions do not start until the 40's.

My first suggestion is to get a thorough assessment of your hormones done by a specialist in bio-identical hormones. Not a corner store specialist but someone who has built their practice on helping patients get balance back to their life. Some of these specialists will focus on women's health, others will focus on life extension and maximum performance.

You can get some referrals from https://www.womensinternational.com/..._referral.html

Once your hormones are in proper balance, the other remaining symptoms can be addressed.

IBS can be and often is caused by hormones. The female bowel slows at the time of implantation during each cycle to provide an opportunity for the intestines to extract more nutrition from the food passing through.

The memory issues can also be hormone related.

31 is not too young to see hormonal imbalance in women, especially after head injuries.

My best to you.

Thanks for your response.

I had my hormones tested in July 2011, including thyroid and adreanals, and all was normal. I currently use progesterone cream, which has helped my PMS, migraines, and ovarian cysts. I have regular cycles, as well, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to be re-tested.

I haven't had IBS problems since I started eating gluten-free (August 2011) but included it for information of past diagnosis.

Hi!

I have FMS and have suffered about 6 recorded concussions over a 10 year period. A lot of the symptoms that you have stated well all except for the vision problems are Fibromyalgia aymptoms. IBS, fatigue, anxiety, depression, loss of balance, and the forgetfullness "Fibro Fog" they are all symptoms of Fibromyalgia which can increase or decrease from your environment. You may have new stressors that you may not even realize the weather changes can affect it all as well. While it may be possible that it could be from a head injury from your child hood. I would leanmore towards the FMS. All of what you are describing sounds like an increase of FMS sympotms that could be controlled through diet and/or medications. I would reccomend going back to your rheumatologist and discuss ways to better regulate Your symptoms and pain. Fibro fog is one of the heardest things to deal with when it comes to FMS especially if it worsens. If ur scans came out fine and your cognitive test are okay I would go back to your rheumatologist or try to figure out if any stressors have changed. Good luck!

Thanks for your input. I have an appointment set with my Neurologist next week, due to the other diagnoses I have received, along with the Fibromyalgia, which are also neurological.

I don't see a Rheumatologist, or haven't yet, I should say. My primary doctor diagnosed me and has been treating me.

It could very well be an increase of Fibromyalgia symptoms. I find it strange that it seems to be hitting me all at once. But, it could also be due to stressors in my life that I haven't recognized. Very true.