[Laupala]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum, and a little reluctant to post my story/questions, as the aftermath of my concussion seems relatively minor in comparison to many of the stories here, but I'm curious if anyone has insight into whether Klonopin can cause or prolong PCS symptoms.

I'm a 25yr grad student who slipped on some ice and hit the left side of my head 7.5 weeks ago. Didn't lose consciousness or feel that out of it, and only really had a dull headache. I've had friends with serious problems after concussions and am a bit of a hypochondriac, and so saw a doc on campus that same day. No balance issues, nausea, memory loss or anything like that, I was just a little slow to remember some of the words the doc repeated, and slow to say back number sequences. The next 5 days I rested well and was in a good "doing nothing" headspace and felt better each day, headaches subsiding, and feeling more with it.

I felt good enough that 5th day to walk around a bit outside and change my car registration, which is when I minorly nudged/bumped my head against the padded visor, had some pain there, and immediately sort of freaked out that I'd gotten a 2nd concussion. In hindsight I know this seems absurd, but I was super anxious about it for a while, and then was talked down by my girlfriend and parents. I had some pain there the next couple days, and that caused some anxiety, but I was generally sleeping fine, saw the doctor for a follow-up appointment and he reassured me that a bump like that couldn't do serious damage. Still, anxiety began to creep up.

Unfortunately that night, I had some trouble getting to sleep because my nose was plugged up, and not sleeping was causing anxiety. Then at 1:30 am, the police banged on my apartment door looking for my roommate who had holed himself up in his office without telling anyone for a couple days to work, and his girlfriend called the police. After this my heart was racing and hurt from pounding so much, and I didn't sleep at all that night, or the next two nights. Over the next couple days I had panic attacks, which I've never had before, and depression, which I've also never had. Surprisingly, the headaches weren't actually that bad during that time.

Not sleeping for 3 straight nights prompted me to see a psychiatrist, who prescribed Klonopin. Played around with dosage a bit, anywhere from 1-2 mg and settled on 1.5 for a while, which helped me sleep, but the headaches got worse, near the levels they had been (which weren't really all that bad). This prompted me to fly home and rest for 2 weeks, as well as see a concussion specialist, who told me to ease back into work once I got back to school (lab work can be pretty mindless, so that's been OK). My symptoms now mainly are just these minor headaches that aren't debilitating, but are a signal that I can't get back the the active lifestyle I used to enjoy. Sometimes they're associated with doing things, but often it's when I'm not doing anything that I notice them.

I feel like I've been getting better, but it's hard to say day to day, and some days it feels like I haven't gotten any better over the past month. I've generally started to do more, and have handled that without symptoms worsening, but am getting frustrated with how long this is taking (a frustration I hesitate to mention here, as many of you have dealt with far worse symptoms for far longer).

I'm starting to wonder if perhaps the Klonopin is actually behind my symptoms. I've begun tapering off slowly, and have gotten down to 1mg at night without much sleep disturbance. Does anyone else have experience with klonopin and PCS, and have any insight into whether the two might be connected?

[Mark in Idaho]

Laupala,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. I am confused about what symptoms you are still struggling with besides anxiety. Your Klonopin dose appears high. I got good results with .125 mgs twice a day when I needed it. The most I have ever been prescribed is .5 mgs. I would think your dose would level you a bit foggy minded.

I think you just need to continue to take things slow. I would also recommend looking into some gentle upper neck work to see if you got some sideways whiplash that is causing neck muscle spams that contribute to head aches. Icing your upper neck may help.

You could also try the vitamin regimen in the Vitamins and Supplements sticky at the top. It also tells how to make a moldable ice pack.

Amitriptyline in low doses (10mgs) is often prescribed to help with sleep and head aches. You could ask your doctor about it.

My best to you.

[Laupala]

Thanks for the response Mark, I'll check out those threads. The anxiety is mostly under control now (granted I'm saying that while on an anti-anxiety med, but if anything the anxiety gets better around bedtime, which would be the opposite you'd expect with klonopin were wearing off then). I certainly do think some of my foggy-headedness could be due to the klonopin. My main symptom as of now are still the headaches, which don't bother me in that they're too painful, but simply that they're a signal that I'm still not well. Given that my headaches got worse after getting on the klonopin, I'm thinking (or perhaps just hoping) that they're just a side-effect of the drug, and not a signal that my brain is still in rough shape.

I've had some massage therapy from a guy I see for running related injuries, which has felt good, but I'm not sure how much it has helped.

[Laupala]

Forgot to add that I agree I'm on a pretty high dose. I wasn't in much of a position to think critically after 3 nights of no sleep and lots of anxiety about it when the doc prescribed the klonopin. I'm in the process of tapering off, but I guess there can be problems associated with going too quickly, so I've been reducing the dosage by .2ish mg a week, with thoughts of speeding up now.

[Mark in Idaho]

If your head aches are manageable, I suggest you not be concerned about them. I have had times when manageable head aches persisted for 6 months, on and off after a head bump. Taking a break and relaxing often helped reduce them even more. Icing has usually helped.

Think of your head aches as a sign to still take things slow. Your writing style leads me to believe you tend to be an anxious person. Getting some help at reducing anxiety will be a big benefit. Also, Type A personalities tend to struggle more with PCS, so if you are a Type A, reducing anxiety and stress will be a bigger task.

[Laupala]

Very perceptive! I tend to be pretty anxious about health-related issues, but not everything in my life! I'm a big runner, so traditionally that's how I've dealt with stress and anxiety, but I can't do much exercise now. Meditation has helped me a lot with distancing negative thoughts from producing a bodily stress reaction. Thanks again for the thoughtful comments.