Hello everybody,

My name is Tim and I am 26. This is my first post on this forum. While doing research on google for my concussion I was led to this forum many times and it has proven to be a great resource for me. I wanted to share a little bit of my story.

I suffered from what I now know to be a concussion when I had a snowboarding accident on January 19, 2013. I caught an edge on my snowboard and went down pretty hard. I smacked the back of my head off of the ground. I didn't black out or anything. I remember getting back up and continuing down the hill and telling my sister at the bottom that I hit my head pretty good, but thought nothing else of it. I was not wearing a helmet.

That night, I went out to eat at a restaurant around the resort I was visiting and I began to feel a little bit of anxiety (sweaty, panicky) for absolutely no reason. My anxiety turned into a full blown panic attack to the point that I could not eat any of my meal I ordered. I never really had anxiety issues in the past other than normal anxiety from an exam, job presentation, etc. It ended up taking me two hours of talking with my mother that night just to calm me down. I had no idea why I was so panicky and on edge.

That following week I began to feel a little funny, just not quite myself. I went to work all week. I was still having anxiety, although they weren't turning into full blown panic attacks. I had another snowboarding trip planned for the following weekend, so I went on that. I felt pretty normal, maybe just a little off that whole trip. I was snowboarding fine. I fell a few times but I don't think I hit my head again. It wasn't until my drive home that weekend that I really felt the symptoms.

I started to get very hazy and foggy. I was getting headaches, sensitivity to light and noise, more anxiety, dizziness, difficulty concentrating. I remember I was actually on my way into work halfway through that week when I had to turn around and go home because I felt I was not able to perform my job (I'm a mechanical engineer at a nuclear power plant). I ended up going to the ER and got a CT scan which came back normal. They sent me home with some headache medication and said to take the rest of the week off of work and follow up with my primary care physician. I ended up staying at my parents the rest of that week and weekend and rested completely other than watching tv and going out to eat occasionally.

I returned to work that following Monday and was still having symptoms but I felt I couldn't miss any more work. I go to the gym everyday at lunch to lift and I tried continuing to do that just so I could get back to a somewhat normal life. I kept feeling the same; definitely not any better. I followed up with my primary care physician who informed me that I am healthy enough to continue to go to work but I need to take it easy for a few weeks. Well being the active individual that I am it is very hard for me to just do nothing. So I gave it another week or so and started to feel better so I hit the weightroom again until I threw my back out doing squats. I threw my back out to the point that I could barely walk and had to go to a chiropractor to get whipped back into shape. This whole situation just re-ignited my concussion and all my symptoms came back and were probably even a little worse than they were originally. I got depressed and very anxious.

I again went back to my doctor and told him I'm having symptoms again and he said we will give it three more weeks and if you're not free of symptoms then we will consult for a neurologist. Well three weeks go by and I'm feeling pretty good when I go in for my follow up. The only symptom I was having at this point was headaches. So my doc told me he felt comfortable not going down the path of the MRI/Neurologist and said I may have dull headaches for another 3-6 weeks while I recover.

Again I get back into the weightroom starting out with light weights. I was still only having headaches doing the light weights. The headaches seem to get better day by day. Gradually I started working up my weight and then I get hit with a sinus infection. Well this sinus infection came at about the same time I happened to be moving into a new apartment. So I'm on antibiotics and decongestants and I am moving a bunch of heavy furniture into my new apartment and low and behold, my symptoms are back just as bad as they were before. That was last week for me. I felt like crap all last week pretty much. This week I am feeling much better. I'm not as groggy and I am having no headaches. I do feel a little off still with the brain fog. I called my doctor again last week who said he wants me to get an MRI and consult with a neurologist.

My MRI is scheduled for tomorrow, and I am still trying to make an appointment with a neurologist. My mother is yelling at me telling me I need to stop all physical activity until I consult with this neurologist and they say it's okay to begin getting physical again. It is very hard for me.

I think my main problem is that as soon as I begin to feel better, I get more physical. And in my 3 months experience with this concussion, your brain is still healing even though you may not have any symptoms. I think I have been re-aggravating my concussion every time I felt better by getting more physical. So I promised my mother and myself that I will do nothing except walk until my symptoms are totally gone for a month+ or when the neurologist says it's okay to begin getting physical again.

Luckily I live in Pittsburgh and there is a medical center downtown that specializes in concussions. My mother made an appointment for me but unfortunately that is still 3 weeks away. In the meantime I am getting my MRI and trying to schedule an appointment with a neurologist. And I pledged to myself I will not hit the weightroom or walk until I am cleared by my neurologist/doctor and am symptom free for a month+.

I am a very healthy, in-shape individual. I eat healthy and have a strong passion for healthy living. So this concussion has really taken a toll on me mentally. I felt like superman before this. Now I feel the total opposite. I never knew what it felt like to feel depressed, but with this concussion I can honestly say that now I do. It's been the hardest 3 months of my life, but I am hoping I can put this roller-coaster recovery behind me and focus on consistently making progress towards getting better. I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to tell my whole story in the hopes that someone can relate or offer some advice.

Good luck to everyone in their recovery efforts.

Tpont,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Your experience with symptoms, doctors and imaging is the norm. The MRI will not likely show anything. I can understand why the UPMC Concussion Clinic is backed up. The hockey season likely has them busy.

Read the Vitamins thread to see how to help your brain with nutrition.

The chiro probably did the twist your head and pop your neck. This is far to aggressive for a concussion patient. You likely have a subtle injury to your upper neck. This can magnify your concussion symptoms. Your neck with take as long to heal as your brain, maybe even longer. Think of this as a whiplash injury.

You need to be very disciplined with your head and neck. You should find a sleeping position where your neck is supported in a straight posture. Icing your upper neck will also be good.

Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. Any improvement should last two weeks or more before you start to increase activity. Weight lifting is very hard on the concussed body as it causes muscle tensing throughout the body. It can also increase the waste in the blood stream from the efforts. These can tax the system that needs to be supporting the brain.

So, take is slow. Try to lower all stresses in your life.

Feel free to tell us about your day to day activity levels. You will be surprised at what can trigger a return of symptoms.

My best to you.

Mark,

Thanks for the response. I know the MRI will likely not show anything, but I thought it may help ease my anxiety because I will know for sure or not if there are other issues going on that may show up on an MRI. I do regret going to the chiropractor. He did help my back but it definitely did not help my concussion and probably just re-aggravated it. Funny thing is I was in a vehicle accident about 6 months before my snowboarding accident. I got rear-ended and suffered whiplash. I did not have any concussion symptoms, but I did go to physical therapy for a few weeks for neck and back pain. I think having this previous whiplash injury may have made my concussion worse.

That is good advice that any improvement should last two weeks or more before activity is increased. I wish I would have known that from the beginning. Live and learn.

Hi Tim, welcome to NeuroTalk.

You certainly have many classic symptoms of PCS. That said, as brain injuries go, yours is relatively recent. You are young, active and healthy. These are plus factors, and I expect you will see significant improvement. As Mark mentions, taking it easy with lots of quiet rest, good nutrition including vitamins is important at this point. I agree with you mom about stopping or at least limiting your physical activities, and it sound like you are doing this.

Regarding the depression symptoms, I have found both mindfulness meditation and massage therapy to be helpful; just ensure if you receive massage therapy the therapist is aware of your injury so they are careful around the head and neck. I also find gentle yoga helpful, this might be something to consider after your appointments with the neurologist and concussion specialist.

To provide some hope, my TBI was classified as moderate to severe. It took about five months after my injury, but I was able to return to work and resume most normal life activities and I’m more than twice your age

All brain injuries are different and they heal on their own schedule. Best to you on your recovery journey.

I have snowboarded for 15 years and the last 2 winters I could not participate.I had to stay behind deal with PCS.I think in the future I would be able to snowboard but I do not think I will just because the chances involved, along with other sports.

At the three-month mark too and a newbie same age as you, and totally feel your pain! You're definitely not alone.