[ThomasZan]

Hey all, I was diagnosed with hypochondria a while back, which is an accurate diagnosis. I worry quite often about my brain health.

I have experiencing PCS like symptoms for about a year, I hit my head fairly hard on the ground, and started having more frequent headaches (I am a chronic headache sufferer and always have been)

I am not sure if I ever had PCS, or if my migraines and headache disorder just became worse due to puberty(hormonal changes).

I am highly intelligent and extremely concious of brain safety, so I refuse to exercise or perform any other high impact things due to the fact that I am scared that I am concussed.

I am cognitively fine, and experience quite frequent headaches which I am not sure are PCS related.

Is there a reliable way to know that I have PCS? Sometimes I just feel like going for a run and seeing if I get a headache, but I am afraid that it will make it worse.

What to do?

I am even scared to slowly increase my exercise schedule in case it affects my intelligence.

[Mark in Idaho]

A diagnosis of PCS is meaningless. What matters is how your body and brain react to specific situations/activities.

Exercise will more likely improve your intelligence health than harm it. The increase in blood flow to the brain is always good unless it causes head aches.

The standard for PCS is you treat the symptoms, NOT the diagnosis. So, regardless of what is causing one's symptoms, one still treats them individually such as head ache relief meds.

I suggest you look into therapy or counseling to help you let go of your hypochondriac thoughts. They are more damaging than the risks you use them to prevent. In other words, the anxiety of a hypochondriac is damaging regardless of whether there are any true risks of injury or illness. Anxiety is a brain toxin.

My best to you

[ThomasZan]

I've started to go to a neuro-psychologist who speacilizes in mental health issues regarding brain injury.



The problem is I don't know how I react to certain circumstances because I have had chronic headaches and migraines my whole life. I have tried previously to slowly increase my exercising regimen, except I was getting horrible headaches which may or may not have been due to the exercise.

I have talked to my neuro about this, and he basically said, "it is likely that you never sustained a brain injury and your increase in headaches are related to hormonal changes"

[Hockey]

Have you completed an actual neuro psych test?

[ThomasZan]

Yeah I actually have. I can't remember what it consisted of, there was memory, executive function, some visual thing, some speech stuff.

I scored well above average on everything, but they said it was redundant because I did not have a base line and my memory has always been well above average.

[Mark in Idaho]

If you scored well above average across the board, it sounds like your only issue is head aches. I suggest you forget about 'brain safety' except at a normal and reasonable level. The anxiety will be worse for your brain than any daily risks are.

I have very low scales for memory but my intelligence scales are still very high. Many who suffer brain injuries lose memory skills but suffer minimal losses of intellectual skills. Memory effects knowledge retention and processing of multiple concepts. There are many ways to work around memory dysfunctions, if you ever experience them.

So, be glad you have your intellect and stop being anxious so you can maintain good brain health. A brain that is constantly ruminating on meaningless issues can not be as productive as one that is not stuck ruminating on such meaningless issues.

[ThomasZan]

I agree completely.

But what would be a normal and reasonable level?

[Mark in Idaho]

Normal and reasonable would be, no contact sports, no chemicals (drugs or alcohol), no extreme physical exertion (exertion to exhaustion), no extreme sensory challenges (rock concert, etc), proper sleep duration and frequency, and moderated physical activity where you listen to how your body responds.

If you go running, try it with ear plugs so you can hear your foot plant. Then find shoes and learn a gait that does not jar your head.