Hi, newb here. I am really worried and not sure what to do or if there is even anything really wrong with me.

I was sitting at kitchen table Monday night (9/14) and was laughing and hit the back of my head on the countertop behind me which is pure, hard, real and thick marble. (rental condo)

Within two hours I went to ER and they did the old flashlight, squeeze my fingers and then gave me a CT and said it was okay

Two day later on Wednesday I woke up with my right eye really blurry and I was still very disoriented, weak, sensitive to light and couldn't concentrate. I went to another ER as I was now in a new city and so they did a follow up CT and also said I was fine but had probably a concussion.

It is now almost a week and my entire brain is ITCHING what the heck is that? I did not lose consciousness that I know of. I am also still very nauseated, can't think straight, confused, scared. Forgot to mention BLURRED VISION like big time.

Forgot to mention when I hit the back of my head it was more the left side and middle and after I hit and sat back straight up in the chair I had a sharp pain in the front left side of my forehead. I am totally freaking out that I had my brain slam and I am going to have my kids find me dead here one morning on vacation. I am so far from home and have a long drive and not sure if it is all just the fear or if the itching means a brain bleed not being picked up by CT. (I almost typed radar, that is how far gone I am right now)

Any help, advice, etc would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi C&F,

It sounds like you've had a nasty bump and that you may have a concussion (mild traumatic brain injury; mTBI). Many of the issues you describe are common with concussion, though I'm not as certain about the vision issues. Regarding this, it does seem pretty dramatic. The good news, though, is that if you've had a couple CT scans that indicated no macroscropic issues (bleeding), it's likely you're okay. However, I am not a medical doctor.

What you might want to do is take some time off, if possible, and remove yourself from stress and situations that exacerbate your symptoms. Early on in recovering from a TBI, nutrition (see vitamin sticky at the top of the home page), sleep, and withdrawal from activity are pretty important.

If you're like the majority of people who have a concussion, your symptoms will resolve and you'll get back to being yourself in the near future. However, trying to "power" through the symptoms, poor nutrition, and little rest will tend to prolong things.

Best of luck.

C&F,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. After 2 CT Scans, it is highly unlikely you have anything serious to worry about. Your symptoms are not uncommon.

The itching can be due to some injury to the nerves in your skin or between your skin and your skull. Itching is commonly the sign of nerves as they re-establish communicating with the brain. I don't think you should be worried at all.

You may have subtly injured your upper neck and now a bit of inflammation is causing some of your symptoms. Icing the impact spot and you upper neck may help.

I suggest you plan on making your trip home in stages to reduce the risk of fatigue.

My best to you.

Thank you both for your replies. I just got freaked out because while using dr google I found a story about a man who got in a car wreck and six months later went in for a ct due to feeling unwell. They determined he had major brain bleeds and made him go right to surgery.

I read that you can get slow bleeds that can start from day one, a week later, weeks later, months later. How in the heck many ct's can you get them to give you? When is the worrying period over? When can I start to wonder "if I am one of the lucky ones" who doesn't have permanent damage?

The delayed bleed is extremely rare. Brain bleeds from concussions usually manifest immediately but may be slow to develop to a point where they are imageable. Statistically, 3 days is the optimum time to image these bleeds.

Google is your worst enemy because it make obscure anecdotes of rare events appear to be common. Unless you can find the statistical analysis of various injuries, you don't know to disregard the extremes.

The example you noted showed he was symptomatic. I bet he had severe headaches and other symptoms that were evident without a scan.

Regarding permanent damage, you already suffered very minor permanent damage. Nothing can be done to change that. You may have symptoms increase over the next week based on the original damage but that does not mean your injury is getting worse. Concussion symptoms quite often get worse during the next few weeks due to a cascade of stress chemistry. This is why you were advised to reduce stress and take things slow.

85% of concussions resolve within 6 weeks without any intervention. You have plenty of time to still be part of that 85%. You are way too early to worry about what happens a few months from now.

You should avoid any further CT Scans unless a neurologist has observed symptoms that indicate a need. A CT has 200 times the radiation of a single X-ray. Those symptoms would be things like an intense headache, loss of motor function (clumsiness, paralysis), a change in ability to smell, hear, see (beyond a bit of mild temporary blurriness), etc.

I think your primary concern should be to get home safely without enduring fatigue or stress. Once you get home, you may look into getting assessed by a concussion clinic. There is rarely anything they can do but getting a medical record started would be worthwhile. If you were to suffer a concussion in the future or have unexplained symptoms manifest, having this concussion in your record may be helpful. If your vision issues persist, being checked by a behavioral optometrist with an opportunity for follow-up care would also be good.

Getting back to you own bed will be helpful, especially if you have a subtle neck injury. Being able to sleep without tossing in bed will be good.

But, I don't think you have anything to be concerned about but getting home.

My best to you.

Thank you! We will be on "vacation" for a little while longer so hopefully I will be able to rest. I really haven't had much of a headache but the last few hours I have been feeling one coming on and it is one of the pulsing/throbbing ones. So don't freak? The hospital said come back for any changes. If that was the case I would be there 5x a day, lol.