Hi there. I was assaulted on Aug 8th 2015. I was hit in my head several times. I was knocked unconscious as well. Needless to say I received a concussion. That I didn't notice until a few days later. I think I got all the normal concussion symptoms and now I have post concussive syndrome. I'm having some issues with certain symptoms. Some of these have been lingering still and its been almost 3 months. I'm hoping to get into Ce neurology my doctor requested an appointment back in September and I was denied because it was too close and had not been long enough. I'm hoping now that I'm close to the three months of Mark at it is close enough to be seen now. Some of my symptoms that I'm having I get random pain / burning sensations in my head. I feel like I can't listen to music and not that it gives me a headache but that it makes me feel distracted and can sometimes exasperate the head burning pains. Yesterday I had a burning sensation all over the top of my head which made me really worried. Also when I really upset sometimes it will leave me with like a pins and needles pain all over my body which is a side effect of being upset now I've never had that before. I'm really frustrated with my doctors and the nursing staff because I will mention new symptoms to them and they will tell me that it's all a part of my post concussive syndrome. I think it's legit to worry about these burning pains like really worried about them though. They seem to think it's not that big of a deal. So just wondering if anyone else has experience symptoms similar to this. Thank you for any response I get I am desperate

I get them (pins and needles) in my hands and feet. Never the same either, might be all or just one foot or both hands or one hand for a few days then changes.

I don't pretty good with it but some days u hit a panic button. The docs all seem to ignore it and that really upsets me at times.

Thus far it has not resulted in any ill Effects other than when I get real anxious over it.

Bud

mussbsweet,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear you were assaulted.

What you are experiencing is common with PCS. There is not a lot the doctors can do for you except treat your anxiety with meds. The scalp has 7 layers of tissue with extensive nerve fibers that can be injured from hits to the head. They can take many months to heal. The myelin sheath that protects nerve fibers heals very slowly and can leave the nerves feeling raw and burning. There is nothing the doctors can do for this other than maybe some meds for the nerve pain. Some suffer a subtle upper neck injury from the trauma. Icing the upper neck sometimes helps. An upper cervical chiropractor helps for some. Some gentle Physical Therapy or Osteopathic manipulation of the upper spine may help.

Please read the first post of the Vitamins sticky at the top. It has lots of good information. Good vitamin therapy can help the myelin sheath heal.

Sound sensitivity is very common. Probably the most common complaint. The brain loses its ability to process all the sounds so it becomes overloaded. Contemporary music styles and volumes are likely too much for a struggling brain. Reducing auditory stimulations is usually helpful for recovery. Many use music like an energy drink, to stimulate themselves. For a person with PCS, that is about the worst thing for comfort and recovery. You would benefit from learning ways to calm your mind. Some find a softer music style that helps. Others use meditation or prayer.

How are you sleeping ? Sleep struggles are common.

You are early in your recovery, especially if you have not taken time to give your brain a break from your usual activities.

My best to you.

I did read about the vitamins that sounds like a good idea, I did take someone of a break but I usually work as a hair stylist and I go to school part time so I did keep up with the school I have not however done the hair styling thing except for I will be trying to do one person tomorrow to see how that goes. It seems weird but I feel like things that I need to focus on like fine motor skills makes me have a burning sensation in my head. I guess the main thing that bothers me is the burning sensation pains that I get. I think the pins and needles pain is from emotional stress because it seems to go away after 3 days or so and then it comes back if I'm upset. I haven't been getting a whole lot of sleep I do get a little bit more now than I was before anywhere between four and six hours I'm really grateful for the 6 hours straight sleep I get once I got 7. I feel like its been 3 months so that seems like a long time, a lot of people say it's early especially people who have had head injuries. It's been a really rough go for me but not a lot of friends or people have really understood at all in fact most have been really rude to me. Thank you for your post any other advice or things that sounds like I might make it is helpful to me because I feel very scared when I get the burning pains.

I guess I just really worried about the burning sensation pains. I thought I replied to your post but I'm not sure where it went. Sometimes when I have to find focus or do fine motor skills I feel like that exasperates the burning sensations. I have related the pins and needles pain to emotional stress and upset. Those seem to subside after about 3 days. I guess I get super nervous about the burning pain so much so I guess I would call it panic. Not sure why but I feel really super anxious like I don't have control over it I can't even like self talk my way out of it. Not sure if that's a side effect baby or what it is. But I honest to goodness feel very scared. My doctors think I'm crazy I bet. I can't wait to see if I get accepted to see someone at neurology

I suggest you not get worried by the burning and pins and needles. As I said, it takes a long time for the nerve fibers to heal. Think of this burning as bruises to your nerves and not an issue with your brain. There are meds for neuropathic pain but I don't think yours is chronic enough to start meds.

If the burning sensation is your worst symptom, you are way ahead of most people. Many are struggling with constant headaches, extreme sensitivity to light and sound, frequent nausea, etc.

The B-12, B-50 Complex, D-3 and magnesium are the most important vitamins.

When you have time, watch the YouTube "You Look Great"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Xso4qGdlI

It takes about an hour to watch the whole 6 part series.

Then ask your friends/family to watch it.

Oh no that's not my only symptoms. I have a hard time with concentration, listening to music is a no no especially in the car. Watching TV can make me dizzy, still have some dizzy spells, can't do too much ie. Like lots of paper work. . Room will spin. Hard time multi tasking. Pains in both sides of my head when I concentrate too hard.

OK, I was wondering why your only symptom was the burning.

Multitasking is not good, even for a healthy brain. Research proves it. Try to break your multi-tasking into separate jobs. Complete one at a time or stop one temporarily and take up another. It can help to make a note, "I need to finish doing xyz when I get back to task M" The struggling brain is stressed to remember two separate concepts/tasks at the same time.

It will help to reduce stimulation while your brain recovers. You favorite music may be too much stimulation right now. Some TV shows may have too much visual action that, combined with the sounds, overtaxes your brain.

When doing paperwork, it can help to only have one sheet of paper visible at a time. Multiple sheets can be too much visual stimulation. I even had to use blank sheets to cover parts of a form above and below where I was filling in fields. If I saw a whole page of blank fields to fill in, I would get overwhelmed. You can experiment to see what works for you.

I watch TV with headphones. Otherwise, the sound echos in the room and I struggle to understand the dialogue.

These symptoms are very common. You can push against them and get things done but it will slow your recovery. Reducing stress with daily tasks will give your brain the break it needs to recover.

Just remember, If you brain struggles with an activity or task, it is your brain saying, "I am not ready for this yet." It can be difficult with the busy lives many try to live.

My best to you.

So today I went to work for a couple hours and that gave me pains in both sides of my head. I know you said that means that it's not quite ready for whatever task I am trying to do. Do you think that means it's too soon for me to go back to work? I used to get those pains in both sides of my head because I go to school right now and after a lecture or trying to do a lot of work in lab I would get those pain but they have subsided now with school work unless it's a very taxing day at school then I would have it. So should I push through and think that the same thing will happen with Work or do I decide that work is not for me just yet just wondering your advice and thank you for all the great input you have given me thus far.

Only you can decide how much effort or stress you can tolerate in a day. Your brain is telling you what its tolerance level is. Your school should have a disabilities department that can provide a note taker for lectures. Lectures can be very stressful. Any time you start to struggle to understand the lecturer or to read a line of text, that is your brain saying "I have had enough."

Pushing through usually means you will extend your recovery. There is no free lunch with PCS recovery. Your brain needs less stress. You need to figure out how to moderate your activities if you want to improve.