[xenopsych]

Hi,

2 days ago I was standing on a moving train when the train suddenly jerked and I fell, smashing the tip of my chin on a metal bar very hard from an upward angle. my teeth clanked together, but most of the pain was at my chin area. I was of course a little shaken. I did not however, feel my head get flung backwards.

I am not sure if I have any brain damage from this or not, or whether the symptoms i am experiencing are from something else.

Basically i am feeling rather "out of it", and it feels like i am having tunnel vision and the world around me is.....dim or distant.

the morning after that night i woke up(after about 5 hours of sleep)and felt a little bit of difficulty typing on my cellphone as if the motions were unfamiliar to my fingers.

i was trying to convey a certain message through text but somehow it came out in a weird way.

In the time after that till now I have been doing some weird things, such as going to the wrong side of the counter to collect food and etc. For example I walk there like im distracted and then almost immediately i realize like what the heck am I doing, and then do the normal action again.

This has happened several times as if I am very distracted. However I do not experience any amnesia. Just that I maybe feel a little less inhibited and sometimes act out things that I normally wouldn't do or say to strangers.

How do I know for sure if I have damage?

[Mark in Idaho]

xenopsych,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. There is no valid way to tell if you have any damage. My suggestion is that you may have an upper neck injury with some inflammation causing reduced blood flow and other decreased functions. The trauma can also have set off a cascade of anxiety. From what you relate, you don't sound like you suffered a concussion.

At only 2 days post trauma, you are very early in your recovery. I suggest you just take it slow for a few days, maybe ice your upper neck, and avoid stress and stimulation.

Try to sleep/rest with your neck in a straight position rather than tipped forward like many pillows do. It will help any inflammation resolve better.

[xenopsych]

Hi Mark,

I indeed don't think I've suffered one of those full blown obvious concussions, however I am worried about any possible brain damage (as I've seen that even sub concussive blows can have lasting damage even though classic concussion symptoms were not produced).

[Mark in Idaho]

Sub-concussive blows can cause damage but it is due to an accumulation of hundreds and thousands of sub-concussive impacts. This would be common to a American football lineman who suffers 600 to 1000 subconcussive impacts in a 4 month season.

A single sub-concussive impact has not risk of damage. Becoming anxious and remaining anxious has more long term risk than a single sub-concussive impact.

What are you anxious about ? Even if you suffered some very minor brain damage, the brain is very resilient.

Do you ever get drunk ? Some say getting drunk is like suffering a minor concussion.

[xenopsych]

I am anxious because of the weird symptoms I had after that.
I am someone who really likes to be cognitively alert and am a mensa member as well and hold a very intellectually intensive job where my livelihood depends on my analytic abilities.

Due to my preferences for being constantly in a cognitively astute state I don't drink and have never gotten drunk in my life.

[Mark in Idaho]

Go for you about the drinking. Research shows that those who have a high level of intellectual function will notice more PCS symptoms. It is much easier to tell when a Ferrari is out of tune compared to a Toyota. The high revs are just not there.

It would be good if you could tune back you intellectual intensity for a while. Your brain will recovery better with less intensity. No energy drinks or caffeine beyond a single serving per day.

Give your brain the break it needs and you will be fine.

[xenopsych]

honestly mark, I have had a very hectic schedule in the past couple of days and i actually did not sleep for 3 days (or at least with 1 hour of sleep) and by yesterday was feeling like vomiting.

That probably messed things up worse huh?

But that is the issue, I did not even get a bruise at my chin so no doctor is going to give me "time off" like that, moreover the demands at my work continue to be as high as usual.

[Mark in Idaho]

Your work stress could be your biggest issue. Lack of sleep can easily mimic PCS. Add a high stress from work and you could just be suffering from work overload. The anxiety of the bump may have just put you over the edge.

I doubt you will get better until your work stress is moderated.

I gave up on a high stress work environment in 1978 when I realized what it was doing to my personality and non-work life. It took a while to make changes but they were worth it. Life is too long to live under stress.

[Jomar]

You can use the search tool to find past postings about anxiety and bumps, and the replies to those questions.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/search.php