This is my first time posting and I'm going to tell a little of my story.

In the past four years I have suffered 6 concussions, three of which have been in the last year. I am 20 years old and was going to a college out of state when I suffered concussions 3 and 4 so my neurologist is currently 5 hours away. He was still treating my post concussion syndrome for number 4 when I received number 5, and I happened to be in town that weekend and was able to make an appointment, so my mother and I thought it made the most sense to continue my treatment with him. I see him every 3 months and he wants me to try Botox because I have had severe allergic reactions to Cymbalta and Nortriptyline. I am unsure about Botox and know that it can help migraines but have not heard anything in regards to concussions and Botox. I am currently attending a college closer to home but spend most days in bed because of my headaches.

Added stress includes getting my mother to believe my symptoms are not made up. She believes I am overreacting and that it is simply anxiety. I do have anxiety but I can tell the difference between my headaches and the anxiety because they have different symptoms.

My question is if anyone has heard anything about to tried Botox to treat their post concussion syndrome. Thank you!

sarahkay,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Some have used Botox to treat headaches. It does not work for everyone.

An important issue most doctors miss is subtle upper neck injuries. They cause muscle spasms that can cause or contribute to headaches. The subtle neck injuries common to concussions are often without any symptoms so they are easy to over-look.

Bed can be counter productive because it often means tossing around with poor head and neck posture.

How did you get your concussions ?

Thank you for your reply.

I get tired easily and often wake up with a headache that can keep me in bed all day or on days in which that does not happen doing simple tasks such as going to the grocery store causes bad headaches. I still get light sensitive and have confusion problems as well so while I know I should not stay in bed there really is not any place else for me to go.

The first concussion I got in a car accident, the second three weeks later while I was sitting in my high school physics class and a boy threw a ball and it hit me in the head. The third happened when my friend tried to give me a hug and instead slammed my head down at the dinner table. The fourth happened while I was working in a drive thru and was standing by the soda machine and hit my head on a metal piece that was sticking out and held straws and lids. The fifth happened at a different job when I was putting a full box of frozen pastries back on a shelf in the freezer and they were not secure on the shelf and fell on top of my head. The sixth was when I was sleeping. I turned over in my sleep and hit my head on the wall next to my bed and thought I was dreaming but when I woke up in the morning I knew it really happened and that I had a concussion.

First, we know your symptoms are real. Most of us have experienced them.

As I said, your neck should be considered a part of this issue. I don't think you have ever healed your neck from the car accident. This is not uncommon.

My first suggestion is to find a place where you can sit and rest with straight head and neck posture. A recliner can be good. Even if you fall asleep, it is easy to maintain proper head and neck posture. This is very important. An adjustable bed like they use in hospitals can also be good. Anything that can help you sleep on your back with your head and neck straight will be good.

One study says that 80% of concussion symptoms are related to neck injuries.

I'm not sure all 6 impacts were concussions but rather aggravated existing problems. A serious concussion like a car accident can make it so minor bumps trigger a return of symptoms. A concussion will cause an immediate disturbance, visual, balance, cognitive, etc. Whether they are all concussions or not does not matter. What matters is getting you on the road to healing.

Waking up with a headache strongly suggests an upper neck issue. Do you have tenderness to the touch at the bony part behind your ears ? If you move your head so your nose moves in a circle, do you hear or feel creaking at the back of your head/neck ? (head right, head up, head left, head down)

Are you tired during the day ? Can you just nod off into a nap ?
On the morning when you wake with a head ache, do you just feel out of it, hard to think, more easily disturbed by light or sound ?

Can anybody observe you sleep ? Primarily watch your breathing ? Disrupted breathing can be caused by an upper neck injury. It can make a day miserable.

An Upper Cervical Chiropractor may be able to help. Your neuro will likely say no but they have helped many. Also, a Physical Therapist who knows gentle upper neck mobilization therapy may be able to help.

Check out the Vitamins sticky at the top. It has links to Upper Cervical Chiro referrals sites and lots of other good information.

I have spent many nights sleeping in a recliner. I noticed that I would get great sleep in the recliner but usually poor and disruptive sleep in bed. Good sleep with all of the stages of sleep is extremely important. The brain heals during REM sleep. It flushes toxins during slow wave sleep. A lack of REM sleep will make it difficult to remember yesterday as memories are stored during REM sleep.

We are here to help you find a way to heal. Hang in there.

btw, I'm not sure Botox is necessary until you try getting help with your neck and learn to sleep and rest with good neck posture. .

My best to you.

My experience is that medications do not help the brain heal so I would avoid them.

Tell your mom that a head injury is just like a knee injury. If a football player injures his knee, he can still use his leg and walk a bit, but if he goes back in the game he’ll injury it more and it'll take longer to heal.

Going to school and studying is like running with a knee injury so consider taking a semester off.

Sarahkay,

Pass this on to your mom from me.

Please tell her that a concussion from my accident plunged me into the most frightening and bizarre 1.5 years of my life. Dark and foreboding symptoms plagued me for that whole time. The only things that kept me going where God and family, otherwise I seriously doubt I would be here today.

There were times when my wife had to tell me I wasn't faking anything, I had a serious accident and my problems were real...they were so unimaginable I thought I was making them up.

This site also gave me a great deal of insight into the pcs world and set me free to regain my health...I truly was ill, I wasn't making anything up.

I am 25 months post injury and still deal with effects from it, though finally greatly abated at last!

Be patient and best of luck to you.

Bud