[acmartin]

I am a young adult who is being mocked by all of my doctors, because they just don't believe me. After suffering a serious head injury, I remain incredibly vulnerable to new concussions. My CT scan shows no sign of any damage, and doctors keep throwing that in my face, saying "you're imaging it".

It seems as though tiny impacts or accelerations cause for what feels like my brain hitting against my skull. For example, if I turn my head too quickly to the right, I feel as though I've been hit on the left side of my head. This effect is so sensitive that I can no longer walk without feeling the impact shock travel up into my head.

My doctors are telling me that this is not real and that it is possibly nerve damage, but one day I got punched in the arm, and the impact was so great that the inside of my head was hitting around in there. The next day, I had a new concussion that lasted an entire month (severe headache, difficulty focusing, memory loss, all that fun stuff...)

It also appears as though this is a "wear and tear" effect, as if I walk long distances or do something that shakes me around a bit, over time I become more and more sensitive to small impacts.. For this reason, I am terrified of moving.

As if this hasn't already ruined my life, I seem to be even MORE vulnerable if I am exposed to relatively high temperatures. I now have to take cold showers. It seems if I apply even a small amount of pressure to my head, I become more sensitive to impacts, so now I can't wash my hair when I take my cold showers... (I ended up getting a buzz cut)

My condition also worsens when the blood rushes to my head when I lay down, so I have to avoid sleeping for too long.
I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head if I lay on my back, with my head resting on a pillow.
This injury is so severe that I can no longer walk, run, lift weights, brush my teeth, take showers, sleep, travel by car (bumps in the road vigorously shake the contents of my head), bike, play Wii, or anything whatsoever requiring any small movement, without worsening my condition...

I've done research on the internet to find, well, nothing. No situations seem to resemble this one, so this is a cry for help. Doctors ignore me, I had to quit my job because of minimal physical work, I had to put away my black belt in karate forever, my life is seriously ruined...
If you have any information that may be useful for me, it could help me find a reason to live again, and I would be very grateful. Please, I wish somebody out there could help. I'm still young and I haven't been able to fully experience my youth.

[Mark in Idaho]

acmartin,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. You have found a good place.

I understand what you are saying because I experience similar struggles. It will help if you could tell us more about yourself, especially your age, gender, prior physical activities and sports, any serious illnesses, where you live (so we can recommend resources) and details about your serious head injury.

I have ways to reduce the risk of these movements.

I contribute more after you reply. Thank you for your short paragraphs.

My best to you.

[acmartin]

Mark,

Well first of all, thank you for your reply. I'm honestly surprised to hear of somebody having these same issues, since my doctors told me it was impossible.
I apologize that this is a very lengthy story. You can cut to the end if you want -- look for where I say "To resume," in the separated paragraph.

Anyways, I am currently 18 years old male. I've lived my entire life on Prince Edward Island, a small island in Canada with a reputation for not having exceptional medical resources.
I have always taken everything to extremes, for example, physical activity, academic studies, musical talent, etc. I was one of those over-achievers.
Primarily, my greatest interest was martial arts. I was introduced to it at the age of 3 by my dad. I enrolled in karate classes at the age of 13 (I think), and went up the ranks exceptionally quickly. I've competed nationally at karate tournaments, and I've trained excessively.
Now, inevitably, during training, a few hits to the head are bound to occur. I took this for nothing as no symptoms showed, and I wanted to toughen it out.
This along with my recklessness in general leaded to a few complications; for one, after having hit my head on many occasions (not only in karate, but just general accidents, whether it's climbing trees or riding my bike), I noticed I had a tiny, almost not noticeable headache, that seemed to not want to disappear for months. I thought nothing of it. I told myself I would just take it easy, not put myself in harm's way. So I quit tournaments altogether - not in fear of a concussion, but in fear that overtime, hits to the head would reduce my intelligence and ruin my future career as a Ph. D. physicist (hence why I didn't go into boxing when I had the chance).
My second problem was that when, in karate, I switched over to forms/patterns, which require no actual fighting (no more danger), I noticed when I turned my head too fast in one direction, I felt a slight thump inside my head in the opposite direction.
Again, being still young and naive, I took it for nothing and thought I should just be a bit more careful. So I didn't turn my head fast like that anymore. Problem solved, I thought.
At the age of 16-17, things started to escalate quickly; it started with a snowboarding accident that made me fall and hit the back of my head at very high speeds. Although I was wearing a helmet, I ended up really dizzy, and my vision became blurry for about a minute. When the symptoms went away, I thought that was the end of it, so I didn't get it checked by a doctor. However, it seemed that my tiny headache was now a tiny bit worse, and when I turned my head slightly less fast than before, I still felt the thump on the opposite side.
When I was 16, I was playing baseball, and I was on the bench, waiting for my turn to swing. Talking to my friend, I wasn't paying attention to the game. Then I heard people yelling "Watch out!" So I looked over and the ball hit me flat on top of my head. The same thing happened as in the snowboarding incident, my vision went blurry, I lost my balance and fell, this time I near-fainted (everything seemed in slow motion and I thought I had two heads for some reason). Symptoms went away within a few minutes.
When I was 17, almost exactly a year ago from today, I began taking judo lessons along with my previous training of karate, which, for the short period it lasted, was the greatest and funnest few months of my life. During one class, I was put up against a 5ft 6 man who weighed 230 Lbs of pure muscle. He was a beast in my opinion. He ended up throwing me down and I landed on the side of my head. After that day, I began to have headaches that were slightly concerning, but I didn't go to the doctor.
By the way, for a long time I was afraid to ask my parents to bring me to the doctor, because they used to always argue with me that it's not worth going. I know this sounds ridiculous, but they never took me seriously. Since I was six years old, I was telling them that I had heartburn, but they kept saying "You're too young to have heartburn." So they never took me to the doctor. By the time I was 16, I FINALLY convinced them to bring me to the doctor, who confirmed that yes, this whole time I was telling the truth and that I should have been taking medication in order to avoid damaging my throat. That is one of many examples. Others include severe allergies to something in the air outdoors (possibly pollen), and asthma. My parents would actually yell at me if I told them that my head hurt. They would say "You're too young to be having all these problems." So I didn't go to the doctor for my headache. I couldn't face my parents.
So at this point it was slightly concerning, but I still was in denial that anything was wrong. I went to my friend's birthday party 11 months ago and got drunk playing beer pong. At one point, the ball fell on the floor, so I bent over to pick it up. As I got back up, I didn't realize the massive chandelier hanging above me only five feet from the floor, and I smashed it with the back of my head. Being drunk, I didn't even feel it (I only heard the sound it made), so I took it for nothing. Going home, walking into my house, drunk out of my mind (I was very new to drinking at the time), I lost my balance and face planted into a wall. The next day I woke up with a headache that I assumed was due to a hangover.
It was not until the next day that symptoms were severe. Now every time I moved too quickly (my arm, leg, head, anything), I felt the impact right away on the inside of my head. This was so bad that I had to stop taking the bus to school everyday (the buses were old and shaky). At this point I was scared, so I demanded I see a doctor about this. It took an entire month before I finally had my appointment.
At the appointment, I was still having the same symptoms. Not only that, I had incredible difficulty remembering and focusing at school (biology was especially difficult). After explaining my symptoms to the doctor, he told me straight up that I had a concussion and that I should see him again in a month if it didn't get better.
A month later, I told him that it was not getting better. He scheduled me to get a CT scan. This took another month and a half to get done.
After maybe three weeks, I was called in again to discuss the results of my CT scan. The doctor told me they found no sign of damage and that what I have is a post-concussive syndrome. He mentioned it could take up to two years to heal.
Since then, my symptoms have gotten worse; I must not travel by car, by foot, or by bike, unless absolutely necessary, because the impacts made by my feet are too much for me to handle after significant walking, and roads have bumps that I feel when I am in a vehicle. The more impacts, as small as they may be, the more vulnerable I become.
When summer arrives, high temperatures cause unbearable pressures in my head, yet, still I am vulnerable to movement; even more so in the heat. I've visited the doctor because there was increased pressure in my head and in the blood vessels in my neck. Not only did I feel like I was being choked, if I lied down, the blood would rush to my head and I felt pressure points on specific regions of the inside of my head. It almost felt like my blood vessels were about to pop.
One day in the summer, this was so severe that I was scared for my life. I went to a different doctor in outpatients. He told me I was just worrying too much because of a past injury and that if I didn't think about it, all these symptoms would go away. He said this after throwing my CT scan results in my face, presumably concluding his diagnosis before I could say anything.
This problem has happened again about a month ago in University. I called a cab to bring me to the hospital and this doctor, though much more polite and concerned, admitted he didn't know how to help me.
When the pressure in my head increases, and I lay down for too long, I tend to wake up with my eyes stuck crossed outwards (which is very strange because I can't do that normally). They eventually uncross after a few minutes.


To resume, in case you chose not to read my life story,

I am an 18 year old male who lives in PEI, Canada.
I was physically active in martial arts my entire life.
My condition built up over time but hit the critical stage 11 months ago.
Currently, my symptoms are the very high vulnerability to movement which increases when exposed to: high temperatures, additional impacts, applied pressure to my scalp, or laying horizontally and letting the blood rush to my head. Headaches are not present unless any of the above incidents take place; if I sit down and do absolutely nothing all day, I have no headache.
Alcohol consumption tends to work as a painkiller, although it does not actually protect my insides from further being damaged. Ibuprofen does not have any effect on my injury whatsoever.
If a remotely significant impact occurs, even indirectly (example: somebody punches my arm, I stomp my foot by accident, etc.), regular mental symptoms of a concussion appear for two weeks to a month (constant headache, pressure, lack of focus, mood swings, forgetfulness).
Pouring cold water on my head for about two minutes seems to cure headaches, but does nothing about the vulnerability factor.
Laying on the back of my head results in a sharp pain in that area.
Applying pressure to my scalp results in a taste of metal inside my mouth.
Applying pressure to regions directly adjacent to the tops of my ears (hard to explain...) results in a tingly numbing feeling that eventually hurts if I lay down on it for too long.
Getting up from sitting down sometimes results in temporary dizziness.

And that's all that I can think of. So if you've made it this far, thank you very much for your time and concern. I look forward to your reply, and I wish you luck with your situation also. If I can be of any assistance to you (which I doubt I can), feel free to ask me for advice, considering we are somewhat on the same boat.

Best of regards,
Andrew from PEI

[Mark in Idaho]

Andrew,

Actually I could not read your life's story. Many of us have difficulty following long posts unless they have double paragraph spacing every five lines or so.

Your struggles sound real to me. You got my attention with the "metal taste in mouth."

I wonder if you have a Cerebral Spinal Fluid disorder. There are some blockages that can cause problems. You also have a history that makes Multiple Impact Syndrome and Cumulative Sub-Concussive Impact Syndrome sound like a diagnosis worth considering.

Have you had any diagnostics of your upper neck? That may also be a problem.

You sound like you may express as anxious. That can get in the way of decent healthcare. The limited access to health care at PEI complicates you situation. You may find some resources at www.onf.org. They have some good doctors in their group.

I need to think a while and try to remember some info that was posted here years ago. It addressed some of your issues.

More later.

My best to you.

[acmartin]

Mark,

I apologize, I am new to this website so I didn't consider spacing my paragraphs.

You mentioned previously that you have ways to reduce the risk of harmful movements?

Regards,
Andrew from PEI

[Kenjhee]

Hi Martin! Sorry to hear of your troubles.

I have a similar story. Trained in martial arts, off and on health permitting for most of my life. Finally received my black belt about 10 years ago. Can not currently attend a dojo due to my TBI-induced symptoms (car accident when I was 18; I'm 54 now). I do try to train on my own when I can, which isn't often.

I have some of your symptoms, others are different. The migraines are the worst. I also suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and psychological issues such as nearly uncontrollable rage (the martial arts training is actually helping me to deal with that).

I can say not to necessarily give up on the karate. I had to give up many times, but always managed to trickle back. Then one day I found myself passing my shodan test (on the first try). Hang in there.

[srgallan]

acmartin,

I am actually in your area. Feel free to PM me if you like and I may be able to steer you to some people who may be able to help in the area, I spent alot of time and money digging through what he had available locally.

I am almost 16 months along and still facing issues but improving.

May I inquire what therapies if any have you tried? Many here recommend a supplement regimen which if you do a search you will find a post by Mark with his recommendations.

[acmartin]

Kenjhee,

I appreciate your support and encouragement, but I'm not sure you understand my particular situation.


Picture a jar containing an egg that is filled with water. You can shake it around and the egg inside will be okay.


Now, picture a jar containing only an egg; no water. If you move it around, the egg will hit the sides of the jar and crack.


This is the situation I have; every time I move, my brain is like the egg inside the jar that is my skull. If I move too quickly, my brain crashes into my skull, causing a concussion. This causes me to not be able to move quickly, in any way. Doing martial arts would quite literally send me into a coma, as my guess.

Even if I didn't get hit in the head, moving vigorously causes internal damage.


This makes it dangerous for me to move. So I stop moving as much as possible. No more physical activity for me.


Regards,
Andrew

[Kenjhee]

Well, I wasn't attempting to address that specific issue with your brain, only to suggest that permanently giving up on martial arts *may* not be necessary.

At one point I decided to just give up on training myself. It had gotten to the point where almost any physical activity, even going to the grocery store, would trigger migraines. Bad ones, lasting several days, sometimes requiring an emergency room visit. It was particularly bad since I would not know if I crossed the line and done too much until it was too late. So I stopped training altogether.

Eventually the headaches backed off a little, and I became brave enough to attempt workouts. Lately I have been doing 2-3 short sessions a week. Just enough to stay in some kind of shape.

Also, no-one is suggesting it will be a quick recovery. I have been battling these problems for 36 years. I would not be surprised if I continued this way the rest of my life. So, just hang in there, somehow, and I hope someone can figure out your specific problem.

[Mark in Idaho]

acmartin,

My best technique of minimizing head jarring is to not turn my head at the neck. Instead, I turn at my shoulders. This slows the speed of rotation. I have also learned to never shake my head No. I can get the metallic taste in my mouth from shaking my head No.

I have to limit how I bend over to pick something up from down low. For example, I have to be careful unloading the dishwasher. The bend down to pick up a dish then stand up to put the dish in the cupboard can be too much head movement.

These are all learned skills. It takes discipline to learn these habits.