Hi, new member here with an introduction and question (sorry if i have any grammar mistakes, english is my second language)

First off, Ive been dealing with pcs for several months now starting after my last diagnosed concussion in the summer 2017. I had to take a medical leave of absence from my college last semester because i was having bad physical symptoms as well as severe psychological issues(anxiety, depression, derealization) and the effort involved from school and part time job was making everything much worse.

I took the time off to recover and tried to do everything the doctors recommended (resting, light excercise, light socialization, mild activities, healthy diet etc) and my physical symptoms improved somewhat but the mental issues only got worse and that made it very difficult to properly assess my recovery as the psychological/cognitve stuff was kinda clouding evrything if that makes sense as it could be hard to tell what symotomes were caused by anxiety and what was from actual pcs(also because of a lot of brain fog which my docotor thinks is from anxiety). My physical symptoms were headaches, nausea(mostly motion sickness type feeling), very bad sleep issues, neck tension and strain, dizziness and maybe some other stuff but cant remember. These all seemed to improve quite a bit and aren’t very noticable day to day unless im really stressed or tired.

The doctor eventually said it would be ok for me to go back to school so since three weeks ago ( bginning of new semester) ive been back at my college but on a reduced course load to not put too much stress on my brain. Since ive been back my depression has been a lot better and ive been feeling happier in general but in the last couple months i have developped a new very debilitating and anxiety inducing symptom. This symptom is head sensitivity.

My head feels very sensitive to stuff like walking(the impact of stepping too hard or missing a step causes pain in my head), driving on bumby roads or bumby train ride(when its really bumby its like i can feel my brain rattle around inside my head) and even tiny things like someone sitting down next to me on the couch or walking by me on a wood floor(i can feel the vibrations in my head). Im also sensitive to mild head impacts like hugs with head contact, my girlfriend accidentally elbowing me or kissing me bit too hard and that kinda thing(i do everything i can to avoid it though).

These impacts dont seem to really worsen my condition per say but they can cause temporary pain and nausea which leads to anxiety attacks because i will worry that ive caused myself more brain damage. This feedback loop just makes me feel even more foggy and makes everything worse. Ive had doctors tell my that these things could not possibly cause damage to my brain and that its most likely health anxiety and maybe a neck issue but i just wanted to get the opinion and experience from people on this forum.

My daily routine of going to school involves quite a bit of walking, taking the metro train to and from school (the train sometimes shakes a lot and turns, brakes/accelerates pretty abruptely), i guess the occasional mild, unavoidable bumb and the head jerking caused from sneezing, jolting my head from being startled, shaking a bit from tense muscles, etc. The effects of these things on my sensitive head would be manageable if only i didnt have a huge amount of anxiety and fear surrounding them. Ive convinced myself that everyday im accumulating some damage to my brain that will eventually contribute to cte or something like that in the future.

I dont really know what to do cause doctors dont take me seriously or say they cant help me cause they dont know whats causing this problem and i need to just not focus on it. Im kind of stuck because i dont want to make myslef worse but also cant miss any more school. I guess im asking if anyone can either offer me some information on this sensitivity or at least some reassurance that they are not damaging my brain so that i dont have to focus on it as much.

I should also mention that after a long day with a lot of sensitivity i will experience a soreness feeling around the top and back of my head.
Thanks a lot to anyone who takes the time to read this and sorry if its not too long or not appropriate for this forum(idk im new).

Hi Ben

Welcome to NeuroTalk .

The TBI/PCS forum is very active so I am sure that you will get helpful responses from other members (I don't know enough about TBI/PCS to say anything useful).

Best wishes.

BenW,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

I think you have two or three issues to consider.

You mentioned neck issues. These subtle neck injuries can be the cause of many of the symptoms you are experiencing. They can be very sensitive to bumps.

You also have a serious history with anxiety. This can magnify any symptoms.

The worst is how anxiety can cause the brain to memorize symptoms, often a serious cluster of symptoms that make one feel like they have a full head impact. This can be PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, a miserable condition where the brain can flash back to prior manifestations.

Add some unresolved vestibular concerns that can be triggered by movements and trigger anxieties and more and you end up in the misery you are experiencing.

The challenge with the neck injury is finding the gentle treatments than can help and then the discipline to maintain good posture during sleep and other activities and properly protect it during those rough rides.

One trick is to avoid sitting with an erect back and shoulders by relaxing the head and shoulder forward so the spine has more ability to absorb movement. Sleeping with the head and neck straight is important.

This subtle neck injury will have minimal physical pain. Just some stiffness.
But, the inflammation is can cause can trigger headaches and reduced blood flow and vestibular dysfunction.

I hope this helps you get a start toward some help.

My best to you.

Thank you very much for your response, I will definitely look into treating my neck and getting evaluated from an osteopath.

I know you can't give me a definitive answer but do you think the impacts I mentioned would be a cause for concern and potentially damaging or do you think I should simply not worry about them and keep going to school and living my life as is?

Sorry to pester you I am just curious about your opinion as I can tell you are very smart and knowledgeable through reading your old posts.

I think you should get on with your life. Just learn a few accommodations on rough rides. I do not think they cause damage, just inflammation and anxiety. Anxiety is the hardest part of PCS to treat. I'd say your struggle is 20% physical and 80% anxiety.

Learn to moderate your life and move forward.

What country are you in?

On top of Mark's advice, you could perhaps consider an anti-inflammatory diet. Some of us have become less sensitive and prone to relapse thanks to it. You can use the search engine to find more informatiin about it.

Thank you for the response, i am 18 years old living Montreal, Canada

Thank you, ill look into it.

Ben,

Take some earplugs with you on the train. You might not be able to eliminate a bump but you can eliminate the edginess to noise...the more symptom overload you can keep at a manageable level the better your system can tolerate that which you can't change, keep the glass half full sort of.

Pay attention to your thoughts that accompany whatever makes you think possible damage can occur. If your thoughts go directly to a worst case outcome, I'll never get over this bump, the need to bolt from the situation, racing thoughts etc you can chalk that up to anxiety. Anxiety is a very tricky foe but once identified can be slowed down with accurate assessments/identifiable facts from past similar incidents. Deal in fact.

Bud

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I guess I'm just pretty spooked with all these recent cte studies after my years of playing hockey and basketball and even like just rough housing as a kid