Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Concussion Syndrome For traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post concussion syndrome (PCS).


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Old 05-15-2018, 02:21 PM #1
paperboy paperboy is offline
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Default 15 days post concussion

Good afternoon, everyone. I am seeking any insights I can get regarding my current concussion recovery.

I am 32 years old. I banged the back of my head really hard on my house two weeks ago. I didn't lose consciousness or vomit. I felt kind of dazed but fine. The next morning I woke up with severe headaches and pressure and some ringing in the ears so I went to ER. I had a CT scan and the doctor told me it was clear and I was good to go. Just a head contusion and I can go ahead and go back to work or whatever I want. He said if I was a football player he would just say no banging helmets for 2 weeks but that's it. He gave me a script for meloxicam which I still don't understand. Not impressed with this ER doctor.

I tried to rest as much as possible but I work from home on my computer and had important things to do. I kept lights and monitors dimmed. I started taking tylenol. The next morning the headaches were still constant but much less painful. Then the next day I woke up with no headaches but they would come and go intermittently. I felt a lot better and was supposed to be in a wedding 10 hours away so I packed up and made the drive. Lifting my wife's heavy bags definitely increased my symptoms but she is 8 months pregnant so I had no choice. I spent 3 days having fun and drinking a bit, esp at the reception. I was still experiencing intermittent headaches and taking tylenol or ibuprofen at this point and feeling decent. After the reception, my toddler bumped heads with me which immediately made my head hurt in the area he bumped. I went to bed and slept horribly that night but I chalked it up to drinking beer and coffee at the reception. Drove back home 10 hours.

I don't really feel that I have improved much at all since the 3rd day post concussion. I'm still having intermittent headaches, pressure in my head, occasional ringing in the ears. I also feel like one of my pupils has become slightly smaller than the other but it's too close to really concern me. I've also had occasional waves of nausea and a bit of dizziness here and there in the last few days. I really tried to take it easy the last week or so bc I felt maybe.i overdid it too early going to the wedding and also bumping heads with my son, but resting or napping only seems to relieve the symptoms temporarily and they come back as soon as I get too much screen time or try and do yardwork or anything physical really.

So yeah I am starting to get kind if freaked out. My symptoms aren't really improving anymore and I feel like I'm also seeing some additional symptoms manifest (more ringing in the ears, dizziness, pupil irregularity). I have cut way back on Tylenol, ibuprofen etc bc I'm trying to feel whats going on and not kill my stomach and liver. I'm having anxiety and blaming myself for bumping heads with my son and it sucks that I am hesitant to play with him a lot bc he is rough and I don't want it to happen again. I looked up the "concussion protocol" for returning to play and I'm not even close to getting out of the stage 1 complete ohysical and cognitive rest bc I have mild headaches on and off all day and pressure in my head and behind my eyes a lot. I don't want to return to exercise until these headaches subside it 2 weeks with no cardio is starting to concern me as well. Esp bc I am.coming off a 6 month shoulder surgery rehab which has made me much less inactive than normal.

Sorry for the long winded post but I just wanted to get it all.out there. Any advice, insights, help would be VERY appreciated. I do have an appointment with a general practitioner tomorrow afternoon to get some follow up medical attention.
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Old 05-15-2018, 04:42 PM #2
Mark in Idaho Mark in Idaho is offline
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paperboy,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

You are a classic case of a person early in their recovery. Two weeks is early.

1st. Forget the 'bumped heads with my toddler.' concern. That is an anxiety reaction, not a trauma. There is not nearly enough for bumping heads with a toddler. Their skulls are soft and light. Any force that would have cause trauma to your brain would have put your toddler in serious danger. So, Let go of that one.

2nd. Ignore the pupil size issue. One cannot self diagnose pupil size nor pupil reaction speed. Stop scaring yourself with research at erroneous medical or concussion web sites. There are scads of them that are full of fear mongers who do not have the facts straight.

3rd. Stay away from alcohol and caffeine......

4th Throw away the return to play concussion protocol you allude to. It is full of errors.

Physical and cognitive rest should only be for the first 24 to 48 hours. After that, you want to return to activities that do not make symptoms worse. If you have a headache and the computer screen makes the headache worse after X time, take a break before X time. But, find a replacement low stress activity that encourages blood flow to the brain.

The wedding trip was a bit too much stress. But, that is the past. Live and learn.

At this point, I think your biggest issue is resolving your anxiety. You need to move forward, not rehash the past. Reduce the intensity of your days. Stop this Bumped heads with my toddler anxiety. Your anxiety is causing you to magnify minor issues.

Eat healthy. Read the vitamins sticky at the top. Be careful with head and neck posture. Almost every concussion includes symptoms from an upper neck strain. Those symptoms overlap with concussion symptoms and can be a major cause of your symptoms. ice your neck. Sleep with straight head and neck posture. There may be no neck symptoms other than a headache. Headaches by the ears are usually neck related. Touching/Bumping the skin by the ears is often painful because the muscles are in spasm.

Some of us have experienced chronic headaches for months, even 6 months or more. They are annoying but nothing to worry about. Enteric aspirin and Tylenol combined can help for the worst headaches. My neurologist recommended the combination. Enteric aspirin dissolves in the intestines, not the stomach so there is not stomach upset.

For exercise, a rowing machine is low impact and good for shoulder rehab. Pull the bar so your thumbs touch your nipples. This causes the shoulder muscles to properly support the shoulder. I had to rehab a shoulder, too. 20 strokes a minutes and 1500 meters in 10 minutes is a good starting point. Avoid weights. They stress the neck muscles. I am up to 27 to 28 strokes per minute and 2000 meters in 10 minutes or even 4000 meters in 20 minutes.

Avoid cardio focused exercise for the time being. Focus on getting good blood flow throughout your body.

85% will spontaneously recover within 6 weeks or so. You have plenty of time to go.

I doubt the GP will be of any help at all. Few ever are. Most have outdated understandings of concussions. Some have even totally wrong ideas.

My best to you.
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Old 05-15-2018, 06:26 PM #3
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Wow. Thank you so much for the helpful insights. The neck strain makes total sense bc I have felt a lot of soreness at the top of my neck or base/back of my head. I had been suspecting there was something going on there.

I just bought new golf clubs right before this happened so I haven't even hit them yet and I'm dying to. That isn't really cardio but does involve some kind of intense swinging of clubs so I don't feel great about trying yet. I will definitely look into the rowing machine at my gym. I was an avid strength and HIIT trainer before this shoulder injury and now head injury so I've been having a tough year not being active. I tried to run a 5k a few weeks ago and strained my back pretty bad as well right before this head bump so it's been trying to say the least.

I don't expect much out of the GP for the concussion but I'm 32 and need a primary care physician anyways so decided to go ahead and set it up and let him take a look at me.

Thanks again for the info. You have already relieved a good deal of my anxieties.
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Old 05-15-2018, 07:46 PM #4
Mark in Idaho Mark in Idaho is offline
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I'd lay off the golf clubs for a while. The twisting while trying to keep your head still would not be good right now. Another exercise you might try if you have access to a pool. Swimming. The breast stroke is great for shoulder rehab. Pull back and pinch your shoulder blades together and down. The suspension in the water can be easy on a back.

Before you return to road work, get some foam ear plugs. Run with them to see how much pounding your foot plant causes. You will be surprised. Then, try to soften your foot plants. When the upper neck is traumatized, the up and down pounding can be aggravating.
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Old 05-15-2018, 08:07 PM #5
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Walking can be very beneficial too, start slow & easy , then up the pace as tolerated..
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