OK I'm very confused.

3 months ago I got a concussion. I hit my head pretty damn hard on tarmac but remained conscious and was confused and disorientated for about 15 minutes before everything pretty much fell back into place.

Next 2 days I felt dreamy and slowed down and had a bad headache- normal fair and I'd expected it. Then the headache disappeared and the anxiety started, badly and went on for a couple of weeks during which time I descended into a state of quite severe depersonalization and derealisation and was stressed out of my head so I moved home to stay with my parents and recover.

I looked up on the net to see what might be wrong with me and found out about PCS so presumed I had that. Spoke to my doctor who told me that I'd had an acute stress reaction to the concussion and that was slowing my recovery and I'd be fine soon and that he was doubtful it was PCS. I was really hoping he was right and I did start to feel a bit better. But I was still a mess and now 2 months later I'm still suffering.

I can't really put my finger exactly on what's wrong with me though. I haven't suffered with headaches for about 7 weeks, no dizziness, no loss of coordination, no nausea, no visual problems, no mood swings.

But I feel wrong, like there's something missing. Like it's too quiet in my head. I am definitely still experiencing mild depersonalisation as I feel little sense of self and the world seems odd and distant. My concentration is poor (memory ok though), multi-tasking -forget it, I'm definitely mentally slower and I have disturbed sleep and a low pitch gushing tinnitus. I get very depressed about the state I'm in and sometimes feel hopeless about my recovery. All sounds like PCS but pretty much all of my symptoms are shared by sufferers of depersonalisation disorder which can occur after a traumatic event (but also after a 'non-traumatic' concussion). To make things more confusing my brother suffered the exact same symptoms (except the tinnitus) purely through anxiety.

I saw a neurologist last week who said that he thought my symptoms were to do with my psychological state rather than any neurological problem caused by the concussion and I'd love to believe him but something instinctively tells me that I'm just still concussed and that I'm gonna be like this til that's resolved.

I guess there isn't really a sure answer to this. All I know is that I wouldn't be like this had I not hit my head, so I wonder if the concussion was a trigger or remains an underlying cause. I'm not asking you guys what you think, just venting some thoughts really. I'm gonna seek out some more professional opinions cos I want to make sure I don't do anything to prolong my recovery.

wow didnt know you were the same person from the dp forum but
yea hopefully itll get better with time its kind of weird because most people on here with concussions dont really talk about dp and dr which kind of made me feel like i was the only one. most people just talk about really bad pains in there head but i rarly get headaches.

i have gotten a little better since i came in this forum but im still waiting for full recovery

how bad is your dp/dr what exactly are your symptoms? do you have any type of visual disturbance like floaters and visual snow?

man my dp is so bad its hard to leave the house
like when im outside i feel like im still inside and i have no emotion towards were im at. i cant find comfort or relax in my own house and room. when im outside everything looks flat like i feel like im in another dark world.
the weather makes it worse sometimes during certain times of the day it feels worse like when its to sunny or to cloudy. i also dont feel a connection towards people like i cant feel there presents.

do u have the same symptoms?

Yeah, I was pretty much exactly the same for a few weeks, then as my anxiety decreased, it started to subside.

The visual snow and the floaters are a common partner to dp. If I wake up and it's dark I'm aware that my vision is kind of speckled but it goes away after about 10 minutes. I don't get floaters but I do see stars in my peripheral vision sometimes. The weather definitely has an effect with me too. Bright sun makes things seem more distant and unreal and I prefer a cloudy day. I still have a feeling when talking to people face to face that they're not real and it's hard to concentrate on what they're saying. But I'm fine on the phone so I tend to use that. I have difficulty leaving the house but I make a point to do it atleast once a day so I don't develop agrophobia and just to remind me that the world is still there whether I can feel it or not. I notice differences in my hearing. Certain sounds seem more distant whereas others seem louder than usual. It's all very weird and unpleasant and I'm really looking forward to the end of it but I know dp can be a ***** to shift and I've got some work to do. According to my brother who had it for 2 years I'm making good progress so I'm really hoping to be better by the end of the year. I hope you recover quickly too.

The doc gave my Citalopram which I've been taking for 6 days now and the difference is quite amazing. I feel much more like myself and I can concentrate and function WAY better. I still have the tinnitus and there seems to be some mild side effects (mild agitation and mild headache) but compared to how I was a week ago, I'm a different guy!

good to hear^^^
i just came from the psyciatrist today and he didnt give me no meds at all
which was a complete waste of time he just gave me a paper to a tbi support group center. but i was really hoping to get some meds.

anyways did citorplam help with the dp/dr do u see things a little better now?

Yeah, it definitely helped me to feel more in myself and more connected. I feel less detached and less foggy. My vision was never really a problem but I still have mild peripheral stars which I can see in bright light. Patterns wobble when I look at them for any length of time but that's a new one and could be the drug as it's a common side effect. I feel like I'm making progress. If you're depressed and anxious it may help. Different people respond differently. Speak to your doctor about it, he can prescribe them. It's not a cure but it can take the edge off and help you get through the hard times. All the best!

I should point out that I haven't been formally diagnosed with PCS. Since my brother went through pretty much the same thing as me and due to my history of mild anxiety problems, the professionals I'm getting help from are treating the concussion as a trigger rather than an underlying cause. I personally feel quite different since the concussion and kind of know deep down that it's the cause, I hold a little hope though that it's all psychological. Who knows, who cares, the important thing is getting better and that's happening slowly but surely!