I'm a Former Wrestler who sustained a head injury from a forearm to my temple [around the temple area] i was not knocked out ''which i heard you didnt have to be'' anyhow since then which this was Nov.3rd of 2007 the signs did not start right off the but slowly i believe i was injured that night and continued to have matches feeling kinda foggy and it got worse now its Jan.5th 2009 so its been 13-14 months and while i dont experience the headaches i experience Dizziness i have studied this alot probaly like several of you and was wondering if i could possibly be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder heres why i ask that question,I had a job right working 12 hour shifts and it never ever bothered me at all now im laid off and the symptoms are back its really complex no headaches just dizziness and awkward thinking i feel that mine is not as bad as some on here i also feel like everytime i wrestled a match i set the time line for healing back during those matches i took no head shots and was careful but was bumpying around in the ring which im sure did not help....sometimes i feel 100% normal and sometimes most of the time i do not i feel this foggy/stoned type of feeling all day and the only thing that helps me is Zantac so could i be suffering from PTSD????please guys talk to me.....im desperate at age 26

HI Tommywrestler, is it tiredness that brings on these symptons?

I know that I am worse when I am tired. I do manage to be about 80% of my old self - (which I would be happy to have all the time) but when I am tired it all comes back - the dizziness fog headaches etc. I have decided that my dizziness is when my brain is that tired that it is unable to keep me balanced.

Do you have a rest during the day - if you don't maybe you should try it. Unfortunately my life for about the last 6 years has consisted of a half hour time out at 11.30 am and then around 3pm I actually have to have a sleep for an hour - I set an alarm. If I don't keep to this routine I can't sleep at night and then all the symptons are back with a vengeance. Often I end up having to take these brain naps in my car if I am out - when I try and push past these times it is like my brain screams and there is no option.

I have tried the mind over matter thing but the harder you try the worse the symptons and it takes a long time to accept that this is what I need to do for any quality of life. When I stick to this routine I can be sympton free, BUT I have no control over the unexpected things that can happen and things that can cause stress. I find that I have difficulty controling stress now. Somtimes no matter how well I plan my day there is the unexpected which will delay a brain nap time and then it can take a week to recover my energy levels.

Please take care.

Lynlee

Just typing these thoughts is such a help - it is a reminder and has actually made me feel better - weird - that is another thing to learn to deal with - to feel better you need to put yourself first and it takes along time to get over the fact that you might be being selfish - another of these little pschological side issues that crop up for you to deal with if you know what I mean.

what gets me worse isn't the headaches which i dont have but just the almost like a fog dizziness you know what I mean right like your all there in the head but its like a dizziness my dad asked me when it first began ''how does it feel'' back then i could only compare it to being in a ''almost scary panic weed high'' that moved to just plain dizziness and the Fog like i'm in a bubble and outside the bubble is normalcy please tell me someone gets what im saying.....as for the tired thing not sure never thought about it sometimes mine starts as soon as i get up sometimes it doesnt if i focus in on something like reading a book or playing ps3 it comes on bad

Hi Tommywrestler

my weird feeling is like a big misty heavy foggy blanket that I feel coming into my brain. I can wake up with it too. When I have it I feel like I have to drag myself around and fight my way through it to think, or do anything. At the same time I feel like that I am frowning - maybe that is from the effort. Too much time on the computer is difficult for me as it usually results in a tired headache. When I am like this I forget things and have difficulty words and sometimes come out with the wrong words - also put things in funny places and can't tolerate noise.

I guess fighting your way could be like you say "scary panic weed high". I have probably got used to it so no longer find it scary. I just get angry about it and wish it would leave me alone - I want to be normal!!

You may not realise that you are tired. I no longer have the automatic self regualation feelings - like I don't know if I am getting hot or cold until I am at the extreme - so that is why I say rest before you actually know your are tired because 90% of the time you are getting tired. My husband can see that I am tired before I am. When I am in a pig headed mood and he tells me I need to take a rest I refuse to and of course end up over tired and have wrecked my day as the fog will have come and that is it - day all over! My dizziness is usually when I am tired - and I feel that hit me like a wave - even just sitting down at times -weird.

Hope this helps - so without sounding like a nagging mother - make sure you rest and don't bump your head again!

I am going away on holiday for a week from tomorrow - it is our summer and will be out of phone signal range (in the back of beyond just about- well at a beach on our Coromandel Peninsular) so won't be able to access a computer -
behave while I am gone!!! REST

Lynlee

Hi Lynlee, I hope you have a wonderful vacation! Have fun and relax.

Hi Tommywrestler, I also suffered from dizziness for a long time after a concussion from an accident in May 07. If you can stand any more advice from a mother - relax. Your brain is probably okay by now. I am wondering if you have the same problems as I had, and still have to some degree, namely damage to your muscles. Can you feel your muscles tighten around your head or in the upper shoulder/neck region when you get tense and worry or when using the computer for some time? Do you feel more dizzy after exercises that jiggle your head around? Do you feel better when doing something fun and relaxing? You said that the Xantax helps you feel better and I think it is because it relaxes you. So what I learned is that when muscles around the head, neck and upper back tighten they trap nerves and bloodvessels and that can cause headaches and dizziness.

Overall, I am doing great now after going to a chiropractor for several months where they did some therapy with electric stimmulation and ultasound the get my muscles (mainly the trapezius) to relax and I am still taking a low dose of Elavil (it's an antidepressant that helps me to relax and sleep well at night. But now I have a new problem with my right shoulder - overuse injury from a paddling a canoo for 4-5 hours last July. So anyway, I was trying to do some exercises for my shoulder for the last couple of weeks and sure enough I was feeling more dizzy again. I think I was aggrevating the muscles at the back of my head again.

Also, about feeling more tired - it' normal. My 24 year-old son is living with us right now and looking for a job and he gets tired after spending a lot of time on his computer. Reading books is tiring too. I love to read and it makes me drowsy, just take breaks and move around some.

You probably know personal trainers and coaches who could help you find some exercises and stretches to do. Wrestling might not be the best thing for you at this time. Hope this helps!

Definately helpful and yea i never really thought about it but when my wife massages my back or neck everything starts to feel somewhat better and yea the Xanax i too believe helps the anxiey that i have gotten through dealing with this stuff also rubbing of the head helps alot i never thought of muscles and things of that nature thank you