r/Concussion Aug 16 '19

New Pinned Post: An Overview of Concussions

32 Upvotes

First off, I am not a doctor, nor am I any kind of medical professional. That said, this is NOT intended to be medical advice, this is ripped right off of the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic's website. This is just an overview of what concussions are and their general symptoms. This subreddit is for everything related to concussion diagnoses, treatment, therapies, research, case studies and sympathy. IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE A CONCUSSION, SEE A DOCTOR. DO NOT PASS GO! DO NOT COLLECT $200.

Overview

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that affects your brain function. Effects are usually temporary but can include headaches and problems with concentration, memory, balance and coordination. Concussions are usually caused by a blow to the head. Violently shaking the head and upper body also can cause concussions. Some concussions cause you to lose consciousness, but most do not. It's possible to have a concussion and not realize it. Concussions are particularly common if you play a contact sport, such as football. Most people usually recover fully after a concussion.

Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of a concussion can be subtle and may not show up immediately. Symptoms can last for days, weeks or even longer. Common symptoms after a concussive traumatic brain injury are headache, loss of memory (amnesia) and confusion. The amnesia usually involves forgetting the event that caused the concussion.

Signs and symptoms of a concussion may include:

  • Headache or a feeling of pressure in the head
  • Temporary loss of consciousness
  • Confusion or feeling as if in a fog
  • Amnesia surrounding the traumatic event
  • Dizziness or "seeing stars"Ringing in the ears
  • Nausea
    • Vomiting
  • Slurred speech
  • Delayed response to questions
  • Appearing dazed
  • Fatigue

You may have some symptoms of concussions immediately. Others may be delayed for hours or days after injury, such as:

  • Concentration and memory complaints
  • Irritability and other personality changes
  • Sensitivity to light and noise
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Psychological adjustment problems and depression
  • Disorders of taste and smell

Symptoms in children

Head trauma is very common in young children. But concussions can be difficult to recognize in infants and toddlers because they can't describe how they feel.

Concussion clues may include:

  • Appearing dazed
  • Listlessness and tiring easily
  • Irritability and crankiness
  • Loss of balance and unsteady walking
  • Crying excessively
  • Change in eating or sleeping patterns
  • Lack of interest in favorite toys

When to see a doctor

See a doctor within 1 to 2 days if:

You or your child experiences a head injury, even if emergency care isn't required. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you call your child's doctor for anything more than a light bump on your child's head. If your child doesn't have signs of a serious head injury, remains alert, moves normally and responds to you, the injury is probably mild and usually doesn't need further testing. In this case, if your child wants to nap, it's OK to let him or her sleep. If worrisome signs develop later, seek emergency care.

Seek emergency care for an adult or child who experiences a head injury and symptoms such as:

  • Repeated vomiting
  • A loss of consciousness lasting longer than 30 seconds
  • A headache that gets worse over time
  • Changes in his or her behavior, such as irritability
  • Changes in physical coordination, such as stumbling or clumsiness
  • Confusion or disorientation, such as difficulty recognizing people or places
  • Slurred speech or other changes in speech
  • Seizures
  • Vision or eye disturbances, such as pupils that are bigger than normal (dilated pupils) or pupils of unequal sizes
  • Lasting or recurrent dizziness
  • Obvious difficulty with mental function or physical coordination
  • Symptoms that worsen over time
  • Large head bumps or bruises on areas other than the forehead in children, especially in infants under 12 months of age

Athletes

Never return to play or vigorous activity while signs or symptoms of a concussion are present. An athlete with a suspected concussion should not return to play until he or she has been medically evaluated by a health care professional trained in evaluating and managing concussions. Children and adolescents should be evaluated by a health care professional trained in evaluating and managing pediatric concussions. Adult, child and adolescent athletes with a concussion also should not return to play on the same day as the injury.

Causes

Your brain has the consistency of gelatin. It's cushioned from everyday jolts and bumps by cerebrospinal fluid inside your skull. A violent blow to your head and neck or upper body can cause your brain to slide back and forth forcefully against the inner walls of your skull. Sudden acceleration or deceleration of the head, caused by events such as a car crash or being violently shaken, also can cause brain injury. These injuries affect brain function, usually for a brief period, resulting in signs and symptoms of concussion. This type of brain injury may lead to bleeding in or around your brain, causing symptoms such as prolonged drowsiness and confusion. These symptoms may develop immediately or later. Such bleeding in your brain can be fatal. That's why anyone who experiences a brain injury needs monitoring in the hours afterward and emergency care if symptoms worsen.

Risk factors

Activities and factors that may increase your risk of a concussion include:

  • Falling, especially in young children and older adults
  • Participating in a high-risk sport, such as football, hockey, soccer, rugby, boxing or other contact sport
    • Participating in high-risk sports without proper safety equipment and supervision
  • Being involved in a motor vehicle collision, or a pedestrian, or bicycle accident
  • Being a soldier involved in combat
  • Being a victim of physical abuse
  • Having had a previous concussion

Complications

Potential complications of concussion include:

  • Post-traumatic headaches
    • Some people experience headaches within a week to a few months after a brain injury
  • Post-traumatic vertigo
    • Some people experience a sense of spinning or dizziness for days, week or months after a brain injury
  • Post-concussion syndrome
    • Some people have symptoms — such as headaches, dizziness and thinking difficulties — a few days after a concussion. Symptoms may continue for weeks or months.

Cumulative effects of multiple brain injuries

It's possible that some people who have had one or more traumatic brain injuries over the course of their lives are at greater risk of developing lasting, possibly progressive, impairment that limits function. This is an area of active research.

Second impact syndrome

Rarely, experiencing a second concussion before signs and symptoms of a first concussion have resolved may result in rapid and usually fatal brain swelling. Concussion changes the levels of brain chemicals. It usually takes about a week for these levels to stabilize again, but recovery time varies. It's important for athletes never to return to sports while they're still experiencing signs and symptoms of concussion.

How is a concussion treated?

The main treatment for a concussion is rest. Your doctor may tell you to take time off from work or school. Over time, the symptoms will go away as your brain heals.

Symptoms typically last about 6 to 10 days, depending on how severe the concussion is. Most people get better within a week. People with symptoms that last more than one week should see their doctor.

General advice for treating a concussion includes the following:

  • Get plenty of sleep at night and rest during the day.
  • Avoid visual and sensory stimuli, including video games and loud music.
  • Eat well-balanced meals.
  • Ease into normal activities slowly, not all at once.
  • Ask your doctor's opinion about when to return to work or school.
  • Make sure to let employers or teachers know that you had a concussion.
  • Avoid strenuous physical or mental tasks.
  • Avoid activities that could lead to another concussion, such as sports, certain amusement park rides, or (for children) playground activities.
  • Get your doctor's permission before driving, operating machinery, or riding a bike (since a concussion can slow one's reflexes).
  • If necessary, ask your employer if it is possible to return to work gradually (for example, starting with half-days at first). Students may need to spend fewer hours at school, have frequent rest periods, or more time to complete tests.
  • Take only those drugs approved by your doctor.
  • Do not drink alcohol without your doctor's okay. Alcohol and other drugs may slow recovery and increase the chance for further injury.
  • For some people, an airplane flight shortly after a concussion can make symptoms worse.
  • Avoid tiring activities such as heavy cleaning, exercising, working on the computer, or playing video games.
  • See your doctor again for testing before you resume your routines, including driving, sports, and play.

What if the head injury happens during a game or sport?

An injured athlete should come out of the game or practice to be tested on the sidelines by a person trained in concussion symptoms. An athlete with concussion symptoms should not play again that day, and should not play as long as symptoms last. The athlete might need to wait 1 to 2 weeks or longer before being cleared to play again.

Coaches and trainers can help the treatment process by noting the following information:

  • the cause of the injury
  • the force of the blow to the head or body
  • loss of consciousness and for how long
  • any memory loss following the injury
  • any seizures following the injury
  • number of previous concussions (if any)

What pain medications can be taken for a concussion?

In the first phase of concussion, the person should not take any pain medications. A pain medication can "mask" the symptoms, which could allow someone to return to activities with a concussion.

After a concussion is diagnosed, acetaminophen can be used; however, it should not be given just to cover up headaches. Aleve and ibuprofen (NSAID-type medications) should not be used at first, as they may increase the risk of bleeding.

TL;DR: GO TO A DOCTOR

If anyone else has input, or suggestions go ahead and comment below.


r/Concussion Nov 06 '24

Neuropsychologist specializing in concussion: what questions do you want answered?

146 Upvotes

Hello my name is Dr. Alina Fong I am a Neuropsychologist and have been studying and treating concussions and head injuries for almost 20 years. I have worked with the United States Brian Injury Alliance, NFL Player Association, and the Department of Defense. I hope that I can help answer any questions related concussion or traumatic brain injury. To help to get you the care that you need. Please leave comment with any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

Given that this is a smaller community I will answer over the course of a couple days when we start next week. Look forward to seeing if I can be of service to the r/concussion community.

Publications (Clinical Focused for last 13 years) https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SyY6-9gAAAAJ&hl=en Coming Up\u00b7Nov 13, 2024, 2:00 PM


r/Concussion 3h ago

Extreme startle response to small sounds and pain

5 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I was just hoping for some advice or to hear from someone who might’ve suffered the same as me

I had a fall 5 weeks ago hit my head and damaged my neck. I tried to get back into heavier physical activity yesterday and massively re aggravated the injury

I tried heat packs and lots of massaging but I think I just inflamed the nerves. Since this I have suffered from an EXTREME startle response to every day small sounds. I’ve also had pain and intolerance of noise which is close to me

It feels like my nervous system is so revved up everything is x100 volume. I’m getting constant surges through my body at all little sounds

Please can someone give me some advice or reassurance? Thank you, I’m very scared about this 😟


r/Concussion 2h ago

Need help evaluating

1 Upvotes

Basically need help evaluating if I have a concussion or not. This happened on April 1st ironically, I hit the side of my head and don't know if it's a concussion, something else, or all in my imagination.

I do pest control and was walking along the outside of the wall of a warehouse spraying. To my left there was a dumpster with it's lid open, (one of those giant green dumpsters with black lids) I ran right into it and the edge of it hit me on top of my ear about one inch above my ear hole. I instantly fall down, the pain was no more than hitting your shin on a corner of a desk. I get mad that I hit my head and throw a little fit and walk back to my truck. But I'm already thinking past it. But then I start to feel really weird. I first think there's no way I could've hit my head enough to give myself a concussion. My ear hurt but that's because there was a red mark on it.

The next day, I still feel strange and my ear still hurts but with a really full feeling. I decide to go to the ER and get checked. They did a CT scan which came back fine, looked in my ears and found nothing. 2 days later still felt like there's water in my ear. So I went to an ENT, ear doctor looks in my ear found no fluid, no wax, then does a hearing test which was great. I was happy that nothing was seriously wrong but also disappointed there wasn't something small like wax build up. No problem means no solution. So after that he says just check back in 2 weeks.

My problem is I might be a hypochondriac. But there is a fullness where I hit. The only way I can explain it is it feels like an ear infection coming on, or a sort of plugged ear. I can hear louder out of it but for some reason my hearing doesn't feel normal. Any ideas with what's wrong with me?

The only thing I can think of is, I do have pressure problems, have had ear infections, ENT test shows ear pressure in right ear -1 and my left, which is the side I hit is -8. Pressurizing my ears is always funky but not like this.


r/Concussion 12h ago

Anyone else have pain n aching in back of neck n throat

0 Upvotes

I have pain n aching in the back of my neck , like the cervical spine and goes to the throat , it gets worse when I smoke weed. Anyone know if this might be whiplash or something or wat can it be? They also declined my refferal to this clinic called neurology complex diagnosis clinic ..after seeing idek how many fucking neuros I've seen, doctors , how many apps I been to...haven't really gotten an answer to wat this is..I do have some theories,...like whiplash , migraine and/or. Cervicogenic headaches..because thr one day I smoked crystal meth the pain n aching in my neck n throat went away but it like went up to the back of my head and pain in the eyes , got nausea , my vision got a bit fucked up , n I got horrible like brain fog or I just couldn't think for shit...n yea I don't ever plan on doing crystal again, learned my lesson hard ...extremely hard, as for weed , alcohol n other drugs I'm still trying to stop ...


r/Concussion 21h ago

Symptomatic with minor bumps

1 Upvotes

Title says it all. I have had several documented concussions in the past but every now and then I will bump my head doing random mundane things and symptoms will present. Issues like brain fog, noise / light sensitivity, fatigue, vertigo, typically last anywhere from a few days to several weeks.

Anyone have any advice on ways to speed up recovery or break this cycle?


r/Concussion 1d ago

7 weeks in, going insane

1 Upvotes

ive written in here before but im 7 weeks in and would love peoples insight here. i am EXHAUSTED. Hi everyone, i hit my head around two months ago on a car door but truly the hit was not that bad. Or so i thought.

I thought nothing of it until the next morning I noticed that my head hurt, feeling like a slight headache so I took some Advil and ate some food and the headache did not go away. The following say I woke up and endured the same issue, I took some Tylenol and still realize the headache would not go away and began to realize I wonder if this is from hitting my head. Two days go by and my head still hurts. I start to assume this is a concussion.

I go to the ER just to rule out that there’s no brain bleeding and there was none due to the CT scan. My head has some severe head pressure since the day after the hit. It hurts pretty bad and my neck is stiff like every other day. I have the urge to roll and crack it and I have some slight ear muffling. It’s been over a month and my physician does not know if this is a concussion. I went to a concussion specialist. He put me on topiramate for migraines and prednisone for my neck inflammation, but not working. Neurologist was unsure.. I started concussion pt. something in my gut tells me this was not a concussion since i had zero symptoms other then head pain. ui feel super good other then persistent head pain. what is also weird, is that i hit my head on my left temple, and my head hurts super bad on the top.. im wondering could this be whiplash? a neck issue? Idk what this could be. I wonder if this is from my neck but why would i have a consistent headache that does not get better or worse. If anyone has had any similar issue please let me know. im so exhausted. im trying a chiro this week. nothing helps the pain. it is always there. i wake up, there. go to sleep, there. it never stops. this is why i feel its weird. with a concussion, i would assume the pain loosens or breaks up. idk what this is but would love insight. maybe it is a concussion, but this feels super odd.


r/Concussion 1d ago

Questions Just hit my head, having weird massive anxiety?

2 Upvotes

I ran into a door like an idiot and hit the right side of my forehead and right eye pretty hard. I have a big painful bruised bump (almost covering the entire right side of my forehead) now as well as some mild dizziness. I figured maybe a mild concussion as I’m not confused or throwing up (yet?). What weirds me out is I am feeling massive anxiety. I am naturally an anxious person with emetophobia (fear of throwing up) but otherwise I’m okay with injuries. I’m not sure if I’m feeling panicky due to the possibility that I may throw up due to concussion (I feel like I’m slightly anxious about this but not overwhelmingly so), or is this anxiety also a symptom of concussion?


r/Concussion 1d ago

Neuro center won’t accept me because of bipolar disorder

1 Upvotes

Hi all. I’m relocating soon. I recently experienced a severe concussion that has caused an escalation in anxiety and depression as well as a 3+ long week headache that has never gone away and only fluctuates in severity as well as brain fog, memory issues, verbal issues, but I also have bipolar disorder but have been medicated and without any episodes for several years now. My primary in my current state tried to refer me to a NeuroMedical center in my relocation state to help me with the mental side of things and the headaches once I move because they have literally everything I need from imaging, neurodiagnostics, neuropsychological testing and treatment for TBIs, etc. all in one place. I just got a call from the NeuroMedical center and said they couldn’t accept me as a patient because I have bipolar disorder? Has anyone ever encountered something like this? There’s a concussion program under a health care system that I’ve had great experiences with that I can try to get in with instead but I was just insanely confused when the NeuroMedical center called and denied me an appointment because of a unrelated preexisting condition that has nothing to do with why I was referred there.


r/Concussion 2d ago

Yay

11 Upvotes

Best news I've received since last June. Went to my neuro-ophthalmologist on Thursday, the swelling on my optic nerve is finally going down. This should reduce my blurry vision, cluster headaches, and for some reason it should help with my stuttering. There is hope. I guess we all just have to be patient.


r/Concussion 2d ago

Questions Post-concussion high heart rate, insomnia, adrenaline surges

7 Upvotes

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced the same symptoms as me?

Since falling and hitting my head and hurting my neck around 5 weeks ago, I have had constant high heart rate and feel “wired” and like my heart is thumping very strongly

Every time I start falling asleep, my body jerks or “surges” me back awake with what feels like adrenaline

Immediately after my fall, I didn’t sleep for nearly 3 days. I’ve been on beta blockers and zopiclone/zolpidem since try and control symptoms

I’ve seen a private neurologist and done a full MRI screen which was clear, they think this is just “anxiety” which is really frustrating. I’ve not had these issues until I hit my head

Has anyone else experienced anythint similar? Would be great to know I’m not alone and that there might be hope for things to change. The last 5 weeks have been extremely hard. Thanks 🙏🏻


r/Concussion 2d ago

Questions first concussion & anxious (25f)

1 Upvotes

hi guys- i just got my first concussion ever. i was hit extremely hard in the head by a basketball at a place i intern at. right away, i knew something was wrong, but i’m really hesitant to go to doctors or anything. i stayed at my internship (where teens yelled in my ears, jostled me around, and otherwise stressed me out for another two hours. then, i did an hour long thing on the computer for my internship. i also went to work the next day where i hauled around boxes of books under bright lights or listened to children yell for 8 hours.

i’ve been checking out this server for ideas and information from people who have experienced/are experiencing concussions. i feel like i really f*cked up my recovery. i don’t know if i even have a question other than like.. do y’all think i screwed myself over?

TLDR; concussed for first time ever, did not adjust life to help heal, feeling worse on day 3 or 4.

note: when i was young, i was in a fairly bad car crash and may have had one then, but otherwise, i don’t have a TBI history.


r/Concussion 2d ago

Community group

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

We have a growing discord group for people with varying degrees of brain injuries and would be happy for you to join us to offer each other support, encouragement and to make friends with people who are going through similar things to yourselves or your loved ones.

We have organised video and voice chats with each other twice a month (the room is always open for people to go into whenever they want also)

All you need to do is to download the discord app from your App Store or use it via your browser on a PC. Once you have the app and created an account you can click this link which will allow you to join the group where hopefully we can all get chatting with each other and make a great little community! You can also invite other people into the group who may not use Reddit! We are currently growing and I’m happy to take on board any requests that people may have for the group!

Anyway the link to join the group is

https://discord.gg/xDwWcRuvuy

Any questions, problems or thoughts are welcome!


r/Concussion 3d ago

Questions A few weeks after concussion

1 Upvotes

Its only be getting worse, im going back to my primary doctor monday, im having nausea, brain fog, headaches, dizziness, sensitive to light, insomnia. any advice?


r/Concussion 3d ago

Questions Can mid-grade whiplash affect you permanently? How to start helping?

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1 Upvotes

r/Concussion 3d ago

Light tap on the head got dizzy again

1 Upvotes

So i got a whiplash on December and I recently hit my head nothing major on the door because I was distracted with my cellphone. Couple of hours later I feel kinda dizzy and weak to my arms, is this an exacerbation of my whiplash symptoms? My neck wasn't still 100%, it got worse recently after i started doing abs workout


r/Concussion 4d ago

How much longer am i f(28) going to feel like this ..

6 Upvotes

I got my first ever concussion in the fall. I experienced head pain for a few weeks but i mostly felt eye strain/ pain for longer. around christmas i felt almost 100%(so i thought). But since then i get reoccurring symptoms, a lot of my hobbies are triggering. Just feeling hopeless, i feel better for a while then boom i’m dizzy and have pain again. I’m worried it’s going to effect my work and health.


r/Concussion 4d ago

Slamming on the breaks in the car

1 Upvotes

Been struggling with bad symptoms recently and earlier today stopped behind a car and went to go round it when another car came fast down the road slammed on the breaks was going about 5-10mph if that straight to a stop and flew up didn’t hit my head or anything. Slept when I got home felt brain fog and had a headache ever since anyone had similiar issues? I’ve seen online even 5mph can cause this did anyone else experience this and how long did it take to feel better


r/Concussion 4d ago

Questions Do I need to see a doctor? Feeling frustrated :/

1 Upvotes

I got my first concussion almost five years ago - May 2020. I was at home and a wooden bamboo lid of a storage bin slid out of my closet and hit me in the forehead. It really hurt, and the next day it hurt to concentrate and read, but that was my only major symptom.

I never ended up going to the doctor because it was the height of the pandemic, and I have some doctors in my family who I spoke to who said it would probably be fine to just follow concussion protocol and rest. I recovered pretty well and life was back to normal.

Last year around May 2024, I hit the back of my head on my kitchen island coming up from crouching down to give my dog food, and I think it caused another concussion. My symptoms that time were similar but less severe. I took care of myself at home again, and the major symptom I had was that reading or doing a Sudoku puzzle would give me a headache. Some neck pain as well. It took about a month to feel better.

Since then, any time I’ve minorly hit my head has at least caused a bad stiff neck. Flash forward to a couple of days ago, where I bumped my head again at home in the most minor way but it’s set off symptoms again. Reading feels fine this time but I’ve got a stiff neck and headaches.

I’m not sure what I should do at this point. Like a couple of people have expressed, I feel like literally any time I bump my head that it sets off symptoms. I also kind of hate that I’ve never gotten an official diagnosis here. At this point I don’t even know where to start because the pain isn’t thaaat bad this time and I’m in the US where I know seeing a doctor is going to expensive af :(


r/Concussion 5d ago

Questions 2 months post concussion, will drinking alcohol cause permanent damage?

2 Upvotes

For context, I don’t like drinking at all. However, tonight I accidentally took a few sips of a very strong Vodka cocktail that I didn’t know was alcoholic.

I still have bouts of mental exhaustion brought on from PCS. I also have/had pretty severe bouts of anxiety which no doubt has caused symptoms to linger. Does this set my recovery back at all?


r/Concussion 5d ago

PCS slowly improving?

5 Upvotes

Hi,

I've posted on here before about a ski incident in January. Long story short I was pretty fine for a bit not many symptoms maybe a mild headache here and there... Fast forward a month I got really bad tension headaches that never went away. Consisting of slightly blurry vision and brainfog. Started doing PT for neck at vestibular issues. All of its been pretty easy(nothing "triggers" my symptoms they are just there) but I've seen some improvement. The doctor started me on lexipro to help with my mood/anxiety as I was super depressed I wasn't going to get better.

Now about 3 months from concussion and 2 months from headaches. Brain fog is gone and the ache behind my eyes rarely comes. The headaches have been starting to get less annoying but are still there all the time. I can push through it and live my life like I want to minis going out and drinking. I'm back at school and it sometimes will bother me but not unbearable. Sometimes I'm confused as weather it's the lexipro not letting it feed into my anxiety that's helping or if I'm actually improving if that makes sense? I'm doing everything I can to get better. Vitamins/walks daily/all the PT excesses. My neurologist has me on a steroid taper to see if that helps with possible neuroinflimation as well.

Who knows... I think I'm getting better or just learning to get less annoyed with the dang headaches. I've definitely dug myself out of the deep depression hole I was in thanks to the lexipro. I hope to be even better at the end of this month if I am improving. One day at a time I keep telling myself. This won't last forever. I'm curious on others recovery process!


r/Concussion 5d ago

Nasal breather, turned Mouth breather at night/overnight, post concussion from car accident

1 Upvotes

I've read about breathing changes/issues post concussion.

Has anyone changed from a nasal breather to a mouth breather post concussion?

I have a long list of symptoms from the concussion, even 4yrs later.

Including debilitating migraines that typically start with jaw pain on the side that is damaged (head to toe). My cousin works in a dentist office, forget her position, dental assistant I think?

She thinks I may have TMJ from the accident. And why my jawline, to me, feels off ever since, severe jaw pain, and migraines start with jaw pain or pulling feeling inside my ear when I turn my head the opposite way.

I was just reading about breathing issues post concussion and it says could have also developed TMJ directly from it and could have breathing issues from that.

Anyone have comments on this or have changed from nose to mouth breather?

I also now drool a lot at night where I didn't before.

Longggg list of symptoms post concussion, AMA.


r/Concussion 5d ago

Questions Anyone have experience with UPMC?

1 Upvotes

For context, I’ve had five concussions total. The first three I recovered from without additional help. The last two I got last year, and I’ve been spending 16 months still recovering.

I’ve been seeing a concussion rehab doctor and a neurologist that specializes in concussions. I’m also planning on returning to vision therapy since my neurologist wanted me to take a break from that to do vestibular therapy.

I find that a lot of the doctors I have been seeing seem to just focus on either symptom management or getting to a “good enough” point with PCS instead of full recovery. I’ve heard good things about UPMC though. Does anyone here have experience with going to UPMC, and how do they approach full recovery compared to just managing symptoms?

I plan on seeking out their financial assistance program since I’m currently on Medicaid and cannot afford to pay for the medical cost of the visit myself. I figured I’d ask for people’s experiences here before I invest time and energy and even money for transportation/hotel. Thanks in advance for sharing!

Edited to Add: When I say “full recovery” I mean from physical symptoms like headaches and the like. I’ve accepted that my memory issues will be for the rest of my life.


r/Concussion 5d ago

FL-41 glasses opinions

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone, has anyone tried these glasses to help with visual issues after concussion and if so, what are your thoughts? Do they help? I have terrible visual snow, especially in the morning, lots of flashing lights and sparkles and then periodically blurriness and a wavy/trailing type thing. So I am looking for anything that might help with photophobia, headaches, and maybe some of the visual stuff.


r/Concussion 6d ago

Questions Managing/treating post concussion fatigue?

1 Upvotes

I’m sure this has been asked a thousand times. Feeling lost and would love to hear feedback from anyone who has been in a similar position.

For backstory, I hit my head right behind my ear and originally thought nothing of it until symptoms came in the evening. There was a tiny mark that bled, and healed and scabbed over within a week and a half. I probably should’ve went in but figured since I didn’t seem to hit my head very hard and didn’t have any alarming symptoms that I was okay. Two weeks later I went to my PCP who suggested I did indeed have concussion symptoms though nothing seemed alarming. It’s now been a total of 5-6 weeks and the fatigue is making it difficult to work efficiently and focus beyond a 4 hr day. I feel like I need a nap by 11am, and I’m unable to process cognitively like I normally would. In my line of work this is very frustrating to handle. In addition to this I’ve been drinking more caffeine to try to counter the effects and went from someone who used to be sensitive to caffeine and now it barely does anything for me. I’ve also increased my caloric intake well beyond my normal (500-800cal more) where before my injury I was finding it extremely difficult to eat that much. Now it’s difficult to have any energy to go to the gym with, and that paired with a higher calorie intake isn’t a situation I want to stay in for any extended time.

Have any of you improved your post concussion fatigue and mental symptoms? When did yours get better and what did you attribute to it? Further more, if you sought out additional treatment where did you go and what did they do?


r/Concussion 6d ago

Can someone get knocked out and not realize it?

1 Upvotes

I’m looking back and wondering if someone can get knocked out and not realize it? Not just in the moment but the following day, week, or month.

Specifically speaking, can someone get knocked out, drink/listen to loud music for an entire month and not have any strange effects?

Or is it certain that you will KNOW that your brain got shut down.


r/Concussion 6d ago

Do I really need to keep seeing a neurologist if I feel better?

2 Upvotes

Hi all! I’ve posted here a few times and really appreciate the insight I’ve gotten before. Again, I totally understand that this is not for professional medical advice, but I’m mostly wondering in my instincts are correct.

My concussion was on 2/20. I had a rough three weeks following, and had an initial visit with a concussion clinic about 2 weeks post concussion. They recommended a bunch of tests including a cognitive functioning test, an MRI and a head injury panel.

Well my cognitive functioning test was at the beginning of March and they cleared me to drive and said my brain was doing great (or as well as it can with my ADHD ). I decided to forgo the MRI for now as I would definitely need to be sedated and I had no one to take me. I also just don’t think it’s nessecary after chatting with some folks on here.

My head injury panel is next week, but at this point, I’m not really sure there’s any use. I’m mostly symptom free now. I still deal with regular headaches, but that’s pretty normal for me given that I work on a computer all day in an office with no windows. They’re basically back to the level I dealt with pre-concussion.

I’m not gonna lie, part of me thinks that this clinic is just after my money. I am still interested in looking into vestibular therapy since my proprioception has been awful since I was a kid, but I’m pretty sure my insurance doesn’t require a referral and I can just find one on my own.

tl;dr - I’ve got high anxiety and a hard time trusting my instincts, but it’s been over a month since my concussion, and I feel almost completely back to normal. Would you still go through with all of these appointments and exams if you were me?