Concussed and still getting symptoms [Archive]

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Halcyon

28-02-12, 14:34

Almost a week ago, I banged my head quite badly. At the time I just had the usual pain you would expect and I thought things would resolve but I'm still getting headaches. I'm also feeling a strange sensation that feels as though the world around me is somehow faded and though I have moments of clarity when I feel better, this isn't going away.

I was getting concerned about the headaches so I went to the hospital on Sunday and they just said I was concussed. They gave me some strong painkillers which I've stopped taking because the side effects are similar to concussion so I was worried they would mix up with my symptoms and would stop me from knowing whether I was getting better or not. The doctors didn't sound particularly concerned but I'm worried that I might have a serious problem. My head hurts more when I tilt it to one side and the pain spreads beyond the area I banged. I have also had some weakness in my left hand but I was feeling rather weak before I banged my head so I'm not sure if this is related or not.

Basically, should I go and ask to have a scan to check things out? As I say, the doctors didn't sound concerned but I'm worried they may have missed something. Would they have been able to detect any kind of bleeding in the brain without performing a scan?

Breezay

28-02-12, 14:37

I think tests like looking into your pupils and checking pulse and blood pressure can be good indications of severe bleeds. After I was hit by a car, I didn't have any scans on anything other than my ankles, which were obviously broken.

Saying that, a banged head isn't something that should be taken lightly and if you're not feeling any better then I'd suggest going back to the hospital and ask for a scan, especially as you're still having symptoms a week later.

Halcyon

28-02-12, 14:44

Thanks for getting back so quickly! :)

They didn't actually check my pulse or blood pressure so perhaps they didn't even consider that as a possibility. They did thoroughly look into my eyes though so that's good. Ultimately, they did tell me to go back at the end of the week if things weren't better but I think I do feel a little bit more lucid today so I'll see how things go.

If I do have to go back, can I just turn up at accident and emergency and ask for a scan or should I go through my GP?

Breezay

28-02-12, 14:48

If you feel really unwell, go to A&E. Otherwise might just be worth a check up with your GP if you're not feeling 100%.

I'm surprised they didn't check your pulse and whatnot.. That's unusual. Your eyes are a good indicator of whether things are wrong and by themselves can diagnose a whole host of problems! So it's good that they looked at them properly :)

Halcyon

28-02-12, 14:53

I'm a bit surprised they didn't look at my blood pressure too. I've gone in with completely non-related things and had them look at that.

I have an appointment with my GP to look at another problem on Monday (a weird lump on my jaw that I've had conflicting reports about) so I'll see how I go. I try to tell myself that if I had anything majorly wrong, it would have presented itself by now. What people say is that if it was the worst case scenario, my headaches would be so bad I wouldn't be able to stand up. Is that right? Additionally, my cognitive functioning seems okay, so would that be affected by bleeding?

Breezay

28-02-12, 15:05

If you had bleeding on your brain for a week, then yes, you'd have some obvious symptoms by now! If nothing else, you'd be getting terribly painful pressure and a constant headache from where the bleed is. You'd also be deteriorating, not really showing any signs of improvement but that's not been the case.

You could be anxious about it to the point that it's making you feel detached from reality.. I get that quite a lot and it scares me so much, but it's a very common symptom :)

If it's still bothering you when you go to your GP on Monday then mention it, they might be able to reassure you if nothing else :) Sometimes pains like this can last a bit longer than we'd like them to! x

Halcyon

28-02-12, 15:11

Breezay

28-02-12, 16:12

Thank you for the reassurance! :)

Ultimately, I spend most of my life with a slightly concussed feeling that there is somehow a thin film over reality so I guess this has just heightened that, especially as I had been getting headaches recently. Somebody is keeping an eye on me and they don't seem especially concerned at the moment.

I am worse than I was when I hit my head but I feel a bit better than I did yesterday so hopefully that means things are going to even out eventually. It could just be a post-concussion thing, right?

As long as you see some improvement then you should be fine :) I think if you'd had anything seriously wrong, you'd have noticed it by now - or someone else would have noticed it for sure.

If your headaches take a sudden turn for the worse, you start vomiting, slurring your speech or have trouble remembering things, then head to A&E immediately. Otherwise put your feet up and have a good rest, hopefully it should help xx

Halcyon

01-03-12, 19:21

Sorry for the bump but I could use some more advice/reassurance.

Yesterday, things were getting worse so I went back to A&E. They examined me again and while the doctor I saw agreed that it was just concussion, she recommended I go for a scan, which I managed to have almost immediately. The scan came back clear, but they warned me to come back if any of the symptoms Breezay mentioned recurred (thanks for your great advice by the way - are you a doctor by any chance? They said pretty much everything you did!)

Naturally, I'm relieved to find out the scan was normal but as always, I've got a few doubts. I'm still getting headaches and today I've been feeling nauseous. The other thing is, they measured my blood pressure this time and it was higher than normal, almost verging on hypertension. For some reason I did some reading about this last night and it seems I've got some of the symptoms of raised intercranial pressure. The doctor mustn't have found anything like this when she examined my eyes but apparently these things don't show up on scans and can be hard to trace, so I'm worried that I may have a problem even though the scan was okay.

Basically, if my scan is clear, is there any chance that I still have a problem with my brain? I'm aware that there can be a delayed reaction to these things sometimes so can I be truly assured that I'm ok when it's over a week on and I'm still getting symptoms?