Mild head injury

Bones, joints and muscles
1

Hi my injury was a simple and plain forward bump on the head with a door, although i was k'od for about 30 seconds or so.

Since then i have had strange headaches and mood swings along with depression, its been 4 years now. My memory has large holes in it - well the short term bit, although my long term memory seems clearer than ever strangely.

I still get dizzy and giddy but thankfully not so often.

I also get very tired quickly - its seems to be mental tired but my body won't listern either!!

Inhibitions have gone out the window and only my close friends and family seem able to cope with my wild comments - thats embarassing in public when i find things funny that others don't.

Has anyone else had similar?

2

Headaches seem a problem still, often the docs don't know what to do/ call them, had some treatment for migraines, some for cluster h's, but nothing seems to really work and often the side-effects seem to make things worse.....help.... :?

3

Hi I read your post with interest and was sorry to hear about your symptoms!

I was attacked about 6 months ago by someone who hit my front door into my head about 7 times at maximum force, because I had not paid him £5 I owed him and had complained to him about the type of "rap music" he had been listening to.

I told him to stop before I might die and finally he did, and he fled the building. He has reformed since and become a non-violent character, as far as I have heard.

Initially I thought I was OK, and put a towel round my head, and then went into the corrider to clean up all the blood which was absolutely everywhere.

I have not been able to think correctly since, although sometimes I can go several hours where my thinking is completely normal and uninterrupted. I am sure I will get better, but I don't know long this will take.

I now have difficulty holding a normal train of thought inside my head - very stupidly I did not go to doctors so as of today I am unsure whether or not there was brain trauma but judging by the poor quality of my thinking there probably was.

I have heard that there is a combination of chemicals called "Alpha Lipoic Acid" and "Acetyl-L-Carnitine" which when taken together may or definitely assist in growing back brain tissue that has been lost or impacted due to injury.

I am still from time to time thinking very poorly, where a thought will suddenly and upsettingly be diverted into something offensive, however I am overall getting better as I have taken the chemicals I mention above. In my case, I have found that cannabis has been very helpful in keeping myself calm and internally stable, I know that this chemical apparently is not great for everyone though, but for me it is the one that on many occasions has saved my life from a feeling of despair and being one step away from feeling suicidal (in seconds flat). My personality has not changed at all, however my moods have often been very low due to frustrations of "thought crashes" which have upset me. Sometimes my brain has generated "random bursts" of words, but this is now happening less often.

I have been prescribed "psychiatric" drugs, however because I do not have a psychiatric illness, they only act to bring on a worsening of thought problems, I will only feel normal and well if I do not take these, if I do take them this renders me the equivalent of "mentally ill" and I only recover once the chemical/s are out of my bloodstream. A drug called "Olanzapine" was helpful for me, but only when taken as one-off doses very occasionally - when prescribed on a daily dose I understand that many patients have turned obese and have had the quality of their lives taken away.

The chemical 'MDMA' helped me a lot, when I took a small amount of it with water. I felt instantly happier again. The chemical 'Procyclidine' has been helpful too to me, by improving my mood.

These are my experiences, my main advice is to research the Alpha Lipoic Acid and Acetyl-L-Carnitine chemicals, because these have definitely been helpful in my case to improve things for me.

As I have still had thought processing problems, I am going to request a brain scan from my Doctors tommorow - which I should have done straight away after the attack. The attack impacted me on the forehead, on another occasion an attic door slammed into the back of my head with full force too.

I hope this information may be helpful and hope you have got better yourself since 2008. The best things for me were the Alpha Lipoic Acid and Acetyl-L-Carnitine, the 'MDMA', and the cannabis. Good luck mate!

4

I too had a 'minor' bump to head with momentary loss of awareness. I have now a gap in memory immediately after the bang (back of head by a car bonnet). The accident was Jan2011 so over 2 1/2 years ago now.

Those symptoms you say, I recognise in my own symptoms. Especially the dizzy/giddy (given PROCHLORPERAZINE for the dizziness- which has helped reduce it), and gaps in memory - things I KNOW that I know simply are not there for immediate recall as they were before. Initially I felt like I was inside a huge goldfish bowl, looking out from within with some distance between myself and the world. The prochlorperazine helped that feeling to go away.

I also get mentally tired quickly and loss of certain inhibitions. Not so much that I undress in public/ but I do find I inappropriately don't consider other people the way I did before I had the head injury. I say things without thinking about consequences. BUT I notice it so it cant be that bad -say the doctors, fortunately they don't have to live with it... It is embarrassing for people with me, I just cannot stop myself where I would previously have been far more reserved. I find this has messed up meeting new people. Learning is a bit of an issue too.

I also have a focussing issue, I seem unable to hold a conversation with 2 people easily (dinner party scenario) or watch TV and then hear what someone has said. I have to look at them. Doctors checked my hearing which is ok and within limits, but I have a whistling hiss constantly which I think helps to cut out sounds from 2 sources. A bit like being in a swimming baths.

In addition to this, I find I scramble around for words sometimes. Sometimes totally forgetting what the word is that I need, even setting up a whole sentence to use the word then stopping / faltering. Doctors say this is ANXIETY due to the post concussive syndrome I have been diagnosed with.

Final thing, I noted immediately after the bump in A and E to a student doctor that I had a jolt down my left hand side, I get it every day, a few times a day where the muscles tense up and then relax. Mostly when sitting or lying down. The neurologist has put this down to tremor from the prochlorperazine, but I had it prior.

It does seem like my after care has been somewhat lacking as I still don't know how to deal wit it all. Maybe this diagnosis of anxiety after post concussive syndrome will give me some peace of mind. But failing that I hope my comments can help someone with similar symptoms. Also having someone with you that can explain to the health professionals is helpful, friend or relative, I didn't have anyone to help me, and as my communication was poor, I think I got worse care as I was unable to give the information I was suffering from.

As your original post was some time ago, how are your symptoms now? Is there any hope for me I am wondering...

5

Yes and Im 2 nutter.  Hey have you gone to the doctor.  It sounds like you experienced a concussion but, only a doctor can really tell you.  I experienced a very hard blow to my head and I was told I have a concussion and I was diagnosed much later with central pain syndrome.  I have short term memory and can remember some things in the past but, some things I dont remember at all even when they tell me about it but of course I laugh when its funny and wish I could remember atleast the funny stuff.  I really think you should go and see a neurologist to help you find out about your lingering symptoms of dizziness.  Its no fun to be dizzy and confused and some people still dont understand how uncomfortable it is.  Really go have it checked out because you dont want to be somewhere and pass out.  The brain is a delicate and important part of the body and it keeps everything else working so go check it out because the mind is a terrible thing to loose and sometimes you feel like your about to loose it.  Good luck and stay strong.