DistinguishedHeathen wrote:Soooo, as someone who was just diagnosed with a mild concussion today and freaking out about it due to being a 3/4, reading this brought me tremendous relief.
For the record, I gave myself a concussion in the most ridiculous way: springing up from the bed due to a night terror and then letting myself fall back down to the bed, striking the back of my head on our low, wooden headboard in the process. Though it was incredibly painful then and left me with a goose egg, I didn't have any symptoms (never had a headache in my life, not even with this -- all surface pain) until 4 days later when I awoke Monday morning with profound vertigo, followed by vomiting, followed by exhaustion. The next morning, I was still dizzy/felt my head sloshing, so I booked an appointment with my neurologist for today.
He was confident it was a concussion with delayed presentation and said I didn't need an MRI at this time, especially since my symptoms have improved each day since Monday.
I still feel a bit fuzzy and heavy-headed, but reading this gives me hope that I haven't caused some lasting damage from which my brain can't recover. Thank you for that!
So glad to hear that you got seen by a neurologist right away and got reassuring news!
Like you, I gave myself a concussion and didn't have the excuse of having night terrors. In my early 40's, I walked in the dark on our icy driveway in heels (what could go wrong?). The resulting egg on my head was diagnosed as a mild head injury at the ER and caused nausea and dizziness the first night, followed by a persistent headache at the spot I hit for about a month. No cognitive effects then or later, thankfully! I happened to be running a large project for kids with TBI at the time, with access to great neuropsychologists and conferences, so was able to get the same kind of reassurance you got.
Having recently served on several grant-approval committees for research into the effects of TBI in the military, the scientific consensus now seems to be that
repetitive mild TBI is most often the cause of long-term issues, not a single mild concussion. Although a "blast"-induced concussion from an IED explosion can set off a huge brain-wave imbalance, that is very different from a specific, brief blow to one spot of your nicely hard skull.
Be patient and kind to your brain. Knowing that it might take 4 weeks or so before you feel like yourself consistently will make it less scary when you experience the need for "cognitive rest" (taking breaks frequently during mentally challenging work) or giving yourself quiet time or naps. Gentle aerobic exercise may help after concussions--just be sure your balance feels okay!
Think of this as a minor fender-bender accident--it won't raise your rates of risk, cause your brain to not run smoothly or lead to permanent, pervasive or personal changes in who you are!!