How long does post concussion head pain and cognitive fatigue last?

Hi @ lynne123
It is part of my therapy through Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
I hope you can find where you live.
❤️

I take breaks and drink lots of water when I begin to get that feeling in my head like it’s done. Before the pain starts. So yes that works for me too. I’m 18 months in.
As for the headaches. The whiplash has calmed a lot. The headache pain is less intense and doesn’t last as long. When the headache kicked in, it lasted a few days. Usually 4ish. and sometimes it was more intense. But yes, about 3 months ago it took a leap further away from the intensity.
I do light weights for mood stability. And sometimes I have to lessen the lbs because I feel that headache warning. I do lite arobices too help clear the debris from the electrical storm of the concussion. And I do yoga for peace. (I can’t recall what, but it means or leads to peace of mind).
I don’t sleep on my left side or on my back with my head looking anywhere near left. Or I wake with the concussion headache and the day or 2 is almost non functioning. With pain and fog and concussion.

There is hope! My heart goes out to you.

How’s your digestive system? Mine is wacky. Like right now it’s offline. Well glitching it is. It’s weird. But it’ll get back to work within an hour or two.

I would like to know how long Post Concussion Syndrome lasts too. 19 months here.

And @johannawest Thank you for your post. Your multitasking and math issues caught my attention.

I'm 19 months with PCS. I'm just now able to do some basic math without having to write it down like in elementary school or use a calculator for super simple add and subtract. I was a passenger in a car accident. I still have facial pain, regular headaches, wrong words coming out, spacing out or going completely blank when asked a question, needing to write things down, constant ringing that makes it difficult to sleep, have issues working computers/phones, lose track of time, and have trouble taking the stairs (walking down is more painful than walking up them). It took a year before I got my balance back and I credit neuro-feedback and infrared therapies. A lady told me about it and said insurance covered it (she had Cigna). An email would take me 3-5 days, if not a whole week - because if I didn't finish it, I'd have to start all over again. My train of thought was just gone - like POOF! then deer in headlights look. Then on the 20th or 30th attempt, I'd finally get it written and sent.

I don't have insurance and I don't know what happened, but the auto insurance closed the medical claim and ignored me. So I didn't get the medical attention I should have had, just thank God he was with me, because I barely remember the first 2-3 weeks. Was barely awake the first week, then forced myself to stay awake and moving around 2-4-6-8-10+ hours. The seat belt injuries were brutal. I used infrared therapy 5 hours a day and it still took 10 weeks for the deep bruises to dissipate, then months for the deep tissue pads to break up and go away. I never thought the cracked ribs were ever going to heal (4 months) and I still have a sore spot when the Doctor checks it.

Experts tell me I likely have facial fractures and 99+% just take time to heal. That like 1/10th of 1% require surgery.

My left eye socket/cheek area still hurt (a constant ache, headaches, and pressure like pushing a bean bag on your face & eye).

I was really worried I'm still having headaches, forgetfulness, pain in my face. So I saw an opthomologist. Good news is that he said all the testing looked good and that my vision was still 20/15. And he, like the other DRs, said to see a Neurologist. With no insurance or referral, doesn't seem likely I will see one.

My biggest frustration is how long it is taking and how slow (& small) the improvements are. I've given up everything I use to do, because I'm barely making it through the day. House and yard and behind and showing it.

I joke that I feel like I'm in a Gunsmoke episode, using old remedies. But I'm finding out many people are reverting to the tried & true home remedies for most things due to the high cost of healthcare. Even with insurance, they opt for alternative treatments over the expensive options with insurance.

If anything, do to my situation - I have a whole new respect for alternative therapies and homeopathic. I realize it is all based on thousands of years of Chinese medicine, just never needed it until now.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would be so devastating and life altering. And there are days where I get down and wonder if I'll be like this forever. Forgetting where I put things or key points makes it very difficult to socialize. Days of staring at the computer or phone, trying to remember what to click on.

Thank you

Mine has been a year. I have seen a million drs with mormal results. I google to find answers. I fell out of my mothers attic to concrete. I didn't feel anything for four months Then severe dizziness. Broke my leg initially but it healed and I got dizzy from head blow.

@valka

Hi,

I appreciate you sharing so much, my symptoms are very similar and my digestive system is horrible too, terrible nausea, stomach pain with any food and most fluids, thank goodness for the Zofram dissolvable medications. A couple times I even thought I was going to throw up after eating with my mouth watering and all the symptoms but it improved enough to hold down the food. I even just started having trouble with the skin behind my knees bruising after a hot bath, just great!

Please be careful and report your symptoms to your endocrinologist so they can review your stomach troubles. My thoughts and prayers are with you. 🕊️🙏🕊️

@patty78962

Hi,

Wow, sounds like a pretty bad injury too! I saw the neuro Opthomoligist too and he diagnosed conversion insufficiency which was my eyes doing everything separately and not working together, treated with physical therapy exercises at home and that is now cured, but I still have to do the 5 min exercises twice daily to stay cured, I recommend seeing one if you can as my regular eye doctor also said everything was fine before seeing him too! After the eyes were cured my blurry vision has stopped and it reduced the head pain substantially. I mostly get the head pain now when I am seriously cognitively fatigued. I also see a speech pathologist to work on rebuilding my neuropathways around the damaged parts of my brain that will never heal. I ham learning to use tricks and tools to prevent the cognitive fatigue which is definitely making all symptoms worse, it is definitely a balance of rest, NO Stress, water, exercise as tolerated etc. My stumbling and staggering due to the accident caused vertigo is worse when fatigued but the dizziness is getting somewhat better at times with the vestibular PT exercises! What I am finding is it’s a lot of Physical Therapy, some is working some is not. The brain damage, memory, no more relying on my brain too work ant it just saying things backwards, the math still terrible- can’t even figure out how to count out 15 min breaks without a calculator.

Please don’t feel alone out there as you are not, I can relate to everything and every symptom you stated. Hang in there, I know God has a reason for everything and that he never gives us more than we can handle. You can make this recovery or life adjustments! Please know how much your experiences have touched my heart and helped to encourage me to keep going too no matter how hard each day is and what new challenges we must overcome!

You are appreciated!! 💕💕

@pamorr12

Hi,

Google and a PPO have been excellent resources for me too!
I googled the symptoms, then researched what kind of physician treats it and then booked the appointments myself.

I unfortunately had confirmed injuries or conditions but at least am getting treatment for my symptoms, mostly physical therapy. Still in weekly Physical Therapy for the neck, back, rotator cuff pain and cyst that developed per the MRI, vestibular PT for the dizziness, stumbling, staggering, ringing in the ear etc. All discovered after googling my symptoms and getting checked out by the specialist that google recommended for each symptom that developed after a head injury.

Thank goodness development of the new symptoms have a slowed down.

Anyway, I get it and sometimes getting information to self refer or even take to your doctor to explain and get referral expedited can sometimes be very helpful with working with our doctors to help them get us the best fastest treatment possible.

@jenniferctbisurvivor My digestive system is messed up too. After reading what I posted earlier, I noticed all the grammar errors. That is another problem. I'm not a grammar Nazi ha, but rarely misspelled or jumbled words. Also, when I type - fingers seem out of sync with certain letters. And I've noticed my brain jumps WAY ahead, so sometimes I skip words when typing. Thank you for your input.

@jenniferctbisurvivor - just wanted to suggest you might look at some of the Mayo Clinic Connect discussions in the Digestive Health support group https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/digestive-gastrointestinal-problems/ with the stomach pain and nausea you mentioned. Some of the members in those discussions may be helpful to interact with about what you've experienced.

@patty78962

Wow Patty we are like twins! I am sending big hugs!

It is a struggle as I go into month 8. I am currently functioning at approximately 60% of my pre-injury cognitive baseline. I feel that if my headache was gone I would be able to function better but with the constant headache comes fatigue and just an overall attention deficit with none of the energy I used to have.

I am praying to wake up to my “normal “ self. Now I am being pushed to go backed to work which makes me very nervous as it is fast paced and stressful. I would love to go back. But it is not the type of job you can just take a break. My customers are global and very needy. Plus I need my math skills. I have 2 months to get ready. 😊 but my brain is just not in my control.

The hard part is that we look fine on the outside. So no one sees or understands the trauma our brains are suffering from.

Right now I try to take it one day at a time. Stay positive. Keep hope in my heart. Now waiting for Spring and hoping my brain wants to garden because I used to love to garden 🪴