Have you ever had a concussion?

Concussion - WIll this ever go away?

• It's been about 3 months since my mild concussion. I hit the back of my head on the pavement, and had no loss of consciousness, amnesia, or confusion...just visual disturbances and balance issues. This was also my first concussion that I am aware of, yet the ER didn't even label my head injury as a concussion. They did give me a CT scan, which of course came back negative. I am starting to get concerned as I am still having symptoms. A psychiatrist I saw thinks that everything I am experiencing at this point is in my head (no pun intended) and it is very frustrating. The following symptoms persist: -Minor visual disturbances/light sensitivity -Minor balance issues -Brain fog (feels like I am in a dream) -Short-term memory loss -Lethargy -Weird tingling sensation in head sometimes, almost feels like my brain is vibrating. Strange... Can anybody give me any advice? I am seeing one of the best Neurologists in the state in a few weeks, and I am hoping she can shed some light on my situation. Thanks.

• Answer:

  These are normal symptoms of a concussion, especially to the posterior section of your brain. However, 3 months later, these symptoms should not be persisting still. The occipital lobe is responsible for integration of vision, and the cerebellum is responsible for balance. Both are located in the back of the head. The brain fog is likely a result of the contre-coup injury on the frontal lobe, which results from the "suction" force placed on your brain moving towards the back so quickly (it basically gave the front of your brain a hickey, and bruised it). Since you did not have a loss or alteration of consciousness or amnesia, you did not experience anything more than a mild traumatic brain injury (concussion). CT scan was negative, so you should not be still experiencing these symptoms. Since you seem to have light sensitivity, and persisting symptoms, I suspect there is damage to the mid-brain regions responsible for regulating neurotransmitter/hormone release. Possible axonal injury resulting from the concussion and secondary neurotoxic cascade could have caused a disconnection in these regions.