WHAT Is Post-Concussion Syndrome? Do I Have It?

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By: Bill Henry
PublishedMar 27, 2020
2 minute read

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If you’ve been in a car crash and have sustained a concussion, you might go on to develop Post-Concussion Syndrome. So what is that and how do you know if you have it?

What is post-concussion syndrome?

Post-concussion syndrome is a complex disorder that can be difficult to diagnose and difficult to treat. However, if you see the right provider and obtain the right treatment, you may be able to fully recover from your concussion and your post-concussion syndrome symptoms.

So let’s talk about what this is and how to know if you have it.

Medical experts describe post-concussion syndrome as a complex disorder. A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that can occur when you have suffered a direct blow to your head or even if you haven’t. It can occur just from your brain rattling around inside your head.

Delayed onset of symptoms

Most concussion sufferers who are diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome don’t notice symptoms until a week or more after the concussion. This is something that insurance companies often want to point out – ‘well, you didn’t have symptoms within the first 24 hours’. Now we know that you can develop symptoms well after the actual incident that caused the concussion in the first place.

Common symptoms

So how do you know if you have post-concussion syndrome? The symptoms include headaches, insomnia, fatigue, mood changes, memory and concentration issues. You may feel like you just can’t block out all of the exterior stimuli. You’re sensitive to light and sound, have dizziness, blurry vision, and ringing in the ears. These symptoms can last for months or for the rest of your life if they are not treated and taken care of.

There’s no one test that can prove post-concussion syndrome. Often, a CT scan at the ER will be negative. A brain MRI may alsol be negative, and insurance companies will say, ‘See, you have a negative test sheet. It’s not possible that you have a concussion.’ But that’s not true.

Effective treatment options

There are effective treatments. For example, I have a client who had seen a doctor and had been on multiple visits with a neurologist and has just resigned himself to the fact that he’s broken. And I asked him, “Have you thought about this, has anybody told you about that?”

I gave him six different resources, none of which anybody else had told him about. He went on to obtain some of those treatments and now considers himself fully recovered. So there are plenty of treatment options out there.

What you should do

My goal and my hope is to tell you ‘don’t give up hope.’ You’re not stuck with these symptoms. There are different treatments available and we’ll find the right ones for you.

Contact Us

If you have questions about post-concussion syndrome or treatment options, please feel free to give us a call at 303-688-0944.

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