Terrified I'll end up with dementia the way I'm going

[ForeverDelayedEpiphany]

One horrible concussion and post concussion syndrome a decade ago before being injured by off label psychotropic drugs.

Then another concussion a couple of years after that. Now another sodding one a couple of days ago that's triggered a wave of symptoms. My head feels like there's a block of concrete stuffed in it, stopping my thoughts from flowing freely. It's awful.

To say that I'm terrified of getting dementia is an understatement. My poor brain used to be great, adaptable, brilliant.

Now it just feels broken 💔

How are you getting all of these concussions and what age are you now?

I'm 44 now, so not old.

My first concussion was totally self inflicted, and avoidable... I was filming my eldest daughter on my phone when she was climbing up a wooden ladder of a children's play area and I then banged the top of my head on a wooden beam at the top of the ladder (to stop children falling off).

The misfortune of that was more upsetting knowing it was my fault to be honest. 😪

The second one was when my husband was bringing in our son into the room, and I was crouched down playing a game with our eldest daughter on the floor. I didn't realise that my husband was carrying the car seat, nor did I hear him warn me not to stand up.. which of course, I did. 😖

The one a few days ago was me (again) not checking my surroundings, and I leant forward to look in a box of old toys in our garage but didn't see the leg of our son's old toddler bed sticking out in front of me (my husband has put it up on its end as there's not much space).

So, yeah. I'm a bit of a liability 😅😖😳

Leaning forward onto something gave you a concussion? Has a doctor told you you’re concussed or are you just bumping your head?

I have had post concussion syndrome so these symptoms are what I felt when I first had it. I haven't had a diagnosis this time, but given the similarities of symptoms, it's likely that it's not quite as bad but certainly a wave of symptoms.

None of these incidents should have given you a concussion really….
At what insane force are you moving around then?
Have you considered you have some underlying issue with your brain causing you to have these incidents?

What did you do after the first one? Did you follow proper medical advice?

I agree that the first one was the worst and the last ones were more likely to be a bit of a reaction to wave of symptoms triggered.

I don't tend to move overly fast, I just probably need to be more careful at the way I do things. It's most likely that I have undiagnosed ADHD causing these things.

I didn't get properly diagnosed with it until about 3 months of symptoms, as my GP was totally useless and didn't know what was causing most of the symptoms.

To be honest, a lot of doctors don't know much about post concussion syndrome or how to treat it. I was diagnosed by an A&E doctor who said what i did or didn't need to do. By that point, I'd overly pushed myself using screens, trying to work using a computer etc which isn't what doctors advise..

@ForeverDelayedEpiphany have you had a brain scan? I wonder if something else is causing those impacts to affect you more.

you also mention off label psychotropic drugs. I'm curious to know what that was about and how long ago it was stopped.

I wouldn't worry about dementia. I do think it's important to get to the bottom of what's bothering you though.

3 months! So you had an untreated concussion. Did you know it makes you more likely to have subsequent concussions?

You need to see a specialist, get properly evaluated and treated (as much as that’s possible at this point). It’s very serious!

You really shouldn’t be on MN right now if you just had another concussion… as a bare minimum you need to follow the post concussion advice about rest

Thank you, yes I know 😢 The thing is, nobody ie medical professionals put any of the symptoms together and thought it was a sign of something serious.

I am going to try and rest a bit more but it's hard as I need to work or I won't get paid being a freelancer 😪😢 I can see what my work say and if I can manage on my husband's salary alone for a few weeks.

It is serious though! Untreated concussion can lead to brain damage.

I know... im really worried to be honest 😕 😞