TBI / concussion

I get where you’re coming from. I used to get concussions all the time (from sports), more times than I can count. I rarely went to hospital - back then they didn’t have concussion protocols like they do now. But that’s bc I was young and dumb and just didn’t feel like going and being seen as being dramatic. But as a much older adult, I’d be getting that checked out. There’s no reason to play Russian roulette. It’s 99% nothing and you’ll be fine. By why risk that 1%? Instead of ER I’d go to a quick care type place if there’s a good one by you. In my area, a few of the top hospitals run these ambulatory quick care type clinics that have MRIs and CT scans. They are less crowded and I usually am seen within an hour. I wouldn’t go to ER unless there are none of these quick care places available bc you’ll be waiting in ER all night more than likely. But don’t let that stop you if that’s your only option. The thing is you don’t actually know what happened. It could be way worse than you think. Or it could be nothing. Get it checked out. I had something similar happen to me a few years ago. I remember getting up in the middle of the night and going to the bathroom. Next thing I know I feel all this pain. I wake up and I’d blacked out at the toilet and nailed my head on something coming down. Also hit my ribs orettt good. Went to quick care. I was okay. My blackout reason was so random. I had gotten a salivary gland blockage a day or two before. And I guess it swelled overnight and compressed my vagal nerve and knocked me out. The next thing I had same thing happen while brushing my teeth. I guess with the brushing it activated my saliva glands and bc it was blocked with a stone, it expanded a ton and compressed that nerve. lol it was the weirdest thing. Also very painful.

The title and this story may sound fake (New account to hopefully protect my identity), but I swear to you it could not be more real for me. I wanted to share this, I am not doing this for attention but merely to seek help. More questions will be asked at the end of my story. As the title describes, a miracle has occurred given the severity and intent of the crash. The paramedics, police, doctors, nurses and my parents all gave me the most puzzled look of their lives when they asked how fast I was going, and I replied "200 km/h". I have been depressed for 4 years now. Nothing has been working and my mental health has declined terribly. I have been on multiple medications, tried behavioural therapy such as cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), and even went a course of Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). First my motivation to do anything went down; I couldn't eat, do school work and most importantly, socialize. My social circle grew smaller as my depression grew bigger, after 4 years of suffering as well as other health conditions such as horrible eyesight (+10.00 in each eye with astigmatism), sleep apnea and anxiety, I figured life wasn't going to get any better and I decided to end my life. I drove to the mountains where I decided I would find a large hill, go full speed down it and either turn into the median or drive off the road, ultimately killing myself. About 3 hours from my hometown I found the perfect hill, The road was steep, perfect for gaining speed to ensure a fatal crash. Without thinking too much (I would just talk myself out and not commit), I pulled a U-turn and drove to the hill which was about 5 minutes after that point. They say your life flashes before your eyes, mine played back to me for those 5 minutes. The most important people and influential moments of my life appeared before my eyes. They suddenly disappeared as I approached my chosen hill. My foot automatically floored the gas pedal, I placed my left foot behind the brake so I wouldn't back out. I raced down the hill, gaining more and more speed, by the time I reached the bottom, my car (which only has a speedometer for up to 200 km/h. I saw the road start to bend and I jerked my wheel into the opposite direction of the turn, slamming the front end of the car into the median. That was the last thing I remembered before waking up in my car, with tapping on the window from bystanders. All I could think to myself at that moment was "wow, I so much of a failure I can't even kill myself". A bystander described to the paramedics and police that I hit the median, did about 10 spins (no flips) and then continued to scrape median down the hill for another 250m. I got a glimpse of my car before I was taken away in an ambulance, it was completely destroyed. When I arrived to the hospital I was placed in the trauma room however, the doctor was incredibly surprised after seeing me sitting upright with consciousness after a 200 km/h car accident. He assessed me and ordered a full-body CT scan. The results came back clean, no bleeding, no broken bones and most importantly, no death. He then admitted me to the psychiatry ward (which I won't get into on this post but it was a nightmare!!!). The everyone's surprise I was barely injured, walking away with a concussion with memory loss at most. This phrase really stuck in my mind because nearly every person I have talked to so far has said: "It's a miracle you're alive". I'm not religious, but I agree, it is a miracle I'm alive, and I"m not going to waste it. I'm begging for help because I know this community loves to help people when they reach out. I really want to try and beat my depression but I don't know how. I have tried CBT, I'm going BACK to ECT for another round of treatment and I'm on increased medication. I will be seeing counsellors and psychiatrists, however thanks to Canadian healthcare not until 2020 (which is one of the reasons I decided to end it, due to lack of resources). If anyone out there has any tips on how to manage severe depression and anxiety please let me know. I'm still alive today despite the severity of the crash, and I believe it's a sign that I need to conquer this depression and do something great with my life. I am tired of laying at home, with no energy and no motivation, wasting away my life every day with my depression. I can personally say even those who are suiciding don't want to die, they merely just want to stop existing. Please help with any advice you have, I'm begging for my life to change, please. I am trying my best to push past my depression and suicidal thinking so I can give life another try. Here are a list of specific questions that would benefit a lot: \-How do I keep up my motivation despite having no energy all the time? \-How can I keep up or have more energy? \-I'm thinking of going back to school for Nursing, my current position (lab tech) doesn't feel fulfilling and I'm looking for something more. Is nursing school a good idea or will that just make my life more stressful?) \-What are some habits I could do to alleviate my depression \-Any secret self-help/feel good tips? \-How do I make more friends and build a better support network? \-What do I tell to my friends who have noticed I just "disappeared" for a few days? ​ Thanks to those who took the time to read this post, I usually get little to no reads on Reddit but I thought I'd share this anyway since not many people can say they survived a 200 km/h automobile suicide attempt and walked out with minor injuries. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Edit: more questions Edit 2: Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to write to me. I truly didn't believe this would reach this many people. I will try and reply/read everyones post but I am still in the process of seeing a lot of specialists. But I am truly grateful for all the love and support that has been sent my way. Thank you, I will make you all proud and try my best to implement all of the tips into my life.

Just learned about Dihexa and I am very interested. I had a very serious TBI and short term memory is something I am having issues with. Also I am training in the gym after 5 years down due to the TBI. And I read that Dihexa helps there as well.

BEEN TRYING TO POST UPDATE. I AM AT THE E.R. I DECIDED SHORTLY AFTER I ASKED HERE. THANK YOU ALL! This got WAY longer than I thought it would be nearly 2 hours after I started it. TL;DR- I hit my head i think pretty hard. Confident i have some degree of concussion. Do I need to go to er with continued symptoms? Just about 24 hours ago I hit my head pretty good. My husband and I took a little getaway type of trip to a coastal town less than 2 hours away. So, relatively unfamiliar room/bathroom layout, I guess, maybe as far as "muscle memory" goes but spacious and not complicated by any means. Anyway. I'm i can't really explain how things happened as I have zero recollection of the events. About 6 a.m we were sleeping and I seemingly got up to go to the bathroom but I came to/gained consciousness on the floor. The toilet is positioned next to a shower, with stone tile half-walling it in, to the right of it. It seems that I somehow fell from standing (not seated) height and fell into/landed on the corner edge of the shower wall and doorway entrance (like where the wall and doorway entrance/side/wall meet type of corner "line" and not a pointed corner like a square). The outside of my right arm helped to break my fall but I did slam the right side of my head into (onto) that corner pretty much right at my temple. The arm of my glasses seemed to offer some protection too. I don't know how I fell. I don't know why. I know that I brought my phone into the bathroom with me as it was on the sink (out of toilet reach), there was also urine and TP (sorry TMI) in the toilet, and my PJ pants were pulled up normally as one does when finished using a toilet. This all tells me that when I got up to use the bathroom I was aware enough to plan to bring my phone with me, that I was conscious enough to properly go to the bathroom and pull my pants up when finished. But I have no memory of any of this. I only remember going to bed and sleep hours before. As I gained consciousness, initially I couldn't feel my legs, rho I was sat on the ground as if I knelt, sat back, and the leaned to the right - so sat on my right thighs and hip area. I also couldn't see. I felt searing pain, knew I hit my head but thought also my face and that I was bleeding (I wasnt). I still couldn't see as I screamed for help. Took a good full minute before my sight was fully regained. I started to puke nearly immediately after gaining full consciousness. In addition to pain, I was incredibly dizzy, nauseous, and incredibly confused. Since I wasn't bleeding or obviously broken I decided it was best to at least head home before trying to see any doctor. We were checking out yesterday morning anyway so my husband packed up the car then as I rested. I ended up falling asleep every few minutes but I think I was drifting in and out of consciousness, actually. I also could not stay awake in the drive home. To the point where I'd spill a drink in myself, falling asleep while holding or sipping a coffee as opposed to placing it in the cup holder right next to me first. We got home (to my.moms where our son was staying) and i immediately went to sleep. I was being monitored and haven't been left fully alone. Here's my question- I know nothing can be done for a concussion, which i clearly have, but given that I'm still struggling, should I go get imagine done and checked by a doctor to make sure nothing is going on with my brain? Would you go and endure waiting in an ER with a headache (not the worst pain in my body nor the worst headache I've ever had), cause my back/chronic pain to likely flare and increase, gamble if the dr will be kind or treat me like an addict when they see my regular scripts, *and* expose myself to all the sick people and possible viruses like flu covid rvs whatever others may have? Currently I have nasty bruises and sizable knots/eggs/bumps or whatever they're called on my arm but most importantly my head at/around my temple. Feeling nauseous. My head hurts. I'm still dizzy. Constantly tired. My vision blurs at times, often enough to be irritating or make things difficult. I've also had moments of mild confusion or just generally having a hard time with anything. This post has gotten super long but has taken me over an hour now to create dealing with all these symptoms. My eyes/pupils seem to be normal though. My speech is fine, if now slow due to pain particularly when I move my jaw and overall headache. I hate the ER. I feel like if I was with someone who injured themselves like this I'd have taken them to er immediately. But my husband and mom are both like "we'll take you if you want but you seem to be ok. We watched you sleep and you were fine". No i dont WANT to go! Like, I'm being dramatic by wondering if I should just make sure my brain isn't bleeding or swollen? I already know I have a concussion- I've had a mild one before and this feels like that but exponentially worse. Would you go to ER? Or would you just sleep off? Am I just being anxious? Has it been long enough that I'm in the clear now? I can't help but think of Natasha Richardson. And the fact that I hit my temple/most sensitive area of my head reasonably hard. Is it worth the risk to other sick people and enduring the ER? *What would you do?*

As someone who had a concussion at a very young age, go get checked out. I had symptoms for weeks after, and even blacked out again a few times as well. I still have some long term effects, it’s always best to go in and make sure it’s not an emergency situation.

I've done everything but the hinoki oil on your list, and I still can't sleep. The 4444 breathing helps a lot, meditation does, but it's like my mind puts it proverbial finger on the light switch, and nothing happens. I'll lay there for hours thinking about nothing. I've tried narcotic sleeping pills, but that's not a long-term strategy anyone wants to have, especially me. I'm a recovering alcoholic/addict. I used to just drink to oblivion or take something to make me pass out, but after waking up with blackeyes and cuts from taking ambien, and just being a useless degenerate, I got a sober. 5.5years. There is nothing I have found that will turn me off... I used to sleep fine but had a horrible car wreck 20 years ago and received a TBI ( thankfully, not a disability, but a TBI nevertheless) and ever since then, it's wide awake, every night, no matter what... it is exhausting carrying this weight of not sleeping for more than a few hours sporadically each night, then catching a day once or twice a month where I sleep the entire day because my body can't take it anymore. I switch between trazadone and seriquil to help sleep, but they are prescribed at such high doses I don't want to do that. I feel like a zombie if I take a full dose of either, even more so than I already do. I'm desperate at this point to help. Sleep studies, I'm looking into CBT-I, sleep therapies.... life isn't fair, so I understand that it isn't going to come easy, but I'll try anything to figure out a way to rest peacefully.