Mild concussion affecting seizure recovery

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masterjen

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About 2.5 months ago I fell. Sustained cracked facial bone, along with what was felt to be no more than a mild concussion (no loss of consciousness and no memory loss, but severe dizziness/lightheadedness and "white light" around me for a period of time). Went through a month of feeling foggy, but that slowly dissipated.

Had contacted neuro. (at the advice of my dentist, of all people) to report the fall and injuries, and also to say that I just wasn't bouncing back after a seizure. Normally it takes me 12 - 24 hours to get over a seizure, and now it takes 36 - 48 hours. I don't believe the seizures are any worse at all, and they're not more frequent. Despite my call the neuro. does not want to see me prior to my March appt., but I'd still like to know why the affect on seizure recovery time. Anyone out there have answers for me?
 
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Don't have any real answers, but it doesn't seem out of the realms of possibility that the concussion is the culprit if that is the only factor that has changed.

It is frustrating when you can't get to see your neuro earlier after my whole wanting to drink drain unblocker fiasco and being told by GP that an emergency appt was winging its way only to contact his secretary to find it wasn't. It's disheartening, you may need a scan or just some reassurance that this is normal after concussions for people with epilepsy. It's infuriating.

Hope you can get some better answers.

Q
 
Of course any injury (permanent or temporary) no matter how slight can affect the way your brain behaves. Just look at how many athletes -from high school to Pro.- try to ignore concussions and try to convince themselves everything's alright and what happens down the road. (Some States even have laws now affecting H.S. athletes that say you MUST have a Dr.'s signed clearance slip to return to practice if the coach feels you had a concision!) There have in recent years been several cases in the Country of H.S. players that have died in the middle of a game because of the "macho" or egotistic "I'm just fine. Don't worry about it." attitude.
It's intense enough for the average person, but the chances of (further?) injury or damage are more likely with people who's systems are already more sensitive like ours.
 
Hi Jen, I also got a minor concussion when I fell during a seizure in early July. I hit the back of my head and it split open and bled a lot. The next day I had a horrible headache and some blurred vision so I went to an urgent care facility where they did a CT scan to make sure there was no internal bleeding. I still have effects - soreness at the site, some fuzzy thinking, more headaches than usual, and I would say more emotional. I can't say for sure all of that is due to the concussion but it correlates exactly with the time frame. Luckily I haven't had but maybe one minor seizure since so I can't say much about the recovery. It would seem to me that if there is any swelling and/or extra healing going on in your brain that that could effect seizure recovery, but I'm not sure. Did you have a CT scan or MRI after the fall? If not, might your request that kind of testing to rule out internal injury?

Sending best wishes and speedy recovery. Concussions can take longer to heal from than many would think and people vary in the length of time they heal from them. Additionally, the more concussions you have the slower you can take to heal from each, and as someone who falls with each seizure, myself and has had childhood concussions, this concerns me a lot. Take care.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Queenie: I agree it is frustrating to not be able to see the neuro for a check when we want to, as you say even just for reassurance

Jane: I hadn't given much thought before that our brain systems are more sensitive, and it makes sense.

Sparkles: That you have experienced a concussion so recently as well makes me feel like I have a buddy out there who knows what I am going through. As you say, it's impossible to say that the fall is the cause of the longer seizure recovery time but the timing correlates. I'm still told a scan is not necessary, via my GP and neuro. nurse (who says she consulted the neuro.).
For me the fall was not seizure-related, but it was at least partly medication-related (mildly dizzy and a bit off-balance) and now I am ultra-careful about what I do 2-3 hours after taking the daytime dose.
I hope your seizures come under better control so falling is less of a concern for you!
 
Jen,
I got hit square in the head with a dodge ball during noon hour recess in 2nd grade (about 33 years ago) -It was 1 of those huge soft red rubber things. (Oddly enough I can still remember who threw it and can picture it coming at me like it was yesterday.) Immediately I started seeing everything spinning in all bright colors and laid down on the cot in the nurse's station and the next thing I recall was waking up in the ER. I still recall getting at least 3 or 4 X-rays (I don't think they had CAT or MRI back then -at least I didn't have one done.)
Point being, your Dr. should be more concerned given your sensitive condition about making sure everything is OK (I'll admit I'm leery of CAT and X rays given my dig into this natural stuff over the last 20 years) I'll take an MRI over CAT any day. Still throws your body out of balance but not as dangerous as the amount of radiation CAT's give. If you hit your head THAT hard I'd be a bit more insistent with your Dr. about if you feel something needs to be checked for your own peace of mind if nothing else.
 
Jen, I know what you mean about a buddy. I will be your concussion buddy. :) I am having really bad memory problems at the moment and they are showing up at work. So far I can laugh them off and use excessive deadlines as an excuse, but it's starting to freak me out. It could be the Topamax too but the dosage increase started after the concussion. Well, one day at a time. I hope you find answers and things get better.
 
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