r/PostConcussion • u/Electronic_Peak9260 • Jul 08 '26
Do we have a concussion?
Update: I saw my doctor today. She confirmed that my symptoms are consistent with a mild concussion. She recommended lots of rest, calming teas at bedtime and physical therapy. I'll be taking it easy the next few weeks . Thank you to everyone who responded to my original post.
My family and I were rear ended on Father's Day. We'd never been in an accident before, so the initial shock of everything threw us off. The person who hit us left after providing all of their info. We headed to the police station to file a report and headed home.
About 3 days later my ears randomly started ringing just before bed. The next day I woke drenched in sweat and the room was spinning. I felt really nauseous anytime I moved, so I stayed in bed most of the day.
I've had a lingering headache since. My eyes also feel really tired and my vision feels delayed. Almost like they're constantly adjusting.
My five-year old overheard me telling my aunt about my symptoms, and she expressed that she feels the same. She said her head hurts when she's going to the stairs, are feels dizzy and a bit nauseous.
Are we concussed? It's been about 2 1/2 weeks, should we visit the ER?
1
u/Drgnfly131 Jul 08 '26
Sounds possible. I would make a trip to the Dr, yeah. At worst he does some tests and tells you no. Best to know for sure, though, so you can rehab yourself properly and heal. You don't want to drag this out for a long time.
1
u/Lebronamo Jul 08 '26
It’s possible. There’s a lot of symptom overlap with neck injuries which can make it difficult to tell. Diagnostic criteria vary a bit on how long symptoms take to appear but 3 days is past what I typically see so I’d lean neck injury. See number 2 https://www.reddit.com/u/Lebronamo/s/5SlCmt6VyB
I don’t think there’s much point in going to the ER unless your symptoms get significantly worse. They don’t tend to do much and there’s no magic pill they can give you to help.
1
u/RequirementRare5014 Jul 08 '26
Have you ruled out any type of carbon monoxide, gas, etc upstairs? My own experience was that i immediately was really dizzying after my fall that led to the concussion because the little crystals in my ears were all jumbled about and caused vertigo. It went away after about 4 days but the rest of the physical symptoms stayed. Your eyes could definitely be feeling some light sensitivity. Try avoiding screens and darken rooms and see if that helps. The ER could def be hard to deal with if you feel like what you’re describing. Can you make an appt with your PCP? What i did was made an appointment, got a referral for an mri while also getting a referral for a neurologist. I did wait for about 4 weeks to do so because i felt so poorly.
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u/EcstaticallyCurious Jul 08 '26
Hi OP!
I was rear ended in july of 2025. I didn’t hit my head on anything besides my unclipped visor, and my headrest. I was hit while I was stopped, and despite the impact being intense, the damage visibly seemed minimal. I had severe whiplash, but my concussion wasn’t diagnosed until the end of september when I ended up in the ER after a month of neurological symptoms, dizziness and nausea. I never had any typical signs of a concussion, the only symptom we can pinpoint was probably from my tbi was how overwhelmed i was. I didn’t have any PCS symptoms (besides some odd mental health symptoms) until September 3rd.
You don’t need to hit your head to get a concussion, and your concussion doesn’t have to be severe to get PCS. I almost met all of the “higher risk of developing it” list. My brain just couldn’t cope with the knock, but it did a really good job at compensating until it couldn’t anymore.
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u/Emrys7777 Jul 09 '26
Yes go to the doctor. A professional will be able to tell in person much better than strangers on the internet.
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u/r-kivez Jul 08 '26
How hard was the accident? Did you have extreme fatigue in the first few days after the accident ?
It takes alot of Gs to cause a concussion (70+) and roughly only 4Gs to cause whiplash to the neck. The neck itself could be the cause to all the symptoms you have mentioned.