Post Concussive Syndrome

[ktj616]

About 6 months ago I got a concussion after fainting and hitting my head.  They did a CT that came back ok.  Over the next few weeks I experienced major nausea and a sensation of weakness.  I had other symptoms like trouble focusing and reading and light sensitivity, but those went away after about a month.  I ended up getting an MRI which came back normal and was told that I had post concussive syndrome.  My nausea got worse and worse and I ended up seeing a GI and getting an endoscopy and checking my gall bladder.  Both were ok.  At one point I went to the ER with chest pains, and they said it was acid reflux (although later another doctor told me it was more likely a pulled muscle).  I had so many tests and nobody could tell me anything about what was going on, on top of that my former doctor put me on the wrong type of medication.  It was all stressful to the point where I felt like I had a complete nervous breakdown.  At that point I didn't know what was stress and what was related to the concussion.
After about 4 months things started to improve, and I had almost a month where I was feeling normal.  I was not stressed at all about other things when everything suddenly came back.  Now I have a strong sensation of weakness and shakiness in my whole body that makes me feel like I am going to collapse.  It's not all the time but it's getting more frequent.  I have nausea in the morning and then every night from about 5-8pm.  A lot of the time I have to force myself to eat anything because I have no appetite and the thought of food turns my stomach.  After about a week of that I went to my new doctor who told me it was probably food poisoning or the stomach flu but now it's been almost a month of this.  I have another appointment with my GI but not for a few weeks.  I've had my thyroid tested, too and it's not h pylori.
I don't know if this is related at all to the concussion or if there's something else completely going on.  I can't find anything like this from anyone who has had a concussion.  The neurologist said it could be when I saw him last several months ago, but I feel like I could have gone in and said my hair had turned blue and he would have said, well, sometimes concussions might do that.  I'm 30 and have always been in good health before this.

[SamPCS]

Nausea is one of the common symptoms of Post Concussion Syndrome.  I hit my head and had mild traumatic brain injury and then followed PCS.  I have several other symptoms too (vertigo, fatigue, head pressure etc.,) and all related to the concussion.  I too force myself to eat when I hit with nausea and it happens very often.
I am surprised your Neurologist didn't suggest any drugs which in a way is good.  Elavil (low dosage - 10 mg/day) helped some people with Nausea, sleep etc., but has some side effects.  Again each individual react different with any medicine.  Unless you feel terrible stay away from drugs since most of the drugs affecting brain chemicals not easy to withdraw.  Sadly for PCS there is no specific treatment and drugs may mask some of the symptoms.
But you may want to look into lots of other alternative therapies like Neurofeedback, Vestibular rehab, Physical Therapy, Vitamin therapy, HBOT etc.,  
Good luck.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
There is a chance that you have compression of the spinal nerves in the cervical spine region. Unexplained nausea, tremors, shakiness could be a result of this. This can happen due to overuse of computers, work involving straining of neck, herniated disc, canal stenosis, bone disease, spondylosis, poor posture etc. A MRI of the cervical spine and nerve conduction studies may be required. Please consult a neurologist. The treatment is to remove the compression. You have to discuss the best treatment option with a neurologist, which can range from medication to physiotherapy to traction, cervical collars or even surgery. Alternatively you can visit a chiropractor or a physical therapist and learn some exercises which you can do to relieve the compression.
Hope this helps. It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!