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Dizziness after a severe head injury

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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
Hey NS,

I was in an accident 2 months ago where I fractured my skull and had bleeding in my brain. I've found that whenever I lay down or get up from laying down I get really dizzy. I plan on consulting a doctor, but first I wanted to see if anyone has ever experienced this? How long did it last and did it ever get any worse?

+k for helpful answers
Nov 19 2012 12:09AM
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1337
Posts: 31038 - Karma: 29,003
similar to headrush?
Nov 19 2012 12:10AM
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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
sometimes, but usually the room spins
Nov 19 2012 12:10AM
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.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
Does it feel like the room is spinning around or just lightheadedness?
Nov 19 2012 12:10AM
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Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,844
yeah this happens to me. do you sort of see colors and cant see whats actually in front of you too? i get that sometimes if i go from laying down to standing up really fast.
however i used to get it a lot more, not sure what has changed.
Nov 19 2012 12:11AM
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.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
Haha it's like you read my mind. Does the dizziness get worse when you move your head from side to side?
Nov 19 2012 12:12AM
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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
It feels like the room is spinning, it also happens on random occasions when I'm really tired or sometimes just out of the blue.
Nov 19 2012 12:13AM
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Jeebus.
Posts: 4904 - Karma: 5,822
okay heres what you do, sit down for a while then hold in a breath and stand up really quick and try to walk 30 feet while still holding your breath.
Nov 19 2012 12:14AM
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iSmokeweed
Posts: 4793 - Karma: 1,370
you might have a blood clot pushing up against your brain an you might die. it happened to my sister.
Nov 19 2012 12:15AM
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.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
It sounds like benign positional vertigo to me. You should go get it checked out. It's a lot more common in people with prior head injuries too. See if you can get your hands on some Antivert.
Nov 19 2012 12:15AM
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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
not sure I usually just lie still when it happens. I know that if it's bad enough my vision goes white and I pass out, but that's only happened once, closer to the injury. it sometimes gets worse if I try to roll over while im in bed.
Nov 19 2012 12:17AM
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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
Ok, that's what I thought it might be, I'll get checked out. thanks!
Nov 19 2012 12:19AM
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GirthBrooks
Posts: 105 - Karma: 147
thats called orthostatic (or postural) hypotension. its basically a drop in blood pressure caused by standing up quickly or stretching. its pretty normal and happens to everybody (more common in old people/people with low BP), but i think OP might be experiencing something a little more serious. definitely see a doctor.
Nov 19 2012 12:21AM
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JAHpow
Posts: 7282 - Karma: 17,166
I just put in you symptoms into WebMD and it turns out you have AIDS, a tetanus infection, and alzhiemers.

But seriously, it might be a problem with your inner ear.
Nov 19 2012 12:29AM
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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
Well none of those answers are correct but thanks for trying haha
Nov 19 2012 12:33AM
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Anathema
Posts: 21048 - Karma: 5,061
the best way to progress from having this sort of injury is to follow a BALKE treadmill protocol.

usually these sort of symptoms occur when your heartrate jumps to a specific BPM range, even if only temporary (like during a head rush).

what you should do is go to a gym, set a treadmill to 3mph and start the incline at 2 degrees. from then, every minute increase the incline by 1 degree and keep track of your heartrate at that minute mark. when you reach a heartrate where you start to have your symptoms, slow it down and get off the treadmill and sit down for a bit. some people recover from their symptoms after a couple minutes, for others it might take 20. either way, when your head is clear, get back on the treadmill and go for a light walk. you do this because some people have rebound effects and their symptoms instantly reappear during physical exertion immediately following a latency period where the symptoms cool off.

essentially, the point of this is to find what heart rate you can get yourself up to when you start to feel your symptoms. it might be around the 130bpm range. then you need to train just below that heartrate for about 15-20 minutes as often as you can, and you'll notice that your bpm threshold where you experience your symptoms will get gradually pushed back.

we do this all the time with concussion patients at our physio clinic and it helps a lot. it takes time, but people who are serious about getting better can be greatly benefitted by such a simple exercise program. and the BALKE protocol is fast, effective way of gradually increasing your heartrate and giving you a desired amount of physical exertion without overdoing it (i.e, running and having your head pounding up and down, cycling and rocking back and forth, etc). it's just a light walk with a gradual increase in grade that helps get your heartrate up and trains you to push those symptoms out.
Nov 19 2012 12:36AM
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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
it has to be around 170-180 because I went hiking a couple days ago and when we got into the car afterwards I had a headache and my vision was becoming slightly warped, not the usual dizziness. but i'll talk to the doctor and see what happens, if its not a clot then id consider trying this.
Nov 19 2012 12:42AM
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NBCskier
Posts: 3877 - Karma: -289
Didn't know there were so many fuckin doctors on ns. Ar6 and anathema are full of shit. Just go see a damn doctor, rather than taking advice from a bunch of wannabe Internet brainiacs.
Nov 19 2012 12:42AM
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Anathema
Posts: 21048 - Karma: 5,061

its just a really effective way of training at a specific level for a long period of time to help ease you from those nasty symptoms.

for example, if you get up to an incline of 8 degress and say.. 150bpm, you know that you need to a) keep your heartrate under 150 when youre out doing shit, and b) need to do 20 or so minutes on the treadmill at 7 degrees (which was one level before you got your symptoms) for training.

whatever happens, good luck. hope it works out.

Nov 19 2012 1:00AM
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.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
I never claimed to know exactly what it is, but I work in an ER and have seen more than my fair share of dizziness, dipshit. All I said was that her symptoms sound pretty typical of vertigo, and told her to get it checked out. Run along now and let the big kids talk, k champ?
Nov 19 2012 1:33AM
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easiestEC
Posts: 2471 - Karma: 489
you should defiantly seek medical attention, that doesn't sound good
Nov 19 2012 1:35AM
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NBCskier
Posts: 3877 - Karma: -289
You are full of shit. You don't know this chick, her medical history, existing illnesses etc. Pulling some diagnosis out yo ass in response to a very short explaination is retarded. These threads suck anyway. Op should be smart enough to consult a fuckin doctor not a bunch of skiers on an Internet forum.
Nov 19 2012 1:47AM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51261 - Karma: 157,432
If you were in an accident that bad, you should probably be on the phone with somebody that can really help you.

How long has this been going on for? Idk how severe what your describing is but you probably want to get that checked out asap.

I don't think I've ever experienced dizziness that long after a head injury. Spacey brain fogginess, yup, but not dizziness.


Idk. Has it been like that the whole time, is this something new that just developed? I wouldn't panic but I would def go and get it checked out. Better to be safe than sorry. Especially with head injuries.

Hope everything's alright.

Also, do you wear a helmet when you ski? If not you might want to start. I'm pretty sure I'd be dead if I didn't start wearing one a few years ago. They don't stop everything but they certainly take some of that impact.


Nov 19 2012 2:23AM
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Willgum
Posts: 3254 - Karma: 3,071
I think this is different from what most people are describing.
I get the headrush, like most, which is from a lack of blood to the brain from gravity. But you're describing something different, so a trip to the doctors is really a good idea.
Nov 19 2012 2:26AM
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B.Aussie
Posts: 5851 - Karma: 4,522
I have the same thing. But I also have low blood pressure so I've always put it down to that.
Nov 19 2012 2:27AM
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Jblz
Posts: 556 - Karma: 206
i got knocked out on the knoll of large jump one time. called everybody in my phonebook after for some reason. didnt really remember shit til the next day. concussions are weird
Nov 19 2012 2:29AM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51261 - Karma: 157,432
It was a joke. When you look up anything on web md it'll basically tell you that you probably have a million things wrong with you.
Nov 19 2012 2:30AM
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.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
What the fuck do you think happens at an emergency room when people have never been there before? They sit there and tell you their entire life story? They give you a short explanation of what happened, maybe a few pertinent past medical problems (if they even know this), you do a bunch of tests, and send them on their way to either be admitted or discharged. I already told her to go get checked out by a doctor, I was just giving her my opinion on what I thought it was based on the limited history she provided. I wouldn't expect her to take that as a final diagnosis. The fuck crawled up your ass and died? Holy shit.
Nov 19 2012 4:50PM
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HWW
Posts: 3084 - Karma: 3,436
You make no sense, they both suggested reasonable things, without claiming to be doctors and clearly it was only advice.
Nov 19 2012 4:57PM
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.Rybak.
Posts: 9017 - Karma: 9,864
I see that you read the op.. Dumbass
Nov 19 2012 5:08PM
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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
I got it...i wasn't trying to be facetious 
Nov 19 2012 8:57PM
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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
oh and @theabortionator and anyone who thinks i havent already talked to a doctor, I have been in contact with a neuropsych since the accident happened. I just wanted some advice for people who have had similar experience with head injuries.
Nov 19 2012 9:00PM
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Mr.Sloth
Posts: 5091 - Karma: 13,469
Say something bad about AR6Rider again and ill put a sharpie up your pooper.
Nov 19 2012 9:02PM
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powderdrunkie
Posts: 2034 - Karma: 976
I have the exact same thing. I broke my skull 3 months ago. I get vertigo/dizziness fairly often but mostly when I am hungry, or have been sitting for a long time and stand up. you are not alone at all and it's normal.

It could take a long time for this to go away from what i'm told. traumatic brain injuries are very strange. I lost my ense of smell completely, I have severe tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and sometimes depression/anger/mood swings and they are all very normal apparently.

I broke my temporal bone on both sides of my head, and had a moderate hematoma in the front of my skull.

you CAN go to the doctor and they will put you through a series of test that will show whether or not it has to do with your inner ear canal. there are little tunnels way back there that have small hairs that hold little crystal-like things that when your head is moved, it tell your brain the direction of it and how to balance it out. if you loosen some of these "crystals" they can fall into the wrong spot and give false messages to the brain. however, this was not the case for me.

good luck! I was feeling the same thing so thanks for letting me know that I am not alone too!
Nov 19 2012 9:13PM
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Anathema
Posts: 21048 - Karma: 5,061
im not diagnosing anything. i'm simply recommending she look into a specific training program that can assist her with her recovery.
Nov 19 2012 9:18PM
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snwbrdmilf
Posts: 22441 - Karma: 2,805
Hahaha thanks for the lulz
Nov 19 2012 9:20PM
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95romeo
Posts: 276 - Karma: -99
mine has lasted 7 months since my concussion, you'll get there
Nov 19 2012 9:30PM
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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
wow that sounds rough! I fractured my occipital bone, it wasn't extremely severe, i did have a hematoma though. The only side affect I feel is the dizziness.

thanks for the input!
Nov 19 2012 9:48PM
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