The Connection of Concussions & Chronic Illness

Listen in to the related podcast episode #111 - When Concussion Turn Chronic with Bella Paige

Post-concussion syndrome is currently viewed to have an end date (recovery date) by medical professionals. We may not know when this end date is but there are various therapies available to concussion survivors. These therapies continue to change and grow as research becomes more in depth.

For myself Bella, my PCS symptoms did begin to fade away but what began to flare up was a large number of other symptoms. I felt confused and lost but continued to blame it on my concussions even though many of the symptoms didn’t line up that way. Eventually, after a fearful blood test that was later proved as a misleading positive it was time to address all of these symptoms.

When addressing these many symptoms at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester with countless tests, scans, and meetings an unexpected yet expected result came about. I knew something wasn’t right, the symptoms I had, the things I had to (and still do) each day just to manage daily life were not something someone who was healthy would even recognize. That end result was the diagnosis of multiple chronic illnesses.

The connection of concussion and chronic illnesses such as dysautonomia, central sensitization disorders, and autoimmune conditions is relatively new in medicine. It is viewed as rare to suffer from chronic illness due to a concussion.

This connection is due to the variety of things that can occur during a post-concussion survivors journey such as the initial head trauma, trauma from illness, living in a state of fight or flight for a prolonged period of time, and the stress of being ill on the body.

The challenge with chronic illness after PCS is the lack of an end date. The majority of chronic illnesses are considered to be life long with current medical advancements. The hope is that while managing these illnesses research will advance to a point where treatments do exist.

I share this information not to create fear in any survivor but awareness. Chronic illnesses were never mentioned to me as a survivor within 7 years of doctor and specialist appointments. I wish I had known, as someone who had suffered for so long, I may have received proper help and diagnoses earlier on.

Don’t be afraid to be open with your medical team as they will know what’s best!