bacon_slippers Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 (edited) Hi allWithout going into War & Peace, I had a really realy bad mental break in 2009 that took me a long, long time to come back from, including being on Quetiapine (700mg at one point). Fast forward to 2015, I sufficiently recovered with meds hugely reduced and relocated to a new city in January for a new (demanding job). I now appear to have post-concussion after a sparring session at a martial arts gym 1 month ago, which has knocked me sideways mentally - memory/concentration/motivation all dropped to the bottom of the ocean, feels like I've had a frontal lobotomy!! I'm on 100mg quetiapine and I sleep better than before the concussion oddly enough.My understanding is concussion can severely impact cognitive functions and cause depression/anxiety in 'mentally healthy' people for a whole number of reasons, including actual damage to the brain (especially pituitary), and changes in neurotransmitters. However, my (newish) GP seems to think that this is actually a flare up of my depression. While no one can diagnose over the web, does anyone have an opinion on the likelihood of this being >A depression relapse?>Psychological symptoms triggered by head trauma and worry/anxiety over subsequent cognitive difficulties?>Possible hormone crash from pituitary gland damage/malfunction? I'm also thinking if quetiapine is actually exacerbating poor cognitive function and motivation since the head trauma - especially with feeling dopey/spaced out and maybe they now need to try some other chemicals to wake my brain up instead (assuming I still have one after the numerous punches to the head) as it appears to have gone asleep?? ps I have a prior appointment tomorrow with a pdoc that was originally scheduled to discuss cessation of quetiapine... this is now going to pan out a little differently than I'd previously hoped Edited August 2, 2015 by bacon_slippers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintalto Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Do you see a neurologist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooster Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 How did the appointment with your pdoc go? Any insight into post-concussion vs depression? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryp Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I had a bad concussion last year and I felt awful for at least 1-2 months afterwards and slowly improved from there. Concussions are no joke - I never understood before I had one how much they can knock you flat. If you're really suffering, you might consider asking for a referral to a neurologist or a doc who specializes in concussions (we have a concussion clinic here). I never did because I felt like I was trending up and I was willing to just give it time. I also had a GP who knew me and was following me pretty closely. But if you're worried about some kind of demonstrable brain injury, it might be worth a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bacon_slippers Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the replies all... :)!!!I tried my little experiment with knocking the dose of quetiapine down on Sunday night (from 100 to 87.5mg) and on Monday morning I felt the best in over a month, full motivation to do stuff from wake up, with a strong gut instinct telling me I'd turned a corner with recovering from concussion.obviously as predicted, my appointment with the pdoc went something like this...me: "what do you know about post concussion syndrome?"pdoc: "I've heard about it, but not much" (this is already a very bad omen)me: rambles on about concern over rapid decline in my cognitive abilities / anxiety & depression since being repeatedly punched in the head in the name of sportpdoc: rambles on about this being a bad sign (especially the moment I raise my concern around brain damage from head trauma) - as this now sounds very much like my in-remission depression flaring up and needs sorting ASAPme: realising he is viewing this all through my severe depression from 5 years ago, but I agree that my mood needs sorting regardless of cause He offers me paroxetine, I decline on... 'ahem', certain well-known SSRI side effects lol. He ventures Venlafaxine, I'm still not won, I venture Wellbutrin, he wasn't won as didn't have much experience prescribing it, so we eventually agree on Trazodone; with concerns about interaction with quetiapine causing over sedation. I took 150mg last night plus 87.5mg of quetiapine and I woke up around 5am feeling like I was drowning in my own body. Woke up at around 8, feeling very groggy, stumbled to the bathroom mirror and my eyes looked like I'd spent a weekend partying in Amsterdam. Rung work / HR at 9 and spoke to them like some kind of drunk! I felt lobotomized/hungover all day :/ Conclusion. 150mg is overkill for my current situation and especially with Quetiapine. Anyone else have experience of this mind-numbing combo??Rang Pdoc who agreed to cut dose to 75mg to review Friday, other options the venlafaxine... or maybe Wellbutrin. I rang back later, told his secretary "I will not be taking it tonight as I now have migraine-type headache. I will restart on 75mg Wednesday night, but will discontinue if sedation persists" I plan to discuss options with Pdoc on Friday. Edited August 4, 2015 by bacon_slippers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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