The forgotten injury making millions of women tired

“Most patients I see with fatigue, anxiety and memory problems have had a head injury at some point,” says Johns Hopkins neurologist Matthew Peters, M.D. And up to 80% of women with minor injuries can develop long-term symptoms, says Daniel Amen, M.D., author of The End of Mental Illness.

“People are diagnosed with depression, cognitive impairment, ADHD and more, when it’s a physical injury that didn’t heal.”

Women over 40 with a mild concussion are more likely to develop symptoms down the road if their brain isn’t allowed to heal, say scientists in the Archives of Physical and Medical

Rehabilitation. Dr. Peters describes three injury scenarios: “Folks with symptoms that go away within a few weeks, people who think they’ve had a mild injury but symptoms start and don’t go away, and those where symptoms go away but others develop later in life.” In each case, creating a healing environment can eliminate symptoms, even years later.

Your doctor can run tests to diagnose concussion, but they can be inconclusive. If you suspect a head injury, these steps can help it heal, no matter when it occurred.

B vitamins slow brain deterioration caused by disease or injury by 700%, say University of Oxford scientists. Dr. Amen also suggests taking acetyl-lcarnitine and phosphatidylserine to speed healing and improve focus. A product he formulated with all three: Brain MD NeuroVite Plus (BrainMD.com).

Eat brain food. “Omega-3s in seafood decrease inflammation in the brain, and

choline in eggs and beef helps with learning and memory,” says Dr. Amen.

For a new injury, rest a few days, then return to your routine unless symptoms arise or worsen, says Dr. Peters. If you can, exercise: Doing so within 10 days of a concussion speeds recovery by 24%.