Mom2PCS,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. I am sorry to hear your son is struggling so.

You don't say what you have done or been doing so far so I will respond as if you are doing nothing.

Nutritional supplements are not a quick fix but do have long term benefits and are a valuable way to move forward. There is a sticky thread at the top called Vitamins. The vitamin regimen listed in the 1st post has been updated at post #101. Here is a link to it: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread181974-11.html

Chiro can be helpful if he suffered an upper neck injury but you need to find someone who is good with subtle upper neck injuries. The above thread list the upper cervical chiro organization that can direct you to a local chiro.

Sometimes, brain fog can be self-induced by anxiety. A little bit of brain fog is made much worse by the resulting frustration and anxiety. Learning to accept the current need to slow down thinking so one can focus will be a big help. As an A student, he may have been a quick learner but now needs to develop new study skills to learn, understand and retain information. I went through this at his age from trauma heading a soccer ball. It gets real frustrating to have been able to read the material once and retained it and now needing to study three times as hard and still not do as good on exams.

He may need to find ways to quiet his study environment so he can rebuild his ability to focus. Sound reducing head phones or foam ear plugs may help him shut out external stimuli so he can focus better.

The reports on Amantadine were interesting but there either has not been any follow up studies or they did not support further use. We often see these these blips of interest in a certain treatment but follow up study show the inconsistent value of the med or treatment. Currently, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy appears to be a big focus. HBOT requires 40 to 80 treatments to see any improvements. That's $4000 to $14,000 depending on what the local HBOT center charges.

Most neuros are of little help with concussions. I would not recommend seeing a neuro unless you can find one who has a good reputation for understanding and helping with PCS. Is there a concussion clinic nearby ? They are hit and miss with prolonged concussion issues but finding one of the good ones can be worthwhile.

I find it interesting that your son's struggles are not severe enough for him to be willing to tolerate shots or an MRI tube. Decades ago when I was just getting started with nutritional therapy, I got weekly B-12 shots that appeared to be helpful. Today, B-12 tablets are very common and help many people. At this point, there is not likely anything an MRI would show.

I can understand his frustration with SAT's and ACT's. He will be able to take them a second time. I improved 50 points on the math SAT the second time as I was more recovered. And, I had not even taken a math course since my sophomore year. I was advanced in math and had finished taking the math courses available as a sophomore. But, my late junior year SAT went up 50 points. We did not have SAT prep courses back then. An SAT prep course may help him with his test taking skills.

If he already has chosen some schools to apply to, he might contact their admissions department and see if they have any accommodations for students who took SAT's during recovery from concussions.

So, I hope this is a start for how to move forward. I look forward to hearing more about his struggles: What you have tried and what you are going to try. What has his activity level been since his concussion ?

My best to you.