Great article (where the heck was that 7 months ago???). I'm forwarding it to my daughter's school counselor for future reference.

I was suprised at the term "complex concussion" vs. post concussion syndrome. Our neuro used that term but I didn't realize it had the same meaning as PCS. I agree with Mark that their list of symptoms was limited. However it is the best description I've seen aimed at the high school administration population.

If going to movies or exercising, for example, cause symptoms then you can wait awhile and try again later. That much we can figure out by journaling.

But other things are harder to figure out. Was it the bright, sunny day, or sitting through an hour of class that caused the headache? Or was it just a routine brain-healing headache? From what I can tell these headaches can come along for no reason whatsoever. Compound that with monkeying around with medication that may or may not cause headaches itself and you've got a serious puzzle to solve.

At 5 months would it be reasonable to think she is past the point of second impact syndrome?

Nancy: I'm sorry to hear your daughter's headaches came back after last week. Just when you get to thinking, "we're getting there...we're improving" there's a big WHAMO to set you back. In our experience those WHAMOs are getting further and further apart. They do make you feel like a flake, though. Your friends and family and school administration just heard you say last week that things were getting better and now she can't come to school. It's a lot longer and more complicated healing process than I think either of us has fully realized at this point.