Hi everybody

I have been reading posts here quite often to help me get through the days, and decided it was time to make my own post.

My name is Zach and i\'m a junior in high school. Here is my story, while playing a game of rugby i really did a number to my head. I don\'t remember a thing but the story i got from a friend who saw was that i went in for a tackle and got kneed in the front of the head, then I fell and hit the back of my head. This caused me to blackout for 45 seconds to a minute.

Next thing i remember i woke up in the emergency room surrounded by six doctors with a sever concussion. Well i ended up being admitted to the hospital and staying for a total of 5 days on I.V. pain medication (Dilaudid).

It has now been nearly a month since the injury occurred and i\'m still in incredible pain, i\'m still taking narcotic painkillers many times a day for this pain. I was diagnosed with post concussive syndrome.

I no longer feel like myself. I\'am no longer quick to think, i lose my temper very quick, i have incredible mood swings, and my short term memory is horrendous.

I still have yet to get back to school, which is not good. I went from having all A\'s and B\'s to failing multiple classes. I feel like everyone is tired of me and think i\'m \"faking\" the injury or something. It seems like my family is short with me now.

I guess i\'m just here for support and to ask a couple of questions. Is it normal to feel like this? is it normal to still be in such incredible pain? any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you so much,
Zach