bruins06,

Your struggle with mild impacts is not uncommon. They are called sub-concussive impacts. You may think you have only had 5 concussions but it is very likely you have had many more. You were just used to shaking them off. Plus, you have likely had hundreds of sub-concussive impacts.

The sub-concussive impacts can be the most dangerous because you don't feel any symptoms so you don't even take a moments break from the action. A check into the boards is likely a sub-concussive impact.

You current condition is called Multiple Impact Syndrome. It is when the brain has been injured so many times that is has lost much of its ability to recover or rewire. The strained axons get strained again and finally become seriously dysfunctional. Axons take a long time to heal because they make connections with a hit or miss protocol. Sort of a trial and error effort to connect. If the connection is refused, they retract and try connecting to a different dendrite/axon/neuron.

Have you downloaded the TBI Survival Guide yet? It will help you explain your condition to others. You can download it at www.tbiguide.com

You also may be experiencing some sleep apnea problems. The brain stem can be injured in a concussion. It will effect your autonomic nervous system that maintains your breathing. Your sleepiness may be just PCS or it may be caused by a failure to breath properly while sleeping. It can cause stressful dreams. It will cause you to be sleepy during the day. If someone can observe you sleeping, they may be able to tell if you stop breathing. I have stopped breathing as many as 16 times in a hour.

If they notice breathing irregularities, you can tell your doctor and ask for a take home sleep test. Then the doctor can request a full 'in the sleep lab' sleep test.

I have the fast mood swings and manage them by avoiding the triggers that cause them to change quickly. Learning to recognize your triggers will help you minimize your exposure to those triggers.

The strange pressure in your head sounds like what I can a 'mud head ache.' I get a stuffed head feeling with groggy thought processes. It is like my brain is stuck in the mud. Does this sound familiar?

As you commented, there are plenty of us who understand you condition. Keep in touch. Life does go on and there are ways to live life fully once you learn to work with the new you.

My best to you.