I suffered a severe concussion 18 years ago. When I was 8 years old I got into a bike accident and was not wearing a helmet. I do not remember much about the accident or much of the events afterwards, but from what my parents have told me and from what I can recall, I momentarily lost consciousness. I was able to walk home and my parents drove me to the ER and I realized that I had lost my vision.

Some symptoms I experienced right after the accident were temporary blindness (it lasted about 4-5 hours), extreme confusion (I kept asking if my backpack was okay and talked about brothers that I never had). I do not remember much after the accident (probably a combination of the accident and the time that has elapsed).

I have since had at least one other known concussion (I very briefly lost conscience and had blurry vision for about an hour, but it was not as severe as the first concussion) after I fell backwards off of a swing. I may have also suffered a third concussion in my teens during a hockey game, but I am unaware that I experienced a loss of consciousness.

I am now 26, but have been experiencing several issues over the past few years that may be associated with my past concussions. I have tried to look up any information but have to been able to really find anything relating to effects over years and decades.

Over the past few years some of my issues are:

1) I have been experiencing extreme short-term memory loss. This has been a significant problem since I was about 12 but has gotten much worse over the past few years. I have forgotten shows I had been watching as soon as the first commercial. One incident I remember was when I was 13 and a friend called me. As I was hanging up the phone my mother asked me who called and before I had put the phone on the hook I forgot which friend I had talked to. I forget what I've been talking about mid-conversation and it has interfered with my work/school life and has created a rifted between my fiancee and me.

2) I experience migraines occasionally. They usually are not too often, but they are debilitating when they come. Bright light seems to aggravate them.

3) Since I was a teenager I have had anger management issues. I have been seeing a psychologist since I was 12, but I have reduced my need of seeing him over my adult years. I still have trouble managing my anger but I am much better than I was growing up.

Sorry if this is long. I probably have other symptoms but I cannot think of them at this moment. I was wondering if there is anyone else who has lived with post-concussion symptoms many years after the incident.

Thanks for reading this and I hope to hear from someone soon.

Nicole