[jsum4]

In September-October 2010 I was playing flag football for my school. Since it's meant to be a non-contact sport, the only safety equipment we had were mouth guards. I hit my head at least three times (other players' heads/elbows/shoulders/my own cleat once, I think) and although I had a headaches, I always continued to play. I was never completely sure if I had concussions, but my teammates said I probably did. My coaches, parents, and I were not very educated about concussions so as long as I said I was fine, I played. Most of the time my headaches were tolerable, so I did not see the need to get checked or anything. After the season was over, I still continued to get headaches pretty much everyday for multiple months. However, they were still tolerable so I still didn't see a doctor (yes, I know that probably sounds stupid).
During that time, I felt that I was more distracted than usual, but I couldn't tell if that was from a head injury or just because "senioritis."

It's been about a year and a half since my possible concussion(s) and I still do get headaches every once in awhile, I feel that my memory is kind of deteriorating, and I often lack concentration, but I'm still unsure whether those are concussion symptoms or if that's just how I naturally am now. If they are symptoms then they are very mild right now.

I'm not sure what I should do now since it's been so long.. Should I finally go to the doctor and get my brain checked out? Will going to the doctor even make a difference? Is there anything they can do if they do find a problem? I'm obviously clueless on what to do or what's going on, so any help or advice is appreciated. I'd prefer to not go to the doctor because of the costs, especially since I'm not very bothered, but if I am advised to then I will if it may prevent future problems. Also, I can't remember some details of what happened, but if you have questions then I'll do my best to answer.

Thanks,
jsum4

[Dejibo]

We have a saying round here. If you think you should go to the MD. the answer is always YES Never ignore that itty bitty little voice in your head that says "something isnt right"

One of the things some of us run into is dismissive MDs. I hope you find a good one. If not, fire him/her and seek a new one till all your questions are answered and addressed.

I hope you feel better.

[Mark in Idaho]

Well, Dejibo,

Many of us on the PCS forum know how useless it is to get checked by a doctor. Especially at your late date, doctors are going to be very dismissive.

Whether you have had one concussion or more, you also have suffered multiple sub-concussive impacts. They can accumulate to be just as bad or even worse than a concussion.

It sounds like you should do a bit of journaling to determine if there is any pattern to your symptoms. You don't explain much about your symptoms or your age or gender. There are important bit of information about you that will help us understand.

Most of us use vitamin supplementation to help our brains detoxify and recover. B-12, a B-50 complex, Omega 3's, are just the starting point. Nutritional help is a slow process for helping the brain recover.

So, tell us more about yourself and your symptoms and maybe we can suggest some help.

[EsthersDoll]

I was sustained a concussion in July 2010 in an auto accident. I'm still healing. My own Primary Care Physician wasn't able to tell me what the outcome of the injury would be until recently - she told me she is confident that I will be "normal" again, but that it takes a long time to recover from a brain injury. A concussion is a brain injury.

I agree that you should alert your health care professionals. What happens if you have another concussion and they don't already know your history? They will be better prepared to help you with the more information they have.

I agree with Mark too, though, that some doctors are not prepared to help beyond prescribing some medications to alleviate the symptoms you are dealing with.

Just know, that even if it takes years, the potential and possibility still exists that you can make a full recovery from the concussions you may have sustained in the games you played.

And since you've already had some symptoms that you consider to be the result of some possible concussions, it might be very wise for you to avoid any actions that may lead to another concussion - like touch football.

Concussions are supposed to have a cumulative effect on people. So, even though they are microscopic and don't show up on an MRI or CT Scan, the more you have the worse the symptoms and its effects can be and the more long term. But some people are permanently affected by just one bad concussion.

It's not an exact science and research is still being conducted to help people recover and to predict the outcome of each concussion, but it's not near being ready to give any real information yet. And more than a few Dr.'s are not educated enough to really help people through the experience yet either.

But as Mark In Idaho offered, there are people here who can offer their experience in an effort to help you through yours.