Hi and welcome,

so sorry to hear of these children dealing with PCS.

You may want to repost on our PCS/TBI forum as the members there can possibly offer best advice
here is the link
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum92.html

all the best

Dear Suzelder,

I am so sorry to hear about your son's injury and understand what you are going through. You are absolutely right, it is so frustrating to watch your child suffer and to feel so frightened and desperate.

It is horrible to not be able to control the headaches. As a Mom, we feel that we should be able to make our child feel better and it is devastating when we can't. Do know that it will get better in time.

Is your son out of football for the rest of the season? I know that can be devastating to a kid but highly recommend it no matter what. His brain is fragile right now as it is healing. Another hit (even a minor bump) is a really big deal right now.

I would also consider keeping him out of gym class at school until you are 100% sure all symptoms are gone and that he is fully recovered. It is not worth the risk.

No two concussions are alike therefore, treatment can vary depending on the symptoms. Basically, you are reacting to symptoms as they present. At this point with your son, it is important that he rests and to avoid anything that may trigger a headache.

I am concerned that the Motrin is not working at all and he is not receiving any pain medication for the headaches? Headaches aggravate PCS and make the symptoms last longer. It is hard to heal your brain when it keeps getting aggravated by headaches. He needs sleep, rest and minimal activity right now.

I wonder if the Motrin dose is not high enough? At 11 years old, my daughter was taking 400 mg of Motrin which is an adult dose. Perhaps ask your doctor if your son can have a higher dose and perhaps even overlap it with Tylenol? Alleve is also worth trying.

At 8 weeks out, my daughter started to take prescription medications to help control the headaches. It was a bit of trial and error with a few different meds. If you would like more info on this, let me know

Very important to stop any activity (physical or cognitive) when a headache starts. Do not try to push through the headache as it can aggravate symptoms and make the headache worse. Cognitive exertion includes reading, computer, school work, etc and that can all be just as aggravating to his condition as physical activity or worse.

For example, if your son is taking a test at school and a headache starts....he should get up and go the nurse immediately. Don't try to push through just to finish it. Get out of that situation before the headache worsens.

School should at least lighten his workload and possibly give your son other accommodations while he recovers. The last thing that he needs is a stack of make-up work. Timed tests were a problem for my daughter among other things. If you need ideas/info about dealing with school, let me know

I reiterate, it is NOT common for symptoms to last as long as they have with my daughter. She had two concussions within minutes of each other which is why we believe the PCS has lasted so long with her. Again, I mention this so you know that your son is likely to recover very soon.

The advice and care that he receives right now can make ALL the difference. My best piece of advice, is to avoid another head injury at all cost. Avoid football for the rest of the season and any other contact sports until you are 100% positive.

Also trust your instincts. If something is wrong with your child, you know and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

You asked why no symptoms for two weeks and now the horrible headaches....that is an impossible question to answer since the brain is so complicated and we cannot see this injury.

There are too many possiblities to list ....here are just a few possibilities that come to mind... it is possible that he did not recognize the symptoms, it is possible that the cognitive and physical exertion after the head injury aggravated his condition.

It is also VERY common for kids to overlook symptoms and to try to be tough for various reasons. One big one, is that they want to continue their sport and worry that if they mention that they have a headache, they won't be allowed to participate.

Also I believe that falling off the stool was a symptom. My daughter lost her balance a few times right after her head injury.

You mentioned muscle soreness? Where is that? My daughter also injured her neck and shoulder in her accident. She was treated by an orthopedic doctor for that also received physical therapy which helped a lot.

Please feel free to PM me if you would like to call me with any questions or for support.

I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers,

Glad that you found this board...tons of great people with very helpful info. Take it all in and trust your instincts... don't hesitate to get additional medical opinions if something doesn't sound right to you. Even the doctors are learning about PCS and how to treat it.

Thanks for the response Tralee. No he is been out of football since these symtoms started and no Pe w/possibility of any contact. We broke the news to him that he is out of football for the season. Had to not knowing of he had 2 "hits" although the dr is still suggesting that this could just be migraines since we don't know for sure. BUT he has had a constant headche for 3 the last 3 weeks. Somethimes a dull ache,a "2" on his scale up to a "9" or over(when I took him back to ER). I was worried about too much Motrin as I was keeping him on it (low dose only 3 tsp, definitely not 400 mg) regularly thinking it would help keep the headaches at a manageable level.I have a call back in to the dr to see what to do since the last 4 days have not alleviated them. Muscle soreness in his legs,knees and hips. school has been supportive and lets him take time to rest at nurse's but not sure he isasking to go as often as he should. Said they wouldn't do the IMPACT test on him because he's too young. Snowdaykids I'm with you on the our life is on hold, feel like I am holding my breath. hang in there. Thanks again Tralee. You guys are in my prayers as well-

Hi Suzelder,

How old is your son? Some don't feel that the ImPACT test is reliable for children under 13 however, my daughter first had it at age 11 and it was helpful. I understand that you are not sure if he had a second hit but he did have one, right? If so, I don't understand why the doctor is suggesting that this could "just be migraines". Too much of a coincidence that the migraines started after a blow to the head and he also had the balance issue. Not all doctors and people you will meet get it since many are still learning about concussion. Trust your instincts, So sorry for all that you are going thru

Tralee,
My son is only 10 and is small-68 lbs. I checked and his Motrin dosage he was taking was 300 mg. The problem with the PCS diagnosis is we are not positive he had a concussion in that game. No symptoms, I just saw him sustain a big blind hit. It just took a few minutes for him to get up then he ran back to the line, says he didn't feel dizzy/fuzzy(but he may have been). Then 2 weeks after the game without any symptoms(besides the counter stool incident that next night which is why I recalled that hit the day before).

That's why we saw the neurologist and did the MRI and EEG at that point, to rule out anything else. And that's why I think and the dr agrees that it may have been a MILD concussion and then there may have been another hit within the two weeks after in practice. He has a great deal of experience with concussion patients, which is why it has been frustrating that he can't tell me for sure 100% he thought it was a concussion that started this whole thing.

He doesn't think IMPACT is reliable under age 12 so has referred me to a neoropsychologist to do some other other cognitive tests but can't get in soon enough. You are at their mercy and meanwhile your child is suffering. Believe me, I've researched every condition/possibility under the sun for his symptoms and really the post concussion is the only thing that makes sense at this point. I was concerned about rebound headaches with continuing him on the Motrin. Your thoughts on medicine?

Hello everyone!! My 11 yr old daughter has been suffering from PCS for almost 7 weeks from falling off a bike without a helmet at her friends house... Horrific migraines, nasseau and vomitting for 1 week straight vomitting, now just when it gets super intense, confusion at times, blurry and at migraines peak double vision. she has been hospitalized 2 different times at the Children's Hospital in St. Pete. Each time for 5-7 days, and then again in Tampa Children's hospital for 4 days. She has done the mag sulfate iv, steroids iv, depakone iv, torodol iv, topomax, ultram, and phenrgan. mood stablizers, prozac etc...... she is finally getting some relief from th constant intense migraines!! She still gets them but just not 3-6 times everysingle day. now its about 1 maybe 2 times a day.
Well last week after 3 days of being on a whole new slew of meds including a few I wasnt thrilled with and had already put a call into our psychiatrist (she is also ADHD) to ask what he thought about them. But before I got the chance to speak to him my daughter went into a MAJOR VIOLENT RAGE AND THEN WANTED TO KILL HERSELF. it was so bad that she had to be baker acted!!!
She is home now, and the psychs all think that the benzos thy had her on must have triggerd it. Sh doesnt remember anything at all about it!! She woke up at the hosp. crying and scared, yet she was awake when w got there she even gave her statement to the dr and police then passed out. She wasnt given any medication. We are just going to be able to get her MRI tomorrow (b/c she had her braces on and was too sick to even go get it done) to rule out any possible damage etc... now this is a REALLY GOOD GIRL who is in honor classes doesnt get in trouble has tons of friends etc....so that behavior is VERY out of the norm for her....
Has anyone else had issues with any of this including the uncontrollable rage and then amnesia after it???
so worried!!!!!

Hi, my 11yo son has been suffering from PCS and has definitely had rage episodes. I completely feel for what you are going through. It's been a very frustrating time because many Dr.'s have not been very helpful. My son has had two concussions in a two week period and the rage/violent issues began the night of the 2nd of the two concussion close to each other. He also was admitted to a psych facility after being in Children's Hospital Boston. Children's was very quick to get rid of him after an MRI and short EEG came back fine. They just said that it must be an underlying psych issue and there was nothing else they could do. At the psych hospital, he was fine, no episodes, no meds and the Dr.'s there said it had to be from the PCS. A few days after being released, the rage started again....but not as bad. It has been 4 1/2 weeks since the rage episodes started and they are definitely less frequent. A new neurologist that we are going to started him on Trileptal yesterday to see if it will help to calm the brain while it is healing. I'm hoping that this will help.

Has there been any improvement since your post?

So sorry I'm just responding. I didn't not see this with the crush of the holiday season. Anyhow, I would highly recommend Dr. Neal McGrath. He has an office in Boston/Brighton. Google his name and you will find his website. He is a neuropsychologist who had a son with a concussion. He got it right away, and offered REAL help. We also sought the help of Dr. Robert Canto who is a neurosurgeon. He practices out of Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass. He is one of the country's leading authorities on sports concussions and works with professional athletes. You may have seen him in the news if you are looking out for sports concussion stories. We thankfully were medically cleared through him fairly quickly, but it was some time before we even got in to see him.

The number one most important piece of advice I would offer is to journal you son's symptoms daily. I found that gave me enormous credibility with the doctors. There was no denying what was written in black and white. It also helped us to see quicker than the docs what was working and what wasn't. For my son, complete brain rest (no tv, reading, video games, busy situations) for almost two weeks is what helped him turn the corner. Whether his brain was just ready to heal at that time or the rest really was the key we may never know. Good luck to you. I'm often not on here, so if I can be of any other help, feel free to e-mail me directly.
s.bosco@comcast.net

Hello all,

I posted here a while back and was able to correspond off-forum with sboscoe and her husband (thank you!). I wanted to share what has helped our daughter to get rid of the post-concussion headaches.
Our daughter's most debilitating symptom had been headaches for weeks post-concussion, but one day I looked at her and realized that she was very thin, also. For weeks she had not been eating much because of the headaches and other post-concussive symptoms. She had lost almost 10 pounds, which was way too much.
With our doctor's guidance, we decided to put the weight back on and get her back on her historic growth curve. After only 4-5 days of 3000 calories/ day, her headaches disappeared entirely. It took 7 weeks to get her back to her healthy weight. This was not always easy, as she is a teen and was getting some positive feedback from peers about how lovely she looked when she was underweight. However, she is much lovelier and energetic at a healthy weight and no headaches.
This is certainly not the answer to most post-concussion headaches, but I would encourage anyone to make sure their child stays on his/her historic growth curve during the recovery phase. It is all too easy for them to lose weight when they don't feel well. In addition to the headaches, fatigue, irritability, and mental slowness all improved when our daughter returned to her usual weight. (The headaches disappeared entirely; the other symptoms have improved).

snowdaykids,

So glad to hear about your daughter's recovery. For most of us these PCS incidents can be overcome even though it is a painful, emotional, grueling process. Unfortunately for some unlucky few it never goes away. Wish you all the best.

sandy