I have a long story for everyone but I really need some help because I don't know what to do.

I suffered a concussion in January while in a basketball. I don't remember it at all but they said what probably happened was I dove for a ball, where I hit my head, and then a girl landed on my head causing another impact with the floor. I'm not really sure though. I didn't tell anybody it had happened because I didn't want to sit out. It finally got so bad that i was failing almost every class because of very bad short-term memory loss. Then at practice one day I passed out while we were doing sprints. My coaches made me go talk to the trainer where she said it sounded like a concussion. She scheduled a doctor's appoinment for me with a concussion specialist and made me sit out the rest of the practices until i saw him.

I went to the doctor's and took an Impact Test to determine how bad the concussion had been. The average person usually scores in the 50th percentile-I scored less than 1% in every category. I was pulled out of school and sent home to rest. I retook the test five more times until I finally got a high enough test score to return to school. I got right back into school and sports like I had never been away. I did alright for a few days, then the symptoms came back. I would nearly pass out during every workout, get tunnel vision, be very confused, light-headed, and a very strange sensation where I essentially "white out". My grades started to fall again and my parents found out i was having problems-I hadn't told them. It wasn't as bad as before so I stayed in school getting assistance whenever needed but I wasn't allowed to do any sports. I was out of sports for four months total then i lied and told them I was fine because I couldn't stand being out anymore (I know it was a stupid thing to do).

I had been doing alright until recently-it's gotten so bad I'm rethinking telling them because I think something is seriously wrong. Here is a list of the symptoms I currently have problems with: 1.My memory is getting worse again 2. I "white out" during strenous workouts 3. I can't focus during class 4. I get confused easily 5. I have bad mood swings which can be from all of a sudden feeling depressed to literally the next second feeling hostile towards my best friends 6. Very tired all day 7. Tingling in my hands and numbness in my feet 8. Feeling like I will pass out again 9. Occasional ringing in my ears 10. Feeling restless like I have to move 11. Very vivid dreams 12. Some nausea 13. Sometimes I get very dizzy or the feeling that everything around me is swaying 14. Sometimes a bright light or very loud noise aggravates the headaches 15. Feeling like I'm floating 16. The newest and in my opinion worst is the headaches, I've had constant headaches since I recieved a concussion it just depended on how bad they were but recently I have been getting some, that after some research sound like ice pick headaches. They are very concentrated in one spot on the head and is a stabbing pain unlike anything I've ever experienced. In the research it sounded like it should happen once and then go away but for me it lasts a few seconds then a few seconds of relief then it comes back just as bad or worse and continues that cycle all day. I don't know if I should be worried about it or not. My parents are starting to notice my low grades and want to know what's going on. They might take me back to the doctor but I don't want to tell them what's is really happening (I don't want to sit out the rest of the soccer season).

Sorry for such a long post I just wanted to give all the information hoping there would be an explanation or someone else is also experiencing these symptoms. Thanks a lot for taking the time to read it and any help would be greatly appreciated. Any advice?

Hello soccer, and welcome to NeuroTalk! This is a great place with many helpful, caring, and friendly people.

We're so glad you found us!

Here is a link to the post-concussion forum to help get you started:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum92.html

I wish you all the best.

Welcome to NT

Glad you told us all that info. That's a lot and a longstanding injury. After six months a condition is termed "chronic." So your headaches would be chronic.

Head injuries are special. They need special attention and special doctors.

Just to let you know what I would say to my loved one with a head injury: "Since you've injured your head, I can't let you make those important health decisions because head injuries would render you unable to determine what would be best for yourself. Leave it to the professionals, please. It's the only head you've got."

I admire your spirit but live to play another day. Health is No. 1 right now. Let your parents in on it. They'll do the right thing. You'll be okay. If you'll let it heal, you may be able to play. Brain injuries are slow healers, though.

Nutrition and rest are very important things that will help with your recovery from this injury. Be willing to compromise to get better. Since you have this problem, you have to deal with it. It's not going to just go away. You need attention, okay?

Hello and Welcome to NT.

I agree with Broken Wings, please, follow her advice.

Basketball may seem like you entire world right now. However, it is a small part of the rest of your life. You have one head and it can't be replaced.

Be honest with your parents and tell them you need to go back to the doctor. Tell them about all the symptoms you put in this thread. If it would make it easier for you print it out and have them sit down with you and go over it.

I admire your committment to basketball now use the same comittment to getting better. Start by being honest and open with your parents.

Take care,
Sherrie

Thanks everyone for all the advice. It is a hard thing to do but the right thing. I really needed that help to make the right decision now I know what to do I'll let you know how everything at the doctor goes.

It'll be okay...

Hi Soccer,

I understand where you're coming from because I was a serious athlete before my accident - but you have all the symptoms (temper, fatigue, absence seizures, headache, confussion, etc...)of a serious brain injury. The symptoms haven't only persisted; you've aquired new ones. At the very least, I fear you've got Post Concussion Syndrome (PCS).

Have you had an MRI? For starters, you need to see a neurologist and a physical medical specialist. You also need to undergo neuro-psychological testing.

The neuro-psych will tell you how your brain is actually functioning. It is useful for targetting cognitive therapy and sometimes necessary to get you all the help you're entitled to at school (extra time for assignments, tutors, note takers, etc...) Please don't hesitate to contact the disabilities officer at your college and get help. The last thing you need right now is to be staying up half the night working on papers or to be stressing over exams. It is not your fault that your grades are suffering. Many brain injured students flunk out, when a little extra help during their recovery would have allowed them to succeed. GET HELP!!!!!!!!

The GET HELP advice is just as true for the injury itself. To be blunt, the fact that you keep trying to play basketball in your condition suggests that you are not in a position to think rationally. (Don't feel bad: my husband had to hide my baseball equipment and car keys after my accident.) If you're a varsity athlete, I understand that you are under tremendous pressure to play. In that case, the team trainer may not be acting in YOUR best interests. You need assistance from independent clinicians and people who love you. Tell your parents exactly what's going on - show them your post here - and let them help you.

The tingling in your extremities is worrying. Whiplash often comes with concussion. Those tingles could be the sign of spinal damage (swelling putting pressure on nerves and/or bruising, and/or structural damage). If that's the case, risking reinjury during physical activity could be puting you in more jeopardy than you could ever imagine.

You're young - please take care of yourself. If you need to talk, feel free to send me a PM.

All the best.

I don't really understand it, why is it so hard to do the right thing and what is best for myself? I don't enjoy living like this day to day its hard to deal with let alone go to school all day and then have tough soccer practices after. Why can't i just tell them why's it so hard?

Your behavior is completely predictable:brain injury makes you indecisive and robs you of motivation. Unfortunately, that’s not a combination likely to make you proactive about your treatment or anything else in your life for that matter. You really need to reach out to family and friends for help.

I'm concerned for you, please talk to your parents and have your primary doctor refer you to a neurologist; get an MRI scan of your C-Spine. I have had more than one head injury, resulting in concussion and an important factor in concussion that can be overlooked whilst we concentrate on the concussion symptoms is that the head balances upon such a fragile stem - whiplash often accompanies head injuries, and those that are impacted at such a force as you experienced can result in C-Spine injury.

I have all the symptoms you describe after an auto injury when I was 22. Read ended by a drunk driver while my car was parked. I didn't seek medical at that time because I was in the Air Force and feared being discharged (intuition must have told me it was a severe injury). I am now 46 and the simplest of tasks like washing myself in the shower, shopping, making dinner, reading a book... anything that requires the head/neck to be fixed in a position other than looking forward, results in the symptoms you describe, nausea and vomiting due to C-Spine "Cord Impingement" - swelling around C4 which puts pressure upon the spinal cord.

Encourage you to allow your parents to love you to their fullest potential, and allow yourself to be assured your intuition to take care of your health is right on. You're an overachiever so your nature is to override any 'weakness', I get it, believe me.

... tell them. Get this taken care of with the same overachiever gusto you go into those games with. Quality of life should never be forfeited. Be your own advocate as you're doing by seeking advice. Proud of you!

Love to you