[Slivers86]

Hey everyone. I'm a 28y/o male from Calgary, ab
To give a background - I work in a physically demanding job, and officiate men's league hockey as a side income. I have a youth/adolescent history of concussion (5 known, 2 serious, 3 mild). I've worked shift work since I was 18 doing day/nights 12 hr shifts.
In may, I suffered my first apparent concussion since a major concussion when I was 18. It happened on the ice, and my head was the first point of impact, striking the ice, bouncing, and hitting again. I was wearing a properly fitted helmet at the time, and surprisingly, felt a bit dazed, but shrugged it off and continued my game - even playing some video games late that night.
Anyways, woke up next day nauseated, confused and stiff necked. A wicked headache and I put it all together.
Got a ride to the walkin and was told to get some rest. I knew that response was coming, so I went home, laid down and rested a few days. Day 3 nothing had gone away, just gotten worse.
Went back to doctor - got a different one as my GP was on holidays.
This doc immediately told me this was serious, and I could not goto work, let alone do anything for atleast two week - or until symptom free for 72 hrs.

16 days later - after many days of headache, dizziness, fatigue, and a lot of sleep, I felt as if I'd broke through, and went to see the physician again. I talked to her, and was given modified duties at work and told to not push myself and monitor my symptoms.
The 10 days went well and back to work I went.
Over the past 5 months I've resumed skating at a high level of men's hockey, been mountain bike riding, done some light workouts - I even ran a few 5km runs.
The last few weeks I feel as though I've been an insomniac - sleep is very difficult now as compared to before, and I've been getting bad headaches/migraines periodically over past 3 months.
I don't notice physical exertion to be a trigger.
My wife feels as though I'm having short term memory problems, however my long term memory is spot on / I'm remembering things I had completely forgotten!
I am wondering if perhaps I should be asking to see a neurologist or have a ct head done - just to rule out any existing jnjury or damage that may exist.

Also looking for any thoughts, suggestions,or similar experience

[Kitt]

Welcome slivers86.

[Hockey]

I'm sorry about your injury, but welcome to NT.

Sadly, your helmet could not prevent your brain from making contact with the inside of your skull, shaving off precious axons in the process.

If you have a CT, it will almost certainly be negative. This far post injury, it is unlikely that you have something obvious, like a bleed or skull fracture, that could be imaged with that technology. Conventional CTs and MRIs are just not subtle enough to show the damaged TBI does to all those little tiny axons.

The best way to measure the impact of your TBI is neuro-psych testing. Given that you've had a number of previous head injuries, that might not be a bad idea. While you feel you're fine cognitively, a symptom of brain injury is being unable to recognize the symptoms of brain injury. If your wife is telling you she's concerned about your deficits, listen to her.

Insomnia is common in brain injury. If you tell your doctor, he/she might recommend any number of medications. You can help yourself by avoiding alcohol and caffeine, maintaining a good bedtime regime and eating properly.

You mentioned a stiff neck. Given the mechanism of injury, there is a strong possibility that you suffered a whiplash. Neck issues can cause a number of nasty, persistent symptoms. If your neck hasn't been thoroughly examined, you might want to consider that.

It really sounds to me that you are pushing yourself too hard. You can see a neuro, but he/she may well have little to offer beyond advising you to rest. With your concussion history, they could also tell you, wisely, in my opinion, to rethink the whole hockey thing. The damage from multiple concussions is cumulative. I share your love of the game, but please give some thought to the risk you're taking.

[Darlene]

Slivers86,

Hello and welcome, happy to see you have come to be with us, it a great place to be. As you can see we have a great number and caring fellow members here, where you have find a supportive and relaxing place. Have fun looking into the different forums. Our shoulders are here for support in many ways.

Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Darlene