Memory loss in early 20's could it be from multipile concussions?
 

Hi there,
So I'm in my early 20's. I was a competitive athlete, I played soccer from the time I was 4.5 until last summer. I have suffered numerous mild concussions (over 6) in over about 10 years or less. 2 resulted on loss of conciousnessI have no memories of my child hood or teen years really all I remeber is a foggy. My last concussion occured during a college soccer practice while doing a drill that involved heading the ball. After about the second time I got a shooting pain up the back of my head and wrapping around, I also felt very dizzy and lost my balance. I went to see my trainer who made me sit out. I took 2 concussion test (the ones online) I don't remeber what they were called and failed them both times (invalid score).

My CT scans came out fine and my neurologist informed me that I could have post-concussion syndrome. I was told that I can not play any contact sport ever and he recomended that I not even run due to the shaking it causes. Since then my memory loss has become dramatically worse. I can ask somebody the time and they tell me then a few second later ask them again because I forgot the time. I forget to turn my car off and take the keys out. When filling out paper work it take me 10+ seconds to write my name or address I just sit there looking at the paper confused. I know my name and where I li ve but when I get asked it I don't get it? I forget to pick my siblings up from activites even when they remind me 20 minutes before. I do not remeber anything I learn in school. I forget it a few minutes later to even a few days. I often don't remeber to eat and usually don't feel too hungry, my mother and boyfriend have to remind me to eat and ask me all the time what I ate that day (often I do not remeber).

I am worried that this will continue to worsen and that I may forget more important things like whether I work or at what time, how to drive, people in my life. I am very worried that this will worsen and that by the time I'm 30 I won't have a memory at all. I have also become more snappy andd violent, I would never hurt anyone but I find myself slapping people screaming over nothing, pushing. I'm not one to reais my voice to people or my hand. But recently that's all I have been doing. I can't take noise the second something is too loud my head/ears start to throb and I get even moodier. I don't know what to do about this and I do not have insurance to go back to a doctor. Please any advice will help me.

Jaystar,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear of your many concussions.

I think you have figured it out. You are suffering from Multiple Impact Syndrome. It cause each successive concussion to do more damage with a greater amount of prolonged symptoms.

First, I need to help you understand a bit about impacts to the head. A concussion with LOC (Loss of Consciousness) is not a mild concussion. The concussions you note are likely only the tip of the iceberg. You have likely suffered many more concussion in almost 19 years of soccer. Plus, you have suffered an untold number of sub-concussive impacts.

A sub-concussive impact is any impact to the brain that does not cause immediate or even next day symptoms. Heading the ball is almost always a sub-concussive impact (SCI). The worst SCI's in soccer come from heading drills. The repeated impacts during a short period of time can be more damaging that a concussion.

You say you don't have insurance but it sounds like you have suffered more than one concussion during college soccer. In my view, this puts the college on the hook for your continuing care for you current PCS as a result of last year's concussion. The online concussion tests, likely ImPACT or CNS-VS, tell me that your trainer has been using poor information for managing concussions and return to play decisions.

I doubt you have true loss of memory of your childhood or teen years. More likely you have difficulty focusing so you can remember. Your brain is overwhelmed with visual and auditory stimulation preventing you from focusing to recall your past.

To better understand your condition, you need to have a NeuroPsych Assessment (NPA) done. Your soccer team/college should be footing the bill for a full work-up. An NPA will help you define what functions workj and which are damaged. You likely have very poor immediate and short term visual and auditory memory functions. Welcome to the club.

There are many ways you can learn to work with and around your memory limitations. There are 3 kinds of memory. Immediate ( 1 second to 5 or 10 minutes after an event) short term (the few hours after an event) and long term (next day memory). You probably are poor at immediate and short term which makes converting short term memories to long term memories more difficult. There are ways to help you long term memory work better.

There are also memories called "over-learned skills." These are things like tying your shoes, driving a car, remembering family and friends, etc. These memories are stored in multiple places in your memory so they can be accessed many different ways. These still work fine or you would not be talking, typing, driving, etc.

Geting a full NPA will go a long way toward helping you understand how to use your strengths to help you weaknesses.

There are a number of things you need to do for the immediate future.

First, you should not be driving. You are too much of a risk to yourself, your passengers, and the other vehicles and pedestrians. If someone where to honk a horn as a collision is imminent, your brain will likely overload and freeze up and you will lose the ability to make decisions about controlling your car. I know this problem very well as it has caused me to have to severely limit my driving.

Second, you need to lower the stimulation levels of your daily environment. It sounds like you have too much on your plate for your current condition. I doubt you have spent any time with quiet rest to help your brain recover from your last impact. It needs a few months of quiet rest. Minimal driving and only during low traffic periods when you are at the top of your mental game. This should probably be after a few weeks of quiet rest.

You should learn how to use something like an iPAD for daily schedules and reminders. There is even an app that will speak for you or show a line of text when you get stressed and get tongue tied. I know of others who get tongue tied in stressful situations who use it successfully.

You should create a short statement on a small slip of paper to keep with your driver's license to use when you get foggy brained and need to explain that your have suffered a brain injury and may get flustered or even over-react loudly when confronted. I have been denied boarding at the airport because I reacted to an overly aggressive TSA agent. 2 other times, I came close to being denied. Now, I always have my brain injury slip ready
to hand to a cop or TSA.

There are lots of other tips and advice for you to consider like nutritional supplements to help you brain detoxify, heal and tolerate stress.

The most important thing for you to understand is this. If you avoid stressing your brain, you likely have decades before you see any more problems from your concussion history. You have lots of time to recover and learn to moderate your symptoms. In time, you should be able to do some running with good shoes and after learning a better/smoother running gait. But that time is in the future. When you feel good enough to try some running/exercise, I an others can give you some tips.

There are lots of tips available to help you with your most difficult struggles. Just tell us what they are and you will get lots of support.

My best to you.

Are you currently in school? Do you work? Who do you have in your life who can support you as you deal with this?

thank you for your replies on my "memory loss"
 

Thank you for your replies. I am not currently enrolled in school last August I suffered my more recent recorded concussion by November I had to withdraw from school. I was no longer able to stay focused during lectures during test I would sit there and try to remember how to do things or formulas and just drew a blank, I would forget homework assignments, to bring them in. (Just so you know I love school and I am eager to complete my degree, I'm not just a "bad student") I honestly just couldn't remeber. But anyway I plan to return in the fall. I Do work. And my Mother is my biggest support she work as a unit secretary with medical training in the neurological unit at a kessler rehab center. Because of that she is very worried about me and my condition. Other than her there really isn't anyone. Noone else understands fully.

Also, I will look into my schools sports insurance and talk to my trainer to see if they will still cover medical needs. I don't know if they will. They gave me trouble about initially covering it. I will also look into multiple impact syndrome. I also do believe I have trouble recalling memories more so than I don't remember them.
Mark in Idaho I thank you for your advice at the moment I can not quit driving I have had no problems with it. I no longer drive with music or radio on and do not answer my phone at all this help with my concentration. And you are correct I have too much on my plate for my condition. I also suffer from Fibromyalgia and OCD. I take on too much and get very frustrated with all of it. I have a very high stress level that I have yet figured out how to lower. I constantly think and worry about everything my mind never really stops turning. Which makes sense as to why it is hard for me to focus on memories. I never "take a break". I have started putting important dates and meetings into my phone so it alerts me. I also have a planner that I put everything into as well.
I have talked to my mother a few times about having a neuropsych assessment and she thinks I should as well. I'm very worried that come fall I will again be unable to finish school due to this.

Hi,

Thanks for sharing. My daughter also loves school and is highly capable. She has had to adjust her goals since her injury but has found some peace with it.

She is now taking 4 classes part time through a private online school (high school) and they are very supportive of her limited work ability. When she feels able to do some work, she can choose which subject to work on. This flexibility really lowers her stress level. There are weeks where she can't do anything, and 1-3 hours is the most that she will work in one day.

She is accepting that she will graduate high school late, and with a less rigorous course load. There is some freedom in thinking about this as a small price to pay for lower stress and healing time. For her, pushing too hard to do school work makes her symptoms worse.

We have found part time, and online courses to be a way to make progress toward the end goal. I just wanted you to know that there are many options to help you reach your goals while healing. Also, your school may be able to give you some ideas and support.

Thank you for your input. Unfortunately my college will not help and I have been set back enough already. In HS due to my Fibromyalgia diagnosis I had to withdraw and miss a year. I then went away to a 4 year college but after 2 years had to return home and go to my 2 year CC due to medical problems again. I now have missed one year from my CC due to my head and I can not afford to take more time off or go slower. I should have my BA right now but I don't even have my Associates. I'm very glad that your daughter has found a way to work with it. I hope one day the world will let me do the same.

So I spoke with my trainer and he is going to find out if there is anyone on campus who can help me if not he's going to refer me to a doctor and then we'll go from there. He also said that the sports insurance should still cover it. Although that isn't definate. I should hear back from him tomorrow about it all and I hope that he can figure something out for me and I realllyyy hope that the insurance will cover it.

JayStar,

You experience with tests and such sounds like what i went through in high school as a sophomore and than again as a freshman in college. I was a National Honor Society member with good SAT scores but when I was symptomatic, I struggled miserably.

As PCSMother said, the reduced course load will make a big difference. It will also allow your brain to heal and maintain some level of consistent condition. The roller coaster of academic capability from pushing too hard will likely cause poor grades plus prolonged PCS.

You would likely benefit from medication to reduce your OCD. I have been on OCD meds for 12 years. The mental overload I experience without the meds makes life very difficult.

I started making changes to my lifestyle at 21 when my mother made some observations during a visit. I have continued retuning my lifestyle over the years. Taking a slower approach help me in two ways; It helped me be productive and it reduced the stress I put on people close to me.

A NeuroPsych Assessment will go a long way toward helping you understand these issues.

Glad to hear your team insurance may be able to help.

I wish I could remember which NT member came back recently and related how when she finally stopped her life to have time for quiet rest that she finally started healing. She had been reluctant to simplify her life at first and struggled with ongoing symptoms.

If I can find her post, I link to it on this thread.

I found the post. Here is the link: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread169893.html

FYI, If you use the "Post Reply" button at the lower left, it will not quote the previous post.

My best to you.

Mark in Idaho,

Thank you. I will consider loweing my course load after the fall I have 4 farily easy classes left until I transfer out. And after that I will hopefully go to a school that can accomodate me. As for now I'm playing the waiting game. I hear back from my trainer tomorrow about what he can do. Most likely I will get sent back to the neurologist then onto a neuropsychologist. I have been trying to destress a little bit more. Just this week I went from one very stressful job to a less stressful one. Its a big cut in pay but I think Its worth it. I look at the post you linked. I'm just so stubborn and have problems changing my plans for life but hey ya have to do what ya have to do. Right?

Have you talked to the ADA office at your school? ANY school is required by law to provide reasonable accommodation for your disability.

To get any help with school I need a detailed doctor letter stating results found and what he "reccomends". I delt with a similar issue in HS and my HS refused to give me any assistance other then igetting an extra 5 minutes in between classes. My CC isn't easy to work with. They offered no help last fall which is why I withdrew. Teachers are anything but understanding people think I'm just a bad, lazy student who wants to get by easy. Which is not the case. Its nearly impossible to get any teachers or counselors to understand.

The school disabilities office usually focuses on access for those in wheelchairs, etc. and deaf and blind issues. Sometimes, they can provide note takers.

They don't know how to handle cognitive, memory and over-stimulation issues. The accommodations that will help would be:
a quiet place to take tests
extra time to take tests
sound amplification head phones will help you focus on lecture material
recording lectures and taking pictures of white-board/black-board information

A good high resolution and zoom camera will allow you to take pictures and/or videos of lectures. A very good value is the Olympus SZ-12 that is currently on sale at Staples for $169. It will record hours of lectures including the sound with an 8 gig SD card. Then you can watch the lecture again on a laptop.

Some times you need to just quietly tell an instructor you need these "reasonable accommodations. " You follow up by saying that according to the Americans with Disabilities Act, they are required to provide these reasonable accommodations. If they reject your request, you can suggest having your attorney contact the instructor and/or school.

You may want to have this information prepared in written form. When you hand them a letter, they often are quicker to take you serious. Getting the NeuroPsych Assessment report will help support your requests.

You need to seriously consider your future with stress as a major limiting factor. A degree and career in a stressful industry is not a good idea. I had to start making changes in my career goals and activities back in 1977 when I was only 22.

A low stress life will serve you and any prospective family very well.

My best to you.

I'll be going to a new neurologist on tusday! I'm writing all my "symptoms" down and keeping a journal over the wekend so I can give exact example of what I'm talking about.