4 Concussions Later, I need your help.
 

I'm Zack and I'm an avid athlete in high school. I have had my fair share of concussions in life playing the likes of football and baseball. My most recent football has put me at the crossroads of my life and I need some of your intelligent advice.

I have had 4 concussions since I was was 7, and I am now 15. When I was seven I had a severe concussion. Missed 2 weeks of school, and a month of baseball. I lost consciousness for about 5 minutes, and do not remember any of the 30 minute ride to the hospital. When I was 11, I again received a concussion, this time snow boarding. Be it the beginning of winter break I missed no school but was inactive for just over a week. This time last year, when I was 14, I was playing football and took a knee to the side of my head. It knocked me out of 3 days of school and I missed 4 games. Then again this year, 2 and a half weeks ago I was blind sided and hit in the head at football practice. I missed the next day of school, Friday, and the following Monday. I still haven't been cleared to this point.

My dilema now is whether or not I can continue to play football after these 4 concussions, and if I can, what would I be risking going back if I got another one? Thank you for all your help.

CountyKid,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. You have come to a great place to ask your question.

The first question I have for you is simple. How have your coaches and trainers responded to your concussions?

What kind of concussion program does your school have?
Does your team have any rules to reduce concussions during practice?
Does your league have any rules to reduce concussions during games?
What have your parents said about your concussion history?
Are they concerned about you continuing to play or not play?

What do you hope to do to make a living?
How are your grades now?
Were your grades better in the past?
What symptoms are you still having?
What symptoms have you had in the past?

I could tell you that my opinion is you should not play any more collision sports but you would likely not listen. If you are like most young athletes, you want to know how to continue playing but reduce your risk.

Nobody can predict what your next concussion will do to your brain. There are likely scenarios but that is it.

I know what multiple concussions have done to my life and only one of my concussions was serious. I hope I can help you learn enough to make your own decision in a responsible way.

My best to you.

Hey Zach,

I am 26 and have been recovering from my concussion since I was 23. Please do not play football again. I have been in pain and have been mostly at home unable to do much else.

The thing is that if you get hurt again you will not only have to give up football, but you will have to give up all the other things too. Can't go out, hang out with your friends,travel, normal stuff.

I was hit by a kayaker when I was surfing the first time. It was serious, so that is why I'm taking so long to get better. I tried to surf again and got a small concussion from a small wave. I thought there is no way that I can get hurt by that but guess what. There is nothing worse that the feeling I had when I realized I would have to go through the worst recovery parts again.

I have been to a lot of doctors and only one has said 'This is very serious'. I think that you need to have that talk.

Please take care.

Agreed - I had just finished school and less than a week later I fell and hit my head - I've been stuck at home for about 8 months now. My social life is gone, I can't work, can't go out.

Hitting your head is serious business.

I used to love watching "fail videos." Me and my buddies would put them on the big screen and laugh at people falling off bikes and skateboards.

Now I find I feel a little sick to my stomach watching them. I can't help but wonder if those people are suffering long term consequences from those terrible falls. I can't watch skateboarding at all with out pangs of regret (its how I got my injury)

If I were you I would leave on your on volition while you can. It will be less painful that being stuck "on the dark side" and looking back filled with regret.

reply to your posting...
 

I truly think you need to stop the physical sports that is causing any form of damage to your brain...And yes, I mean, "Damage." I believe your causing Neuro-connections damages to your brain when your head gets hit hard. Your remember Mohammad Ali, right? Well, take a look at his condition before he died, from his head getting hit from boxing. His condition was caused by the direct hits his head sustained from other boxers when he fought. And his head was hit on the both sides, the forehead (frontal-lobe), etc thru boxing hits....Well, find some sort of online video showing him talking on TV and you can see his brain acquired alot of damage. Remember, in those days not much was known about TBI. What we know now is Fact.....I have TBI since 2008 from an ATV Cycle accident. I have Severe TBI due to the fact I was in a deep coma for 3 months in Sept 2008 from my accident. I almost died many times while in coma...and I also had 2-3 strokes while in my coma. Find something else to do...sports wise....the hard hitting on your head is causing neuro-damage of many types throughout many parts of your brain...think about it...the brain sits inside our skull like slightly-hardened jello....it shakes and rattles inside our skulls when you get hit hard....Put something inside a jar and shake it back and forth....Basically, our brain does the same thing...sort of.....The problem is, our brain gray matter contains approximately 1 billion cells which are extremely damaging due to injury. Believe me, unless you want to end up sort of like Ali, do something else in sports..okay? It's your call....Your choice....Do the right thing..I'm sure your parents would be happy you do! Good luck!

Muhammad Ali is not dead. His is alive but definitely not living life. He is 70 years old. But nobody wants to live 20 years like Ali's last 20 years.

I watched my father deteriorate from ischemic dementia and see many parallels between his progressing to death that I see in NFL and NHL players with CTE. He deteriorated for 20 years after having to retire early due to his brain condition.

Hey Zach. My name is Wade and I'm 17. About a year ago i suffered 3 concussions in one football game. I somehow did not lose consciousness but i was out of school for a month and had a memory loss for about 4 months. My football career was ended. I know its rough not being able to play and it can be more frustrating then anyone knows. But I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone in this hard time of your life. I'm sure sports are a big part of your life as they are in mine but ive learned that there are more important things in life and the risk of damaging yourself for life is not worth it. I pray that God be with you through this struggle.

yo country dude. im 19 and yeah its horrible havn a concussion. all u want is to do is go back to normal. but your young which is a good indicator that you can and will go back to normal.

Ive done substantial research and read tons of ancedotal reports. alot of people start feeling better right around 3 - 4.5 months. Not everyone but hopefully that can give you some hope. I know its a long span and it doesnt mean your completely better but you get the point haha.

Other than that id say stay away from any concact/high impact/high speeds sports. another concussion could possibly mean you wont get better

help please
 

I'm in kind of the same situation...

I'm currently in 10th grade (15 years old) and in 7th grade i got a major concussion snowboarding, i was knocked out for sure, i only remember 10 second bits until i got to the hospital. I fully recovered from that concussion.

This year on about august 30th or 31st I got another concussion playing hockey and it was tryouts so i kept playing and i felt back to normal after around 3 weeks. On the 4th week i got punched in the cage and my headaches returned, worse than ever. Finally i went to the doctor and he diagnosed me with a concussion so I didnt play or do any activity for 2 weeks, then i began to return to play and hit my head during practice, so for the next 3 weeks i didnt do anything. about a month after (2 weeks ago) i got cleared by the doctor, he said my remaining headaches were from a sugar imbalance from being inactive for so long. so i started working out again and the headaches stopped.

So then i returned to play about a week and a half ago and in a game i was tripped and hit the back of my head on the ice, and after the doctor said that the headaches were from whiplash, and that he is completely sure I'm fine, so i played more games and never got hit to the head, and so i thought i was finally completely better. but my head felt really tender, like when you put pressure on a bruise.

Three days ago in a game I was hit in the side of the head, not really hard, but after i got the same feeling that the back of my head had, just not as bad. Then, yesterday, during warm ups i headed a soccer ball (it was slightly flat so it gave lots) and during the game (about an hour later) and i got the same tenderness, and saw spots for a short time (5 mins max).

yesterdays game was pretty rough and i hit more than i usually do, because i was cleared and mostly in shape, but after the tenderness and headaches came back pretty bad, in all the spots that ive recently been hit (back from being tripped, side from getting hit, and front from the soccer ball) and have continued into today.


I find that eating still helps, probably because my dugar isnt completely normal again, but I'm just really scared that these symptoms are something worse and that the tenderness is a sign of something very bad. It's scary to think that I might have to quit hockey, and im just looking for some opinions.

Should i stop playing?

Why is my head so easily hurt?

What can i do to help my condition?

I just dont want to have problems for the rest of my life and it's beginnning to feel like i'll never be back to normal again.

Wow, after so many hits to the head, and concussions..why haven't you stopped? I've had two, the symptoms from my first one only lasted a day. Now, this second one has been a pain. I've had to put a pause on life so that I can recover faster, and simply because life is so much harder with these symptoms. I don't think i'd be willing to put myself in a risky situation after what i've gone through these past three months. It's not worth it. Personally, I think you should stop playing. It's going to be tough but it's better than causing more damage that could potentially lead to years of health issues.