Had bad concussion nine months ago and still don't feel I'm back to preconcussion me.
 

Back in April I fell 40 feet and was in the hospital for about 4-5 days and have no memory of almost week after it and I was told I could have side effects from my concussion for up to a year and the headaches went away about four or five months afterwards. I also would easily get confused or lost while driving to places I obviously should've known how to get to. Since I fell I've increased anxiety and/or panick like feelings everyday and those haven't gotten better but have just become more constant. Ever since the concussion i find myself constantly irritated or frustrated most days. Also, I still have memory issues, just remember anything for long or get easily confused almost regularly. I was just wondering if this could be side effects from a pretty bad concussion nine months ago. Just confused and frustrated.

Hi and welcome to NeuroTalk. Sounds like a pretty bad concussion. Did they record your GCS at the hospital?

The symptoms you mention are common with mTBI. All brain injuries are different and they heal on their own schedule, but in the PCS world 9 months really isn't all that long a time. Rest, good nutrition, no alcohol and limited caffeine are normally recommended for PCS patients.

Did you have any therapies after your hospital stay? I found speech and occupational therapy helpful in restoring memory and cognitive function. If you are employed and have medical insurance a full neuro-psychological assessment by a licensed clinical neuropsychologist can pinpoint deficit areas and steer you to specific therapies that may be helpful.

Best to you.

For what it's worth (recognizing that everyone's experience is different), I am almost 20 months in and am continuing to make significant gains, albeit gradually. If I was feeling about 70% at the nine-month mark, I'm now about 80-85%. Which might not seem like a huge gain, but I am doing so much better than I was -- each of those percentile gains has improved my quality of life. I now feel pretty decent much of the time.

Hang in there, be patient and don't get discouraged. Keep being smart about your recovery and "do the do's" that Mark and others on this site recommend. Rest, nutrition, and avoiding overexertion / overstimulation are key.

I'm another long-termer. My concussion was two years ago this month. My best recovery happened about 18 months after my concussion when I learned and took time to implement concerted nutrition, exercise, and other strategies to strengthen my brain. At nine months I was still a pretty big mess.

And, at two years post-concussion, I still don't feel I'm back to 100% of the old me. I would put myself at about 90% (though 90% may be the new 100%).

I think you still may have a long ways to go, and there is still plenty of room for improvement. Don't feel that you are trapped as you are now forever.