Wondering---post concussive syndrome
 

Hi! My 12 yr old son plays hockey and took an elbow to the head, which pushed him into the area where the boards and plexiglas meet. He got off the ice and was back on in about two minutes, so we just chalked it up to a nasty hit (and player). He complained that night of a slight headache, but felt fine in the morning and went to his baseball tournament. During the game, my husband went over to him and rubbed his head to congratulate him on a nice hit, and my son winced and backed away, saying his head hurt to the touch. We checked the hockey helmet, but there was only a slight mark on it and no cracks. This continued for a couple of days, and his pediatrician said it was just a bruise.

I should also mention that this appt was a followup because he had a virus the week before. Also, he has grown over 3 inches in the past 9 months and seems to have added another inch or two in the past two weeks! During the next week or so, he was extremely fatigued and had headaches. I contacted the dr again, who ordered a CT scan, as well as mono and blood tests. All came back normal. The dr said it just seemed like the fatigue, headaches, and virus all seemed to be related to the excessive growth he was going thru (we also had to buy him new shoes and skates during that time period (1.5 sizes!), which weakens his immune system. This all happened within the past month. Then, the other day he came home from a friend's house and said that he was having some intermittent double vision and last night he left baseball practice because he was having difficulty seeing the ball as it was blurry.

This prompted another call to the pediatrician, who said that he needed to see an eye dr--whom he saw this morning. She found nothing to indicate a reason why he would be seeing double. My son has sometimes been overly dramatic with illness, so my husband and I are having difficulty trusting the accuracy of his ailments. The extreme fatigue and headaches have gone away during the last 4-5 days, but I am so worried about him!! I've been reading all day about the post-concussive syndrome and can't help but wonder if this is what he has?!! I spoke with the pediatrician again, and she said that I should wait a few days to see if the "double vision" clears up, and if not I should have him seen by a neurologist.

I'm so worried, and I can't help but wonder if this is all a big coincidence with the timing of everything else going on. He's eating well and otherwise is very healthy. I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts on this. Thanks for having a place where I can get this off my chest.

Hi hockeymom, and welcome to NeuroTalk. I'm glad you found your way here.

If it were me, I'd be tempted to get to a neurologist sooner than soon. It sounds to me like he suffered a concussion. I've had a couple of those and one was as a child. It took awhile to recover from it, but I remember the head pain and the blurred vision. I had another as an adult in a car accident. Same thing. Terrible headaches and blurred vision which eventually cleared up.

I'm certainly no expert, but isn't it normal for a child to have sudden growth spurts? I knew when my daughter was as she would get terrible 'growing pains' most especially in her legs.

Yes it could all be coincidence. But shame on the p-doc saying he just had a bump on the head. It would seem concussion is more on the spot!

If you haven't already found it, here is a link to Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Concussion Syndrome. http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=92

I hope you'll give us an update on how your son is doing. :hug:

Hi, I would definately get him into a neurologist. And I would also have him rest more. It really sounds like a post concussion syndrome. And I'm sorry to say that with this the main thing you can do is to let him rest and to wait it out. And its best if he doesn't do to much to overdue it.

So I wouldn't have him doing things that make him overtired. So when he takes himself out of baseball practice and other things then he is really doing the best thing for himself.

Please come to the post concussion room there are many of us that talk in their. And we have a few that have kids that have had concussions and
now have the syndrome.

Donna

Update
 

Good morning and thank you for replying. Yesterday, my son told us it was getting better, but we saw him watching tv with his head turned to the side. He's only looking out of one eye. Other than this, he's healthy, but is very tired! This morning, he insisted that he was not seeing double, and he insisted that we try throwing him a baseball. My husband threw him two--he caught the first one, with his head turned to the side, but when my husband told him to put his head straight, he caught the ball in the eye!! I'm such a wreck inside over this!!!!!! He really thinks he's looking straight, but his head is turned to the side. I'm calling for a neuro referral now.

:( :confused:

Hi, Hockeymom, welcome to NeuroTalk. I agree that an appointment with a neurologist can only be a good thing. Worst case, your son is sent home with a clean bill of neurological health and that would be dandy.

Several of my friends' kids have gone through the sudden, dramatic growth spurts and experienced multiple body changes sumultaneously. All survived it, but definitely had some strange patches that included growing pain, mood swings, childish neediness, anger, some confusion, bouts of lightheadedness, fatigue, and many other things. Add hormones to the mix and it's quite a bag of tricks.

I don't mean to trivialize your concerns, I do believe the rink whollop may have racked him. The head-bounce within a helmet can be as devastating as a blunt-force trauma.

Please do see the neuro, and please do visit the concussion talks. I wish you well.