Most of you have already read this post in new member introductions but someone mentioned i should also paste it in this forum thanks.

I have a long story for everyone but I really need some help because I don't know what to do.

I suffered a concussion in January while in a basketball. I don't remember it at all but they said what probably happened was I dove for a ball, where I hit my head, and then a girl landed on my head causing another impact with the floor. I'm not really sure though. I didn't tell anybody it had happened because I didn't want to sit out. It finally got so bad that i was failing almost every class because of very bad short-term memory loss. Then at practice one day I passed out while we were doing sprints. My coaches made me go talk to the trainer where she said it sounded like a concussion. She scheduled a doctor's appoinment for me with a concussion specialist and made me sit out the rest of the practices until i saw him.

I went to the doctor's and took an Impact Test to determine how bad the concussion had been. The average person usually scores in the 50th percentile-I scored less than 1% in every category. I was pulled out of school and sent home to rest. I retook the test five more times until I finally got a high enough test score to return to school. I got right back into school and sports like I had never been away. I did alright for a few days, then the symptoms came back. I would nearly pass out during every workout, get tunnel vision, be very confused, light-headed, and a very strange sensation where I essentially "white out". My grades started to fall again and my parents found out i was having problems-I hadn't told them. It wasn't as bad as before so I stayed in school getting assistance whenever needed but I wasn't allowed to do any sports. I was out of sports for four months total then i lied and told them I was fine because I couldn't stand being out anymore (I know it was a stupid thing to do).

I had been doing alright until recently-it's gotten so bad I'm rethinking telling them because I think something is seriously wrong. Here is a list of the symptoms I currently have problems with: 1.My memory is getting worse again 2. I "white out" during strenous workouts 3. I can't focus during class 4. I get confused easily 5. I have bad mood swings which can be from all of a sudden feeling depressed to literally the next second feeling hostile towards my best friends 6. Very tired all day 7. Tingling in my hands and numbness in my feet 8. Feeling like I will pass out again 9. Occasional ringing in my ears 10. Feeling restless like I have to move 11. Very vivid dreams 12. Some nausea 13. Sometimes I get very dizzy or the feeling that everything around me is swaying 14. Sometimes a bright light or very loud noise aggravates the headaches 15. Feeling like I'm floating 16. The newest and in my opinion worst is the headaches, I've had constant headaches since I recieved a concussion it just depended on how bad they were but recently I have been getting some, that after some research sound like ice pick headaches. They are very concentrated in one spot on the head and is a stabbing pain unlike anything I've ever experienced. In the research it sounded like it should happen once and then go away but for me it lasts a few seconds then a few seconds of relief then it comes back just as bad or worse and continues that cycle all day. I don't know if I should be worried about it or not. My parents are starting to notice my low grades and want to know what's going on. They might take me back to the doctor but I don't want to tell them what's is really happening (I don't want to sit out the rest of the soccer season).

Sorry for such a long post I just wanted to give all the information hoping there would be an explanation or someone else is also experiencing these symptoms. Thanks a lot for taking the time to read it and any help would be greatly appreciated. Any advice?

First and foremost, STOP PLAYING SOCCER!!!! Sorry to be blunt, but your soccer days are over. If you were to head the ball in practice or a game, or worse - get kicked in the head or smack heads with someone else, you could cause more serious damage than you already have.

Second, you gotta tell your parents what is going on. There are ways to rehabilitate your brain out there, but they can't help you do this unless you inform them on what is going on.

Get in to see a neurologist who is familiar with head injuries. Not all of them are - actually, probably 85% don't know anything about head injuries - so make sure he/she has experience treating this type of injury. You need to get your head scanned to make sure there isn't any internal bleeding, clots, rips, etc...

Look into neurofeedback for rehabilitation. Just google "neurofeedback" and your "city" and you should find plenty of therapists in your area who do this. Make sure they have experience treating head injuries.

There are also other things you should be doing such as vitamin B supplementation, eating lots of protein, Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, etc.

The good news is that you are still young and your brain is still developing, which means you have a good chance for recovery. But you can't do anything unless you tell your parents what is going on.

And please - stop engaging in activities that increase your chances of hitting your head.

Do you think ill ever be able to play soccer again?

Well, not until they find a cure for brain injuries. However, I have heard of professional athletes returning to their sport after they took a few years off to recover. I believe Larry Johnson did this after taking two years off from a serious concussion he got while playing. However, please don't let that be any indication for you returning to soccer. For all we know, he could be damaging his brain by playing but just doesn't care b/c he is getting payed millions to play.

Like I have posted before, with the advent of stem cell therapy, the cure is around the corner - probably only 5 - 10 years away, conservatively speaking.

One day, we may all be treated the same as cars are...get an injury, walk into a clinic, have them extract bone marrow cells, induce them to your specific need and - blammo, just like a new organ.
(for those of you who have lost your sense of humor, of course I'm joking here, but you get the idea.)

You've got to stop playing ALL CONTACT SPORTS< NOW!
(That's been mentioned to you before, hasn't it?)

There will no cure for TBI in my lifetime, mine happened a decade ago.
I'm glad I'm alive,
but,
I've lost my family, my home(s), my business's, my dreams, my fortune, care for me to go on?

I wouldn't count on any 'cure' until it's proven out, and that's a long way off.
Even if we had it, it would not bring back lost memories and such.
I just don't see it happening.

Please, read up on it, you've got an entirely new, unplanned life now.
Forget the old one, and learn how to deal with what's happened.

I'm not trying to be rude, or unfeeling.
I KNOW, so take it from one who does?

You're done with sports, and anything that's close to that type of activity!
Your job now, is to try to heal.

Pete

My apologies for posting such a controversial statement. Before this gets out of hand, let me retract that statement.

OMG, Soccer! Your story is almost identical to my daughter's! When she was 14 she went for a rebound in basketball, got tripped, hit her head against the floor and then a fellow player fell on top of her head, giving her another impact. Then, three weeks later, a classmate was retrieving his full backpack from on top of the lockers and accidentally hit her in the head.

I'm going to cut and paste from another entry what helped her, but I first must reiterate what others have told you above, and that is to avoid all contact sports until at least all of your symptoms have cleared up. As a mom, I knew how devastating this can be, as I saw what my daughter went through, but it's crucial to your recovery. Your brain is now sensitized and even a small impact that would have been benign before your injury can set you back.

That being said, find some extracurricular activity other than sport into which you can channel your energies. For her it was chorus. Yeah, it's not cool like sports, and that was a big adjustment for her, but she has developed a true passion for it and has amassed a great group of friends.

Anyway, this is what helped her:

(1) EFFEXOR -- Technically an antidepressant, but in small doses helps to re-establish nerve pathways in the brain (She first used Elavil, but Effexor has fewer side effects); (2) ACUPUNCTURE; (3) OSTEOPATHY; and (4) HOMEOPATHY.
She didn't do all of these concurrently; for example, when #2 didn't seem to help any more she moved on to a practitioner who combined #'s 3 and 4.

I hope this helps. Best of luck to you and keep us posted.

Hi Soccer

I've never heard of the IMPACT test. It wasn't around when I had all my injuries. What is it?

I have a feeling that, even though I started deteriorating after the worst of my concussions at age 15 (hit by car), and lost my sense of smell and started with central apnea, everything got much worse after I did martial arts for 7 years ending when I was 45. I studied Aikido, which involves being thrown onto the mat a lot. You're trained in how to fall, but you are tumbling and slapping and hitting the mat all the time. I must have been thrown hundreds of times. While it taught me a lot, spiritually, there just wasn't information about aggravating previous injuries with this kind of thing.

Believe me, the person you will be when you are 50 will thank you for saving some brain matter until then. You could spend most of year 55 looking for your car keys... :-).

gershonb

The ImPACT test is a computerized version of a limited neuropsych assessment. The software and testing licenses are purchased and installed on a computer. It is best when the athlete does a start of season baseline. Then, after a head impact, they can tests the athlete to see if there are cognitive problems. If so, the athlete is held out from play. Once the IMPACT test returns to a higher percentage of normal, the athlete is allowed to return to play.

I studied the system after it was featured on a news report here in the Boise area. It appears to be used primarily to support a coach or trainer's decision to hold a athlete out from play. It gives objective evidence of cognitive dysfunction that can convince athletes and their parents that continued play is a risk. It allows return to play too early by my understanding. It also helps with insurance claims by having an 'objective' way to decide return to play issues.

The primary weakness of the ImPact Test is its inability to predict second impact risks. It only measures limited neuro-psychological performance. The developers even state that it should be used along with other data such as location and intensity of the impact.

It primary value is to determine if an athlete has a cognitive dysfunction that puts the athlete at additional risk of another head injury due to poor reaction times, poor judgment skills, or poor motor coordination.

These neuropsych parameters can appear normal but the brain can still be very susceptible to a second impact risk. After a concussion, the brain will ALWAYS be more susceptipble to a second impact, even decades later.

Second or multiple impact risks are the important issue to be considered before returning an athlete to play. The research shows that concussions received subsequent to a first concussion to far more damage relative to the impact force. This damage can increase at an exponential rate for some brains.

Some researchers have even started using a term of "sub-concussion impact" to define a less than concussion force that still causes brain damage. These sub-concussion impacts can be very damaging, especially under two circumstances: closely following a previous concussion and when the sub-concussion forces are repetitive as in a ball heading drill in soccer or helmet to helmet contact in football.

So, the ImPACT test is to be used to determine a minimum level of recovery, not a safe level of recovery.

I believe it creates a false sense of security about return to play decisions.

Man i hate this test i think overall ive done it 10 times. my reaction time has never been bad in fact ive scored 100 and 99 percent through out the multiple times ive taken it. what is usually low is my memory score i have scored less than 1 percent many times. its frustrating but well see what happens next time i take it and i really do hope to be able to play basketball this year im hoping at least