my grades are actually good right now. except i got a 70% on my last algebra test...which normally isnt too bad but i noticed on one of the questions i got wrong i hadnt even answered it. i had even gotten the right answer i can remember because i couldnt remember how to work it out and then i realized a really easy way to do it so i had gotten it. but instead of circling the right answer i circled the number of the problem. so i circled 26 rather than a, b, c, or d. i felt like an idiot.

oh my symptoms vary so much i can hardly remember how they usually are. i can just pretty much ignore them if they arent too bad but sometimes they are so painful and overwhelming i just want to curl up in a ball. which obviouly i cant because im in school and if i go home my parents would wonder what was up so i just try to deal with it. they can be pretty bad sometimes though. most of the things ive noticed that make them worse are: not enough sleep is the biggest, if i dont eat enough, when i concentrate really hard. those always make it worse along with a lot of movement and loud noises like the lunch room at school usually a lot of times strenuous work outs dont help much either. so in other words it just really varies.

oh man all the symptoms i have. ill just do the ones i can remember from today. very very nasesous at various times, headaches of course, dizziness, slow processing, some confusion, possibly syncope or seizures i dont know what we dont have a diagnoses or anything, oh i got a new one today my feet and legs were tingling a lot really bad, fatigue, some memory problems, the white outs, everything at the same volume i dont know what thats called, some blurred vision, oh my temper was really short today anything annoyed me pretty much. i think that about all overall though it was a pretty good day.

i do ok now i dont think im the player i used to be. i can have good days im just not consistent anymore i dont know i guess its just hard to play and concentrate on practice when im just focusing on not throwing up everywhere or passing out. i dont know. i would like to play either soccer or basketball in college. id ont know which one yet but hopefully i can well see. even if its not for a scholarship or anything or just at a small school i just want to play some. oh well well see i guess. im thinking it wont happen now but i still hope though. im not that good i just had one good game that kinda kept me wanting to keep playing because i want to have o game like that again.

i know ill keep a symptom log for a few days and see how that goes. does that sound ok?

oh yea ive watched that one before. i think if i was going to get second impact syndrome i wouldve gotten it already though. it makes me think though. i kinda want to be a trainer i dont know. and it makes me think about how im not the only one that lies about my symptoms.

My understanding that second impact syndrome could happen any time you receive a 2nd hit when the first concussion hasn't healed. Based off your symptoms, it sounds like you are still at risk. Please be careful.

soccer,

There are two different issues you need to understand. Second Impact Syndrome is related to the catastrophic damage done when a second concussion overlaps a previous concussion causing damage far worse that the sum of the two impacts. These can be deadly.

A good example would be snowboard half-pipe rider Kevin Pearce. He suffered his second concussion three weeks after his previous concussion. He was close to death. He is just now learning how to walk. His life will forever be changed.

There is no way you can predict if a second impact is going to have this level of life threatening damage.

What you have experienced is called Multiple Impact Syndrome. This is when each successive impact causes more damage but none are of a life threatening level of impact force. This usually includes an increasing sensitivity to impacts.

Many of us here suffer from this. We are now at the level of being susceptible to a concussion from moving our heads to fast. For me, I cannot quickly turn my head from side to side as in "No." I also cannot ride in a car on a bumpy road. I have to be careful when I dry my hair after a shower. If I towel it to vigorously, I get concussion symptoms.

So, you have two things to think about:

Will your next head impact result in a Second Impact Syndrome with its life threatening or life changing results?

or Will you next concussion or few minor bumps leave you with a brain that is sensitive to even slight or mild bumps?

I had endured many mild bumps with good recoveries. My last concussion was so mild that unless I had previous learned how to notice the mildest symptoms, I would have said that it was not a concussion. All I did was step off an eight inch sidewalk curb and land on my left foot with my knee locked. If it wasn't for the taste of chewing aluminum foil in my mouth, I would have said it was not even close to a concussion.

Within just a few days, I was struggling to drive a car.

Something you need to understand is that concussions don't manifest symptoms right away in many cases. It can take a few days for symptoms to show up. It takes a few days to weeks for the damaged brain cells to die.

I find that most of my symptoms will peak at about three to six weeks.

By the time I was 18, I had suffered 4 concussions. The first was in third grade. Then a bad one in 4th grade. A minor one between 5th and 6th grade. Another very mild one in 10th grade heading a soccer ball (at least this is what my doctor and I think). This is when my most serious academic problems started.

I had another very mild concussion (5th) the second semester of college with serious academic results. 1974

Since then I have had eight more. Only one was bad enough to cause me to need to take a short break, after I stood up under a low beam. (1996) After this concussion, I became extremely motion sensitive. I get sea sick very easily now. Before this concussion, I could tolerate deep sea fishing waves easily. Not any more.

You will never know what head impact will change your life. There is ample evidence to show that your concussion history will raise your likeliness of Alzheimer's Disease as early as in your 40's by two fold to as much as 18 fold. NFL football player with multiple concussion histories have 18 times greater risk of Alzheimer's Disease. Most of them develop it during their 40's and 50's.

Listen to the mom's on this forum who struggle to care for their families. The Mild Cognitive Impairment that comes from multiple concussions causes many couples and families to break apart. The strain is just too much. Those spouses who stay with their brain injured spouse are true saints.

I have a brain injured friend in Indiana who is struggling to keep his family together. Hopefully, my saint of a wife can help his wife understand how to live with, love and support her husband despite his struggles.

As the saying goes, Past result are not an indicator of future performance.

Mark - excellent posts. I know it's A LOT of work for you to organize and type out your thoughts. I just hope Soccer knows how much effort you're expending trying to help her. (We all like you, Soccer kid.)

Nancy, you're an excellent mom! Your daughter is so blessed to have you looking out for her interests when her injury makes it impossible for her to even recognize them. I know that must be frustrating for you, so on behalf of all us TBI folks, thanks for being there and "getting it."

Cheers

yea im doing a research project on concussions right now and im finding a lot of stories that really make me feel bad for them. so far ive found 2 especially one is a 16 year old girl who was on her way to probably playing basketball on a full ride scholarship to a d-1 school. she got a few concussions playing and since those has gotten many more that because of the multiple impact syndrome she gets them so easily now. i think it said she was up to 11 now. she has so many problems now like not being able to even go to school. i dont want to end up like that. it makes me think but i cant make up my mind.

another one is a pro football player who is retired and estimates he had over probably 100 concussions during his career. he said his routine for 2 years was to maybe so see his kids for 15 minutes then just go lay in the dark. i know how that feels and i cant imagine doing it for 2 years of my life.

why is that he got so many and had these effects and i had these problems too after just my first one?

It was not the 100 concussions that caused his problems. It was more likely caused by the first 10 or 20 concussions. He was probably a lineman. They smack helmets together and get many more moderate grade concussions.

You have an additional problem of being young. Your brain is still trying to mature. This makes it more sensitive. Think of it like trying to work out with a pulled muscle. When your brain tries to continue growing and maturing, it has the same stresses as if it were injured. This makes it more susceptible to injury and dysfunction.

Plus, you are at a time when you demand a lot from your brain. School puts a big demand. Lack of sleep does so too. Poor nutrition can be the biggest. The brain consumes a large percentage of your bodily nutrition. A damaged brain needs even more.

So, it is like you are burning both ends of the candle against the middle.

But that is just my opinion. Your research will be more important.

Soccer - Here is another great video that the CDC put together about concussions. Check it out if you already haven't: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIqZDbk3M40

is it possible to just all of a sudden get better? i knkow its kind of a weird question cause usually recovery takes a long time but ive had a good last couple of days. i know its hard to tell since its been about 2 days but i havent had 2 consecutive days like this since my last realps/concussion whatever. i was going to start keeping a symptom log but really i didnt have much to write down today. and if i did it didnt last very long so i dont know. and i felt better at practice than since i can really remember since i came back in the last few weeks.

do you think i could really be starting to recover. i took a 3 day weekend easy so could that have helped at all? i just hope its not like just a couple days or something what does everyone think?

You're young. It's possible, but not likely that you're completely better.

Write down your symptoms like the doc asked, even write down you took it easy for those 3 days and what symptoms were lessened. You have to write it down accurately as it's occuring or pretty close to the time in order for it to be used to your best interest.

It needs to be about a month long before you get a better idea. Write as much detail as you can, without adding to or taking away what is really happening. Activities, meds, foods, sleep pattern, and any other noteworthy events.

The 3 days could have helped a lot. Should show you that you need rest to heal.