I was diagnosed with PCS five months ago and have dealt with the ringing in the ears and migraines, as well as minor balance issues (I just kind of topple over) when I have a migraine.

I got my concussion when I was playing in a soccer game and someone shot the ball and hit me in my left temple. Apparently I crumbled to the ground for a short while before I got back up insisting I could finish the game. It was my first concussion ever and I never expected, or even knew about, PCS.

Now I'm finishing up my senior year (that's right! I'm still in high school!) and struggling to keep my grades up. It's hard to deal with an illness in school that nobody knows about, or thinks you're making up.

I'm so glad I found all these stories and little pieces of advice so I can finally feel like I'm not the only person in the world dealing with this stuff.

I agree with you Concussed Scientist. I was given virtually no meaningful advice much less any sort of recognition or hint at diagnosis as to what I was going through. I only discovered what I had by researching a lot myself, and this was only months after the incident. It frustrates me to think about it. I would have appreciated some medical advice. I found that I continued partying and drinking which was quite dangerous to myself i'm sure.

I can definitely appreciate what you're going through. I'm a senior PhD student who suffered my MTBI back in July 2008. I was hit by a line drive while pitching in a recreational softball game. I had major issues with dizziness, nausea, light and noise sensitivity, fogginess, headaches, etc... For close to a year I was basically bed/couch ridden, feeling listless and completely out of things.

Having played a lot of competitive sports as a kid my first reaction was the same as yours in terms of trying to push through any health issues, thinking that this would accelerate healing. I tried to continue working and going to school and I eventually learned that in the case of a concussion you need to go 100% in the opposite direction. The stress was taking its toll on me and making all the PCS related issues worse. Moreover, my psychological health plummeted which left me in the same difficult cycle of having depression and dealing with a concussion that you describe.

It's been almost two years since my injury and I still have not completely recovered. However, from my experience I feel I can share three pieces of advice that I hope will help you.

1) Your priority needs to be rest. Focus your attention everyday around the goal of resting as it is the key to your recovery. You should try to remove as many of the demands on you and responsibilities you have as possible. Only in this way can you minimize stress which will hinder your recovery more than anything else I can think of (less a second head injury!). It's hard to go from being an active person (especially athlete) who was fully engaged in life to essentially doing nothing. However, you need to slowly build things up from zero rather than trying to find the minimum amount you can compromise and still "push through". I ended up taking a 5 month medical leave of absence from school. This helped immeasurably!!!

2) Seek professional help for your psychological health. Yes, there are stigmas about depression which can make this difficult. Ultimately though, a psychiatrist/psychologist/social worker can help you learn to cope with the challenges you are facing. Improving your psychological help will go a long way to keeping you motivated as you try to improve your physical/cognitive health. Be a consumer though. You may have to try a few different doctors/therapists before you find one that you are comfortable with. Navigating the health care system can be a long and frustrating process. Keep in mind that you're doing your best to try and get better.

3) Don't be afraid to ask for help. A concussion is a tough thing to deal with because of the "invisible" nature of the injury and the lack of education people often have about the injury. What I have found is that people are more understanding and supportive than you often think. This may also be related to "distorted thoughts" you might be having as a result of depression. Let your family and friends help you, let them support you, and let them know what you're going through. My family and friends have really helped me to work on #1 and #2. Without them I don't think I would have made as much of a recovery as I have so far.

I can empathize with what you're going through because I've been living the same thing for almost two years. Please give my suggestions a try, I think they will help you. It's tough to take action though, so a little bit at a time. Don't get discouraged. Remember, you're recovering from a brain injury. It's expected that things are more challenging and frustrating to do now than before your injury. Good luck!

Great post, tangje. Welcome to NT!

Thanks for the welcome. I've just found this forum and it has been comforting to read about how others have coped with PCS.

miitchan and tangje,

Welcome to NT. How are you doing?

Tell us a little about your experiences. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience on this forum. Many of us have been dealing with PCS for years or even decades as is my case.

miitchan, It sounds like you suffered a rotational concussion injury. They can be difficult. The searing forces and other impacts with the bony protuberances inside the skull can far more damaging than a simple straight on impact.

As you deal with the ignorant at school and such, it will help if you can describe a symptom in a way that they can understand.

For example, I struggle with sensory overload. My brain tries to make sense of EVERY sound and visual image it takes in. This overwhelms it. There is a filtering function in the brain that is supposed to block the extraneous sensory information so that you can focus on the important information. This filter function is commonly disrupted in PCS.

I also have very little visual memory. I can look at some thing and turn my head away and have no idea what i just saw. The critical situation for me is driving. I can stop at a stop sign, look to my left and see the oncoming cars. Then I look to my right and see the oncoming cars. But, I have already forgotten what I just saw to my left. This explanation is usually understood by others.

I have accommodations and work-arounds for these problems. I close my eyes if I can when I am visually overwhelmed. It helps me listen better. I use foam ear plugs when there is too many sounds.

If I am driving, which is rare, I verbalize what I saw to the left. My auditory/verbal memory is bit better than my purely visual memory. I will say, "Clear to the left" as I am looking to the right. This holds on to the memory of the traffic to the left so I can combine it with the vision of what I see to the right.

There are lots of work-arounds and accommodations that we can use to deal with our symptoms. I believe that they are more beneficial than the psychological help. The anxiety and depression is enhanced by the feeling of helplessness as we try to deal with our symptoms.

Don't get me wrong. There is a component of depression that is physiologically caused by the concussion. Good brain nutrition and a low stress environment is good medicine for this.

The rare psychologist/psychiatrist/social worker/occupational therapist who has skills at helping you with these work-arounds and accommodations are a God send. If you have found one, cherish your opportunity to get good help.

BTW, I hope you have decided to stop playing soccer. I had to stop playing after my sophomore season (1971). It is a tough decision but worth it as you look forward to a long and concussion free life. Multiple Concussion Syndrome is a real bear to deal with. You never know when the next life changing concussion is going to happen.

My best to you two.

I am a college athlete in my senior year of college and sustained a concussion back in october of 2009. It was my second concussion in the same year (first one was january of 2009). In late october I returned to playing, lying about my symptoms (idiotic of me I know) and ended up having major whip lash from running into a metal pole when I was running to save a ball from going out of bounds. It gets worse- I stood up into a metal pipe at my teams holiday party in december.

I have been struggling with severe headaches and fogginess since day one of my second concussion, and developed neck pain in january 2010 which in turn made my head feel like it was going to explode. That headache is different from my concussive headache which is more a pounding in my forehead, which has caused me to wear earplugs often and also keeps me from being able to even talk at times. No one has been able to address this foggy feeling I'm having--it's not that I cannot concentrate, i've never had issues doing that, but its this strange feeling, kind of like when you first wake up in the morning and things aren't entirely clear.

The doctors here at my school have repeatedly told me that cognitive rest (no TV, no computer, no NOTHING, basically being a vegetable), is the only way I am going to get better. I've tried their way multiple times, with little to no improvement. And they have repeatedly come back at me claiming that the reason I'm feeling this way still is because I haven't done what I've been told--which has been absolutely infuriating. Laying in a dark room with nothing but my thoughts only makes me cry. It has been pretty depressing to say the least when I am missing my entire senior year of college- I don't go out, I've grown apart from all my friends, I don't even attend practices because standing on the sidelines is way to taxing and as I"m sure all of you can relate I often think I will never get better.

I've had to take incompletes this semester in some of my classes and was planning to come back next year for a fifth year to play (I'm redshirting this year). But as the weeks and months go by I am becoming more and more doubtful that I will get to have my senior year.

My mom has been my one and only advocate in this entire ordeal. My parents brought me home for a week so I could see some doctors at home, to get second opinions. I received some EXCITING news and thought this was my chance to get better and get to play for my senior year. It's something called the subsymptom threshhold recovery program-- It is a study done and performed out of Buffalo and one was done out of Montreal-
It won't let me submit the link but Just google "Subsymptom Threshold Recovery Program" and It's an article by J. Leddy. It's some breakthrough stuff and they have found success with each person that has participated.

Muddyriver- I posted in another thread under this forum and one of the moderators suggested I post here with my story and information. You mentioned that UB clinic and that is where I to am wanting to go. As you said training and weight lifting have been an integral part of your life, and mine to. It is utterly depressing to think that I will never get to finish out my college career. As of right now I am trying to get in touch with John Leddy, the director of the clinic but he is out of town till April 12th. I will post on the forum what response I get from him.

A month later after seeing those doctors who introduced me to this research, the doctors here at my school are now just starting to administer the program with me. (actually starting tomorrow) They have been very difficult and reluctant to treat my situation in any other way but their own.

I wanted to not only share my story but see if there is anyone else out there who is suffering from PCS with similar symptoms and if they got better. I hope that I will be able to report back to this forum that this subsymptom threshold recovery program helped cure me, for it is not only my wish to feel NORMAL again but to be able to have a senior year.

I just posted on this thread before I read the rest of the posts (and figured out how to qoute someone to!), including yours muddyriver- our situations seem to be VERY similar. Both athletes in college, both missing out socially watching our friends live the lives that we were so accustomed to. I was also on amitriptyline for about 6 weeks for my neck pain but it started to lose its affect and it made me dizzy/faint.

I am starting the subsymptom threshold recovery program today with my Athletic trainer. I have been doing rehab for my neck and upperback with her and today I am going to get on the bike for a few minutes. I will be traveling with my team down to baltimore for our game this weekend but will report back to everyone next week how the program is going. Ultimately I would have liked to go to Buffalo and been admitted into their program, but the doctors I saw at home assured me that the medical staff up here could administer the program themselves. If things don't work out I want to go down to the clinic in Buffalo and admit myself when schools over (beginning of may).

erica,

I've looking into the Buffalo U concussion program and am not encouraged by what I saw. It appears to be focused on getting an athlete back on the field as its priority. It does not appear to make any effort at helping the athlete prepare for life after a life changing concussion.

My biggest concern is the risk of a second or third concussion. The graduated exercise sounds worthwhile. It will increase blood flow to the brain. If this can be done at a sub-symptoms threshold, it could be worthwhile. But, the concussion subject must remember, no matter how good you feel and how well you can perform on the treadmill and other exercises, you have a history of concussion.

Depending on your personal circumstances, you are at risk of Second Impact Syndrome that can be deadly, and Multiple Impact Syndrome that is cumulatively disabling. The NFL has found that most of the problems from Multiple Impact Syndrome do not show up until the subject is in their forties.

So, is another year of playing at-risk sports worth the risk of dementia at forty or so. Living with any level of Mild Cognitive Impairment is a real bear. I suffer from it and had a mind freeze just now. I could not recall the word "Impairment," even though I have used it and typed it hundreds of times.

Luckily, I could type in mild cognitive into google and it gave me options to complete my phrase. Getting stuck with 'word finding' in any form, anomia, or any of the aphasias can create social barriers and other life struggles. It is not uncommon for PCS subjects to need circumlocution skills to overcome their aphasias.

They will make a unfound word into a sentence or phrase. Sometimes, they can hide the circumlocution. Other times, it is very evident, like, " I have an appointment to see the man who fixes teeth. I can't remember the word but you know what I mean." The unfound word is "dentist."

The language dementias can be quite humbling. The other memory dementias can also create serious life struggles. I have to go through a rolodex in my mind to remember the names of people I have know for years or even decades. I had to stop driving at 46 years old.

Download Dr Glen Johnson's TBI Survival Guide at www.tbiguide.com. He does a good job of discussing the various symptoms that may become permanent as a result of Multiple Concussion Syndrome.

btw. I suffered a concussion playing soccer as a high school sophomore than forever changed my opportunity to go on to dental school. It was only my third concussion, my other two were during fourth an fifth grade.

Please, consider making your goal finishing and graduating college and going on to life a full life, but not playing another year of soccer.

Mark,

As i've been reading around on different threads, you seem to be a real expert, and I want you to know I appreciate your advice/response. Believe me, I've had those close to me question if whether or not returning to play when and if I get better is the smart thing to do. I will say, I would be completely lost at this point in my life if I just decided to quit; for being an athlete (lacrosse, not soccer) has been my life passion. All of my friends here at school are on my team, and it's all I've ever known.

I've been to two neurologists, one of which assured me that this sub symptom program has worked, for he has administered it himself. You are right- the study is mainly focused on getting athletes better, but at this point I am willing to do ANYTHING that might give me a chance to have my senior year. If and when I do get to return to play, I will be wearing something protective on my head.

I've also been to see Dr. Gioia at the National Childrens Institute in Rockville, MD. He to recommended that I try this program, but made it clear that it is by no means a 100% guaranteed cure. All doctors have assured me that I am not at risk for permanent damage if I return to play. I have had absolutely no issues with memory loss, difficulty concentrating and my brain function was tested both with the Impact test ( I have taken this test repeatedly because it is a requirement at my school, and I took it at the concussion clinic) and some other brain tests that were administered at the concussion clinic as well. All test results pointed to my normal brain function at baseline.

I wanted to share this information with you because you seem to know a tremendous amount about this subject. And again, I appreciate your interest in my story. Just having someone to talk to whose been through something similar just means so much to me.

best,
Erica