Concussed Scientist,

I wish I could give you a success story in this area. I had to return to work 4 days after my accident because my family could not afford to have me off of work. The 4 days was only possible because it fell over Christmas break. I didn't have the time to rest. During the days following, I would find a dark place at work to sleep for my half hour lunch and then finish the day. I have 2 children so even when I got home, it was hard to rest. I also felt guilty because I didn't seem to be spending time enough time with them because I was always tired. I would really like to know if I would have taken the time to rest if I would be better 16 months out, but I guess I will never know. So, we seem to trudge right along and live each day as it comes.

Hey Sheds,
I can sure appreciate to dilemma that you are in with children. You want to do the best for them but so you try to struggle on when it might not be the best thing for you. I bet this is a common problem. People just do not take the time off to rest and recover that they really need. And doctors don't tell you how important this is. They really should give better advice on this.

Looking back, I wish that I had taken more rest, but the trouble is even now I don't know how I could have arranged it. The truth is that unless you are in the enviable position of having savings to fall back on or a familty that step in and do everything for you then you pretty much have to carry on as best you can and take whatever rest is avaible to you.

Perhaps if you explain the situation clearly to your family then things might be a bit easier.

CS

Concussed Scientist,

My family knows what this all means, but as a mom I feel like I have to do everything like before. I know that I should relinquish some of the duties, but I just can't seem to do that. That is my own fault. It is one of those cases where I want to make sure that my family is taken care of first and then comes me. I am no "super mom", but I always want to be there for my husband and kids. It's just hard to set limits for myself since I am not used to having to do so.

Hi CS,

This is a very difficult issue to address. I think that working can be okay depending on the task. The problem is that with an MTBI/PCS, as I'm sure you already know, is that your tolerance for stress is much lower and unfortunately stress can really hinder recovery. In my case I tried to continue working in the lab for 3 months after my injury, dialed it back to working on the computer at home for 5 months, and then finally realized that trying to work was doing more harm than good, which led to a 5 month leave of absence.

As far as finances are concerned, I would certainly look into government disability benefits/insurance that might be available to you. Depending what you were doing for work prior to your injury you might be eligible for some support (granted it might not be a lot). I appreciate that this can be quite a serious problem as you have to delicately balance your health and finances. I would try to recruit help from a family member or friend to figure out what your options are as the stress involved in trying to do it all yourself would certainly be a negative impact on your recovery.

Thanks, Tangje.

I suppose each of our situations is different. Now that I am over two years post-injury, I think that I can manage to work without doing myself too much harm. In fact, the extra income means that I can have some therapy which I couldn't afford before.

I was mentioning the financial side because I think that that is a real issue, especially in the first year after an injury, when you are at your worst and haven't adapted your life to the new situation yet.

CS

hi CS
no easy answer I had to give up work, be it by the gentle mans way out

we have a 9 yr old still with us, at home my injury,s were self evident, so getting disability living allowance and incapacity benefit saved our home . it was tough, but debt we live with, a big come down from a 45k project manager, it pains me greatly that all our kids even the older one,s have lost so much

you guys with no skull fractures. must have a real hard time getting docs ect to take you seriously, my last neurophysiology report says I will not be able to do any full time challenging job for the foreseeable future , my head aches stop me from doing many things, cant say when they will strike, at home, I can work round them posting on forums bits an pieces around the house , but not 9 to 5 just between bouts
employers , can,t be expected to work round my condition

best wishes

Wow, something I can finally relate too. For the past two months I have been dealing with post concussion syndrome. I am 20 year old division one athlete and have been doing everything to recover.

About two months ago I got my 3rd concussion. The first two I had only lasted for about 1 week. But this one is the devil


I've been looking for answers everywhere. Been to 2 docs, a neurologist and even a psychiatrist appointed to me by the nuero. I can't even begin to describe the frustration i've been in throughout these past 10 + weeks. Its came to a point where i do not know what to do.

Reading these posts have made me more confident and re-assuring. I have been an athlete all my life and always been the life of the party between my buddies. I am counting down the days till i can get back in the gym. Its came to a point where i dont know what to do anymore. I am just sitting here day after day watching and listening to my friends have fun and me missing out.

I had to withdraw from school due to this. I lost my scholarship and have lost contact with a lot of my friends. BUT reading these posts has me feeling confident and waiting for the day that i can feel NORMAL AGAIN...

Ive been reading alot about this research clinic in Buffalo.

Has anyone had any success?
ANyyyy answers out there???

Thanks

Hey JSwim,

I am a 21-year old varsity hockey player and have been dealing with concussion problems since November. There are some other athletes on these boards as well. I can assure you that we know exactly what you're going through and are as frustrated as you.

I have been to what feels like a million different doctors/specialists with no answers. Doctors, athletic therapists, physiotherapists, osteopath, neurologist .. you name it, I think I've seen them! Just yesterday I saw a neurosurgeon who ordered MRIs for my head, neck and back so I'm hoping that will lead somewhere. I've also been dealing with some other problems related to my spine.

In the meantime, I am in contact with Dr. Willer, one of the researchers at the clinic in Buffalo. I am hoping to go down in a few weeks to participate in the program. I would imagine you are stuck at the "no exertion" part of this whole process. I have been trying that for the past four months with no improvement which is why I am looking into this concussion study in Buffalo. I would suggest trying some really light biking and see how that goes. I made the mistake a few weeks ago of trying way too much (I did 10 minutes) and it made my symptoms worse and it took me about week to get over it. Give a minute or so a try and see how you feel. I am just at the beginning of starting to try to exercise myself. My biggest suggestion would be to just listen to your body .. I know how frustrating it is and how hard it is not to be at the gym every single day, but I made the mistake more than once in the past to just try and push through the symptoms, something I hugely regret today.

Feel free to look back at my past posts to read my full story on how I sustained my concussions and what I've been battling through. I look forward to getting to know you better

Best,

Kelly

jswim,

Sorry to hear about your concussion.

It may help if you can tell us about your previous concussions, primarily when you suffered them. What sport do you play? Did you suffer the most recent concussion playing your scholarship sport?

What are your specific symptoms?

Hey guys,

Thanks for answering my questions. Well i swim for a d1 school and have been doing it my whole life.

I am one of the big guys in the water 6'4 215 and have always been a real physical person my whole life. I act more like a lacrosse player then swimmer.

Any way i sustained this concussion in march when i was black out beligernt drunk. Apparently me being a **** and talking like an idiot led to me getting sucker punchd and kicked in the head. I don't remember anything but this is what i was told. I was knocked unconscious.

Ever since then its been the worst time of my life. I recently had a procedure because iwas diagnosed with vestibular bilateral dysfunction on top of my PCS. I guess the crystals in my ear were knocked out of place. The procedure required me to lay on each side followed by me in a brace for 24 hours.

DID not work....So the next step is therapy. I also was given some medicine for my headaches and its an antidepressant as well.

Well see what happens, yet again waiting for the day till i can feel normal once again.