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.

Forgot to add symptoms...

I am constantly feeling out of it like in a haze . foggy feeling

headaches

pressure on top of my head

dizziness

and ears sometimes hurt

hey jswim-

I'm SO glad you found us. I to am a division 1 athlete (lacrosse) and have been dealing with PCS since october. I've missed my entire senior year not only on the field, but socially. So, as kelly said- we can really relate here. I cannot believe you lost your scholorship? It doesn't sound like you are getting the support you need at your school. Is this because you sustained your concussion outside of swimming? If so, I hope they are still providing you with medical support?

I have some pretty uplifting news myself that hopefully will have any readers feel hopeful. After 7 months of hell i am FINALLY feeling like myself again. I to had severe headaches, a foggy sensation, dizziness and now have a neck and back problem.

I knew I was getting better when I was able to travel with my team down to our conference tournament, sit through and actively engage in conversation at dinner two nights in row and I don't have to wear earplugs anymore to block out noises. I was able to do all of this with out feeling like I did to much, or have to excuse myself because I was getting a pounding headache/feel pressure building up in my head from talking to much.

Up until a week ago I had serious doubts that I was ever going to get better, and it was downright depressing. After having a string of really good days I am feeling more confidant than I ever have about recovering fully. At the same time, I've become so accustomed to feeling this way, that a.) it feels to good to be true and b.) I'm terrified I'm going to relapse. BUT, I try my best to block these thoughts out and KNOW that I am getting better.

Tomorrow I am heading down to Buffalo to the concussion clinic. I am SO excited. My teams athletic trainer has been administering work outs for me on the bike. I'm up to 11 1/2 minutes on the arydine bike at level 2.5. I started out going for 5 minutes at level 0.6 and have slowly and steadily worked my way up. The number one thing to remember when trying to introduce exercise is to ALWAYS stay beneath your threshold. This means any onslaught of symptoms warrants an immediate stop! I know you are looking forward to getting back in the gym but if two minutes is all you can handle at a steady pace before you get a headache, then two minutes is all you can do. That also means that the next day you can try going for 2 1/2, and so and so forth.

I'll be posting to let everyone know how my appointment goes tomorrow!

Erica

Hi I can't say that I have or can go back to whom I was. This thing changes every thing in our lives. It took me a long while to understand I will never be the person I was and this is who I am now. I had work as a nurse for at least 15yrs and now will never be able to go back to the thing I loved. I wish I had some great words of wisdom but I don't. It is amazing that one split second your not who you were. I am trying very hard to figure out who I am now. All I know is somethings will return and somethings won't but no one knows how the outcome will go. Try to take one day at a time it's easy for us to overload. Some days we might be able to do this others we won't be able to just know that we have support here and can share our troubles and heartaches. Add me if you want. I hope I helped in someway. Take care. Kimmy

Hello all. I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. I was in a car accident over two years ago and still have PCS. I'm confused but still have hope. I've been told it will go away one day, I'm still waiting for that day. Since then my life has been upside down and I am a different person because of it. I still have memory problems, lack of focus, and headaches. Those are the symptoms that bother me the most. Good luck to all and God bless.

erica21 and others,

Please be careful how you think about "recovering fully." You will always be Post Concussion, even when you feel 100%. Your brain will be subject to stress in every way. The best way to accept this prognosis is by just doing it. There is no easy way. Find the new you and start to build your life around this person.

There will be times when you have a high tolerance and other times when you have a low tolerance. The low tolerance times will likely be when you have other stressors setting you up for a relapse (decompensation) due to loud noises, flashing lights, chaotic environments, a high fever, etc.

You may be able to go a long time without a decomp then have a string of decomps over a short period of time. If you have people close that can help, ask them to describe the old you versus the new you. As you come to understand how others' perception of you have changed, you can learn to adjust from within.

For example, I over-react. My wife helps me leave situations where I will likely over-react. I also have to take responsibility to situations I get into. By making better choices about "having to be right" or "having to right a wrong" or "refusing to accept NO," I can avoid getting into situations where over-reacting will become a problem.

Getting drunk is a common problem for PCS. It is like getting a concussion again.

Work at learning coping skills for memory weaknesses etc. Develop habits that will carry you when you have a decomp period.

To highlight this need, let me explain my situation. I lost short term and immediate memory skills almost overnight on Jan 16, 2001. I had been used to a photographic memory. I did not use any memory tricks or systems. I did not need them. Now, I cannot remember to use the memory tricks or systems.

As a comparison, my father suffered a very slow memory function decline over 30 years. As he noticed his struggles, he developed habits of using note cards, check lists, and other memory aids. By the time he was seriously unable to remember important things, he had already developed habits that allowed him to continue to function at a high level. We did not understand how bad his memory had become until a doctor did some memory function tests. When we were told of his declining condition, he finally told us about the many things he had hidden from us by using his notes, etc.

Since we have a likelihood of an Alzheimer's like dementia at up to 18 time higher probability than the non-concussed population, developing these memory skills while we still can will be a great benefit to ourselves and our families.

btw, one of the long term symptoms of PCS is mental rigidity or inflexibility. This means we can get stuck with an erroneous understanding of something. If we have learned habits to help us understand our failing memories, it will lower our own frustration and the burden it puts on our families, etc.

As kimmyann said, one second later and you are a different person. Try to accept and embrace this new person so you can build a life with this new you.

For those of you with hopes of continuing with your sport, consider how you can destroy you life with another concussion. Build that new life without a concussion risk. You will be rewarded by the time you are forty something.

My best to you all. Here's to hope that you can enjoy your later life better than I am enduring mine.