ok i think i have pcs, heres my story, ok in the summer like idk 4 months ago took a bad crash at the mx track, got up felt little off had a lil bit of a headache went away the next day, ok fast forward about a two months, i hit a kid in a hockey game actually so hard it bent my cage inn and ive been playing hockey and been around it my whole life between me and my brother. i never seen it happen before, seen theme dent form pucks but never a hit.... ok so had a headache for maybe two days not bad ones, but it never occured to me that it was a concussion, and after understanding theres concussions that can last from hours to days to weeks, it was probably a slight concussion. ok so two weeks later in practice we were doing drills and to sum it up the coach blew the whistle to early letting other kids go before the drill was done, i was skating full speed and hit a kid not on purpose, we hit each other head on, i was bent down in the middle of catching a pass and the other kid who went to early was also looking for a pass, my head went right into his gut, snapped my head back.... i had 2 huge gashes on my chin from how hard the impact was cause my chin cup basically bottomed out against my face/chin hitting the cage. i got up finished the practice felt foggy and funny, did dum stuff like i would get in the wrong lines with different jersey colors etc. soo i think a day and a half went by and still had a headache, woke up the next day still had a headache, looked up concussion symtoms and had theme, so i went to the er got a cat scan and that was good, and i did have a concussion so after that went to a specialist , which sent me to physical threapy cause i had neck damage that needed work, soo anyways 3 months after the concussion went back to see the specialist cause im still having headaches, sent me to get a mri still waiting for results, got a appointment with the neuro a month from now, i think i have pcs but not shure, i always have a headache not matter what but sometimes they are really bad, like when i get home from school, usually after i eat it makes the headaches usually feel a little bit better. but the other symtoms i cant tell if i have, i do know one thing, the only way can explain it is most of the time in school where ever i feel foggy...... i would like any help or advice thanks

mx,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Sounds like you have lived quite an active and impact filled life.

You definitely do have Post Concussion Syndrome. You likely also are suffering from Multiple Impact Syndrome and a lifetime of sub-concussive impacts.

You need to take an extended period off from school. Your brain needs rest from any stressful efforts. You need to rest at home. No video games, limited music with no loud or rock type music at all. Limited TV and other video oriented viewing. No caffeine or alcohol or other substances that alter your state.

The rest your brain needs is three fold. It needs a rest from sound. It needs a rest from visual stimuli and it needs a rest from cognitive (thinking) efforts.

The MRI will likely come back normal. Concussions rarely cause any damage that will show up on a CT or MRI.

Go online and watch with your parents, the series on YouTube called "You Look Great" by John Byler. It is 6 segments that total about a hour at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Xso4qGdlI

Also, download the TBI Survival Guide at www.tbiguide.com. Print it out (84 pages) so you and your parents can read it and highlight the symptoms you recognize.

Statistically, if your symptoms are this severe at 5 months after your original concussion at the MX track, you likely have a slow recovery ahead of you. You will need all the support and understanding your family and school can provide.

I suggest you have a very difficult decision to make. It is the Sidney Crosby decision. Do you dare risk the rest of your life to continue playing hockey? With hard hits come hard decisions. The same decision is needed regarding MX. The risk you face is a life of constant head aches and academic frustration and failure.

Continued impacts, even sub-concussive impacts (impacts where you do not have any feeling of confusion or such) will lead to a high risk of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a shrinking and atrophying of the brain) with the resulting early onset of dementia similar to Alzheimer's Disease, often by the 40's.

I highly advise that you print out this post and the others that follow and have your parents read them. There are decades of experience in concussions and the lasting effects of them on this forum.

What kind of specialist have you seen? The neurologist appointment will likely not be any benefit to you. Often, Physiatrists (Doctors of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) have some of the best skills with concussion and the neck injury issues. Also, some chiropractors are good at working with the upper cervical region. Not the generic twist your head and pop chiro variety.

I know this is coming across very harsh. You have suffered two serious injuries in a short time period. The first concussion set you up for a very dangerous and damaging second concussion. You are fortunate the second concussion did not damage your brain worse. Google Kevin Pearce, snowboarder and read about his ordeal. There are others in a similar situation, like Sidney Crosby.

Please be careful.

My best to you.

thank you for this info, it is very hard for other people who have never even had a concussion to understand what its like and whats really going on, so far thats the hardest part for. my grades in school are still good and are not lacking, and yeah im all ready seing a Physiatrists and hes the one who is sending me to the neuro and another docter who finds the learning disabilities in you i guess or something like that, i all ready have some learning problems, im adhd and have some anxiety, im on stratera and zoloft. my headaches some times are just a headache and not bad at all and some times turn into migrains, usually by the end of the school day my headaches are worse

Your psychiatrist is a good one. He is getting you the best care he can.

The learning doctor he is sending you too, is going to do some testing to
see were you stand now. If you have never had testing to see what
kind of help you need for schooling. They will do that. But also see
if you are needing any help in other ways now too.

Its for finding out what kind of damage the concussion has done.

Donna

mxandhockey,

Are you seeing a physiatrist (Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine ) as I mentioned or a psychiatrist ( mental health doctor) as Dmom has commented?

yes i have a appointment for one and the neuro

Hello,
Please pardon me not posting this where it belongs (I am a brand new user and I cannot figure out how to post a new topic)

My 18 year old son has suffered 5 concussions since August of 2011 (It's now December of 2011). Stupidly, he told no one of the injuries until this last concussion.

He's had a continual headache for 5 months..he says he's just used to having it and it doesn't really bother him. Some dizziness, and forgetfulness. MRI is fine, went to see a prominent neurological psychologist. He took an extensive history, gave him a vision and balance test which were fine. In a month, he wants to do in-depth cognitive testing. Doc wants to treat him behaviorly how to manage headaches and if that doesn't work, then medication.

Here's my question (and it's probably a stupid one): We know eventually he'll get better with lots of rest..He will NOT be participating in ANY contact sports. What is the benefit of doing all this extra testing?

I'd appreciate any insight, and once again, sorry for posting this in the wrong place.

Jennifer

The extra testing helps determine any learning or emotional discrepencies. For instance if a person post-concussion has a harder time with short term memory, you may learn new techniques such as organizers or sticky notes as reminders. Hope that helps a bit!

jentaylor728,

As kayley said, the NeuroPsych Assessment proposed by the NeuroPsychologist will help pinpoint his dysfunctions. Your son may be hiding more of his symptoms from you. Five concussions in such a short time period can be quite devastating. The NPA will pinpoint the exact dysfunctions so that he can get specific help with those symptoms.

I suggest taking a more realistic approach to his condition. You said <We know eventually he'll get better with lots of rest..> His recovery will likely need serious work on his part. If he has any prolonged cognitive dysfunctions, he will need to learn how to move forward. He may need academic help, i.e. additional time when taking a test, new study skills, assistance with note taking, etc.

There is a saying, Hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Being ready to support him if he struggles to continue with his academic pursuits will be important.

I hope his NPA shows minimal dysfunctions. Cognitive and memory dysfunctions can take a lot of work to learn living skills.

My best to you both.