Hi,

to make it short: I'm exchange student from germany so sry for bad english
I'm in the US right now and got a concussion after heading a ball at the 10th of september. I did not pass out or anything like that but I got a headache immediately after the injury. I continued on training but went the day after to the doctor. It was just a mild concussion and I had to stay home for a week. Well I have to say, I didn't rest enough. I text a lot and 5 days after the injury I went to a sleep over and did a bit sport. I know how stupid this is but I felt pretty much alright. But then it got worser. I felt reaaly bad. Dizzy and really foggy. Not that much headache but I took a lot of headache medecine. It didn't get better I got really depressive and cried every day, then I was almost send back home of my organisation. I had never so much stress in my life. So I went to emergency one day, 1 month after the injury because i felt so much in a dream and they made all these scans of my brain and stuff like this but they couldn't see anything. So they told me i would have psc. I was really unhappy, because I just headed a ball but at least I was allowed to go to school again. Seeing all my friends made me happy and then I took a concussion test and I saw that my brain worked good again like it did before the concussion. So everything improved. I got rid of the headaches, the blurry vision i am myself again and haven't depression anymore. My only symptom left is that I feel like in a dream. not always. I'm in and out. If I think about it iI get in it. I'm really unhappy with it. I can concentrate and everything but I can't see the world as a whole. And I really want to make sports again! I feel so good I could run for an hour and could jump and everything and I'm thinking about to go to the basketball try outs next week. Sport in the US means erything to me. It's the best thing ever happend to me. And i REALLY want to try out for basketball. Before the injury I also tought about trying out but I'm really afraid now. The season is just three months but I feel really foggy and i'm afraid that if i would play now the symptoms would stay for my whole life. but on the other hand I don't want to spend my exchannge year at home at my host family. It's so depressing! What do you think! I feel so good beside the fog!

Lui,

Welcome to NeuroTalk and the USA.

The concussion test you took is often misunderstood. It is primarily to determine when an athlete should be removed from play. It has much less value at determining return to play condition. The worst issue is it has no validity for determining if the brain has recovered enough to be tolerant of another impact. In fact, the researchers who designed the ImPACT system that is the most widely used have specifically stated that their system is not to be used to determine whether the brain can tolerate another impact.

You have a big question to answer for yourself. Basketball is a contact sport. Heads collide and heads hit the floor. We have had many here on NT who suffered concussions playing basketball. The risk is real.

If your brain is sensitive enough to show major concussive symptoms from heading a soccer ball, it suggests that you have a sensitive brain. I assume that you have headed the ball many times during the season. That is rough on your brain.

The standard for playing contact sports is to not return to play until all symptoms have subsided. Your foggy feeling will put you at more risk of concussions. It also means that your brain does not recover quickly. So, putting yourself and your long term brain health at risk is a very serious issue. Even if you recover from the fogginess, your next concussion will very likely be much worse.

You have your whole life ahead of you. Enjoy your time in the USA so you can go home with good memories, not memories of being in a fog for most of your time here.

If you want to recover more, you need quiet rest with minimal texting and cognitive effort.

I hope you make a wise decision.

My best to you.

Welcome and I am sorry your exchange year is not better. Please be very careful. You are young and I am confident your injury will heal. The question I would ask yourself is this. What is the worst that will happen if you play and injure yourself before you are healed? What is the worst thing that will happen if you don"t play to heal?

A very young man here in the states returned to play too early. His name is Jason Lystedt. He is severely disabled now. So please be very careful, concussion is not well understood in the medical field as many here and the UK know too well.

Hi,
thank you for your answers yet. I have to say i would be very careful playing basketball. If would recognize that my symptoms are getting worse I would stop immediately! I'll know its a contact sport and I could get another concussion. I would be send home then either. But its so freaking depressing! I'm not here to spend my exchange year at home. I know that I'm slowly getting depressive here if I couldn't do anything or couldn't do any sports. My host family isn't there for me, they actually don't really care how I'm feeling and I swear it was the most horrible month in my life. I can't anymore without knowing when this fog will end. I mean it could last for year or more. I want to life again! And then there is the other voice telling me I'm doing a big mistake and I'll destroy my life! I don't know what to do. I wish my parents and friends would be here and would forbid me playing basketball so I couldn't be in any danger. But no I'm stupid and really want to play basketball. Sport is making my exchange so much better. But yeah thanks for the answers!

Lui,

There are a few resources for you to check out. YouTube has a video series called "You Look Great." at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Xso...ature=youtu.be
The TBI Survival Guide is at www.tbiguide.com
and
http://www.brainline.org/content/201...u-to-know.html

I suggest that you do not play basketball. Are there other activities you can get involved in. A drama club, band, choir, or a civic club?

Even volley ball is safer that basketball. Or, swimming?

Depression is a common symptom of concussions.

I hope you can find other ways to experience a variety of American culture without putting your brain at risk.

My best to you.

I am really sorry to hear that this happened to you. It really is a terrible injury and you have been going through hell. One of the things that has been difficult for me to accept over the year since my sports related accident is what I have to give up for the rest of my life in order to protect my brain from another injury. Hockey, skating, downhill skiing, squash, soccer, inline skating, etc. I have to grieve these losses and try to focus on what sports are great for me. Cross country skiing, hiking, tennis (if I can manage!), badminton, and so many others that have much less risk. It is not easy, and I can imagine how difficult this is for you. We cannot pretend these are easy choices.

If you can let me offer you a parent's advice (I have two young children), don't return to basketball until you are completely healed...and then make a choice as to if you want to play that sport again. The life you have ahead of you - travel, family, parties, possibly having children, great career, going out to bars with friends, dancing, going to concerts, listening to loud music, etc....all of these things will be so difficult or impossible without a healthy,fully recovered brain. Sitting out the basketball season is an investment in your future. Right now, your future looks wonderful, because you have already recovered somewhat. Focus on your future - 100 years old?!! - and grieve what this has done to you. Then make a sports plan focussing on what you want your future to look like.

This really is a hellish injury. Try and get some good care from where you are studying. There should be some counsellors or some people who can help you get through this. Hang in there! And do it for yourself.

Hi Lui!

I am sorry about your accident. I sure it just sucks because you have had this dream to come here on exchange and play basketball and then you get this! Plus it is nice to be a part of a team and sounds like getting away from your host family might be funner than hanging out with them.

But! But! Sorry you have to really rest and get better. You have to change your plans for here. I know you want to play so bad and are probably very good. The thing is if you don't get better you can have this for a long time. You could have to sit in your house for months maybe even years like me if you are not careful.
Wait until you are better, do as much resting as you can. Even though the host family does not understand, you have to take care of yourself. Im sure that your parents and friends are worried about you.
Maybe you will get better soon. It is good that you do not have headaches. Take care!

Lui, I wanted to add, say you go and play basketball. You are 100% going to get worse or make your time it would have taken to get better longer. Worse case scenario you get really messed up and will have to go straight home. When you get home you will have to be injured for a while. You will feel so crappy that you probably wont have as much fun anyway.

Just think I am going to get better, I am going to get better, everything will be ok. Don't make yourself too worried about anything.

Lui,

Mokey said "The life you have ahead of you - travel, family, parties, possibly having children, great career, going out to bars with friends, dancing, going to concerts, listening to loud music, etc....all of these things will be so difficult or impossible without a healthy,fully recovered brain. "

Actually, you are likely already at a prolonged condition where you need to be cautious about "going out to bars with friends, dancing, going to concerts, listening to loud music," because your never will achieve a "healthy, fully recovered brain." When you participate in these activities, you will likely find that you brain fatigues more quickly than your friends. Each time your brain suffers another concussion, your brain is left with a greater tendency to fatigue. Very few regain an ability to fully tolerate these intense levels of sensory stress.

As post concussion said, take it a bit easier so you can enjoy your entire time here. Going home early and feeling miserable at home is double the disappointment. Enjoy your visit. We (the USA) has more to offer than high school sports teams.

My best to you.

Thanks for your support guys. I have something new to come up with. In the moment i have very much contact with my parents in germany. They want me to ask this. So when I went to emergency the nurse told me to take ibuprofen. I think it's called like this. I mean i have never taken strong medicine because my parents are really afraid of this risks. I think it's called side effects. So i went to emergency on the 3rd and she told me to take 9 ibuprofen per day. So I took this medication for 1 1/2 week until I told my parents. They got a heart attack when they heard that I took 9 pills per day and that without any prescription. You can't get them in Germany without any prescription. I stopped immediately. They think that i have side effects til then and that it's not even pcs anymore. Like I said I have never taken this kind of medication before...what do u think? Thanks for u help so far!

Usually ibuprofen comes in 200mg. you can take this without a prescription.

When I went to the E.R. they gave me a prescription for ibuprofen 800mg. This is ok to take every 4 hours or so.

Ibuprofen is a type of drug called nsaid. This means it works because it takes away inflammation. This helps with pain and headache.

The only thing with ibuprofen is that the side effects (yes you are correct) are bad for your stomach. If you take too much at one time or for too long you can get ulcer or stomach bleed. For example I took ibuprofen for about a year and my stomach got sore but it is very helpful when you first get hurt.

Don't worry. What mg did you take? If you took 9 pills but they were only 200mg that is not a big deal. Also I should mention that whenever you take this you should take it with food so it will hurt your stomach less.

The only reason that a doctor would not give someone this is if they found a bleed in their brain. Because they did scans and they were normal for you you are ok. This drug makes your blood thinner so it will make a bleed bigger.

I checked my bottle of ibuprofen and the prescription was take 800mg three times a day. So if you did not take more than 2400mg a day it was fine.