I got a concussion in football on November 3rd 2012. It is my second one, first one was in end of August of 2011. Anyways during the game I got smoked as catching a pass. Head to head hit and I was defenseless. Soon after a hit another defender came ovr and kneed me in the head as I was getting up. I don't know if this had any effect, however I felt pretty much fine which is extremely weird. I stayed in and then while returning a punt I got hit again and my head jolted back and fourth.now I felt the symptoms of a cncussion. Can anyone explain this. It's been 3 months and I missed football and basketball, I am becoming very sad and worried my headaches won't go away. School and friends is hard.

Would me going to watch soccer games a few weeks later which was 45 mins away affect it? Or going to a dance? How about using my cell phone a lot a few weeks after? Watching TV, video games?

Also I can hear my heartbeat, it is very strong when I lay down and I can hear it in my ears. I also get really warm sometimes. I am very annoyed by this heartbeat, also the vains near my temple on the side I got hit is very tight and throbs and sticks out. They didnt do this before.
I am becoming very sad about this is very irritable I just want my life to be back to normal. I passed the impact test last month but I still have headaches. Someone please help me with the heartbeat, vain throbbing and headaches!!!!!!!!!

Hi, and welcome to NeuroTalk. I am so sorry about your concussion and the headaches you are having. Many of us have experienced headaches, so you will get lots of good suggestions here.

You don't mention what kinds of doctors you have seen or what evaluations you have had. Have you had any CTs or MRIs? Have you had your vision evaluated? What have you been taking or doing for the headaches up to this point?

YoungBoii,

It sounds like you have never taken the time to get quiet rest. You have received quite a dinger. It appears your league does not teach and enforce proper use of the helmet and protection of players heads.

What have to been doing to help with recovery? I have a thread called Vitamin Supplements with a bunch of information. I'll top post it for you. Have you had any diagnostics done? How is your neck? Does it ever feel stiff or like you have more movement one way than the other? It is common for neck injuries to cause concussion symptoms to take longer to recover.

Tell us more about your symptoms and your daily routine / activities / diet.

What kind of head aches do you have?

I went in school the first Monday, then I stayed out of school for a week, when I went back I felt crappy so i went in at 930 everyday until now andninhad midterms now. I used to take Tylenol but it didnt do anything so i stopped. I gt an MRI and my neurologist didnt call me so i figure it came out fine. I had mild neck pain for a few days after the hit but it went away fine.
The hit was in a school rivalry game and the kid out a dirty hit in me .

Why would my vision need yo be evaluated an I think my MRI was good they didnt see anything.

Many of us have had vision problems crop up after a concussion. You might want to see if you can have a Vision Efficiency Evaluation (VEE). This will check if your eyes are working properly together. If they are not, this can either cause headaches or make your headaches worse. This is NOT the same as a regular eye exam.

You can find doctors who do these exams at http://www.braininjuries.org or http://www.nora.cc

Mark has good suggestions about a vitamin regimen. He may also have some suggestions about possible inflammation in your neck. I will also post a list of natural things you can do to strengthen your brain.

Another type of doctor you may want to try to see is a physiatrist. They are specialists in rehabilitation and can help you work toward getting back to normal. You can find a physiatrist in your area here: http://www.aapmr.org/patients/findph...s/default.aspx or ask your primary doctor for a referral to one.

See my post below for natural things you can do to help strengthen your brain.

Good luck!

Here are some natural things you can do to strengthen the brain:

- Eat a whole foods (clean eating) diet high in omega-3s and tryptophan. Take 3 tbsp of ground flax seed in juice every morning for a complete daily dose of both and then whatever you eat during the day is bonus. I also switched to a vegan diet, which is optimal for getting the nutrients you need across the blood-brain barrier. Not everyone wants to go vegan, but the most important thing is that you are eating whole foods and not processed or sugary foods.

- Be sure to stay well hydrated. Drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily (i.e. if you weigh 100lbs, drink 50 oz. of water).

- There are also hot and cold water treatments you can do to increase circulation to the brain. In the shower, alternate 3 minutes of hot water with 1 minute of cold for at least 3 cycles. The greater the temperature contrast, the greater the benefit (just be sure not to scald yourself). Don't get the very hot water on your head, but do get it on your shoulders. Cold water is okay to get on your head. Always end on cold.

- Sunlight through the skin is good for vitamin D and through the eyes is good for melatonin (sleeping at night).

- Listening to baroque music (such as Bach) can help strengthen frontal lobe function (provided it does not increase symptoms).

- Exercise (even light exercise such as walking) can reduce harmful biochemicals and release endorphins. Again, be sure you are keeping it gentle enough to avoid symptoms.

- Avoid caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and other non-prescribed drugs.

- Avoid or strictly limit television, video games, smart phone, and computer usage.

- Get fresh air daily and take 10-20 minutes specifically to do deep diaphragmatic breathing.

- Try to have regular times for sleeping and waking.

- Connect with spiritual practice, even something as small as making a list of 3-5 things you are grateful for.

These things will strengthen the brain naturally and shouldn't interfere with any medications or treatments your doctors want to use.

Thank you, it is very hard to do these thing with school, I can do a lot of them. However why shouldn't I use tv phones and video games!? I stayed away for a week or so but after a while I had to keep using them since there is nothing else to do since I can't play sports. Also what is a physciatris and what should I tell my neurologist this Monday at my appt with her?! Should I ask for meds, acupuncture?

TVs and video games have a lot of sensory input. That sensory input places high demands on your brain and does not allow your brain to rest properly. You may be having headaches because your brain is trying to work too hard keeping up with these activities.

Try to think of low-tech things you can do, like go for a walk, talk to a friend (in person or on the phone), color, build things with Legos or Play-doh. They may not seem "exciting" at first, but they will pass the time and they will also let your brain rest.

A PHYSIATRIST is different from a psychiatrist. A PHYSIATRIST is a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Their job is to help people recover from injuries, and they often can refer you to physical, occupational, cognitive, or vision therapy that will help restore you to a state like you had before the injury.

At your appointment with your neurologist, I would ask the following:
- why am I still having headaches?
- do I need to take any more time off school to let my brain rest?
- can you prescribe a medication to prevent headaches (something like elavil)?
- can you refer me to someone to have my vision evaluated so see if it is contributing to headaches?
- can you refer me to someone to have my neck evaluated to see if it is contributing to headaches?
- do you know of a good physiatrist I could see? (please be sure you ask for a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation)