A few weeks ago our son was diagnosed with Post Concussion Syndrome from playing rugby in the spring. After back-tracking, we've concluded the last concussion he had was May 2013 and approximately 3 others during the season.

This diagnosis came while treating his severe anxiety and depression over the summer. He failed a concussion impact test but we were able to establish a baseline. It now makes sense to our son why he felt the way he felt but we are having some good days, bad days and we continue to have dark days.

He has a prescription for both his depression and sleep deprivation. We are only on week two of the depression medication.

We need help. We don't know what's right or wrong for our son. He is a senior in high school. It is difficult to unplug our son from school, sports, technology, music and friendships. We're considering half days at school. He has always worked hard for his grades but there is no motivation whatsoever. He knows and accepts no drinking or drugs. Our son understands no loud music or ear buds in ear. But, the dark days are overwhelming and we can't find the right thing to say or help him occupy his time in order to let the brain heal.

Does anyone have any suggestions or comments?? Has anyone been through this with a young, active teenager?? Like we said earlier, we would truly appreciate the help and guidance as we continue to work with his school and doctor(s). Thanks,

Hello and welcome to NeuroTalk. This is a really good place.

I am a teacher and overcoming PCS, and most of my symptoms have abated. I also have a 17 yr old daughter who is a senior in high school, so I know how that goes.

I wonder if your son could handle half days at school right now. It's hard to say without knowing his symptoms. Early on, before I accpeted how sick I was, I did thinking work of making sub plans, and though it made me feel better to do something, I also know it did not help my recovery.

Can you involve the school counselor in giving you some advice too?

What does his neurologist think of half days?

Your son will maximize his recovery by really resting his brain, and that does mean leading a dull life for awhile. Limit the screens, and anything that overstimulates the brain, because it needs rest.

I don't have any other words for you right now, but there are other good people here who will weigh in.

Sincerely,

pm

Hi Welcome,
It's a rough ride. I have a 21 yr old who had to leave college two yrs ago. She read her first book two weeks ago and has a lot more energy. We are at a better place then we were last yr.

limiting sources of brain over stimulation will give him the best chance at recovery

Please read the vitamin sticky. "Mark from Idaho" has had so great posts for the younger people.

Recovery is slow. Tell us about his symptoms and there are readers who can help with what has worked for them.

Our best,

Welcome, Sorry to hear about your son. Poetry was straight to the point. Your son needs to lead the most boring and reclusive life possible for at least a few months. His coach and trainer have seriously put him at risk for both the near future and distant future.

Please disregard or seriously discount the value of the ImPACT concussion test. It does not have any value at predicting his recovery, his tolerance for another concussion or anything else important. The ONLY value ImPACT and other tests like it have is as an aid to convince a player and the player's parents to hold the player off the field. The Return to Play value is better than without the ImPACT test but not a true representation of his brain's tolerance for another trauma.

Don't neglect to have his upper neck checked out. Upper neck injuries can magnify concussion problems. Very few are skilled at diagnosing the upper neck injuries. Read the Vitamins sticky. It has some links at the bottom. www.nucca.org and www.atlasorthagonal.org can direct you to a specialist.

Please be very cautious with medications. Elavil (amitriptyline) is the most successful anti-depressant than can also help with sleep. Nortriptyline is also common with PCS.

I understand the depression that comes with PCS at his age. It can lead to a miserable existence, especially when he needs to withdraw from social and sports activities.

Please try to remember, You can not fix this. All you can do is quietly 'Be There' for him. Avoid asking him how he is doing. He is struggling enough internally. Trying to relate it to others is quite a cognitive challenge.

I only have internet access a few days a week. I'll try to check up on you two when I can.

My best to you both.

Thank you for your posts. These past few days have been rough. We did start him on 1/2 days of school because of the migraines.
Our son has become more angry & talks of hurting himself. He has also refused to take anymore pills because he believes they are not helping.
We have been so worried, we can't sit up in his room, & every time we would check on him, he would become more agitated & vocal.
We spoke on the way home from school about how we cannot live like this & keep him safe.
He voluntarily admitted himself into hospital today. We are so worried that we took the right action for him
He was angry with us when we left, I know he will continue to be angry, our hope is that he will get the help so he won't take his own life
I cannot believe how painful & heartbreaking this has been. We love him so much
Please pray for him

I will keep you in prayer.

Please keep us updated.

Sincerely,

pm

We haven't had trouble with depression but very much with boredom. Brain rest is very key in healing.

With my son, we have found that reading out loud to him seems to help. We read his old favorite books from about fourth grade.

We also let him listen to his Ipod hooked up to speaker and on a low volume while doing range of motion exercises. He is now able to play phase ten dice which also helps pass some time. With the dice game he only has to concentrate on one roll at a time.

He is getting closer to being able to walk independently but until then I take him for many walks in his wheelchair around town.

I know that these sound like very boring ideas. They are, but boredom and low activities are needed for healing.

My son had enough credits his senior year before he was injured, so he has graduated. We did have him go to Spanish and German classes for awhile last year, but he didn't feel comfortable being back into school.

He isn't able to focus enough to go to college yet. If your son goes part-time, be sure to pick classes that are not so much lecture based. Lecture/note taking may overload the brain too much.


Hope this helps some.

Our son went through a very similar situation last year at age 17 in high school. He was hurt during football, had to forgo playing for the season, and became extremely depressed because of the pain, headaches, and eventually had surgery.

Long story short, he was so depressed from the pain, not being able to play, and missing so much schoolwork he could not return to school and we even tried the 1/2 day or independent study. The school pushed for having him return because they lose money if a student doesn't attend a school day.
My son even started to isolate himself from all his friends.

I became more concerned about my son, then he began making suicidal statements and that was the final straw.

I just let him unload and talk to me and I listened. I asked him if we could get him help after hours of talking. Finally he agreed.

This is the hardest thing you can go through. KEEP STRONG! Sometimes if there is both mom and dad talking to him he may feel smothered. Our son felt better just one on one - with the one parent he could best connect with. Just listen and smile and tell him how much you love him and it will be ok. Every situation and child is different.

Our son was placed on medication and therapy. After being pushy and rather demanding, we found the one teacher at his school that he trusted and he went to her when he felt he was having an episode or bad day once he returned to school. She has been wonderful. She, in fact, suggested he come to her when he needed a place to relax. The school district has programs to help your son. If a doctor writes a note stating so, a teacher can come to your home for in home school. (California). I believe this is available in most states. They don't advertise this but it is available and was given to us.

I am praying for you and your family. We have been close to what you are going through. It is a rough road but you will persevere.

It's been a year now for us and things are finally getting back on track. Now talking to our son with a clearer mind we realized it was the injury, the hormones, the pain, the loss of playing his favorite sport, the headaches, and the pressure of school work that overwhelmed him. We still have a fragile son, but we've learned our boundaries and as he.

You are an awesome parent. I am praying for you, your son, and your family

Your encouragement, stories and prayers are so comforting. *We truly felt alone before finding this website. *We will pay it forward soon!

Where are we? * Day two at the hospital and we're working on tools for him to cope with his depression when he comes home. *Our 18 year old son is 2nd out of four kids (youngest 14, oldest 20). *Day one at the hospital, he smiled and interacted great with us as his older sister visited with us. *Today, day two, just mom and dad it went ok but we talked through a lot of his depression issues. *He wants to come home but he's putting too much emphasis on the concussion healing process and forgetting about the depression associated with his injury. *Bottom line, it was too far along before diagnosing Post Concussion Syndrome. *We're hoping to bring him home Monday at the latest.*

We are overwhelming him so one-on-one is much better. *We continue to smile and listen as we do cherish every word he releases. *Great idea with the dice and the iPad - we need to find ways to incorporate these to help him relax and let the brain heal.

On Wednesday, we're seeing a well-known pediatric and adult sports medicine doctor here in Chicago to see what additional insight he can offer. *Finally, we're contributing a some money to our sons school to encourage them to establish baselines for all student athletes. They are meeting all state requirements.

We should footnote, our sons school (catholic, downtown Chicago) has been amazing! *They have worked with his schedule, they have been praying for him and they have looked out for him while attending school. *It's week three of school and our son has yet to open one book so the road will be long! *They are willing to work with him as he needs the interaction with his peers.

Any continues responses about keeping young men unplugged to let their brains heal would be greatly appreciated and how to effectively help them keep up with his school work.

Thanks to all and our hearts go to those healing and helping!

wbgiv,

Glad to hear your son is tolerating hospitalization. Psychiatric hospitalization can be tough.

The offer of funding for Baseline testing is helpful but will be meaningless unless the coaches and trainers have a way to identify those who need post head impact testing. Players try to avoid reporting head impacts so they do not get pulled from play.

Please do not feel anxious about his progress. Nobody can even suggest a timeline for his recovery or his depression issues. Doctors try to give timelines that are not based on science.

If you can find any manual tasks for him to do, they can help him feel busy. The hands can not move any faster than an injured brain can process. Solitaire with real cards, working with clay, painting, drawing, drafting, knitting, crocheting, (NFL players often knit or crochet to help their brains settle down after a game.) and other simple manipulative tasks can be very beneficial.

I spent hours sorting through a huge collection of screws, nuts and bolts. The simplicity of picking up a piece and deciding what jar or pile to put it in allowed me to feel productive. The opportunity to feel productive or at least accomplish forward movement with a task is a great help.

Maybe he can try to learn card tricks or some other skills that require manual practice.

I think you need to prepare for a long road ahead. If he recovers sooner, great but depression and the meds that treat it will likely slow his recovery.

Also, if he has a new skill (card tricks) to use in a social setting, he will have something besides the sports he must avoid.

I spent years struggling with depression after my concussion in 1965 at 10 years old. The fact that you are aware of his depression now is a plus for your son.

My vitamin regimen posted in the sticky at the top was prescribed for me by a psychiatrist in 1982 when I suffered a depressive episode. It makes a world of difference in my ability to tolerate stress.

I hope this helps.

My best to you.