85% sounds good to me. I will definitely look her up and try to convince my son to see another doc, but for now he is sick sick sick of seeing them (pt,st etc). I have been able to speak with two people from this area who had PCS. Both are doing great, one said it took him about 3 months to recover (he was in a car accident) The other said 6 months (he was clubbed over the head repeatedly). They both seem to have the same description of "I just woke up one day and whatever was there was gone" I am just hoping my son will recover, even on those time limits I am ok with, the sooner the better. I don't know if his attitude of "forget this" will help him or hurt him. I know when talking to the person who got into the car accident, he said when he finally made the decision to get back into life and do things and push himself a bit he actually started recovering faster. He said he had decided he was done with it. Boy, i sure hope my son knows what he's doing. So scary. You know what also scares me, I had never heard of PCS in my life until this. I have been in plenty of Science text books and never once came across this condition, the symptoms--nothing ever. I really wish there was more information out there so that these athletes (and anyone else who suffers a concussion) would know what they can be facing with repeated concussions. There also needs to be a standard of care associated with concussions. Like a mandatory 3 day rest +/- (doing nothing! and then observed, follow up calls) so that these kids don't slip through the system. I really think if doc would've said rest, no school etc. (and even evaluated him when I called the 3 times the first week) my son would be healing faster (maybe not)-- But it sure is rediculous!

In my opinion, the blame falls on his school, the coaches and trainer. Concussion in sports is a big issue in Idaho. He should have had good support from the start.

I don't think your son will fall in the 85% category. He has had too many concussions. He has Multiple Impact Syndrome which is the cause of his prolonged symptoms. Most likely, he will need to develop life skills and disciplines to avoid and prevent relapses. Contact sports are over for him. He needs to focus on regaining his academic skills because he will need them the rest of his life. Football and contact sports are a young man's game until injuries take over.

You may need to just stand back and wait for him to ask for help. In time, he likely will. Watch his personality. PCS can cause impulsivity and outbursts that can cause legal trouble. He may struggle to properly recognize social cues.

Try to be patient and just watch and keep your own journal. Don't tell him he is doing better or worse. He knows far more than you can ever observe.

My best to you.

I know that contact sports are over for him (although he hasn't realized it yet), and he may not be one of the 85% (but then again he may?), the friend I know of that made a full recovery around 6 mo. dealt with multiple impact. (this person was actually kidnapped and clubbed repeatedly many times a day every day for four days--same spot front of their head.) It took them 6 mo. to recover and finally feel "normal" again. So there is hope. My son seems to be dealing with this better than I am. Headaches have lessened and not been as much of an issue as they were the first 4 weeks. he is able to go to sleep without tossing and turning 4 hrs a night now---he did that the first 3-4 weeks until the headache broke. He is still having a hard time with reading and computers, but movies don't seem to bother him. He has a friend with opposite symptoms right now (lucky her, she can read, but no movies for her) Any suggestions on regaining his academic skills? He is starting to retain things in his Hon. classes, able to do homework (which was unthinkable the first 3-4 weeks), slow and gradual. he went to a low key hockey game yesterday-- threw some earplugs in and went and took a walk with his pcs friend when things started to bother him (they both needed a break) but after being outside for a sec and the walk was able to go and continue the rest of the game. He came home with big smiles and just happy to spend the day with good friends. (luckily he has a friend going through the same thing-- her injury was prior to his though, but they have been going to the same pt so they can bond there). I'm just waiting to see how he does today after a busy day. Do you think it is too much?

Blame the lack of good concussion information on the NFL and NCAA. They fought the medical science for decades.

I see you asked about a good neuro on FB. A good neuro will not help if your son is not willing to slow down. Recovery is achieved by the patient, not the doctor.

The tossing and turning and head aches when trying to sleep suggests neck and upper back inflammation. This is where Jill Thompson can be a big help. As I said before, he needs his neck and shoulder muscles to relax so he can get free of muscle tension head aches. Range of motion therapy as done by most PTs is not going to fix this.

If helped me. Hope it can help your son.

My best to you both.

Hi Mark, I wanted to thank you for all of your help. We are at month 5. The concussion clinic, i feel, was a big waste of time (healing time) for my son, very frustrating, with all of the appointments wasted, he could have been home resting....which likely would have been best. All they did was monitor, test, yes you can't focus, no you can't do this or that with no resolve. I think it was a little much. Time... time is the healer is what I have learned. My son is back in school full time. Taking his honors classes, doing quite well compared to a lot of people who have gone through this. He is able to be on the comp again, use his cell phone and headaches---going away, not daily anymore. (we had a bout last mo. where his doc put him on a med, side effect--headache, after being on that med for a month, got off the med, guess what, headache went away. The thing that seems to be the biggest obstacle for him currently is mood. Depression. He just can't seem to get himself going. He is currently on no meds. Any suggestions? I know he is dealing with PCS still, I can see it in his watered over eyes, but I am glad he is doing better. He is able to take tests, retain information, so that tells me his brain is on the mend? Thanks for the help! We did see Jill as well, she is one thorough woman-- went from head to toe. step by step right. at the current moment, my hopes are that by a year out his mood will be even better, if we can just hang on. What's your opinion?

katie,

I am glad to hear you son is doing better.

Depression is a tough issue. I dealt with it many times over the years. The vitamin regimen provided the best results regarding depression. Has the doc tried a low dose of amitriptyline, 10 mgs before bed ?

I actually just asked 3 weeks ago about that drug, they took him off effexor (helped his mood greatly, but constant headache with it-- once they took him off, they put him on zoloft, within 4 days my son was done with that med, so now he is on nothing--mood still down though). I will try to get him on supplements again. I was finding his vitamins in the flower pot in front of my home. He said they made his stomach hurt. There was a point he put on all the brakes and didn't want to do anything (November-Jan). He has been going to pt180 the last couple weeks so i will take what I can get. Maybe now he will be more apt to take a daily routine of vitamins. Who knows, we'll try!