[WorriedMom21]

Hi,

My son (15 years old) got concussion 4 weeks about during soccer game at school. Just wanted to kick the ball with his head and didn't do it properly.

He didn't know he had a concussion.The headache started right away, he took advil and continue going to school for two days. Advil never helped. He just had headache all the time.

After two days he told us about what happened and I took him to the doctor next morning. ( Day 3). Doctor didn't do any tests and told us to rest at least for 2 weeks.

He rested all the time ( except of one evening shed he insisted to go to school winter orchestra concert and played clarinet for 20 minutes. His headaches were not severe.

After tree weeks the headaches didn't go away. I took him to the doctor again. And he told me the same. Rest and absolutely not to go back to school with headaches.

Now it's 4 weeks. Last two days he had migraines that are worse that before. He is sad an depressed.

I think I should see another doctor. Should I insist on MRI or something else? I don't know what can I do to make him better.

Thank you for reading it. I am really desperate...

[courtney.w]

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your son's struggles! Others will come by with more experience than mine, as I am fairly new to all of this myself (my concussion was two months ago).

It may not hurt to get a second opinion, but unfortunately with concussions, often, treating the symptoms, getting rest, and following a strict vitamin regiment are about all that can be done. For most of us, some days are better than others. There's a sticky at the top of the forum page that deals with this topic in great detail and gives good advice for which ones to take. That may be a great place to start.

Does he have any symptoms beyond the headaches? Any nausea, vision changes?

Best of luck, and please keep us posted.

[WorriedMom21]

Thanks you, courtney.w.
No, he doesn't have any other symptoms. Only headache that doesn't go away.

[courtney.w]

Originally Posted by WorriedMom21

Thanks you, courtney.w.
No, he doesn't have any other symptoms. Only headache that doesn't go away.

When you say he is resting, how much rest is he getting? What is his course load at school like? Also, how much time is he spending on computers, smart phones, etc? He may need to take a few days and rest from everything, including anything electronic with a screen, preferably where he can take naps all day in a quiet, dark room.

Is he currently taking any of the vitamins that were mentioned in that sticky?

You mentioned that he is having problems with depression. Maybe it's time to consider talking to the doctor about an anti-depressant. Some people with migraines tend to manage them better with the use of an anti-depressant.

My heart goes out to him. It's hard enough to be 30 years old and trying to live life with this crap... I can't imagine going through this at 15. I work with high school students, so I see firsthand just how important their social lives are to them.

Edited to add: I just re-read your original post and saw where you said that the doctor told him not to go back to school until the headaches go away. Going to school with those headaches would only make them worse, but if your son is sitting at home and playing on the computer, watching tv, etc, all day, he may not be getting the rest that his brain needs. That's a hard thing for a 15-year-old to understand, and probably even harder for them to follow through on, but it may be worth talking to him and asking if he is really resting. Resting for the flu and resting for a brain injury are two different types of rest.

[WorriedMom21]

he was not using his computer for 2 weeks. But now he is checking his emails. TV doesn't exist in our apartment. But he plays guitar ( an electric one (). Not long but still I worry about it.
It will be very difficult to catch up at school. I was trying to do some revisions with him ( like 20 minutes) but doctor said no.

[courtney.w]

Originally Posted by WorriedMom21

he was not using his computer for 2 weeks. But now he is checking his emails. TV doesn't exist in our apartment. But he plays guitar ( an electric one (). Not long but still I worry about it.
It will be very difficult to catch up at school. I was trying to do some revisions with him ( like 20 minutes) but doctor said no.

As someone who works in a school system, I can tell you that, while I understand your concern about his makeup work, don't let it cause you to lose sleep at night. Legally, if the doctor has not released him to be able to do school work, the school has to work with him on getting his work caught up. The doctor probably knows the ins and outs of the laws in your state, but usually what they will do is place the student on a plan called a "504 Plan," which means that the student needs accommodations to be successful due to a medical condition. Placing him on one of those plans would give him protection to ensure that his teachers have to work with him to a reasonable level, and it would also give the teachers the right to give him extra time to get caught up... otherwise, they can get in big trouble for giving him special treatment if other parents find out. It's sad that we live in a world where something like that is necessary, but it is.

If he's 15, I assume he's in high school... probably 9th or 10th grade? The good news about being in high school is that, even if he is still behind at the end of the year, the school can probably give him "incompletes" on his academic credits and let him get caught up in summer school or next year. He may have to double up on credits here and there after this year, but he would still stand a good chance at being able to graduate on time.

I would start looking into that next week, when the schools are open again... in the meantime, don't let it bother you too much.

I hope he feels better soon.

[Margarite]

To me, the first most important thing is not getting another concussion, and the second is to not be depressed.
No matter how much rest I have gotten, I do not get better, so I would rather just not be depressed about the headache. 4 weeks of rest is a very long time, and maybe it would be good for him to go back to school and distracted from his pain. I would say take him to a neurologist who specializes in migraines and then if that doc says its OK, let him go back to school, but not to sports. The other thing is if he has trouble studying, books on tape helped me a lot.
Each person is different with how much they can handle, but the main thing for me was not to be depressed.
Another thing that helped me was to realize that I could be better next week, but if I was not better in a year, that was OK too. There is a lot of good to be gained from this sort of injury, you can learn a lot of compassion and patience for other people who are in pain, and you learn how to ask for help.
It is very scary at times because I feel like I may never get any better, and I got my first concussion when I was 19 and now I am 24, but I just have to keep realizing that my family and friends still love me as I am and that I can still live a very full life, even if it is a different life than I imagined for myself before the accident.
I am not an example of what one concussion can do, because I have had at least 4 over 3.5 years, and it has been only a year and a half since my last concussion, so do not get depressed by the length of time this has taken me, but I am a warning to those who think it is not a big deal to get another concussion.
Good Luck!
In Christ,
~Margarite

[WorriedMom21]

Thank you very much for your support and advice.
I was thinking the same about him returning to school but not to physical ed, class, but doctor was so insisting on him staying home....
Tomorrow i all try to get an appointment with another doctor. And see what he says.
Tomorrow school starts again after holidays:-( But he will stay home once again:-(
I am also not sure how to arrange for him to be free from physical ed. classes. The school is very strict about that.

[courtney.w]

Originally Posted by WorriedMom21

Thank you very much for your support and advice.
I was thinking the same about him returning to school but not to physical ed, class, but doctor was so insisting on him staying home....
Tomorrow i all try to get an appointment with another doctor. And see what he says.
Tomorrow school starts again after holidays:-( But he will stay home once again:-(
I am also not sure how to arrange for him to be free from physical ed. classes. The school is very strict about that.

The school has to have a doctor's note in order to be able to exempt him in any way, shape, or form, from PE or any other class. Once the doctor releases him to go back to school with limitations, you can talk that over with the guidance office at the school, since they are responsible for working with administrators to ensure that student schedules are adequate.

If his headaches are still bad, I can't see how going back to school will help, unless he can manage them with sun glasses and ear plugs to reduce the impact of bright lights and loud noises... but then he would need a doctor's note for the glasses, and honestly I have known several teens who were supposed to follow similar instructions for a variety of reasons and refused to do so because they didn't want to draw unwanted attention from their peers (you know how it is... teens think everything revolves around them lol). I don't know your son, but just from my experiences I would would push himself and just make his symptoms worse.

Maybe you could convince the doctor to let him go back for half days, if the school can work out his schedule to make that plausible?

[WorriedMom21]

I will try to find some answers next week. Everything was close for the holidays.
I hope I could find a good doctor for him. The one that saw him for concussion is not our family one and I feel like he didn't really answered my questions.
His headaches are not super bad. Just never going away. And he gets tired. I am not sure now if the headaches got better in these 4 weeks. He is not sure too.
I will call the school as well tomorrow. I am not sure we have the same rules here in Canada (Quebec). His school is a very tough one. Will see what the say.