So i was a pedestrian hit by a car...my head went through the windshield and i was thrown 20 feet, head bouncing off the pavement...ended up in the hospital with a concussion and a fractured skull. The first night i was in the ER they performed a ct scan and i ended up signing myself out against medical advice( not smart i know) I ended up going back two days later to get my medical records and they said they wanted to admit me to the ER to check me out again. They gave me another CT scan and thats when they told me i had the concussion and skull fracture. They said everything looked fine ( no swelling or bleeding). They set me up with a neurosurgeon appointment a week after. I went to see the neurosurgeon and he just tested the strength of my arms and legs and told me i'd recover in 6 to 9 months and that was it...

my question is... Am i in the clear for any possible bleeding and/or swelling of the brain?

I had usual concussion symptoms that were getting better as time passed but this last week i thought i was fine enough to party with some friends in which i consumed a decent amount of alcohol for a couple days (again not very smart on my part). Now my symptoms have returned plus new ones and they are worse then before. I am wondering if I just set myself back or i need to get checked out for a more serious complication....it has been a week since i partied with my friends and i am still not feeling well....dizziness, lack of coordination, memory loss, inability to follow conversations.

mand101,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

The second CT Scan was at the best time to identify a brain bleed. They usually are most imageable at a few days after the injury.

It is very likely your drinking and partying is causing your struggles. You should stay away from any intoxicating substances for at least 6 months if not longer. Getting drunk should be off your list. You will be surprised how the once injured brain can be very sensitive to alcohol.

You don't say how long it has been since your injury. It sounds like you may be still in the early stages of recovery.

Thanks for your reply! I am almost 2 months out from the initial injury. The first ct scan was on fri april 25 and the second was sunday april 27....I am just curious if i could've done damage or if it just set me back... I am definitely refraining from all substances from here on out... The doctors and the neurosurgeon were not very informative. So I have little to no knowledge of what i am dealing with.
So am I in the clear for brain bleeding and or swelling? Am i just dealing with post concussion issues? what can i do to get over this? I know everyone says rest but ive also heard graded exercise to be beneficial...thanks for your help

Rest with a level of activity to keep good blood flowing through the head. Exercise should not be started until all symptoms have resolved. Then, as you say, graded exercise to stay below the threshold of symptoms returning. You are still early in your recovery.

how long does it take to fully recover from this? 6 to 9 months ?

There is no way to predicts recovery periods. 85% recover in 6 weeks. The rest can be varied.

So i probably set myself back by partying. I was feeling pretty good at the 7 week mark but now i am back to where i started if not worse.

will i ever get back to feeling normal?

Probably, but partying will never help. I was instructed by my neuro back in 1971 when I had my first cognitive decline that I should stay away from alcohol. When I tried a single glass of beer, I was messed up for the whole next day.

Just remember, once concussed, always concussed. You may recover to normal in normal situations but you will likely be sensitive to stressors that can cause symptoms to return.

So i will always be like this? always concussed? symtpoms returning? Sorry for all the questions but im in the dark about all this