New member here. Just reading up on this. 3 months back the doctor diagnosed me with a closed head injury. He stated he diagnosed this way instead of a mild concussion so it would be easier for me to get cleared for work. I've had 3 previous concussions that I know of.

The situation is unique kind of. I was training with my M4, doing a standard rifle drill. Wearing full body armor...but no helmet. Anyways the round ricocheted off the back stop in hit me in the head. Felt like i got hit by a baseball. There was blood. Our medic cleaned it up and I kept training. Anyways as the day progressed I started feeling worse and worse. Finally at the end of the training day I went to the ER. So here I am 3 months later. Head pressure, sharp stabbing pains in my head, slight dizziness and some nausea now and then. Obviously i can't do my regular job so I'm sitting a desk. More significantly the Doctor is concerned even if I recover in the long term that I may not be able to go back to my regular duties. Suffice it to say I can't control my work enviornment and it's when and not if I take another good hit to the head given my occupation. So that's where I am. Just trying to learn as much as I can to educate myself and see what happens next.

Copied your post here to the main area for hellos & discussion.

jafo0799,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

I am totally confused by your doctor. His logic does not make sense.

There is not much we can say without knowing more about your symptoms and any treatments tried. It is impossible for anybody to give you a prognosis but we may be able to help you with your current issues.

What do you do ? Cop, military, high end security ?

How and when did you get your prior concussions ?

"Head pressure, sharp stabbing pains in my head, slight dizziness and some nausea now and then" How long do the sharp stabbing pains last ? Have you tried pain meds or anti-inflammatory meds ? How does head pressure stop you from your job ? How often do you have the slight dizziness ? Is it in response to movement ? (getting up from sitting, etc) How dizzy do you get ? Unable to stand or just a dizzy sensation ?

Law Enforcement. That was just the ER doctor giving the initial prognosis. I have since seen a regular doctor and neurolgist since then. Head pressure is constant...sometimes it's bad. It varies. Its always there though. Stabbing pains are random come and go. Varies in strength. Things get worse if I exert myself...learned that the hard way. I would say if had to go back to regular duty in my condition, it could be done. Can't say I would be too confident about it though. Plus the chance of taking a another hit in my occupation is pretty high. Neurologist wasn't that helpful. Didn't give me much information, but just rest it'll get better. Put me on Nortriptyline. Migranes are gone so I guess it's somewhat working. Also have Tramadol if it gets really bad. I don't take that much. The nausea is a few times a day i would say. It's not that bad. Slight dizzieness it's random. Hard to put a number on it as it comes and goes. I would say it's not related to movement. I do have the constant feeling of being a bit off. Hard to describe. I can stand, run, lift. I can pass all the balance type tests, just takes me a bit more focus. Best way I describe it too people is like if feels like a hangover 24/7. You just get use to it and deal with it.

As far as my prior concussions. First one is in 2000 got layed out by a bad guy. Second one was in 2006, Flashbang inadvertently went off on my tact vest during a raid....that was not fun at all. Third around 2008 or 09. Softball to the back of the head, sliding into home. Didn't go the hospital and just toughed it out. So no offical diagnosis, but I knew what a concussion was and believe me it was. After a couple weeks that went away. Then this last one early September of this year. So at this point its just wait and see. My regular Doctors is going to make some calls talk to some other Neurologists and the Mayo Clinic.

It sounds like your brain has had a rough time. Have you ever had any diagnostics and work on your neck, especially your upper neck ? Neck injuries are common to 80% of concussions. They can cause head aches, dizziness, and a whole myriad of symptoms. The recent hit could have caused you to jerk you head back and aggravate a residual injury for the softball hit.

I suggest you take this recovery slow. With your history, you have a greater likelihood of prolonged symptoms that can seriously restrict your job. I think you should be seriously considering your options for your future. I'd be concerned whether you can be the reliable back up to other officers in a high stress/risk situation. The stabbing head aches are likely vaso spasms. They can go away then hit you at the worst time and completely throw you off your focus. I have them and have not found any treatment for them. Docs don't know what to do with them.

You should check out the Vitamins sticky at the top. Look at post 101 for Nov 8, 2014. It has the latest information. The injured brain has more nutritional needs that an uninjured brain.

My best to you.

I see a chiropractor every month, just for regular maintenance. And yes, the subject has come up for me having to take a medical retirement. I'll look at the vitamin sticky. I'm taking it slow as you mentioned. It helps that its winter so I'm not itching to get outside. If it was nice out it would be worse, because my favorite hobby taking my car out to the track and running with other fellow car enthusiasts. It would be very sad if I couldn't do any more track events. For now I'll just take it slow and see what develops.

Id say take it slow, your very early in your recovery. Noone can gauge just exactly how long it cant take. In all actuality we never full recover. Whats done is done, its just a matter of how lucky you get, and how many compounded brain traumas have added up.

As an ex LE officer I can say that anything related to what your doing is going to be both cognitively and physically bad for your brain.

What state are you in? In MA I know cops and fd are 100% protected from a sustained injury, even during training. Im sure your unionized, I would contact your rep and tell them whats going on as well as finding a legitmate dr that will agree with you.

No offense, but you are a huge liability to both your city, yourself, and any case reports or anything related to LE.

As stated, contact your union rep. Its horrible to be out of work, but in your case you should be covered 100% in both pay, holding your job, and medical coverage. (thats of course if this happened either on the job, or official training)

Keep us posted, and just relax. Take it a day at a time, and try not to focus on whats going on. Keep notes for your dr as to what you feel, but just dont think about what your feeling constantly. Anxiety is a huge part of brain injury, and can hinder recovery. It causes extreme stress, which can exasperate your symptoms.

I'm in Iowa. The injury was on duty one of our tactical training days. Just saw my regular Doctor who I'm seeing for this past monday. She said give it 6 months from the incident before we make any long term decisions. February would be 6 months. I'm also trying to get another Neurologist who's not contracted to the city for another opinion. My current Neurologist said was just rest it'll get better. Didn't really explain anything to me. My major concern first if I'll get back to normal and second if I do what happens when I take another jolt to the head. Which almost inevitable given what us in Law Enforcement do.

As a LE officer your fully covered by state and national laws to any on job injury. You do not need to see an actual workmans comp dr. You can seek and find your own neuro's through your pcp and your city NEEDS to pay it 100%. You should also be receiving 100% of your pay and insurance right now as well.

Contact your union rep and they will have more details If you need help private message me with some details and I can further look into it myself for you.