First post

acvfalcon81 · 09-16-2012, 05:06 PM

So about 5 weeks ago I got my 4th concussion over about 10 years, but ocassionally I have ringing in my ears every now and then but not often, my wife says i seem to forgot a lot of things she tells me, and loud noises and sunlight still just kill my head. I am in the military and I was wondering if anyone here is/was mil and knows if this is a med board issue? This happened on-duty, non combat related, it was during PT.

rmschaver · 09-16-2012, 05:27 PM

Been along time since I ws in. Not sure what you mean by med board but the mil does recognize concussion/pcs pretty well. Thank you for your service to our country. What branch do you serve in?

acvfalcon81 · 09-16-2012, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmschaver

Been along time since I ws in. Not sure what you mean by med board but the mil does recognize concussion/pcs pretty well. Thank you for your service to our country. What branch do you serve in?

Air Force. Med board basically breaks down to the military considers you cannot do your job anymore they will medically discharge or retire you

Mark in Idaho · 09-16-2012, 06:30 PM

Falcon,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. It sounds like you need to understand your symptoms before presenting them to medical help. There is a good resource called the TBI Survival Guide at www.tbiguide.com It is 84 pages that you can print out. You and your wife can both read it and highlight your symptoms.

Understanding your symptoms can help you learn work-arounds and other coping skills so they don't get in the way of your work. So, do you work with 16's? What do you do specifically?

You want to learn work-arounds before someone else starts to notice your struggles. What other symptoms do you have?

My best to you.

rmschaver · 09-17-2012, 09:33 AM

Mark is dead on with his advice. His advice is sound, practical and intelligent. I also served AF 81 TO 84. Integrated avonics 326xx. Sometimes I miss it but regarding my last reporting officer, he was the reason I seperated. Best of luck.

acvfalcon81 · 09-17-2012, 04:54 PM

I do not work with aircraft. I am a security forces k9 handler. Involves a lot of movement including being tackled by dogs. Symptoms are a pretty consistent headache, I wake up with one every morning. Doctors have diagnosed me with a concussion when it happened. Also once in a while I get ringing in my ears and I have had bad short term memory/being really forgetful and last but not least I get dizzy every now and then

Mark in Idaho · 09-17-2012, 05:35 PM

If being tackled by a dog is part of your training, you will be putting your future at risk by continuing this occupation.

Did any of your previous concussions happen while working?

What were you doing during PT that lead to a concussion?

What kind of activities/sports did you participate in during jr high and high school?

Concussions have quite a cumulative effect. Then, when one adds in the sub-concussive impacts that tend to not be counted as injuries, the cumulative damage can be quite extreme. The total should also include any serious drunk episodes, especially during youth plus any general anesthesia.

Listing all of the past injuries and possible injuries helps to predict the probability of more serious struggles as one ages.

acvfalcon81 · 09-17-2012, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

If being tackled by a dog is part of your training, you will be putting your future at risk by continuing this occupation.

Did any of your previous concussions happen while working?

What were you doing during PT that lead to a concussion?

What kind of activities/sports did you participate in during jr high and high school?

Concussions have quite a cumulative effect. Then, when one adds in the sub-concussive impacts that tend to not be counted as injuries, the cumulative damage can be quite extreme. The total should also include any serious drunk episodes, especially during youth plus any general anesthesia.

Listing all of the past injuries and possible injuries helps to predict the probability of more serious struggles as one ages.

I was playing basketball when I got this one. I played football from 4th grade until I graduated, and got 3 concussions throughout that time. Only time under was for getting wisdom teeth pulled. Still played until now a lot of backyard football

Mark in Idaho · 09-17-2012, 11:30 PM

What positions did you play in football?

Football is know for unreported concussions due to the "shake it off and get back into the game" attitude. Different positions have different rates of expected impacts.

Basketball is know for head impacts as players try to move past one another or jump up under another's head or chin. Add in the occassional header to the floor and it can be a risky sport for a previously concussed brain. It is considered a contact sport from an injury stand point.

acvfalcon81 · 10-01-2012, 05:38 PM

Sorry it took so long to reply. Anyways, I played slot reciever and safety. I just had an MRI and doctor told me I have discoloration and damage showing on the MRI but did not elaborate. Tomorrow I go to a special TBI clinic for further evaluation. I've also been having a lot of anger issues.