in need of some reassurance

[mgd9]

hi i am a 19 year old who has suffered 9 concussions in 5 years. my last concussion was in august 2011. i am new to this site and i was wondering if anyone else has had a bunch of concussions and how it effects them. is anyone getting better?

i'm just at a stand still and need some reassurance that things get better. i feel as though i haven't really been me for the past 6 years, like everyday i am living in a daze.

sometimes i feel like i have no control over what comes out of my mouth, i get angry fast, over insignificant things and all this is frustrating because i realize i am doing this but not until after. i just can't even control it, it's not violent, just aggravated mostly.

[Mark in Idaho]

mgd9,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. I have suffered 14 concussions over my lifetime. Half were before I was 20.

Tell us about the symptoms you are struggling with. Some will get better. You will need to learn work-arounds and accommodations for some of the others. There is life after concussions.

Did you suffer your concussions playing sports? What sports?

What have doctors and therapists told you about your condition?
What are you doing to try to get better?

Tell us as much as you want. There are a lot of good people here. Concussions require a wholistic approach to get better.

Keep in touch.

My best to you.

[wakey]

Mark,

Just curious what were you doing that you hit your head so much before you were 20 (if you don't want to answer that's fine!)?

[sospan]

i can't speak for Mark but I can recall many times - spent a week in hospital after falling off wall, slipped on ice ht head, playing rugby (several), crashed cars. blown across the room in gas blast. The odd bit of fisticuffs . There are probably many more by the time I was leaving my teens

Whilst none of them were particularly major its the cumulative effect that can do the damage. And of course the older you are the longer you take to heal.

I have been 11 months now, although I am a long way off from where I want to be, I feel the corner has been turned to recovery -

[rmschaver]

IMO yes we do get better. I am 6 months post injury. In a doctors visit today with a psychologist she told me that since I have been seeing her I have improved in small increments. I liken it to watching a tree grow. 5 months ago I had sever headaches and so many symptoms that it was overwhelming and depressing. Today I manage what few are left and have more good days than bad. I have to admit I may not be as I was pre injury but I am appreciative of what I have.

[Mark in Idaho]

wakey,

fell down stairs at 8 years old.
Severe concussion from bike accident at 10.
Beat up by an older bully at 11, just because.
Wrestling concussion when coach used me as a 'dummy' for our best wrestler at 13
Concussions from heading the ball playing soccer at 15.
Extreme high fever at 19. 105+ left me in convulsions
Vertical spinal compression accident at 19.

Only the soccer concussions were due to voluntary involvement.

[Concussion]

Sad but true Wakey, many of us here - those who post alot in response and those who don't have had numerous concussion injuries throughout our lives; with and without loss of consciousness and sequelae throughout our lives that we recognized or not, dependent on the family and life situations.

As Mark related his, mine were broken down in my first post, and I even now recall more when I was younger then I had posted, like being pushed down 15 steps by my older brother, and once pulled down half those same steps banging my head on each one again later in my youth, just because he was my older brother and could get away with his bully ways....


We all have em, its just remembering them all thats the problem sometimes.

[wakey]

Thanks. I guess that's true. I have participated in contact sports and had a few falls down the stairs in my life. Never anything like PCS symptoms (except once for a few hours), but apparently those subconcussive impacts add up.

[sospan]

I guess the cumulative effect is the bit we find the hardest. We have had bumps before been dizzy,even seen stars but it clears soon afterwards. When we get hurt again it seems odd because we used to recover quickly now it seems a marathon