My 22 year old son was in a minor car accident last weekend, rear ended, hard enough to lift the rear of the car off the ground a little. He sustained some whiplash and a relatively mild concussion, serious enough to make him vague and disoriented over the last couple of days, a little confused and forgetful, but at other times alert and lucid. We took him to our doctor who diagnosed it as a mild concussion. But last night he fell and hit his head on the concrete floor of our garage, causing a small amount of bleeding and a small goose egg. But now he has a severe concussion, concussion-on-concussion, if you like, and he's a mess. Very bad headache, nausea, dizzy, no balance, just all around feeling terrible. We took him to the doctor again about an hour ago, who said it could take weeks, even months, for him to fully recover. I'm just wondering whether anyone here has had experience, direct or indirect, or just knowledge of, concussions. I've read about 4 or 5 websites, but it's more personal experience, and I guess, mainly some reassurance I'm looking for here. Anyone help? Thanks.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Has the doctor actually examined him? *blink* Because the last time I had a concussion, they actually, y'know, scanned my brain.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Yes, he needs to be examined to make sure there is no bleeding inside the brain. I mean, it's not enough just to look at someone and say "oh it's probably a concussion."
I remember watching some emergency show with my husband once, and the doctor was doing a scan on a kid that came in after falling off his skateboard. The doctor even admitted to the camera "It's doubtful there will be anything, but we do this as a precaution."
The kid had a fractured skull. The doctor then said "Well, that's WHY we do this as a precaution. If you'd asked me if I thought the kid had a serious injury I would have said no. But we're not perfect, so we have protocols and one of them says "scan their heads" and we did, and thankfully we caught this."
Just a little anecdote to reiterate my point - please, please make sure he is thoroughly examined and scanned!
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Cashew, if you are in any doubt, take him to the ER. Sometimes, it is the best gateway for more in depth care.
Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :
The doctor's sure he doesn't have internal bleeding because for the most part he's been lucid. He had xrays the day after the original accident and they were fine. The doctor told us to keep an eye on him and if there's any deterioration bring him back. Tom, it's reassuring to know that you've had a concussion and have survived it so formidably, if you know what I mean.)
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Not scanning makes me nervous, even if he's been lucid.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Traumatic Brain Injury should be evaluated with CAT scan and/or MRI and X-ray. There are some great rehab facilities for TBI, but I don't know what to recommend in your neck of the woods.
I wish your son a speedy and complete recovery.
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
Yeah, a double concussion isn't a good thing. Several small concussions can be worse than one big one. Seriously, they took an x-ray? That doesn't seem normal to me.
Especially since he's altered.
Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :
Thanks for the good thoughts everyone. I'd love to hear someone's own experience with a concussion if anyone has one. Recovery time, etc.
Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :
Xray was to check for any fractures, etc.
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
Yes, it can take months to recover.
My brother had the most memorable one for me. He was only 2 or 3 and fell off a slide. Two months later, he my mother figured out why he cried when we went bike riding. He had a little seat on the back of her bike and he was crying ever time there was a pot hole or a curb. He had pain in his head at every bump for 3 months.
Posted by whiskysunrise (Member # 6819) on :
My only experience with a concusion was that an English teacher who one and was trying to do grades. She told us that she walked into a door.
Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :
I've just come home and he looks better and feels better than he did this morning when he was miserable. I asked him how he was feeling and he said, "Bored", which I'll take as a positive over the way he was this morning. His balance is better too.
Posted by ctm (Member # 6525) on :
Cashew, I'm glad your son is doing better! COncussions are scary. My 11 year old had a mild concussion earlier this year-- very freaky to see how it affected her. She was mostly better after a few days, but her memory wasn't as sharp for a good month or two after.
You said your son had xrays after the first concussion, but did they do a scan after the second? With the symptoms he had, they really should have. If he gets worse or doesn't keep showing improvement, please don't hesitate to take him to the ER.
Posted by Wendybird (Member # 84) on :
My brother was in a car accident last Oct or so. He sustained a major concussion. He is still recovering. Not to scare you but at one point he blacked out and ended up calling my dad wondering why he wasn't at work. My dad reminded him about the accident and he didn't remember it. He said later it was one of those things like when someone says remember such and such movie and you don't remember until they start describing the plot and characters. He ended up loosing his job as a truck driver for Coke because the doctor couldn't say that he wouldn't black out again. He has some memory problems still though. He isn't having as many problems with balance etc but did for several weeks after the accident. Its been a little scary.
Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
(((Cashew and son)))
hope he's fully recovered soon!
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
I have had 3 concussions (all mild), 2 from football, one from a car accident. I TA'd a lab less than 24 hours after the car accident, and while I was totally out of it that day, I didn't miss a single class because of it, and by the end of the week I was fine. My head was fine, anyway. I also had 2 partially torn rotator cuffs and a broken nose, but that's another story.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Spang, Be careful. Even if you are full of self-loathing, that's nothing to beat yourself up about. Good Golly!
Esther
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
No self loathing.
It wasn't my fault, I was just a passenger.
I sustained very little emotional damage in the accident, all physical.
But thanks for the concern. JT
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
I got a very mild concussion after being speared in the head during a lacrosse game. I blacked out twice (the second time after I convinced them to let me keep playing) but my memory was fine and I didn't have balance issues. I only had a headache for a couple of days.
But I still got x-rays and doctor's care. It's not something to mess around with. If there's a major problem, you're not necessarily going to know about it until it jumps out at you, at which point it's too late. I'd strongly recommend taking your son to the ER.
Posted by hansenj (Member # 4034) on :
I had a concussion when I was in second grade. I got hit in the head by a softball hit by adults playing in between little league t-ball games. I remember that my vision was messed up for the first day, and I had a lot of nausea that day as well, but for the rest of my recovery it was just a constant dull headache for about four weeks.
I wish your son a quick (well, as quick as possible) recovery!
Posted by Danzig (Member # 4704) on :
I think I had a mild concussion when I hit my left temple on a chair. I had mild memory problems, especially with finding the right word, and felt slower. It cleared up in a week.