Your concussion experiences...

[SirVicSmasher]

Multiple concussions – from 7/8/9 seconds to 7min or more. Can’t possibly count how my times I’ve rocked my world and it wasn’t a concussion.

Typical results of impact:

Headache of course – sometimes throbbing. How long they take to dissipate is what I used as a measure of the damage. Migraine pain is definitely different. Just the sound of a single lightbulb in a room being on can send you to the fetal position in agony with a migraine (get close enough to a lightbulb and you can hear it). Sound related to a concussion (ime) makes everything sound high pitched and way to loud in a more visceral sense.

Nausea; if I was nauseas, I knew it was worse than I was capable of handling on my own. If I didn’t experience the nausea immediately, I denied treatment more than once. If/when the nausea came, I would surrender and go to the ER.

General Disorientation: could be just a brain fog or unable to communicate altogether, or just having trouble stringing sentences together. Not being able to associate with your immediate surroundings. Why am I sitting? when did I put this shirt on? Things that are considered super simple can get complex. All of the above happens pretty much immediately post impact, but over the recovery time they come back individually and catch you out. Foggy-ness, forgetfulness, time lapses, all part of recovery. Individual instances come and go.

Light; lighting was always difficult immediately after coming to… and still can be painful at times. As in getting a headache from light; whether it be the Sun or artificial. Its experienced as extremely intense and will associate with sound before the pain really starts. Usually begins in the frontal lobe and grows to the type of headache that comes from being dehydrated for too long. Once away or protected from the light source, it dissipates quickly – within 10 minutes.

Suffered from vertigo for years after my biggest hit and had sporadic re-occurrences over time. Meclizine is a miracle drug. Works quickly and lasts for hours. I haven’t had an episode in 3 or 4 years.

Another long term consequence; being more susceptible to lite impacts. Like the pain suffered was way more than the impact would possibly justify. Stupid shit – hitting yourself with a door or hitting a low ceiling type of stuff. This too has dissipated over time. Now I can knock myself silly again (in the stupid way) and it just hurts the amount is supposed to you stupid fucq. Like really jamming a toe real good but not broke.

Had a roommate that concussed himself so bad they had to cut his eyelids wider because of the brain swelling. He fully recovered.

When in doubt – get a ct scan. Other than definitive visual evidence from the scan it’s hocuspocus. We haven’t even figured out how to diagnose CTE without you being dead. Doctor could reading from and index card. Your body will let you know but, you have to be listening. Some extra care for a while is always the prudent thing.

Gepeto the local expert on concussions(who wouldve thunk it?)
Who said we're losing our experts around here.

Rang my bell darn good fucking around on mt hood in May. Still hurts to yawn.

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[Atrain505]

It’s the 2nd concussion that gets you. Not the first. Take way, way more time mellow and slow then you think you need. Introduce activities very slowly as you start to come back. Any sign of symptoms take a couple steps back. My brother and two friends each had a brutal couple years trying to come back from concussions. Worst injury possible. Do not mess around.


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[old goat]

Banged my head on the ice and played the whole 3rd period not knowing which goal my team was shooting at. What was funny was that no one noticed anything wrong, which tells you what kind of hockey player I was.

Has anyone here studied the literature on return to sports after a concussion. How good are the guidelines that are used to return athletes to full contact? I would assume that the number of concussions matters no matter how long there is between them. The assumption is that it's safer to wait until all concussion symptoms are gone at lighter levels of activity, but how much safer?

[neufox47]

slow down, when ALL the symptoms are gone for a week, re start stuff SLOWLY.

did mine skiing this Nov, Was mostly useless until Feb

sleep a lot, no screens, CBD to relax, meditation to relax, eyes closed as much as possible.

OP Mt Lion is spot on. Put your screens down, get off TGR and relax in a dark room. Having been around a bunch of athletes recovering from concussions they always said the worst part was trying to relax and not think for hours, but that is exactly what the brain needs.

Two of my friends were basically partially disabled from concussions as 20 year olds. One had amnesia for 3 months while a ski bum in Jackson Hole.

[MTT]

Seems everyone has covered it. I just got myself knocked out for the 3rd time about a month ago. "Bike fall to asphalt"

It affected me in some bizzare ways. Competitive pistol Shooting a week after was interesting.

The mention about brain bleeds - If you have the means you should get checked out. Other than that, the Doc is gonna tell ya. Don't do that again. -

[ICantLogIn]

My last two;
Mt bike race at Peaks headache for like three weeks. The time before that jumped outside a bar in Reno took lots of boots to the head, headache for at least a month. I think some people get concussions and some don't.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Can my local doc just order a CT Scan at will or do I have to jump through the ER visit hoops? I have insurance. It isn't great though. Bronze BCBS plan.

[The Tortoise]

https://www.powder.com/stories/slow-walk/

[muted]

My most recent concussion I was biking by myself. I don't remember falling, or waking up. I couldn't figure out what trail I was on or what direction was back to my car. I called my wife and left the exact same message 4-5 times, which freaked her out. Eventually a runner helped me and I got home. I had Strava on, so I logged in to see where I crashed, I couldn't figure out where it was as it was a mellow trail. Strava showed me going back-and-forth on the trail about a dozen times after the crash, constantly changing my mind on which way to go. Pretty funny. And that was not even close to a major concussion. Maybe a 'medium' one.

[apex dave]

Can my local doc just order a CT Scan at will or do I have to jump through the ER visit hoops? I have insurance. It isn't great though. Bronze BCBS plan.

That is discouraging. In Canada you just show up at the ER because we have Healthcare so no insurance required.

[bagtagley]

My worst was as a kid. I fell out of the top bunk at a rented condo and hit hard enough for my folks to hear and come in. No recollection of that, but I have vivid memories of waking up later and dry heaving while my folks comforted me and told me what had happened.

I've had two good hits from mountain biking. After the first, I felt weird for a few months after. Kinda floaty, and every time I took a drink of water, it had a weird smell. Hard to explained, cause it was a feeling as much as a smell, like being shocked. Second bike one, I got a full workup cause I was out for a few minutes, and I had done a bunch of other damage. No brain bleed, and I was so fucked from the other stuff, I didn't notice any specific brain stuff.

[CountryFunk]

How good are the guidelines that are used to return athletes to full contact?

It used to be; 1) What's your name? 2) Where are you? 3) How many fingers am I holding up?

Two correct answers and you were back in the game - hopefully we've progressed ...

[MTT]

Can my local doc just order a CT Scan at will or do I have to jump through the ER visit hoops? I have insurance. It isn't great though. Bronze BCBS plan.

Call BCBS and ask them.

[SumJongGuy]

There is almost never a need to go to an ER when there are Urgent Care centers open. You can even book appointments online. Start there, they can check for serious problems then refer you to more specialized providers for the follow up and deeper diagnosis stuff.

[TyWebb]

I've had a lot of them. A few put me in the hospital, many more that I hid from the trainer playing college hockey. So stupid. I'm 39 now and had been hiding my memory loss issues from my wife and kids for a few years before finally told her what I was dealing with and feeling. I got a baseline and am engaged with docs for tracking memory care etc..I feel a lot better now that I am sharing with people and getting help. Was scary to take that step. Bottom line, keep those around you informed on how you feel. No points for being tough when it comes to your head.

[Dantheman]

sleep a lot, no screens, CBD to relax, meditation to relax, eyes closed as much as possible.

This. Sleep is your friend, screens are your enemy. Everyone reacts differently, but full recovery is 2 months minimum at your age.

I've had a couple minor ones, one pretty bad one skiing at 19, and played 4 years of HS football. Kinda regret playing football in hindsight.

[EWG]

It used to be; 1) What's your name? 2) Where are you? 3) How many fingers am I holding up?

Two correct answers and you were back in the game - hopefully we've progressed ...

Was knocked out twice as a teen playing soccer, both from taking a full strength kick from about 5 feet away square in the face. Both times I lost maybe 10 seconds, came to, rubbed some dirt in and kept going. Yeah, I think it's mostly changed, except in pro soccer. Shit still happens all the time, just like that.

About 6-8 years ago I got one skiing. My young son took a sharp turn right in front of me at speed on a groomer. I sort've tried to jump over him to save him, which kind worked, except it pretty much mirrored a perfect d-back on wide receiver hit, and flipped me up and over backwards. Absolutely slammed the back of my head on the hardpack. Son was totally fine, thank god. I cracked my Giro Omen in half. Got up, skied a few more runs to keep my family from freaking out (very carefully), started feeling kind of sick, went home.

After a week or so, thought I was doing ok. Went to play some soccer. After about an hour of frustration, I realized that I was passing to the wrong team. On purpose. That's when I realized I was a bit fucked up.

I got lucky - a couple more weeks and I was much better. Many have it worse than that, obviously.

It was a totally surreal experience.

[TNKen]

See a bunch on the front end these days doing ski patrol. Daughter's friend met a rail and it wasn't good. She was messed up for a little over two months. Had 2-3 days of Where am I? What happened? Where am I? What happened?

[grskier]

This. Sleep is your friend, screens are your enemy. Everyone reacts differently, but full recovery is 2 months minimum at your age.

I've had a couple minor ones, one pretty bad one skiing at 19, and played 4 years of HS football. Kinda regret playing football in hindsight.

These two things plus A train.

Missed a turn on an easier trail in Fruita, got bell rung BAD. never out...

I was a pest at the DRs office (went a few times) and finally got a script for PT. Working with a PT that does brain is awesome. We worked the 3-4 things that we noticed were off. Was at least 8 weeks until I was 'cleared' to ride again. Then it was riding to get in shape, not blasting trails for another month.

[reckless toboggan]

I had a concussion once.


Yah, so did I.

[Buzzworthy]

These two things plus A train.

Missed a turn on an easier trail in Fruita, got bell rung BAD. never out...

I was a pest at the DRs office (went a few times) and finally got a script for PT. Working with a PT that does brain is awesome. We worked the 3-4 things that we noticed were off. Was at least 8 weeks until I was 'cleared' to ride again. Then it was riding to get in shape, not blasting trails for another month.

It is called Neuro-Rehab. My wife is a Nuero Psychologist and works with patients all the time that get knocked out. Apparently she has treated some of you locals here.

I have been concussed too many times to count. Soccer, BMX, snowboading, skiing, biking.

The biggest thing you have to be careful about is doing it again while recovering. Several others hit on this as well. Your brain needs more time than you think to heal.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Did some handy man work today and felt OK, but foggy/slow/hungover/light sensitive. Gonna listen to an audiobook and stare at my eyelids for Labor Day weekend instead of going to concerts in CO with my friends. Doh!

[iceman]

I went skiing with a friend for the first time, he was a good skier, we had just never got it together. Then that day we're loading a chair, the lifty doesn't touch it, my friend is yakking about something or other and the side of the chair bonked him full straight in the back of the head. Sounded like hitting a golf ball with an aluminum baseball bat. It literally rung like a bell. He fell back into the chair, rallied enough to ski another run and then he quit and went down.

The next year, we went skiing again. I was joking around with him and said something like don't smash your head again you dope, and he got all offended that I would even think something like that might happen to him. He had zero memory of it. Completely erased.

[Flyoverland Captive]

Friend of mine is an avid cyclist; he does multi-day bikepacking trips monthly, and rides almost every day. He led a “cruiser bike” ride a couple years ago, and since all the riders were beginners, he figured a slow-paced, flat town ride was a good time to skip the helmet. Of course he went down and smacked his head. It took him a month of forgetfulness to seek medical help; he then took two months off work to heal. He’s still a bit “off”; he’s joined some closed-head-injury groups on FB which he says have been very informative and helpful.

[SkiBall]

What was the question?














I have has a few, maybe a couple more. Might explain somethings...haha? Got one a couple years ago(with a helmet)...frontside crash that could have been avoided. About 1/4 mile from the bottom. Looked down and recognized the bottom but had know clue which way I was supposed to turn to get there. Went to doctor immediately and surprised they said I was fine to drive home. Lingering headache for 1-2 weeks and a little out of balance for a number of days as week.