Your concussion experiences...

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

I tried to search, but search on here isn't the greatest. Anyway, almost 2 weeks ago I wrecked really hard at the bike park and hit my head pretty good. No loss of consciousness and no memory issues. I remember everything. I did almost faint and my hearing/vision totally went away for about 10-15 seconds about 1 minute after the crash when I was trying to "walk it off".

Day after the crash my buddy convinced me to get checked out and doc was confident it was just a mild concussion. Take it easy, etc.

Haven't been on the MTB since. Rode a beach cruiser like 1 mile while visiting family in NJ this past week. Was feeling pretty good. No headaches for about a week. Not feeling too foggy, etc.

Flew home to Montana this morning and as soon as I landed I had a headache. Increase in altitude? I was almost gonna go for an easy MTB ride today, but now I better hold off. I kinda feel like I did the couple days after the accident.

I've been lucky and have only had one or two other mild concussions. Last one was at a bike race in 2017, but I got over that one alot faster.

[grinch]

Ive had a couple with prolonged vertigo. The vertigo didnt happen initially. Both tines it took a couple days. Dr said no time frame. Sometimes its weeks other times months. One was a month and the first one was 2 1/2 months. Seems like a cautious approach to getting back on it is best. Keep the heart rate low. I waited until i felt totally normal(relatively speaking for me ) . Hope youre feeling better soon. It sucks not being able to do any kind of rehab , with this type of injury, other than chill.

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[riser4]

Rung my bell good in my motorcycle accident in '90. Probably should have gone to the ER. Probably definitely shouldn't have gone to sleep. Have hit the back of my head twice falling backwards skiing, with a helmet. Felt a little woozy after both. Hit my head a bunch as a kid. Didn't everyone?

[ill-advised strategy]

I usually feel sick and, like, lethargic and broken for a few days.
I have not had headache issues per se, but almost always have a real sore neck for awhile, and the sore neck tends to kinda mimic or present like a headache.

I could easily see an airplane seat aggravating neck/spine stuff and feeling headachey.

[skaredshtles]

<snip> Hit my head a bunch as a kid. Didn't everyone?

Fucking rollerskates.

[Svengali]

I've had enough concussions that I can't remember them all....

[Tye 1on]

Searching by title pulls a few up, unfortunately JefferyJim deleted his which had a lot of great info...

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...sion-question?

[4matic]

I took a big hit snowboarding and felt tired after. Didn’t think much of it at the time. I had headaches for a couple years later and I could never figure out the source until I tied it back to that likely concussion.


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[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Yeah, this isn't like a "pain" headache. More like a hangover kind of feeling. Light sensitivity. Borderline nauseous. Ughhh.

[Supermoon]

Yeah, this isn't like a "pain" headache. More like a hangover kind of feeling. Light sensitivity. Borderline nauseous. Ughhh.

Sounds like a migraine

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Sounds like a migraine

Hmmmm, never had one before. Not a fan to be honest.

[Supermoon]

Hmmmm, never had one before. Not a fan to be honest.

Had a concussion in college and a couple of months later got this perpetual migraine that lasted almost six months. Not sure if they were related or not, but that was a shitty experience.

[AKbruin]

I took a big hit a number of years ago on the DH bike at Northstar bike park. It was on a popular jump line with dozens of tabletops, and I had ridden it a million times before. I don't know what happened and have no recollection of it happening. But I woke up on the ground with a bike patrol guy and other good samaritans standing over me. I presume I was unconscious for at least ten minutes or so. I gradually came to my senses and was able to slowly walk with the bike patrol guy back to the patrol shack, where they checked me out and said I didn't look too bad but that I should probably see a doctor.

I didn't feel great was okay enough to drive myself 20 minutes to the local ER. While waiting in the ER, my insides started hurting like a motherfucker. I got a nurse's attention, and they put some morphine in me, which made the pain much, much better. They quickly determined that I had crushed my liver and a kidney, and I was life-flighted to the local trauma center, where they determined that I also had a broken rib, punctured lung, and, obviously, a concussion among other things.

Thankfully, I didn't really have any terrible concussion symptoms afterward apart from a complete lack of memory of the accident itself and general fogginess immediately afterward. What I clearly remember, however, is that as I was being slowly walked to patrol shack immediately after the accident, some turd on the lift yelled, "Thanks, DUDE. They closed the whole run because of YOU." Even though I was in rough shape and about an hour from being helicoptered to the ICU, the bike patrol guy and I literally chuckled at the shameless assholery of the disgruntled heckler.

[evdog]

I had a severe concussion late 90s mountain biking near UBC. Was told later an off leash dog came out of nowhere and I crashed trying to avoid it. I have no memory of about 5 hours that day, just a very vague recollection of being wheeled out of the trails on a stretcher. Was told I was only out for about 30sec, and then proceeded to ask my friends repeatedly what happened. I think the hospital kept me there til they could ask me what happened and I was able to answer consistently. Didn't have any noticeable after effects thankfully.

Had another one a few years later slamming the back of my head on the ground in a crash. Not as bad, but I did have noticeable confusion over where I was in the trail network for the next hour as I rode out.

[BCMtnHound]

5 weeks ago I took an header down a flight of concrete steps. Smacked my noggin better than I ever had before. First real concussion. Lost about 10min, came to in front of the bathroom mirror trying to clean a nasty scalp wound. Once I returned to reality, I had no other issues thankfully. Wife called the ambulance and got my first ride to the ER, got assessed and stitched up. Hope never to do a number like that again. Still working on getting my shoulder, back, neck and wrist back to full capacity, probably another couple weeks before I am close to 100%. Amazed I broke no bones, or worse. Poor nurse wife had more PTSD than I did, but then treated a loved one in such a circumstance is scary as hell (went though it with a sister). Guess it proves she loves me, cause my life insurance is paid up,

[toast2266]

Somehow, only one or two minor ones myself (knock on wood).

Wife got her bell rung in a car accident. No obvious physical injuries, and nothing showed on the usual assortment of scans at the hospital. She didn't lose consciousness, and was generally coherent after the accident. We didn't think it was too big of a deal, but she had persistent headaches and a general heaviness on one side of her face.

After seeing just about every medical professional that we could get to look at her, the (somewhat vague) conclusion is that one of her eyes isn't tracking right, which gives her headaches. Getting her heart rate up also creates problems for her.

This is ongoing. At this point we're 2.5 years out from the accident. She's improving, and is sort of back to doing normal activities, but she's still limited in what she can do, particularly with respect to biking and skiing (largely due to the heart rate limitations).

The whole thing is kinda crazy, especially since at the outset we thought it was a fairly minor concussion and that she'd just need to lay low for a week or so. It also took a really long time for us to realize that there was something more significant that was wrong. Most of the doctors would look her over, or glance at her MRI's (there've been several), shrug, and mumble something about how sometimes it takes a few months to recover from a concussion.

Mostly, my conclusion from the whole thing is really that the brain is a complicated thing, and brain injuries / concussions aren't particularly well understood. Factoring in the fact that where we are (northwest Montana) is pretty clearly not at the forefront of tbi research, it can be really hard to get competent treatment for non run-of-the-mill head injuries.

[apex dave]

I have had two diagnosed severe concussions. The only thing I would add to the discussion is ALWAYS get a CT scan. None of that macho bullshit 'cause a brain bleed will kill you, not right away but dead is dead. My wife was an ER nurse at Toronto General and she has seen it happen. That is what killed Liam Neeson's wife Natasha Richardson

[mntlion]

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.

[John_B]

Make an appt to get your neck evaluated for whiplash. I got a mild concussion last summer that lingered for a very long time. I fell off my bike again this year and tweaked my neck so got an appt with a PT and low and behold I had classic whiplash symptoms that were triggering a lot of my headaches. Now I really try to be cognizant of my posture and have been doing a bunch of excersizes to strengthen my neck/shoulders and core.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Thats good to know. My neck feels fine. I was wearing my DH leatt neck brace thankfully.

I might try some acupuncture. It has worked for me in the past for other ailments. Placebo or not, it helped.

[evasive_MT]

Somehow, only one or two minor ones myself (knock on wood).

Wife got her bell rung in a car accident. No obvious physical injuries, and nothing showed on the usual assortment of scans at the hospital. She didn't lose consciousness, and was generally coherent after the accident. We didn't think it was too big of a deal, but she had persistent headaches and a general heaviness on one side of her face.

After seeing just about every medical professional that we could get to look at her, the (somewhat vague) conclusion is that one of her eyes isn't tracking right, which gives her headaches. Getting her heart rate up also creates problems for her.

This is ongoing. At this point we're 2.5 years out from the accident. She's improving, and is sort of back to doing normal activities, but she's still limited in what she can do, particularly with respect to biking and skiing (largely due to the heart rate limitations).

The whole thing is kinda crazy, especially since at the outset we thought it was a fairly minor concussion and that she'd just need to lay low for a week or so. It also took a really long time for us to realize that there was something more significant that was wrong. Most of the doctors would look her over, or glance at her MRI's (there've been several), shrug, and mumble something about how sometimes it takes a few months to recover from a concussion.

Mostly, my conclusion from the whole thing is really that the brain is a complicated thing, and brain injuries / concussions aren't particularly well understood. Factoring in the fact that where we are (northwest Montana) is pretty clearly not at the forefront of tbi research, it can be really hard to get competent treatment for non run-of-the-mill head injuries.

My GF got hit in the head by a wind blown table umbrella at dinner on the Seattle waterfront last July. It’s been a little over a year, and she’s still dealing with anxiety and panic attacks. She’s been able to do sole very limited bike rides because most of the trails in Helena are 10% grade and she has heart rate restrictions. She’d love to ride every day if she could, so this has been really tough. I shared Matt Wragg’s Pinkbike post with her this week, and she was struck by how similar her experiences are, even if the cause is different. I’ll have to show her this thread.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/opinio...-my-brain.html

[iceman]

I got pretty wrecked in September '17, ended up in the ICU with a subdural hematoma, cracked my head on a granite step, I wrote about it some on here. I was kind of foggy for a while after but I had serious concussion and a pool of blood in my skull, which isn't optimal, so no wonder.

It took me a while to realize it but there are some gaps in my memory from around then, like events that I attended or people I met that I have zero recollection of. It's weird and spotty and not obvious at all until the thing or person gets brought up. It doesn't seem to be a lot of stuff but on the other hand I have no real way of knowing, since I forget the shit. Hopefully I didn't sign anything important.

It was only like 2.5 months later when I wrecked my hip skiing, I think there might have been a connection, probably I shouldn't have been skiing. Oh well I lived.

[hutash]

Wacked my head more then a few times, (fucking clay skateboard we
heels.) Broke a couple perfectly good bike helmets. Had a few headaches but never saw an MD. At this point just do as mntlion says, take it slow and easy.

[grinch]

Reading all these, i wonder if cbd could help both the injury and effects ?

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[Gepeto]

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.