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Similar story. It took me about two years to fully "feel healthy" after a (or possibly many) rugby concussions my senior year of college. The day after my con

Similar story. It took me about two years to fully "feel healthy" after a (or possibly many) rugby concussions my senior year of college. The day after my concussion, I felt drunk, wasted actually. When I woke up and went to the bathroom, I had to lean my hand on the wall just to stay upright. I was wobbling around campus for about two weeks after the incident. Always off balance, pretty much worrying the entire time that my CT scan and MRI's missed a brain bleed. I shouldn't have felt this weird, but they continued to say everything was normal. That was the worst part: The feeling that something was terribly wrong, but every single doctor told me that I was fine. Five years later, I feel relatively okay. I barely ever notice any lasting affects of the concussion. Every so often, I have a bad delay in recalling a word I am thinking of. One beer makes me feel really weird, although the feeling seems to go away after having two or three. And ejaculating, for some odd reason, gives me a headache.

ASpring 13y ago
I've experienced similar feelings with the inability to recall words quickly. I wonder whether I should attribute it to graduating University and thus not using more expansive vocabulary normally or to the concussions I sustained my final year there. How did your concussion affect the way you live? Do you still play sports?
- rcavezza 13y ago
  RE: word recall - it might not be related. It's just something I've noticed of myself. I probably attribute it to the concussions since I never really explored other alternatives. I didn't play sports for about two years. It was very frustrating when I thought I was close, but still had some lingering effects. Around the time I stopped having bad headaches, I would try to play basketball once every two weeks hoping everything was okay, but would come home with terrible headaches. I kept trying, hoping something would change, and after a while ,the headaches subsided in intensity. At that point, I started increasing the frequency of playing, and things, over time, became normal again. Now I play sports normally. There's a few odd things that I really can't stand now. Fans blowing in my face (sometimes treadmills at my gym have automatic fans that turn on). I can't headbang to heavy metal music because it hurts me later on. I think it's the specific movement when I do. The worst part about the concussion is that it took away my way of life. Before it, I was playing sports or exercising at least five days a week. It was a part of my identity. I had a really tough year trying to move my passions from sports to startups and business. It worked out; however, and now I am able to enjoy all of them.
- patrickpkt 13y ago
  This seems like the best spot in the tree to hijack, belatedly. I got a concussion about six months ago playing hockey and am still recovering, not even working full time. I did a battery of neuropsychological testing about four month post-concussion and verbal fluency, specifically coming up with words starting with a given letter, was one thing they tested. They guessed at my baseline performance, then were able to pick word usage, among a few others, out as areas I'm now deficient in. My recollection is they said it was a common pattern to see. I do have to say it's good to read of people who've come through this and feel normal again, even if it takes a long time.

ASpring 13y ago

I've experienced similar feelings with the inability to recall words quickly. I wonder whether I should attribute it to graduating University and thus not using more expansive vocabulary normally or to the concussions I sustained my final year there. How did your concussion affect the way you live? Do you still play sports?

rcavezza 13y ago
RE: word recall - it might not be related. It's just something I've noticed of myself. I probably attribute it to the concussions since I never really explored other alternatives. I didn't play sports for about two years. It was very frustrating when I thought I was close, but still had some lingering effects. Around the time I stopped having bad headaches, I would try to play basketball once every two weeks hoping everything was okay, but would come home with terrible headaches. I kept trying, hoping something would change, and after a while ,the headaches subsided in intensity. At that point, I started increasing the frequency of playing, and things, over time, became normal again. Now I play sports normally. There's a few odd things that I really can't stand now. Fans blowing in my face (sometimes treadmills at my gym have automatic fans that turn on). I can't headbang to heavy metal music because it hurts me later on. I think it's the specific movement when I do. The worst part about the concussion is that it took away my way of life. Before it, I was playing sports or exercising at least five days a week. It was a part of my identity. I had a really tough year trying to move my passions from sports to startups and business. It worked out; however, and now I am able to enjoy all of them.
patrickpkt 13y ago
This seems like the best spot in the tree to hijack, belatedly. I got a concussion about six months ago playing hockey and am still recovering, not even working full time. I did a battery of neuropsychological testing about four month post-concussion and verbal fluency, specifically coming up with words starting with a given letter, was one thing they tested. They guessed at my baseline performance, then were able to pick word usage, among a few others, out as areas I'm now deficient in. My recollection is they said it was a common pattern to see. I do have to say it's good to read of people who've come through this and feel normal again, even if it takes a long time.