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Concussions

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by The Big Ragu, Jun 20, 2008.

  1. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I am really prone to them. I haven't had one in a year and a half to two years. Last one was nasty. My head hit a hardwood floor -- I was off my feet and got clotheslined. I was knocked out cold and out of commission for a month. It was the worst feeling ever. I couldn't make sharp movements for more than a month without losing my balance.

    I have a realy propensity for them. I am thinking back, and I have had four definite ones in my lifetime, and possibly a fifth. I am thinking about it, because someone I know got hit in the head by a horseshoe in a freak accident the other day and may have suffered one.

    This is probably best left for the DocTalk thread, but I wanted to see if others have had a history of concussions and what the effects have been. I sometimes feel like I have slowed a bit, but nothing extreme yet. Is it almost a certainty that I will be suffering brain damage or slowness by the time I am 45 or 50? I don't really know much about the health effects or the research and I am curious about people's experiences. It's on my mind again.

    Thanks in advance for any good info anyone has.
     
  2. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    Not being flip here, but Flash is the concussion expert on the board; Ms. Slappy used to get them when she played softball.

    How did you get a concussion this time? How did you get clotheslined?
     
  3. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Oh, I posted about that Slappy. I play in a basketball game with a bunch of ex-college football and basketball players -- some who played pro. I am one of the two or three smallest and least athletic guys in this game, but it isn't as bad as it sounds. A few of them aren't in the shape they were when they were 21 and could overpower me and run circles around me, and I am in better shape than I have been in a long time, even if I am really small. I can't remember how long ago this was -- I want to say a year and a half ago. It was right before the outing when Jones was in NYC and I met up with some SJ people, so a month or two before that. I put on some weight because I couldn't do anything physical.

    Anyhow, with that build-up, I am small, and relatively quick compared to some of the guys. I tried to slash my way to the hoop, got off my feet and was pretty high in the air and this guy Brian, who used to play tight end, caught me by behind with an arm that had the consistency of a thick steel bed post. It stopped my momentum, because he is really strong, flipped me and I came down right on my head. I was out cold and had one serious headache -- and they wouldn't let me sleep for a day.

    The other ones varied in seriousness. My first, in high school, occurred when a sadistic basketball coach decided we weren't tough enough. Again, I was a little guy. 5'10", thin. He created a new drill with two lines, with no reason to who got matched up. He stood in the middle and rolled a basketball out toward midcourt. The first guys on each line had to sprint for the ball and dive and fight for it. I got matched up to this guy named Wayne who was 6' 5" and slower than an old Asian driver. I beat him in the sprint and dove, and he dove about 10 seconds after I had already smothered the ball. He landed with the full force of his body on my head and sent my face at high impact into the hardwood floor. Broken nose, concussion, it was ugly. It was compounded by the fact that my asshole H.S. coach, stood over me, as I laid in a pool of blood, screaming at me: "Get up, you wimp!" "You're a candy ass!" "You're a cookie, you just crumble!" I was in a daze so I tried to get up. My friends said, I took two steps, stumbled in a circle and fell back down. The coach was disgusted and showed no interested in whether I was OK. It was an assistant coach who cared for me and took me to the hospital. I had raccoon eyes for two months.

    Another time was playing football. It was the worst football team in the history of organized sports. We were the H.S. football equivalent of the Bad News Bears. I was a split end, because all I could do was run. I couldn't catch, though. I heard footsteps. So they devised a reverse play for me. I was supossed to come all the way end around and take the ball from the QB, and it was designed to have three blockers creating a wall to lead the way. Not once did it work out that way. I'd take the ball from the QB, look up, and there would be a defended about 8X the size of me ready to plant me 3 feet into the turf. I got hit so hard every time they ran that play, because I was defenseless, that I think teams looked forward to it. One time, the hit was particularly vicious. I am not sure exactly what happened, because I was groggy, but I had that unmistakable concussed feeling. Blurry vision, nasty headache, no sudden movements without feeling like you are going to yak.

    Anyhow, that is part of the history. Hopefully you need more than four concussions over a whole life time to be at serious risk. But a small part of me worries about it. The last one was particularly nasty. I couldn't move for almost two weeks and it totally screwed me up.
     
  4. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    A team doctor I used to cover had a three and done rule. You got three, you were no longer cleared to play football. Concussions are not something to fuck around with - they are an injury to the brain. You only get one of those.
     
  5. SlickWillie71

    SlickWillie71 Member

    I had three in a two-year span in high school: one came from a line shot off my head as a pitcher (I was credited with an assist on a 1-5-3 putout), the other two came from football, with the latter one resulting in a fractured jaw as well. Needless to say, my retirement from football at age 15 was a must.

    I've had two in the past 22 years, the most recent coming a couple of years ago in a car accident. The memories of that is pretty fuzzy, especially since I was stupid enough to still go into the office to layout the section within a couple of hours afterwards. Everything was autopilot from there.

    In short, you don't mess with concussions. I would venture that part of my issues of short-term memory may stem from mine, and it definitely was a motivating factor in me developing a jumper after Concussion No. 4 came from a 6-5, 270-pounder blowing me up as I drove to the basket. I'd tread very cautiously if I were you.
     
  6. Flash

    Flash Guest

    Ragu, I got iced from hockey for half of the season, thanks to concussion No. 5. I had a CT scan, which ultimately showed no brain damage, and then blood tests, which showed a Vitamin D deficiency.

    No brain damage.

    Thankfully.

    The most important thing you can do right now is -- even if you're not exhibiting symptoms -- go see your doctor and address your concerns with him.

    I know a gal who requires a wheelchair for day-to-day use, thanks to a Level 3 concussion. I escaped my Level 3, thank God.

    The brain is just not something you want to mess with.

    That being said, post-concussive symptoms can last for as long as two months (sometimes longer) after the impact. Migraines, noise and light sensitivity, vertigo, etc.

    And yes, it's easier to get concussed the more knocks to the head you have.
     
  7. SoCalDude

    SoCalDude Active Member

    My kid had 2 over a couple of months, the first when a friend accidentally elbowed her in the side of the head when she bent over to pick up her backpack, the second playing volleyball. Her doctor's quote: "OK, your brain is pissed off at you right now, so back off."
     
  8. Jay Sherman

    Jay Sherman Member

    Starting QB for my college team had three in a three-year span and is still playing, despite the fact that he's neither good nor making a good life choice.
     
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