How long did it take for you to recover? For me it’s been over 2 weeks since the accident and I still don’t feel like myself. My head stopped hurting yesterday but still having problems with upset stomach, which seems a little strange to me.
You could have mild vertigo from it, not quite spinning-feeling but enough to make you feel carsick. As crazy as it sounds, cut salt out of your diet and see if it helps.
I have had one that I remember, resolved pretty quickly I was confused for about 3 days.
That said, my son plays ice hockey and the NEW CURRENT protocal is atleast two weeks off-NO PLAY and a release by a neuro. Please take this seriously and follow up with a neuro. My son had a concussion last October , he is 12 and this is how it is handled.
About a week for me, but i think it can be up to a few months. Maybe call your doc tuesday just to let him/her know you’re still feeling wonky. Take it easy and don’t push yourself…
[QUOTE=stolen virtue;6840594]
I have had one that I remember, resolved pretty quickly I was confused for about 3 days.
That said, my son plays ice hockey and the NEW CURRENT protocal is atleast two weeks off-NO PLAY and a release by a neuro. Please take this seriously and follow up with a neuro. My son had a concussion last October , he is 12 and this is how it is handled.[/QUOTE]
That must be new! Hope your son is okay… When I played hockey, there wasn’t a rule on concussions 
That being said, I had a pretty bad fall a few years ago and the resultant concussion was a little more than ‘mild’. It took me a good solid month to feel ‘normal’ and there is a gap in my memory from it. Oops! Hope you feel better soon! (:
I was off work 3 weeks. Dizzy, nausea, and TIRED. The fatigue stuck around for several more weeks.
Probably6 months…slept a lot. No nausea. If you’re having vertigo symptoms, time to visit the doc.
My doctor insisted waiting 48 hours before returning to school/work, and two weeks for riding/sports activities. It was months before I felt completely normal again.
RN chimes in here…
You have not sustained a “mild” concussion…you have a moderate one and it’s serious. I worked 13 yrs in a neuro-rehab center with head injured folks. Mild is when the symptoms abate in 24 hrs or a few hours. Even then; there is brain damage. ALL concussions involve brain damage. Most of the time it’s undetectable to us but it IS CUMULATIVE over our lifetimes. Every, single time we get a concussion; we lose brain cells. Ever notice how many “odd” older horse people there are?!! It’s from a lifetime of klunks to the head and cumulative brain damage!! No kidding! And thats with wearing helmets. It still happens
Anyway, you must rest. No active exercise that might raise your blood pressure for example. ANY symptoms means your brain is hurting and you MUST listen to your body. ANY repeat concussions or head hits in the next few months will cause worse damage. Stay off a horse for sure. 2 months minimum. Seriously !!
I could go on but…the symptoms of mild brain damage are loss or impairment of higher level cognitive function. For example; your “common sense” goes first. Loss of self preservation. Thats why so many of us get back on too soon. Aren’t aware of our deficits. We are in denial about our injury. We minimize it. We pass it off. Bad decision making is the hallmark.
I’d like to add that all of the other contributers to this thread describe moderat level traumatic head injuries. Ya’ll be careful out there!
I had a severe one several years ago. Missing about half a day of time, was vague for at least a month, sleep problems, and watching tv made me want to hurl!
It took a good bit of time to get over it but on the plus side I still watch very little tv, guess it became a Pavlovian response.
Jingles & Ao you feel better soon ~
I was diagnosed in the ER after CT scan with a mild concussion and followed up with regular doctor who confirmed that dx, in 2010. Not from a horse fall, funnily, enough, but from smacking my head on the ceiling in my attic bedroom. Don’t ask how that happened.:lol:
It was several weeks before I was 100% myself again. I do detail-oriented work involving complicated calculation as well as lots of precision writing, and I remained slow and easily put off-track for at least three weeks, maybe as long as five. I tired easily and got headaches easily during that time. Alcohol, dehydration, lack of sleep, heavy exercise made the problems worse. I checked in frequently with my doctor during those weeks.
If you were seen/diagnosed in the ER, I would suggest that you get a copy of your CT scan records (if you got one) and follow up with your regular doctor if feasible. That could do a couple helpful things. (1) Give you a sense of how best to act during your recovery to manage symptoms, (2) Get you a written confirmation of post-concussive syndrome that might prove helpful in getting some leeway at work, (3) Give you some confidence you are healing.
[QUOTE=wateryglen;6841524]
You have not sustained a “mild” concussion…you have a moderate one and it’s serious. I worked 13 yrs in a neuro-rehab center with head injured folks. Mild is when the symptoms abate in 24 hrs or a few hours. Even then; there is brain damage. ALL concussions involve brain damage. Most of the time it’s undetectable to us but it IS CUMULATIVE over our lifetimes. Every, single time we get a concussion; we lose brain cells. Ever notice how many “odd” older horse people there are?!! It’s from a lifetime of klunks to the head and cumulative brain damage!! No kidding! And thats with wearing helmets. It still happens
Anyway, you must rest. No active exercise that might raise your blood pressure for example. ANY symptoms means your brain is hurting and you MUST listen to your body. ANY repeat concussions or head hits in the next few months will cause worse damage. Stay off a horse for sure. 2 months minimum. Seriously !!
I could go on but…the symptoms of mild brain damage are loss or impairment of higher level cognitive function. For example; your “common sense” goes first. Loss of self preservation. Thats why so many of us get back on too soon. Aren’t aware of our deficits. We are in denial about our injury. We minimize it. We pass it off. Bad decision making is the hallmark.
I’d like to add that all of the other contributers to this thread describe moderat level traumatic head injuries. Ya’ll be careful out there![/QUOTE]
Please do read this…I sustained 2 shall we say moderate concussions in. Short span of time on separate areas of my head…I did not rest enough ignored the 2 Nd knock since it was not horse fall related and ended up with post traumatic concussion syndrome which was worse and scary…
I’ve had many, many concussions as well as a mild traumatic brain injury. They all can take quite a bit of time to heal from. I can remember noticing the effects of them for weeks, if not months, after they happened. I’ve never been the same since they TBI.
It might be worthwhile to talk to your doctor about post concussion syndrome. It’s very real, and can have different effects on different people. The absolute best thing you can do it rest. Not just stay in bed rest. You need to try not to use your brain much. I know that sounds silly, but the more you use your head for things that might be stressful or require a lot of thought, the worse it can make your concussion. At the least it slows healing. I had one concussion in college, and my doctor made me stop school for a few weeks. No reading, no homework, limited TV, etc. I thought it sounded completely nuts and didn’t want to comply with his instructions, but he is a renowned doctor and has been the doc for many olympic teams, so I knew he knew what he was talking about.
Finally, as mentioned before, if you get any of the major symptoms coming back (vertigo, nausea, etc), go back to the doctor or ER asap. They can indicate significant complications.
I ended up with post-concussion syndrome after what I thought was a mild concussion. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting better until I went back to the ER and was diagnosed.
I thought I was OK because I even got back on and rode after I fell. Compared to the concussion when I got knocked out it was much worse. (Yes, I know they are cumulative which is probably why I didn’t bounce back as well).
Hope you feel better!
[QUOTE=wateryglen;6841524]
You have not sustained a “mild” concussion…you have a moderate one and it’s serious. I worked 13 yrs in a neuro-rehab center with head injured folks. Mild is when the symptoms abate in 24 hrs or a few hours. Even then; there is brain damage. ALL concussions involve brain damage. Most of the time it’s undetectable to us but it IS CUMULATIVE over our lifetimes. Every, single time we get a concussion; we lose brain cells. Ever notice how many “odd” older horse people there are?!! It’s from a lifetime of klunks to the head and cumulative brain damage!! No kidding! And thats with wearing helmets. It still happens
Anyway, you must rest. No active exercise that might raise your blood pressure for example. ANY symptoms means your brain is hurting and you MUST listen to your body. ANY repeat concussions or head hits in the next few months will cause worse damage. Stay off a horse for sure. 2 months minimum. Seriously !!
I could go on but…the symptoms of mild brain damage are loss or impairment of higher level cognitive function. For example; your “common sense” goes first. Loss of self preservation. Thats why so many of us get back on too soon. Aren’t aware of our deficits. We are in denial about our injury. We minimize it. We pass it off. Bad decision making is the hallmark.
I’d like to add that all of the other contributers to this thread describe moderat level traumatic head injuries. Ya’ll be careful out there![/QUOTE]
This deserves quoting again!
Just over a year ago I had a nasty fall off a horse, head first, luckily was wearing my helmet or I probably wouldn’t be here and I’m still not right. I’ve made very little progress in the year and have been attending the local brain injury rehab clinic and getting treatment and therapy.
In hindsight, I probably had many minor concussions from falls off horses over the years, that as a normal horse person, I just sucked up and shook off and got back on and didn’t worry too much about. I do recall a few rides after falls in which I could not remember the course I was riding or which jump was next, should’ve been a clue, but no one thought about stuff like that then.
Quiet brain rest is very important… doesn’t mean bed rest, though you may find you do need more sleep than usual. TV and computer time might need to be limited. Things you can do with your hands are usually good, crafts, knitting, sewing, playing cards with actual cards, some people find colouring works well to pass time. (Sounds silly I know.) Apparently anything with your hands is good because your hands can’t move faster than your brain can think.
Bright lights, loud noises, crowds, multiple voices like a party, all these things can make you feel worse. If you find one day you feel worse than the day before, think about what you did the day before and avoid that, either you did the wrong activity or you did too much.
As wateryglen pointed out, your judgement is likely to be impaired, so you might think you’re fine when you’re not. But you won’t know. So you just have to pay attention to how you’re feeling and really second guess yourself. And really make sure you’re not doing things you shouldn’t.
For instance, I see no reason why I can’t go ride. Except that if I think about what everyone keeps telling me, I remember I’m someone that has balance issues, walks with a cane and thinks she can ride the same type of horse she did before her injury.
Brain injuries / concussions… they are tricky things… they will trick you into believing things that just aren’t true, but its nearly impossible to know it.
Definitely avoid any more knocks to the head. Having had a headache that has lasted over a year without even one minute of a break from it, I would love to spare anyone and everyone from that! Its sometimes less intense and sometimes more, but its always there.
Take care… I know our sport has a history of “suck it up buttercup” but that really needs to change where brain injuries are concerned.
GP
