When it comes to concussions, I am saddened to admit I’m no stranger to them. I’ve had at least three to date, and while I’m sure I’ve had more, I can only say I’ve had three with confidence because those three occasions were the only times I actually saw a doctor to be assessed. Two out of three have been the result of playing rugby, and I ended up having the worst one yet a few weeks ago in a game.
Immediately after it happened, I saw our athletic trainer, and she told me I had one. She advised to take two weeks off from playing, which I did, and I figured I was alright to play in our final game which was just this past weekend. Naturally, I ended up smoking my head again, and while I wasn’t feeling my best during the last few minutes of the game, the symptoms hit harder than they ever have as soon as I was finished playing. I was vomiting, shaking, light-headed, and weak.
I spoke with a few of my teammates who have also had multiple concussions, and all of them seem to think I have post-concussive syndrome. I wasn’t too sure what it entails and wanted to do some research on the topic; the following information comes from mayoclinic.org.
“Persistent post-concussive symptoms — also called post-concussion syndrome — occurs when symptoms of a mild traumatic brain injury last longer than expected after an injury. These symptoms may include headaches, dizziness, and problems with concentration and memory. They can last weeks to months.
Persistent post-concussive symptoms include:
- Headaches.
- Dizziness.
- Fatigue.
- Irritability.
- Anxiety.
- Trouble falling asleep or sleeping too much.
- Loss of concentration and memory.
- Ringing in the ears.
- Blurry vision.
- Noise and light sensitivity.
- Rarely, decreases in taste and smell,” the website explains.
Anyone who has endured post-concussion syndrome can arguably attest to how fucking awful it is. I’ve never experienced anything like it in my life, and I’m sincerely hoping it goes away sooner than later.
Photo by Thomas Serer on Unsplash
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