Concussion and Medicine to treat Post Concussion Symptoms in Junior High

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xray328

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Hey guys, my daughter (13) had her second concussion this year and is taking several months to recover from it. We were at a conference the other night and my daughter told a teacher she really wanted to get back into sports because she knows the academy wants you to play a varsity sport. The teacher told her that the concussion would keep her out of the Air Force Academy and she should start considering other avenues for her college education. I know were several years away still but I thought this was pretty irresponsible on the teachers part. She's been taking meds for the headaches and they want to start her on another medication to improve her cognitive ability though. Assuming she makes a 100% recovery from all this would it really keep her out of the the Academy in six years?

Thanks!
 
very irresponsible on the teacher's part. The headaches that require medication to manage could be a problem because that is listed as non-waiverable condition. you may want to ask the Doctor to indicate on her records the medication is for some other condition other than to control headaches if that is indeed the case.
 
Yeah, I was pretty upset that she would just tell her "don't even try", talk about a way to discourage her. She's on Amitriptyline which is actually used for depression but they've found that it improves sleep thereby improving the headaches. Again, I'm hoping that within a year all this will be done with, I just wasn't sure how far they look back in your medical records. If she's 14 (8th grade) and off the meds and has no further issues, is this really going to be an issue?
 
i think there is some sort of cut-off but i am no expert. search the forum, you may find something
 
I would be most concerned with the fact that it is taking months to recover, that she has cognitive issues and especially that she is on an antidepressant - I understand that is is being taken for an off-label purpose, but it is still an antidepressant.

That teacher was out of line, however it's possible that she is witnessing more of the cognitive issues than yourself.

As far as taking months to recover that is also an issue, because she is far more susceptible to further head injury.

I have heard that Larry Mullen at Dodmeb is the go-to guy to help answer questions. I'd suggest you try to contact him or someone else at Dodmerb to seek advice.
 
teachers, any teachers, should not be giving that type of "advice", particularly to a 13 year old.
that teacher needs to learn when to use the words could and would.
i have read on this forum more than a few cases where teachers told students 'you will never get in to...." and they end up wrong.
 
My DS had 2 concussions(1 a baseball to the head and 1 a soccer collision) in HS, had to fill out a Head Injury questionnaire for DoDMERB, and was qualified. However, he did not have to be on medications. He did see a specialist where they did testing. The 2nd concussion really scared him because they told him if he had a 3rd, that they would have to start talking about what sports he could play. He played the following seasons of basketball and soccer with a concussion head gear, which brought some peace of mind, but still the fear of further concussions.
Concussions are scary things. Good luck as you and your daughter make those decisions to play sports down the road and good luck with her future plans! Here is hoping for a full recovery.
 
According to Google, USAFA acceptance rate is 16%. Those are not great odds to begin with. What the teacher said is not necessarily bad advice.
 
Give up, great advice.
I have a son that got into a school with a 3% acceptance rate. Maybe I should have given him that same advice.
 
Concussions will not keep your daughter from USAFA. However, she does need to be more cautious in the future. I got a pretty severe concussion three weeks ago, and they aren't a joke. If she is having any sort of headache, keep her home from school. The noise and the need to try and pay attention will only make it worse. Teachers are usually more than willing to adjust for the student. Have your daughter talk to them about rescheduling tests and making up missed lessons. The best way for me to recover was to lie down in a dark, quiet room and rest. Noise and light were big triggers for me, but it varies person to person.

Personally, I'd advise your daughter just to be careful and to take her time recovering. No sport or school is worth a rushed recovery.
 
Not air force but USNA http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/_files/documents/MedicalAppendix1.pdf

"Major medical considerations are summarized here so that you and your doctors can anticipate if you meet the basic requirements for admission to the Academy. This is not meant to be a comprehensive listing of all disqualifying conditions; it is a brief and general summary for your convenience.
.......
Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Seizure disorders (but not uncomplicated febrile convulsions in childhood), degenerative conditions, traumatic brain injuries, recurrent or severe headaches, and severe motion sickness susceptibility are disqualifying. History of psychosis or affective illness, personality disorder or immaturity, stammering, stuttering, eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, and bedwetting or sleepwalking persisting into adolescence also are disqualifying. Academic skills defects, such as learning disabilities or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are not disqualifying if academic success can be demonstrated without the use of classroom accommodations, and no medication has been used in the past 12 months, with good grades. "

So the concussion could be disqualifying, then a waiver would be necessary. How easy it would be to get the waver will depend on the needs of the SA.
 
She is still young and should absolutely apply. Agree, it's time to have a good talk with a doctor about precautions going forward. I would be concerned with her recovery than applying at this point. I have had 3 major concussions, 2 which came at USNA. For her to have symptoms this long out, obviously this a big time concussion. If he isn't working with a specialist, find one. Make sure everything is well documented and be prepared for follow ups along the way. This way the doc can monitor and note until she applies. Get copies of it all and make sure the doc knows what her goal is and a letter starting her health a few years down the road will be needed.
 
AJC said:
Give up, great advice.
I have a son that got into a school with a 3% acceptance rate. Maybe I should have given him that same advice.
Click to expand...

Nowhere did I say to give up. The teacher said to explore other avenues for college education. I think that is great advice. The OP has a child that is in 7th grade and has had two concussions with long standing symptoms and necessitating medications. Perhaps the teacher is wondering about the premise of continuing the sport for the long shot chance of getting an appointment to USAFA five years from now.
I am not sure of what sports the OP is referring to. However, maybe different sports with less likelihood of concussion may be possible. I am not saying to give up the dream of USAFA.
 
She played soccer. She fell at practice and hit her head on the turf, she recovered, then later the same year she got slammed into at a tournament and fell, hitting her head again. The doctor just put her on adderall as a mental stimulant (might be disqualifying alone) and they are having her do cognitive therapy (PT for the brain). We're still hoping that she's on the other side of this in say 6 months but we don't see her returning to soccer. She has an interest in tennis and track, so hopefully things work out there.

I did read that they have the cadets in boxing at the academy and something like 1 out of 4 end up with a concussion just from that. Not sure I'd want her even being put in that situation. I'm assuming the boxing requirement is for female cadets too?

Regardless, I'm not going to discourage her dreams of attending the Academy. Goes back to shooting for the starts and hitting the moon. Last thing I want to see is her give up on her dreams and end up at a community college because someone told her "she shouldn't try" in 7th grade. I guess my hope was that because she's still five years out it would give her enough time to fully recover and at the very worst be something she could waiver.

And "Traumatic Brain Injury" always sounded like something you'd get from a car accident for instance versus something you'd get playing soccer. That being said, maybe the fact that it's taking this long to recover says something.
 
One thing that I realized along the way with my son's concussions is that you can get a concussion anytime, anywhere...just from a fall. Trip on a crack on the sidewalk, fall and hit your head. I was still very leary of the sports, but kept reminding myself that he could get one walking down the street.
 
Soccer statistically is about the most dangerous sport for a girl to play. It has the highest rate of concussions and ACL tears. Cross country is usually the same season (fall) as soccer. Maybe suggest that to your daughter. It's a hard sport, but very rewarding and it has a relatively low injury rate. Just food for thought.
 
xray328 said:
And "Traumatic Brain Injury" always sounded like something you'd get from a car accident for instance versus something you'd get playing soccer. That being said, maybe the fact that it's taking this long to recover says something.
Click to expand...

Here is my perspective. Son #2 gets concussion end of his sophomore year playing HS hockey. Immediate symptoms include memory loss, repeating the same questions over and over and nausea. Terrifying for mom and dad. After a day or two only mild headache remains (or so he says). He says he feels good. Unfortunately for him, mom and dad decided no more HS hockey. Extremely tough decision that we wrestled with. He took it well enough though. He was a decent hockey player but had no future in hockey. He did have a future using his brain though. Our logic as parents...we thought the likelihood of another hit to the head was high in the next two years.

xray- I wish your daughter the best. I think it's good that you have some time. Good luck to you.
 
Make sure you keep ALL of her medical records, testing, dates of medications, absolutely everything. The fact that this injury is after her 13 birthday will be tough, but keep all the records in order. Do what is necessary for a full recovery, and then get off any medications immediately! My son is going through DODMERB disqualification right now for his AROTC scholarship. Many details and specialists needed to proceed, but I think he will come out of this with a waiver.
 
The injury was when she was 12, does that matter? Treatment through her 13th birthday though. Her 13th birthday was in November, injury was 1/15 and 7/15.
 
My DS had two concussions, one his freshman year, the next his sophomore year. FF and sure enough he was DQ'ed pending the results of a remedial.

In anticipation of dodmerb we took him to a neuropsych doc who put him through a series of cognitive tests (takes about 3-4 hours) to have him evaluated. As we hoped Dodmerb requested his medical records pertaining to the concussions which we sent in as well as the neuropsych report. He was granted a waiver.
 
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