Skull Fractures, Anyone?

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#1
I don't know how many of your are uncoordinated/unlucky enough to have any extensive head-injury experience, but I figured I might as well throw this out there. It seems that nobody can really point me in the right direction and I'm just confused =(

I was in a rush to get to class early in January of this year when I apparently slipped and hit my head on the wall and then the floor. I went to class without incident and retreated to my dorm room where I vomited and eventually went to our Student Health Center. When she asked me if I'd hit my head, I couldn't remember, but when I put a hand on the back of my head it came away bloody. She sent me to our athletic department (because I am an athlete the Health Center is not allowed to treat us), which prescribed rest and told me to go to class if I could. I waded through about two weeks of classes with sunglasses on and my head down before I started to feel marginally better.

About a week after I returned to my usual activities (track, classes), I fell off a ski lift on my snowboard and hit my head again.

I didn't think I'd hit hard, but I knew within several minutes that I had given myself another concussion. I went back to school and had a seizure and was still vomiting within the first 24 hours. At this point I was alarmed and I tried to go to the Health Center, only to get lost several feet outside my dorm. Security escorted me to the Health Center which again directed me to the athletic department.

They again prescribed rest and suggested that I avoid classes for a week or so. After three weeks of this I was still having symptoms (and I had missed my final exams), so I sucked it up and finished the semester.

For almost two months after my second fall I was having seizures and regularly getting lost on paths that had been familiar before. I would have crippling headaches that left me curled under my bed and popping Tylenol.

I returned home from school early this month, where my normal doctor ordered skull x-rays to determine the potential source of my continuing symptoms (maybe once a week, depending on my activities). It was then that she discovered that I had fractured my skull and damaged my neck (presumably following the second fall).

I have another appointment tomorrow, and I just don't know what to expect. I thought I did everything right. Nobody told me that I should have seen a neurologist...I was scared about the seizures but they all said it was normal. Does anybody know anything about concussions? What happens now? Will the symptoms ever go away or have I screwed myself over? =(
 

Grab

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#2
I can't answer the head injury question, though I'm imagining that, given time, the symptoms will probably go away unless there was more extensive damage done. I know head injuries take quite awhile to heal.

I have to say, though, I cannot imagine what the school was thinking sending someone having seizures to an athletic dept..:confused: Not college, but I know the athletic trainer at the high school refers the athletes to physicians for head injuries. And those are people not having seizures... Telling someone that seizures just happen is, frankly, some of the most dangerous advice I've heard and I do hope that they are held a bit accountable.
 

darkchild16

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#3
You probably suffered a TBI. I cant tell you anything more but get checked out. My father has a SEVERE one but we have no clue how its affected him.

Neuro or not you would be most likely dealing with this for life. TBIs dont just go away. They are there for life.
 
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Grab, unfortunately it seems like they just dropped the ball and/or there was a miscommunication somewhere along the line. The athletic department is completely swamped most of the time, and since I didn't have IMPACT testing on file they just didn't know what to do with me/didn't have the resources to refer me anywhere. To be honest, I'm not sure what happened, but I know it's not what should have happened.

That said, the health care at my school is unfortunately very lax...I came in once with a double sinus infection and the nurse asked me if I "felt like I needed antibiotics."
 
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Dark, thanks. I will ask my doctor about it; my sister had a TBI as an infant that led to Autism, but I imagine the effects on an adult would be quite different and dependent on the severity of the original injury.
 

darkchild16

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#6
Its very different as a adult and the degree of injury. I didnt mean to be short just couldnt think of how else to put it LOL. My father will NEVER live alone again and most likely will never walk again BUT his TBI is severe and put him in a coma. You can go to counselors and what not to help you and you can live a normal life it just depends. See a neuro and DEFINATLY research TBIs multiple hits to the head are usually classified and do cause TBI. Ill look into my resources and see if there is anything that can help you.
 

Baxter'smybaby

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#7
definitely follow up with Neurologist--your symptoms may or may not change, depending on where in the brain the injury was/is, and if it will resolve. Some changes occur due to swelling of the brain tissue, and when that resolves--symptoms may as well. Your memory issues are concerning--and the seizures should have been a massive red flag for medical care for you. I hope you get fully checked out and feel better!
 

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#8
Holy crap how did they not send you to a hospital for a head injury!?! Especially with seizures involved!?! :madgo::madgo::madgo:

Augh. Honestly, I think there might be some malpractice suit potential right there. And with the cost of treating/managing your symptoms at this point, it wouldn't be unreasonable to look into pursuing. Head injuries are so serious that at UMC in Tucson they require everybody, even with seemingly minor head injuries to stay overnight with a patient sitter.

I am infuriated that you weren't referred to a competent doctor who could even run appropriate diagnostics. They didn't even refer you for a flippin' xray? Augh.
 

Beanie

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#9
The neuro will probably order an MRI right off the bat, we had a thread on here a while back about brain/skull MRIs if you're worried about it. I had one two years ago, it wasn't pleasant being that I'm claustrophobic, but definitely not the worst thing in the world. Maybe an EEG too which is more simple, but an MRI will find fractures in the bone - ALL of them, x-rays don't always pick up all fractures! - as well as image the brain itself while the EEG records the electrical activity in your brain.
Definitely see a neurologist and I think you'll know more once you go down that route. Head injuries are nothing to mess around with. If you were vomiting after hitting your head, I seriously can't imagine why they didn't send you to a clinic/hospital rather than just the school health department or the athletic docs... that's alarming and I hope it hasn't caused more serious issues because they failed to get you taken care of the way you should have been. =<

You might have post-traumatic epilepsy - the good news is that it can certainly go away with time, and anti-seizure meds can help you out too. I've also been reading some about recent research on anti-depressants to treat seizures, and there's some interesting stuff going on there too. (I'm doing bizarre research for a story I'm writing, don't ask... =P) Don't freak out just yet! One day at a time, that's the only way you can do it. I hope they can get you into the neurologist quickly.
 

darkchild16

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#10
Most anticonvulsants are also used to treat bipolar actually thats how we got a pretty GOOD suspiction Jeremy is bipolar. He went off his seizure meds for the first time since 9 and OMG.
 
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#11
In theory, who better to treat a head injury than an athletic department? They would normally see more than an on campus health center. Why they didn't do better with a seizure is an issue. NCAA might even be interested in that.
 

crazedACD

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#12
When she asked me if I'd hit my head, I couldn't remember, but when I put a hand on the back of my head it came away bloody. She sent me to our athletic department (because I am an athlete the Health Center is not allowed to treat us), which prescribed rest and told me to go to class if I could.
At this point I was alarmed and I tried to go to the Health Center, only to get lost several feet outside my dorm. Security escorted me to the Health Center which again directed me to the athletic department.

They again prescribed rest and suggested that I avoid classes for a week or so. After three weeks of this I was still having symptoms (and I had missed my final exams), so I sucked it up and finished the semester.
Get copies of your medical records, and get a personal injury lawyer. I'm completely serious...if they missed a skull fracture and weren't concerned about seizures, they need a wake up call. At the least they should be observing possible concussion cases overnight. Those symptoms are serious. Did you see an actual doctor at the Health Center? So many people sue over petty things...you need to pursue legal action over this one that is serious. Being swamped is no excuse for poor care.
 

eddieq

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#13
I have had 14 (or more) concussions since the age of 17. Never fractured my skull, but in my experience, the symptoms typically start to subside in a few days to a week and you start to feel really good withing 10 days to 2 weeks. YMMV.

Good luck!
 

Beanie

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I have had 14 (or more) concussions since the age of 17. Never fractured my skull, but in my experience, the symptoms typically start to subside in a few days to a week and you start to feel really good withing 10 days to 2 weeks. YMMV.

Good luck!
This happened in January... so I think we're beyond your typical concussion stuff.
 

eddieq

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This happened in January... so I think we're beyond your typical concussion stuff.
Yup. Didn't see that it was months ago. Probably so many head injuries caused my reading comprehension to go awry ;)
 

eddieq

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Hahahaha, it could be worse. You could be Troy Aikman. Whoo. That poor guy.
True. Can you imagine having to play your entire pro football career for the cowboys? Sheesh, that's harsh.
 
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#18
No worries, Dark, I took it like you meant it =) I am sorry to hear about your father. I got lucky there: comparatively just a love tap. I've had other concussions but those were all in my childhood (before I learned to back the hell up when moving cattle haha).

Baxter's Mom, thanks! I wish I had taken the time to learn more about what was happening after the initial injury. Now that I'm reading more I'm realizing that I did it all wrong.

Romy, I was so frustrated too. But I trusted them to manage it correctly and was too dumb to get off my butt and figure out what needed to be done.

Beanie! Thank you so much! I've had MRI's before and I'm claustrophobic too but I did okay. They were very patient and we have an open facility here so that helps. Hopefully they'll do that instead of making me go through the giant, woodpecker-inhabited tube. As for the epilepsy, that does sound a lot like what happened! Fortunately I haven't had a real seizure in about a month. I still tremor sometimes but the full-blown stuff is pretty much gone which is nice.

Psyfalcon, that's what I thought too! The Health Center definitely didn't know what was up at all...but neither did the athletic department for some reason. Maybe protocol is different for athletes that are in non-contact sports?

CrazedACD, there is a doctor in our athletic department but he just made sure I didn't have a neck injury (supposedly...although I guess he didn't do a good job), checked my pupil reactivity, and then talked to me about management.

Thanks, Eddie! On the upside, now my jump to the NFL from college ball should be a breeze!

As for pursuing legal action...unfortunately I had a confrontation with the trainer about another matter in between concussions that would certainly be brought up in court. I was not in good form as my mother had been intubated while I was away at school...and then the trainer started billing my house for visits that I had not taken advantage of. I was very unprofessional and my actions would make it difficult for me to prove anything/make any sort of case beyond "well they should have told me what to do."
 
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#19
Ugh sorry rereading that last bit doesn't make sense haha.

What I mean is that I had a fight with the trainer in which I said a lot of things I shouldn't have said. If I bring anything to court she will of course use that as an assault against my character/proof that I am lying or noncompliant with the orders that I was given (which is what she told me when I came back at the end of the semester: that I was still having symptoms because I hadn't been "resting" enough). There's no way I would win.
 

sparks19

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Ugh sorry rereading that last bit doesn't make sense haha.

What I mean is that I had a fight with the trainer in which I said a lot of things I shouldn't have said. If I bring anything to court she will of course use that as an assault against my character/proof that I am lying or noncompliant with the orders that I was given (which is what she told me when I came back at the end of the semester: that I was still having symptoms because I hadn't been "resting" enough). There's no way I would win.
well if that fight came between head injuries... I'd still think you would have a good case. That fight could have been a symptom plus with the stress of your mother....

I still think you actually would have a pretty good case.

I have NO experience with head injuries but yeah this is a big deal that there was a fractured skull and seizures and NO ONE referred you to anyone else.
 

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