Head Injury? Update and more questions, post #29/page 2

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Originally Posted by SueM in MN

I work in a hospital that has an outpatient concussion clinic.
I don't work directly with the clinic, but have seen presentations they have done and the son of a friend has gone to a conclusion clinic.
They continue to do follow up visits until the person gets to a particular point in recovery.
How people recover is very variable, so it is really hard to tell how long the follow up will need to be.

The reply you got about neurologists and neuropsychologists is correct.
Neurologists look at physical symptoms and physical damage.
Neuropsychologists are experts at measurement of the function of the brain - things like cognitive testing, that Neurologists don't do.
Neurologists and Neuropsychologists work together in many clinics.

Thanks Sue!

In the circumstances I describe, would you take him?

[horseshowmom]

Originally Posted by Mickey'snewestfan

If you wouldn't get the testing, would you ask for accommodations at school? Midterms begin on Friday. I already emailed his counselor asking if his Friday test could be pushed back so he's had 3 more days to recover and to review the stuff he missed. Does that make sense?

I probably would. I don't think that what you're asking is out of line, and he probably doesn't need to be stressing his brain at this point.

Originally Posted by Southernmiss

Will you send your DS to school tomorrow? If it were me, (and I am usually the "rub some dirt on it" and keep going kind of mom) I think I'd see how he did at school tomorrow--if it makes him overly tired, or brings on headaches, etc. and then decide about taking or postponing midterms.

I do think I'd alert his teachers and the nurse and ask for notification if he seems "off" in any way while at school.

I also agree with this about letting him go back tomorrow if he thinks he feels like it. If he seems to do well and really feels like he's up to exams, you might play it by ear. If one seems to wear him out, postpone the others. But I also don't think you're out of line for requesting that they be postponed.

[SueM in MN]

Originally Posted by Mickey'snewestfan

Thanks Sue!

In the circumstances I describe, would you take him?

I can't really give an opinion to you on that.
I would probably do it because in pretty cautious.

You could call the Pediatrician, explain insurance said they would not pay and see what they suggest. It could be that if the doctor writes the order a little differently, it would be covered. The doctors could also give you an opinion about how important it would be to do it, based in your child.

From what I know, it is important to know this injury is resolved before he does any activity that would be risky to cause another concussion.

[Mickey'snewestfan]

So, I called the pediatrician today. The nurse said I should probably take him, but she wasn't sure. I made an appointment for tomorrow a.m. for the Dr. to get his opinion.

I also called my insurance who gave me a list of Dr.'s who "do the same thing" who are covered. However, when I called them to schedule they were neurologists, not neuropsychologists. One was in the same office at the hospital as the concussion clinic, and the other was in private practice. The one in private practice said they could see him but they can't do "impact testing", it would just be looking at him, talking to him, looking for signs. I'm not convinced that's any more than what the pediatrician or E.R. doctor can do.

I should add that I had already asked the concussion clinic whether a neurologist would do, given that I know my insurance covers neurologists and they said no. Any thoughts?

[Southernmiss]

Originally Posted by Mickey'snewestfan

So, I called the pediatrician today. The nurse said I should probably take him, but she wasn't sure. I made an appointment for tomorrow a.m. for the Dr. to get his opinion.

I also called my insurance who gave me a list of Dr.'s who "do the same thing" who are covered. However, when I called them to schedule they were neurologists, not neuropsychologists. One was in the same office at the hospital as the concussion clinic, and the other was in private practice. The one in private practice said they could see him but they can't do "impact testing", it would just be looking at him, talking to him, looking for signs. I'm not convinced that's any more than what the pediatrician or E.R. doctor can do.

I should add that I had already asked the concussion clinic whether a neurologist would do, given that I know my insurance covers neurologists and they said no. Any thoughts?

I don't know the difference in a neurologist and neuropsychologist. The athletic trainer at DSs school recommended the NEUROLOGIST that he went to. That Dr. specialized in teens with head injuries and knew well what he was doing. So I really don't see the insistance on the neuropsychologist.

[debster812]

OP--DS got a concussion in Fall of 2011 playing soccer. (Going up for a header, opponent's elbow collided with DS's temple. At all our HS sporting events there is an EMT, Paramedic, or Licensed Athletic Trainer in attendance. The paramedic spent about 30 minutes with him on the sideline, and at the end of the game recommended we take him to the Dr. or the ER.

All the athletes at our school get a baseline ImPact test before they are allowed to compete, so we were very lucky in that we had a good, solid baseline. DS was diagnosed with a mild concussion, and was not allowed back to practice or games until he passed his follow up ImPact test. He could not take the follow up until he was symptom free.

It took 3 weeks before he was fully cleared and symptom free, and it took him about 4 months until his sleep patterns were fully back to normal.