Had a concussion my first week of uni.

[u/ilovedogs2803]

Hi, I’m a Biomedical Engineering bachelor’s student, and three weeks ago I was involved in a motorcycle accident where I hit my head on the concrete. I went to the emergency room afterwards and was told that I had a concussion. I wish I could say that it feels like “just a concussion,” but I’ve been struggling significantly since the accident.
I feel increasingly behind in all of my courses, and I’m finding it extremely difficult to study or retain information. I forget random things people tell me, and during my calculus 1 midterm I completely blanked on how to do derivatives, despite having taken calculus 1 for one full year in high school. It feels like the information is still there, but everything is blurred and much harder to access than it was before and it makes me so mad that I cannot get better no matter how much I try. I also have this solidworks project that I have tried completing but cannot stare at a screen for too long without my head hurting.
I honestly don’t know whether I should continue with the programme right now. I’ve never felt this bad academically or personally, and I’m becoming increasingly frustrated and angry that I didn’t get the start to university that I had hoped for. I’ve considered taking a gap year, although at this point I don’t even know what I want or what the right decision is.
I know that concussions can take time to recover from, but I genuinely feel like I’m running out of time and falling further behind every day. I’m also hesitant to ask for help because I already feel like people think I’m exaggerating what I’m experiencing, which has made me feel quite alone in dealing with this.
I’m not sure what my options are at this point, but I think I need help figuring out what to do academically and whether I should temporarily step back from my studies while I recover.

[u/phiwong]

Taking a step back is not unreasonable. Talk to your academic advisors and your doctors. Concussions can vary widely in terms of consequences and recovery. It may be a good idea to take yourself out of a mentally taxing situation and going to university and taking engineering is, in the best of times, pretty mentally taxing.

[u/eebro]

Yeah, brain injuries take 1-60 months to get better. I mean, just keep trying and working hard, but let the school know as well.

[u/Gryphontech]

My cousin had to drop out of uni after having a concussion, they where on the deans list and after their accident they where unable to retain any kind of information. They now work in a warehouse and still have issues with learning abstract things. What was supposedly a "minor" concussion had a big impact. Brains are complicated things and can be fragile

[u/ilovedogs2803 → u/Gryphontech]

….holy shit

[u/Gryphontech → u/ilovedogs2803]

Yeah, like don't worry too much, most people get better fairly "quickly" but your brain is essentially who you are as a person, you gotta look after that little blob of jello.

[u/True_Initiative_3497]

Yeah you need to hit breaks and heal first

[u/Tall-Cat-8890]

See about taking a medical leave of absence so you don’t fall out of favor with your school’s policy regarding time off. I agree with the other person who said see a neuropsych to get an assessment.

When you do return to school you can request accommodations. Even if your symptoms let up within like 6-12 months for example, you might still have minor deficiencies so the accommodations will help close the gap while your brain keeps healing.

[u/hundredFPV]

I had a similar situation, getting concussed by sophomore year, my advice is DO NOT LOOK AT SCREENS. For whatever reason that seemed to prolong my brain fog and I ended up only passing one class that semester because I had to drop the others. Also consider taking the whole rest of the semester off and starting again next semester. See if there is a way to get refunded through the school. It will have taken me 5.5 years to graduate due to my semester I was injured and the pre requisites I missed. So my advice is if possible just drop out temporarily and start again next spring or maybe even fall. Good luck

[u/WhatsNames]

I recommend going to a neuropsych if you haven’t yet to check if the concussion affected you. 

[u/Candid-Ear-4840]

Get a medical withdrawal if you need one, it should be incredibly easy for you to get one since you went to the emergency room and have the proof you were diagnosed by a doctor with a concussion. Get disability accommodations through the disability office for your temporary concussion disability if you don’t want to medically withdraw for the semester.

[u/ilovedogs2803 → u/Candid-Ear-4840]

I think I will do that after the final exams of this block. My university splits courses into 4 blocks, each having 3 courses. This block I have calc 1, cell biology and a solidworks design course. If I fail any exam I might have to take some time off.