MedicMom Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 I’ve never had one. I was diagnosed with one tonight after a fall on ice. I am supposed to work a 24 hour shift tomorrow and I’m not crazy about calling off, because I will lose all my overtime and double pay that I worked for yesterday. The doctor at the ER said he’d give me a note off work and then didn’t, but from the paperwork they gave me It sound serious. Normally I feel like I would know, but my brain is very fuzzy. DH isn’t home tonight either and won’t take the night off work, so he’s no help. I’m not even sure what I’m asking, except if you’ve had a concussion, how did you treat it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 As I understand it, current medical guidance is to avoid "brain use" as much as possible for a time. This would include basically resting in a darkened room to start with. It's more complicated than that, but the short answer is, you should call in sick. Call the follow-up number on your discharge papers to get the note. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Sorry, but you have to call in sick. Sucks, but if you made a mental mistake, given your profession, it could be deadly to someone else. Sorry. Hugs. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 (edited) Please take at least the one shift off!!! If you are working in a medical field and have a concussion you are putting your patient's lives at risk. Concussions can affect speed of cognition and judgement. They are very serious and you should absolutely not work tomorrow. I work in pharmacy and if one of my coworkers had a concussion I would expect them to take a full week off of work, not just one shift. It is dangerous not just for the person with the concussion to work in a field that relies heavily on mental processing ability (brain breaks are vital to healing) but the risk to patients (ie for us making errors in labeling the wrong medication) is immense and not acceptable. If I found out someone came to work with a concussion after a doctor told them to take the day off work, I would treat it like if I found out they were drinking or getting high before work. I would pull and review all of their work for the day and be very upset that they put put patients at risk and us coworkers at risk (multiple peoples names are involved on every prescription) . It would likely result in a write up in their file. ETA: I have a daughter who was a cheerleader, I have done lots of research on concussions (common injury in the sport). They can be very serious with only mild symptoms. Please take the diagnosis seriously Sorry, you are going to miss out on the OT, that is a bummer. :0( Edited January 2, 2018 by Tap 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 You need brain rest. There is no way you can do your job without using your brain! If you stay home is there someone who can take care of the kids? Brains are pretty vital, not worth the overtime. I am sorry though :( 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 :grouphug: :grouphug: Do you have to drive? or is their a driver in the ambulance? ( you are a paramedic right). Concussion can cause mental confusion that makes driving dangerous. fatigue makes the mental confuison from concussion worse. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicMom Posted January 2, 2018 Author Share Posted January 2, 2018 I am a paramedic, but I’m scheduled to dispatch tomorrow. So no patient care, just sending the wheelchair van where it needs to go. My husband thinks I’d get more rest at work. There is no way I could take care of patients right now. No one who can be with me tonight, but we are just going to bed. My brain literally feels like thinking is like wading through a pile of snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Honestly, I think your dh is being incredibly inconsiderate. Why isn't he coming home to keep an eye on you tonight? Concussions are serious! And he thinks you should go to work tomorrow??? :svengo: No. Just no. I'm so sorry. :grouphug: 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Your brain definitely needs the rest to recover. If you push it too hard, you could have more damage which would mean more time off from work. Please rest as much as possible to heal. I'm sorry about your injury! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 My son had a concussion. You are supposed to have brain rest (think dark, sleep, mindless and restful when awake; my son was told to avoid screens). You resume activity when all symptoms are resolved, including headaches that come with activity and similar. I'm sure I'm forgetting things. You need to take tomorrow off. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 (edited) Your brain has been damaged. You need to try and not only help it heal but prevent additional damage. As others have mentioned, you need quiet, dark, no screens, no reading, etc. You need to be resting your brain. Is there anyone who could help watch the kids tomorrow? Definitely you should not be working. And this may or may not resolve quickly but the more you do immediately after the injury the longer it may take to recover and the higher the likelihood that you will cause further damage. :grouphug: Edited January 2, 2018 by OneStepAtATime 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calm37 Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I have had a concussion. Honestly, if you don't rest now, you will pay a much higher price later. Really. Resting now is the cheapest option. I'm so sorry. It's hard! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Another thing you need to keep in mind is that because it is a brain injury you may not be able to trust your own assessment of how you are functioning. You may be worse off than you are aware. It is safer to have someone around keeping an eye on you, especially right afterwards. Things could deteriorate and you might need to return to the hospital quickly. Did the doctor give you a list of symptoms to keep an eye out for? 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I've had one, and you should definitely take it easy. I really had a hard time just taking care of life for a while after mine. I had bouts of extreme dizziness and nausea, and mild confusion. The confusion would have been enough to cause an accident, or mess up something at work. I did drive the day after mine, but I shouldn't have. I was too dizzy and disoriented. Light was painful, as was sound, and both were disorienting. I'm sorry this happened, but you do need to take the day off and sleep in a dark room. :( 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I am a paramedic, but I’m scheduled to dispatch tomorrow. So no patient care, just sending the wheelchair van where it needs to go. My husband thinks I’d get more rest at work. There is no way I could take care of patients right now. No one who can be with me tonight, but we are just going to bed. My brain literally feels like thinking is like wading through a pile of snow. Does your husband have medical knowledge? The recommended treatment for concussion has changed dramatically over the past few years. You need to follow advice from a medical professional. The ER doc told you to stay home and rest your brain. That's what you need to do. Stay in bed, dark room. rest, no screens. This is not the time to try to power through it; doing so would make your recover take much longer. You need to heal. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emzhengjiu Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I've had a concussion as well. Please take it very easy! Take at least one day from work. I ended up missing 5 days straight because among other symptoms sounds and light hurt a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I had a concussion about six months, and everything everyone has said is correct, esp. if you don't want to end up with post-conclusive syndrome (PCS). DS23 had PCS and required treatment for five years after his grade 2 concussion. He still has sleep issues, btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I am a paramedic, but I’m scheduled to dispatch tomorrow. So no patient care, just sending the wheelchair van where it needs to go. My husband thinks I’d get more rest at work. There is no way I could take care of patients right now. No one who can be with me tonight, but we are just going to bed. My brain literally feels like thinking is like wading through a pile of snow. You know what I’m going to say, right? I imagine that your system uses something similar to CAD for transfers. (That’s what the wheelchair van is for, right? Sorry old 911 gov’t employee here. I know what we do for transfers.) That means you’ll be looking at screens for at least a portion of the shift, if not the whole shift. NOT what your brain needs right now. I completely understand about giving up the OT & associated pay when you get sick. It’s definitely a pain in the pay packet. However, you may end up having to take more time off in the future if you don’t take the time to rest now. Call in sick. Don’t make me come up here and pull rank on you, mmmk? 😉 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGrief Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Brain rest is essential, especially if you are symptomatic. No screens, no reading, dark room. You are at risk of sudden death if you were to hit your head again in the next couple weeks. People get serious long term consequences if the brain doesn't get to heal properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I am hoping that you are resting comfortably in a quiet, dark place with no screens and someone will be there to watch the children and keep an eye on you. I also am hoping that you will feel much better in the morning and this will all pass quickly. Just please, please, please take this seriously and take very, very good care of yourself. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 This is the chart I used when ds17 had his concussions. I would imagine that "return to work" and "return to school" would be quite similar. You should not return to work if you have any symptoms: fogginess, dizziness, headache, light/sound sensitivity, Please take the time off now so that your brain can completely recover. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 (edited) :grouphug: I had a grade 3 concussion on New Years Day two years ago from a fall on the ice. I wasn't allowed to go anywhere today lest I might fall again. ;) I still have PCS, and some things are as good as they are going to get. You would know these answers, so yes, you are symptomatic. Please take it seriously and follow the directions you were given at the hospital. I could say a lot here, but simply put, if you thought it was serious enough to go to the hospital, then it's serious enough to take off work. Edited January 2, 2018 by melmichigan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I had a concussion but between the fact that it was not worded that way on the sheet from the ER and that I was already confused, I kept doing things. Two days later, I was staggering, my vision was off, I couldn't even remember how to use a phone, and it has taken me years to get back to mostly normal. Do not go to work and hopefully you aren't reading this either but I hope it serves as a warning to others. (I was confused even more because of horrible ER explanations- the second doctor I saw actually explained it = I didn't have a bleed, I had a shaken brain and shaken side to side which is a worse injury than front to back. (I had hit my head on a car roof getting into the car from a crouching position where I was trying to get the seatbelt to work properly). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 How are you feeling today? :grouphug: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I noticed you posted in another thread, so I'm giving this thread a bump in the hope that you'll let us know how you're feeling today. I hope you're okay! :grouphug: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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