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I am aware that the statistics regarding a 40ft climbing fall, which result in "decking-out" are not favorable. I survived such a fall only recently. Major injuries seem to have only been a broken & fractured right leg (above and below the knee). This being said, I am sure that there is a lot more unseen/non-diagnosed damage to my body, including a concussion.

I will be going for more tests, these will not necessarily be related to my bone breakages, to hopefully find out what other damage occurred.

Does anyone have the knowledge or experience to help me start my own self-diagnosis?

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    As it states above, I am going for more tests. Unfortunately, during my recent visits to hospital their only main concerns were breakages to my bones and not soft tissue, ligament or tendon damage.
    – user16414
    Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 20:46
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    I edited your question to take out the reference to self-diagnosis. If we helped you with a self-diagnosis, we would be clearly giving you medical advice, which we don't do as a matter of principle. The last sentence, as edited, is, I think, on the right side of the line. Best wishes for a complete recovery.
    – ab2
    Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 22:09
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is asking about personal health recommendations.
    – imsodin
    Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 22:25
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    @imsodin the question is asking for potential health issues, much like all of the questions tagged health these are in scope, like the one you answered here
    – James Jenkins
    Commented Sep 16, 2018 at 11:19
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    We cannot possibly tell you how to start your own self-diagnosis. We are not MDs, and it would be dangerous for you to take medical advice from strangers. We can tell you to go to a doctor ASAP if you suspect a concussion, or if, e.g., you have been vomiting non-stop for days, but this is only common sense. If you want suggestions on how to manage your interactions with your doc, then an edit, since revoked, changed your question to ask for that. You can bring back that edit if you want, or ask that it be brought back.
    – ab2
    Commented Sep 17, 2018 at 0:22

2 Answers 2

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Doctors are not omniscient. They miss things. Some are sedentary, and they don't understand how important a full recovery is to an athletic person.

Everyone, when going to a doc, needs to think through what to ask his doc, and know how to ask -- or insist -- effectively. We are not giving the OP medical advice here; we are suggesting how to manage his visits to his docs effectively.

I suggest:

(1) if you suspect concussion, drop everything and go to a doc, an ER or a walk-in clinic sooner than ASAP.

(2) When you visit your docs, bring someone with you who knows your situation well, is outspoken without being abrasive, and can advocate for you. Such a person is called a Patient Advocate and, according to the Institute for Health Care Improvement can be a professional PA or a family member or close friend. The Institute says:

A time of illness is a stressful time for patients as well as for their families. The best-laid plans can go awry, judgment is impaired, and, put simply, you are not at your best when you are sick. Patients need someone who can look out for their best interests and help navigate the confusing healthcare system–in other words, an advocate.....

An advocate is a “supporter, believer, sponsor, promoter, campaigner, backer, or spokesperson.”...... An effective advocate is someone you trust who is willing to act on your behalf as well as someone who can work well with other members of your healthcare team such as your doctors and nurses.

An advocate may be a member of your family, such as a spouse, a child, another family member, or a close friend. Another type of advocate is a professional advocate. Hospitals usually have professionals who play this role called Patient Representatives or Patient Advocates.

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    For any of the immediate measure to be taken in case of a concussion it is way too late. You may not agree, but having such discussion about health issues is exactly why this question is a bad idea. Doctors most definitely are not gods and it is definitely a good idea to think for yourself. It is also definitely a bad idea to let strangers on the internet think for you. The advocate sounds like a really good idea and a good thing to recommend, it's just not really what was asked (showing again, that you need to go against the question for it to be a more or less responsible answer).
    – imsodin
    Commented Sep 16, 2018 at 17:29
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    @imsodin Sure, instant measures are better, late measures are worse, and even later measures are even more worse. As for "going against the question", the OP had 18 hours to roll back my edit. Silence is assent.
    – ab2
    Commented Sep 16, 2018 at 19:30
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A mostly non-medical answer.

If you live in the United States (US) and you have health insurance. You can be relatively sure that the medical and legal communities both agree there there is very little risk of significant medical issues requiring more testing, then you are recieving.

Google 'medical testing based on malpractice concerns' and you will find millions of articles talking about the number of tests doctors order to prevent getting sued.

Trauma perspective.

I used to be EMT with a volunteer fire company that had, what has been listed as one of the 10 most dangerous roads in the US, I have seen a lot of trauma. There are no absolutes, but in general, the bad things might happen, have fairly observable symptoms.

Could you have had some strange physical stress, the has weakened some blood vessel, that could rupture at any moment causing you to die from internal bleeding in minutes; yes, you could. But realistically those type of bleeds (aneurysm) happen from organic issues (life > death) much more commonly. Otherwise healthy people die from these all of the time.

I would not be overly concerned with self diagnosis, focus on the what the medical staff are telling you, things like blood clots following a lower leg fracture are big risks. Don't let worry about the very low probably, overlooked risks distract you from addressing the very high probability risks of recovering from your diagnosed injuries.

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    This is a good answer, but I'm having trouble parsing "But realistically those type of bleeds happen from organic issues (life > death) much more commonly. Otherwise healthy people die from these all of the time.", could you reword? I know this answer is on hold/closed but so long as we're here anyways...
    – Monica Apologists Get Out
    Commented Sep 17, 2018 at 17:22
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    @Adonalsium I added the word 'aneurysm' and a link. Locations vary (brain, heart, liver, kidney), but this is one of the most common causes of death in "healthy" people.
    – James Jenkins
    Commented Sep 17, 2018 at 17:59
  • It was more of the "happen from organic issues (life > death)" that seemed hard to penetrate for me.
    – Monica Apologists Get Out
    Commented Sep 17, 2018 at 18:01
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    @Adonalsium not sure how to clarify that. I am using organic as synonym of natural occurrence. Everything that lives, ultimately dies. I would probably be getting out of scope if I went much further than that.
    – James Jenkins
    Commented Sep 17, 2018 at 18:17
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    Oh. You meant "naturally occurs". 100% makes sense now.
    – Monica Apologists Get Out
    Commented Sep 17, 2018 at 18:24