Urban Meyer on health: ‘Just something I’ve got to monitor’

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Ohio State coach Urban Meyer reiterated Monday he is fine after going through a brief medical episode late in the Buckeyes' win over Indiana on Saturday afternoon.

“I’ve been dealing with that cyst for many years and we had that surgery several years ago,” Meyer said, referring to a 2014 procedure to remove fluid from a cyst that had been causing him headaches.

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“When it does take place, it’s just give me some medicine and I feel fine now. Just something I’ve got to monitor.”

Meyer’s cyst has been known about for quite some time.

He disclosed it to Sports Illustrated when he was still coach at Florida in 2010, at which time the Palm Beach Post reported, "fortunately for University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer and for the millions of others who have arachnoid cysts, the condition is not life-threatening."

Neurosurgeon Robert Brodner told the paper an arachnoid cyst is “a benign cyst on the membrane tissue that covers the brain. They occur congenitally in about 5 to 6 percent of the population — with the vast majority being asymptomatic.”

When there are symptoms — such as Meyer’s headaches — they are a result of the the cyst growing from the absorption of spinal fluid. That can exert pressure on the part of the brain closest to the cyst, and stress can sometimes cause the symptoms to materialize as headaches, vomiting or trouble walking.

Although news Meyer had a surgical procedure on his head caused some commotion four years ago, the story had been quiet until this summer.

A report commissioned by the university to investigate Meyer's handling of domestic abuse allegations against former assistant coach Zach Smith found "Meyer sometimes has significant memory issues" and that a medication the coach takes periodically "can negatively impair his memory, concentration and focus."

When asked about that later, Meyer said, "There's things in that report that are very transparent and very thorough, the relativeness to the investigation, but I can just be truthful and tell you I've had heavy some pretty meds at times but it certainly doesn't impact the way I coach."

Asked Monday if he has considered having another procedure for the cyst, Meyer replied, “I’ll get by with what we’re doing.”

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