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Old 02-03-2014, 09:51 AM
"Starr" "Starr" is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 312
10 yr Member
"Starr" "Starr" is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 312
10 yr Member
Default MRI Results & Almost 2 Year Anniversary

I'm just a couple weeks shy of my 2 year anniversary of my brain injury. My symptoms are still about the same as the days / weeks following my injury with very little improvement.

I've yet to have a single day without a headache in almost 2 years. For most of the 2 years, if I was very careful and rested, I could keep the head pain to about a 5 or 6. If I was not extremely careful and over did it, it would easily escalate to 8 or 9 and would take several days or a week of complete rest to get back to a 5 or 6.

We tried many medications and I just can't seem to tolerate them even at tiny doses, with the exception of Topamax, which I take 200 mgs a day with few problems. (Food tastes weird, but I don't care about that.)

Back in October, I overdid it one weekend, by choice and knew I would have to "pay" by resting for a week after to reduce my head pain and did so and the head pain never went down. Completely rested for a 2nd week, still no relief.

Since October, my head pain has been sitting consistently at a 8 or 9 with no relief so my physiatrist ordered an MRI a couple of weeks ago, just to make sure nothing was going on. I had not had an MRI since my accident, only a CT scan about 6 months after my injury.

When my doc order the MRI he said he didn't expect to find anything, not to worry, he said he didn't expect to see any damage from my fall either, since most damage is too small to show up. I've read similar things here, so I was totally expecting the results to be "normal".

This morning I got an online message from my family doctor, who was copied on the MRI results.

It is not very detailed and I've made an appointment to go in tomorrow to get a copy of the actual results, but here is what he said.

"It looks like there is evidence to support an injury to the temporal lobe of your brain from head trauma. It probably will not be something that can be treated or 'fixed' easily, but at least it does confirm your symptoms and struggles."

I will eventually get more information from my physiatrist as well, during my next appointment at the next rehab cycle, but other than asking for a copy of the MRI report, what should I be asking?

I'm a little upset by the MRI showing anything. If it shows some damage at all, just imagine what there is that is too small for it to show?

Temporal lobe damage is consistent with poor memory and difficulty learning new things, yes? This would make it consistent with my neuropsych report from last year.

Anyhow, I was already kinda freaking out about my 2 year anniversary with so little progress and now this.

Starr
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