I'm one of those people that McGee is referring to.

I didn't start showing symptoms of a concussion until three days after I hit my head. Until then, all I had was a huge goose egg on the back of my head and a headache where I'd hit my head. Three days later I started throwing up and was dizzy. I went to the ER, and they did a CT scan which ended up being negative. They sent me home with vicoden and a pat on the head.

The very next day, I started having seizures and my hands and feet were going numb. Back to the ER I went. They had to give me valium and dilantin to stop the seizures. They then set me up with a neurologist.

I've had the gambit of PCS symptoms. To make it worse, I already had PTSD from events that happened years before- this made the PTSD symptoms get really bad.

My neurologist has run many tests on me including a sleep study and an MRI five months after I hit my head. I'm the odd man out, where the MRI did show the damage to my brain where I hit my head.

Thankfully, I have good medical insurance. So, I pay nothing for these tests.

My neurologist told me that these tests were done to rule out anything else that could be causing the symptoms, and I appreciate that. Some of my symptoms look very much like Parkinson's. There's really nothing that doctors can do to heal you- whether the damage shows or not. All they can do is relieve your symptoms (if you choose to go that route) and tell you to rest as much as possible.

So- I agree those that have told you that having an MRI if you don't have insurance is probably a waste of your money.

I've never been one to suffer needlessly, so I'm grateful for the meds that my doctor has given me. I'm on:

• Seroquel to help me sleep
• Klonopin to stop the myoclonic jerking
• Provigil to help me concentrate while I'm at work

None of these things will heal me- they just mask the symptoms. I'm OK with that- especially the jerking. That's especially annoying and embarrassing.

The thing that will help you heal is to take care of yourself. Rest when you feel you need rest and do NOT push yourself. I need to be better at this particular piece of advice because I tend to push myself and then pay for it later.

The folks on this board are really great and have lots of experience and advice to give you. I'm glad you landed here, but sorry that you are experiencing these things.

Hugs,
Lori