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Old 06-09-2011, 03:30 AM
strawberryfields strawberryfields is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 6
10 yr Member
strawberryfields strawberryfields is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 6
10 yr Member
Heart sinus problems related to TBI?

Hello Everyone!

I suppose I'll begin by introducing myself and telling my story. I'm 22 years old (turning 23 on Monday), was a pretty healthy girl previously aside from some anxiety issues. On April 21st I had just landed a really great job, and was going to start the next morning. Instead, my boyfriend at the time pressured me into going out to a show at a bar, and I made the mistake of agreeing to go. I wasn't planning on drinking much, but I did have three drinks and I now believe that one of those drinks was messed with, because I did not remember anything after that. I woke up in a hotel room with someone who is not quite a friend and learned that my boyfriend had gotten a DUI and went to jail. I did not know that I had been injured until my friend told me a couple of days later that I had fallen and hit my head on concrete. I do not know if I fell more times after that, but I did have a bruise on my face near my left eye. I didn't have any major symptoms until the next day, went to the ER and my CT was fine. a week after, my symptoms were much worse and I was so dizzy that I couldn't walk, so I went back to the ER. I've pretty much been told to deal with it, as i'm sure all of you have. I had an MRI done a couple of weeks ago which came back fine, but they did find "an incidental cyst" in my right sinus.

Anyway, throughout all of this I have noticed my sinuses draining a lot more than usual. When I tell anyone about this concerning me, they immediately write it off as allergies, even though I didn't have any allergies or sinus irritation before I hit my head. In the past couple of days I've noticed a lot of pressure in the right side of my face, it sometimes goes numb and my ear has been hurting. My nose has stopped draining and I can breathe through it but I can feel a lot of pressure in it. My back teeth/jaw area has been hurting as well, so bad that I thought my wisdom teeth were coming in.. but I went to the dentist today, and they aren't anywhere near coming in. Last night I went to an urgent care center where a doctor looked into my nose and ears for the first time in a while (can't believe my PCP and neurologist hadn't done this), and he said the right side was completely swollen but also guessed it was allergies or a sinus infection and completely unrelated to my TBI even though I told him about the MRI/cyst.

i'm wondering if anyone has any information or experience with this. it would be really helpful to me because I often panic, and this has basically turned me into a hypochondriac. I go to bed every night in an outfit in case I have to go to the ER.. I see a doctor almost every day. (I feel terrible for my parents and wish I wasn't such a burden on them.. I'm on their insurance plan, and it would be impossible for me to pay these expenses myself.)

Also, does anyone else have random sore spots on their scalp? Is this normal?
And can I just throw in one crazy question (so I can sleep tonight without panicking) at this stage, I really don't need to worry about anything progressing to something serious i.e. a bleed? I am afraid to ask my doctors this question because I don't want them thinking I'm nuts. Although I do feel like quite the lunatic these days. But a good answer to this question would help with my anxiety.

Other symptoms I'm having:
Intense nausea from time to time
Dizziness and headaches (of course)
Chest pain, stabbing pains all over my body in random places, random muscle soreness and spasms
Indigestion, heartburn
(but I've been panicking so much that it's possible I am causing all of my stomach issues)
Mixing up words

I eat really healthy and since my injury I completely quit all of my vices like smoking, alcohol and caffeine. I feel mostly okay during the day and have a panic attack almost every evening. I take 1mg of Ativan regularly now, it helps a little but it is beginning to be less effective.

Thanks for reading.
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"Thanks for this!" says:
Ken Koester (02-25-2014)