[QUOTE=owen;87464]Im so glad i found this place. Heres my PCS story.

I was at a paintball tournament in florida. It was two days before our team was scheduled to play. We were walking through the vendor area when a freak gust of wind blew one of the vendors balloons, about 10'12 feet in diameter, tethered by rope maybe 50 feet in feet in the air, it came down directly on my head. I didnt see it coming, i had no idea what had happened untill someone told me.......



I'm in a very similar situation right now. I am an RN. At work I was elbowed to the right side of the head twice by a semi-sedated patient during a procedure. I had my jaw knocked out of place which has now been causing pain as well as constant appointments to get it put back into place. I now have a constant clicking when I chew and and achy jaw muscle. But my biggest problem has been with my head. This happened almost 4 months ago. My symptoms are decreasing but still remain. I have been off work now for about 3 months because of this which is causing extra stress on the situation. The only lucky part of this whole thing was that it happened at work so I am able to continue getting paid through workers compensation.
Initially, I saw an ER doctor who just wanted to make sure that my jaw wasn't broken, it wasn't so she said just take Ibuprofen for the pain, so I did. Then about a week later the headaches really started to get worse, so I went to a walk in clinic and saw a GP there. He was very understanding and was sympathetic because he apparently remembered me as he was recently a patient of mine. He gave me a couple of prescriptions (muscle relaxant and anti inflammatory) and told me to call in sick if I was having a bad day. He also said to get an x-ray of my jaw if the pain didn't decrease in the next 2 weeks. 2 weeks past and things just got worse. I went to the dentist and got an x-ray of my jaw. The joint was damaged causing my jaw to slide in and out of place but there is nothing I can do except to take NSAIDs. I continued on as best as I could for nearly another week. At this point I could barely make it through the day; Severe headaches, nausea, sensitivity to light, jaw pain, dizziness, light headed, neck pain, cold sweats, fatigue, etc. My husband convinced my to see a chiropractor thinking that my neck was knocked out of place and this is what is causing the headaches. So I get an appointment at my lunch break...get there in a blur, in a cold sweat, feeling almost 'drunk'...he looks at me and says, "call your employer, you're not going back." Luckily this chiropractor has worked with many people with head injuries. He says my pupils are unevenly dilated (something that I had not noticed other than people telling me "your eyes look funny")
This began my daily visits to the chiropractor - not in the way you would think of a chiropractor though. Not a lot of cracking - more visual stimulation and neurological stuff. So, I went to him 6 days a week for about 6 weeks. I was then referred to a neurologist while still seeing the chiropractor about 4 times/week. The neurologist did the usual; follow my finger, look that way, back at me, up, down, reflexes, etc. then sent me to an EENT to rule out inner ear problems. The EENT said it was ridiculous that I was sent to him, like it was a waste of his time and said he couldn't help me. The neurologist said that his assessment of me was normal but would send me for an MRI to rule out anything more serious. (Still waiting for the MRI - in 2 weeks). Still seeing the chiropractor (now only 2 - 3 times/week), still having symptoms - although I am having more good days now than I was about 2 months ago. I have been keeping a symptom journal to track my progress, it seems to help when seeing a new health care provider as the days seem to run together and I cannot remember how I was feeling "two weeks ago Wednesday" I have been keeping this journal in a microsoft word document which is now 22 pages long...but at least the info is there.
The neurologist told me to stay away from over the counter pain killers as I may be getting a rebound headache from overuse of these medications. But I was given nothing instead of these medications. The over the counter stuff didn't help a whole lot anyway, sometimes not at all, others only knocking it down 1 peg or so. I have only taken Advil or Excedrin a couple times in the past 5 weeks. Now using heat and ice packs for pain, keeping blinds closed, and noise to a minimum.
This is the most frustrating thing ever!! At least when you have a broken bone, people can see it, and you can track your progress and see the healing. With your head, it is far more difficult for others to understand as well as more difficult to explain to those who have never experienced this before. It's hard when the only treatment that has been recommended is "time" I have also been told to take magnesium which may be a coincidence but I find that it has been taking the edge off a little (after about 2 weeks of 500 mg/day)
I have been having difficulty describing my symptoms to people but my best shot is:
"In a fuzzy, lightheaded blur. Lights seem brighter, voices echo, feel "fuzzy" and vision is kind of blurred and then focuses into clarity while you hear your heartbeat in your head and each beat brings with it a stabbing pain and a wave of nausea. All the while your head is trapped in a vice. At times it is like the floor is melting under your feet as you walk or like walking on a sponge - the floor doesn't seem stable. A wave a dizziness can hit at any time literally knocking you into a wall or doorway (if you are lucky enough to catch yourself). It's like a bad drunk but worse!"
My husband has noticed irritability and personality changes as well. All of the literature suggests that about 90% of people should be back to normal within 3 months. This makes me feel like I must be going crazy because I have been feeling like this for over 4 months. Some say it can last years in a minority of people...so what do you do in the meantime? a year is a long time to feel like this! I think I might go crazy if this continues much longer.
Can anyone relate? or am I really crazy?