Crystal,

I am so sorry that you had to go through all of that, but I am glad that you found this website. Unfortunately, there are many people here who have gone through things that are similar. Therefore, you should be able to find some things that can help you.

First of all, your case is workers' compensation, so I assume that your employer has filed the paperwork for that.... I think that you might want to get a workers' compensation lawyer just to help you get through all of this. See if you can get a referral to someone.

I know that you work in a hospital, but I am not sure what kind of work you do. If you belong to a union, they may have names of workers' compensation lawyers that they recommend. I don't know what the workers' compensation laws are in your state. Here in California they seem to be there to protect the employers.... But that's another issue....

I can't believe that the Head Injury Clinic said that there isn't anything that they can do for the headaches! That's ridiculous! I know that there are three different types of medicines that they can try you on to see if they can prevent the headaches. I am not a doctor.

It's just that I have been through all of this. One class of medicines is low dose anti-depressants. For many people they help mask the headaches.

The second class of medicines is anti-seizure drugs (in a very low dose), and the third are actually heart medicines like beta blockers or calcium channel blockers. Many people get relief from the headaches from one of those drugs.

Unfortunately, I have a very difficult time with medicines. My neurologist tried me on 6 different medications, and I could not take any of them, because of the side effects. But they certainly are worth a try.

The next thing to try is Vitamin B-2 (riboflavin). There have been studies done with 400 mg. of Vitamin B-2, and it has shown to help migraines. (I do use the B-2, but not in such a large dose, and I also take a B-complex, because you shouldn't take just one B vitamin by itself, or it unbalances the other B's - or so I've read.) Another thing that has been found to help headaches is magnesium, so I take a calcium and magnesium pill.

Still something else that I have tried is Petadolex. It has been used in Germany for many years to help prevent migraines. It is made from a plant called butterbur, but the plant has something toxic in it if you don't run it through a special process, which the manufacturers of Petadolex do. I tried Petadolex as well, but it too had side effects that caused me to stop taking it.

Things that I have found helpful for myself are physical therapy, acupuncture, and meditation. For physical therapy I have a therapist who does cranial sacral work. (You can google it.)

Recently, I started acupuncture with a very skilled acupuncturist. There are days when I've come in with the beginning of a migraine and felt wonderful when I left his office. I also take Chinese herbs that he prepares for me. I still get headaches, but instead of getting a week-long migraine, the last time I had a migraine it lasted one day. That's improvement for me.

I am still not well. I am fatigued most of the time. I can't handle stress. I can't read for long periods of time, and I love to read. There's lots more. But, basically, my message is that there are things to try. We are all different, and what works for me, might or might not work for you. But there are many things that can help. And you have to be ready to take baby steps forward....

I have recently started doing mindfulness meditation. There is a book that was recommended to me (I don't even remember by whom): The Mindful Way Through Depression. It is written by 3 psychotherapists plus Jon Kabat-Zinn who is well-known for midfulness meditation, and I think that it is helping me learn to cope with my life as it is now. It's worth a look. It comes wiith a CD and suggests an 8-week program.

I have also taken a class in behavior modification. All the things that I mentioned I found helpful. I hope that you will find something that works for you.

It can be a long process to heal from this. Everyone is different. I never expected to be the way I am today all from a bump on the head, but being proactive and trying to find treatment for yourself will help I hope.

There truly are good healers out there. You just have to find them.
And please don't go back to work unless you are feeling better. Too many people here tried and just got sicker.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Let us know how you are doing.

ShellyK