duhfur,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear of your husband's struggles.

Has he had any work-up of his neck? The facial numbness can be related to nerves in his upper neck. The upper neck is often injured during a concussion, especially a concussion from an auto accident.

If he touches the sides of his head behind his ears, he will likely find some very sensitive spots. These can be the attachment points for the muscles that attach to the upper cervical vertebra.

The opioid pain med can be brutal. He may try a combination of 1000 mgs of Tylenol (acetaminophen) and 1000 mgs of aspirin. When taken together, they can be very effective. If the combo helps, he should skip the Tylenol whenever possible to prevent liver damage. Maybe a day off after 5 days on. His doctor or a pharmacist should be able to tell him more about the risks of continuous use of high doses of Tylenol. Rotating the Tramadol and other pain meds would be good.

How much gabapentin is he taking?

The tinnitus and head aches can go on for quite some time. He needs to make every effort to reduce stressors, especially auditory and visual stimulation. Resting in a dark room with soft music may help.

A Physiatrist (specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) may be worthwhile. A Rehab Hospital often has good Physiatrists.

A Physical Therapist with good skills with whiplash injuries can be fabulous. There is usually a good amount of whiplash like injuries in most car accidents and concussions.

Neurologists are rarely much help with concussions. I am not surprised your struck out.

In the sticky thread at very the top of this forum, I have a post of tips for recovery and simply tolerating PCS symptoms. The heading says links, etc with a last post date of 1/20/2012. My post should be second from the last.

He needs to make some nutritional changes. No caffeine or alcohol or MSG. He should get started with vitamins, a B-100 complex plus some extra B-6, B-12, D, E, C, Magnesium, calcium, and Omega 3's and a good multi-vitamin. Stay away from the big brand names (Centrum, One a Day). They tend to be weak in dosages. GNC or Vitamin Shoppe have some good stuff. Even Walgreens has good brands. NatureMade is a popular good brand.

Meat protein is also good, pork has the most valuable amino acids.

The nutrition part of recovery is slow. The brain needs to detoxify before it can start healing. Expect a month or two of slow improvement.

And remember, if he feels tires or overwhelmed or just fuzzy brained, peace and quiet rest are the best things for him.

Going to work is not a good idea at this stage.

He is fortunate to have someone like you to look out for him.

BTW, There is some good information online. Check out the video series on YouTube called "You Look Great" by John Byler. It is 6 segments that take about an hour total. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Xso...ature=youtu.be

There is also a great TBI Survival Guide at www.tbiguide.com

Hope this helps.

My best to you two.