Mark,
Your new symptoms must be uncomfortable and a bit worrying. I hope you can find something that gives you some relief.

I'm sure they will give a local anesthetic before the cortisone, I think its just the idea of needles in my head that makes me uncomfortable. Plus, I would hate for anything to make it worse, you know? I'll probably try it. How much worse could it be than on the last visit having the doctor poke every spot on my scalp with a needle to check for sensation... twice?!

Turns out, I have a big numb area on the right side, starting sort of at the back, spreads up over the top to just past the mid line... basically centers over the spot on the top of my head off to the right where I fell and goes slightly towards the back.

I never noticed it until he started poking me with a needle and he kept saying "do you feel this?" and I kept saying "no, are you doing anything??" until he got off the numb area and I said "OW!" a whole bunch! Really strange to have not noticed it.

He actually poked the numb area so much that at the end the rehab nurse had to clean the blood off my scalp! He was bound and determined to get some feeling there!

He's not sure if the nerve was damaged during impact, or if its damaged or trapped from the other end around C2. Either way, he feels that this occipital neuralgia is responsible for some of my headaches, in particular, the one that starts at the back of my head and stabs directly through my head and out my right eye.

Its a brutal pain, but luckily never lasts that long, but can be rather frequent and often makes me make a noise or a face when it happens, so its distracting to others. (I have at least 2 distinct types) Its probably also at least partially responsible for the light sensitivity.

I wouldn't say I have neck pain, really, maybe some tenderness sometimes, but I've had neck pain in the past where it hurts to move your head at all and you end up turning your whole body to look at things and stuff like that... I have nothing like that.

I also filled my prescription for cymbalta (30mgs) and took my first one today. Fingers crossed that #1, it won't make me feel worse and #2, that maybe, just maybe it will do something good.

I've only seen the rehab psych once so far, so we'll see how that works out. At $210 per 50 minute hour I'm hoping she has good, quick, coping strategies to share. I'm fortunate that my husband's insurance covers some of it, but even then, its not cheap. Same with the vestibular therapy / physio!

Be well.
Starr