Owen,
What a scene! My son has PCS and we also have ran into alot of ignorance from professionals. Did any of these people tell you to rest ( if that has been at all possible). You actually have a temporary disability. The problem with this whole scenario is none of them can do anything anyway. Time and rest seem to be the only treatment. One of the biggest challenges is not going crazy with stress and anxiety over how devastating this is. Check out some of the websites people have given in the posts. Specifically Michellecutloose. Good resources there. I would save your money and not get too many more MRI's. Probably the neck injury keeps confusing them and making them want to treat that. Ibuprofen did not help my son's headaches either, when normally before injury it worked fine. I'm sure there are alot of other symptoms that you had or have had that seems too hard to even describe. My son lately has been very sensitive to smells and gets pretty freaked out about small matters, very hypersensitive. He is 2 months from a wrestling injury and has not been able to do much. We are going to a neurologist who specializes in concussions in sports injuries, but it is all the same thing in the end. The end result in all our appts. is listen to your symptoms and back off and rest. They seem to feel very sure he will get better but even rest can make him pretty bad. Some days are really bad and other times I think he is back to his regular self. I am a Critical Care Nurse, so I see alot of weird things but this is a test to all patience. Very, very hard and hang in there. Save your money and look around as you have and find info. on line. Rest and time and staying relaxed make the most sense. It would be nice to tone that headache down, that may be why your recovery is slow because you are so uncomfortable and cannot rest. Find a neurologist who likes PCS patients. Treat your headache, despite what the ER docs say. you know yourself better than they do. Keep us all posted.
Nancy

The one thing I can think of to suggest that helped me a lot for both my neck problems, and my headaches with my PCS was Physical Therapy.

Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but even though I'm now done with the therapy in the hospital setting I went too, I have what is called a Tens machine that I use at home, it takes care of the tension and headaches that happen at home.

The other thing that helped emensely when we thought nothing was going to,
my therapist and I. Was to stretch my neck. With traction, it felt really good, and it relieved the headaches too.

Donna

The one thing I can think of to suggest that helped me a lot for both my neck problems, and my headaches with my PCS was Physical Therapy.

Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but even though I'm now done with the therapy in the hospital setting I went too, I have what is called a Tens machine that I use at home, it takes care of the tension and headaches that happen at home.

The other thing that helped emensely when we thought nothing was going to,
my therapist and I. Was to stretch my neck. With traction, it felt really good, and it relieved the headaches too.

Donna

I experienced whiplash almost a decade ago when I was 15. I went to a couple of chiropractors and an orthopedic doctor. The orthopedic and my PCP said my neck was fine. The adjustments fee for first chiropractor were incredibly enormous. The first one I saw want to charge an up front 1 yr $3000 treatment plan that included a couple of adjustments a week for a year. My mom thought that was ridiculous see we went to see another chiropracter. He did a few adjustments and sent me home with a cervial neck traction device, which is a device with an inflateable fulcrum where I lay my neck. This helps restore the curvature of the neck lost by the whiplash. It works well and you should try it. It really feels great after using the device and relieves the tension.

Wow Owen - I commend you for your attn to detail. I don't have the same pain as you, but mine happened with an accident and has been 24/7 for almost 4 yrs. One word of advice: Take your "journal" to each provider. Search until you find a family physician who will be your advocate. One helpful thing for me: I'd do a short version of medical HX, failed TX and current meds. I'd give this info to anybody and everybody who was seeing me for the first time. My trigeminal nerve was damaged (facial nerve). From what I can understand you have a very narrow window of opportunity to "fix the problem". If you don't it becomes a chronic problem. Good luck and God bless. Janet

Thanks for all the kind words guys.

My chiro was adjusting me and having me to neck traction and physical therapy. And it wasnt till i saw Dr. Isaacs, the neurologist gone osteopathic medicine did my neck actually get better. Its still not 100% but its close. But my head still hurts.

I didnt really touch that much on symptoms. Headache stays at a pretty consistent 8 out of 10. One in a while it will jump up to a ten, and its hard to function at all. Ive tried everything short of narcotics and nothing even dulls the pain. The nortiptyline helped. It was still very much there, it just bothered me less. Not enough for me to want to keep taking it though.

I have good days and bad days. Some days im just tired of trying to function like this. Other days ive got more of a fighting spirit. I have trouble forgetting what im doing. I have extreme trouble formulating a plan. Like im going to do this, and then this, and then this. Ive adapted to just doing things as i think of them.

Im extremely irritable. Sometimes, just being touched drives makes me almost lose it. Ive started snapping at people. Things not normal for me at all. Im a bitter person now. The weirdest thing is that ive been having extremely premiscuous feelings. Now im a loyal guy,ive never cheated, so i dont understand where they are coming from. I havent acted on them, nor do i intend to. I dont know if im trying to fill this emotional void with sex? It causes me a great amount of distress. Should i seek a psychiatrist to sort this out?

A psychiatrist can't hurt. But you would rather have a psychologist
someone to talk to about how you are feeling. A psychiatrist just
prescribes meds.


Donna

Yes, I have, more than twice. Not really sure how many, sorry but, I found being quiet, resting, no stress, heating pad sometimes helped, other times cold packs, it was something I had to experiment with. It takes a long time for things to heal and collected blood to disperse and swelling to go away. I got impatient too, I remember that, frustrated, angry, depressed. It all goes with it. But I found the more running around I did, the more commotion in my life, the more stress put upon me by other people, the worse it was. Just being alone and resting seemed to be the best thing. That's TIME to heal. Running from doctor to doctor only made things worse. When I just STOPPED and allowed myself the TIME to heal THEN it got better.

Oh and Excedrin helped More that you'd expect.

I am also so happy i found this place--there's nothing to make you feel better like someone else who feels like they're going crazy, too.

I am on day 13 of the non-stop headache torment. I just got diagnosed with "text book" PCS, because of memory and concentration problems, dizziness, etc. My biggest frustration so far is that no one gets specific about the headaches, and docs don't seem to care that my headache is not like any other i've had before. This headache is so bad that it hurts to talk at a volume that's audible to most people, it hurts to shift my gaze, it hurts to walk down the stairs because of the bounce, it hurts when someone talks at a normal volume on the phone (i have to hold the phone away from my ear).

I was a passenger in a small truck that was rear-ended by a bigger truck (going about 35 mph, i think). I hit my head on the back window of the cab, and had momentary confusion that hardly dazed me (notmal accident stuff).The headache was instant, and i've only had a couple hours of relief here and there since. My CT was normal, and i was sent away from the ER with "cervical strain."

Has anyone else had this kind of headache? I cannot function at all like this, and I'm scared my life is never going back to normal because of a stupid fender-bender.

My PCS story-ies are varied, but all equine related.
Like most sport enthusiast, I refuse to give it up. Mine are all flukes really any way.
The last one was a level 3 concussion and I was out about 8 minutes. That was 3 years ago, and until about 1 1/2 years ago, I didn't know much about PCS. I still don't really, nor do most of the Dr.s in my little po-dunk area.
So, the frustration is unbearable sometimes.
The poor memory. Migraines (bad enough all I can do is sit in a dark room and cry). Ear ringing. Sometimes if I get frustrated even a little, its like someone flicks a switch and I get SO angry or SO upset I feel like I'm running wild circles inside, and can't get out.
I still have days where for no reason, I'm so utterly exhausted, my limbs are literally heavy to move. You know that seriously run down feeling when you get really ill? I don't sleep. If I do, its for a few minutes at a time.
A lot of times, I can't make decisions, and it frustrates the hell out of me because my family just think I'm being "flaky" or "silly". Its like I can SEE the answer to what is frustrating me, but I can't get it in to the shape of words.
Does that make sense?
I have days where I don't give a crap about anything. It's not being really depressed so much as I just don't care. Just very flat and dull in the personality that day?
Oh, I DO have days that I am depressed. Most meds make me sick to my stomach, or break out in hives.
I have problems regulating my temperature sometimes, and go through bouts at night where I shiver, or sweat. If I get too cold, my fingers go white from half way down to the finger tips.
Probably loads more I'm not thinking of at the moment.
I am an equestrian and I used to train horses. It sucks because that was SUCH a passion of mine. I never had a horse I was breaking or training hurt me. My accidents were mainly on the ground. A horse swung it's head to look, and I was in the way. Or helping a mare over in a stall that got wedged against a wall (the last "big one"). She jumped up, and threw me jaw first in to a concrete wall. Once I came too, went to a Walk In. They sent me across the street to the ER. Told me to bring the results right back. Plenty of time before we close, they said. Go BACK over to the Walk In.
CLOSED.
SO, BACK over to the ER to talk to someone in radiology. All the radiologist said was, "I can't say anything...but don't go to sleep."
Super.
Next day, I take the results to my family physician.
Hairline fracture to my sinus cavity. Blew 80 % of my left ear drum. And torqued my TMG muscle.
It really wasn't too excruciating from some of the wrecks I've had, but definitely the worse and the one that's most left it's "mark".
I can't train horses any more. Or "break" them. I can't take the risk. And that sucks.
My neurologist says "one more head knock, you'll be in diapers"
The last one was my 6th concussion on paper, so...I guess at 33, I need to take it easier.
I am more careful these days, and am much more aware of how big and how powerful my "co-workers" are now. Careful, but not afraid.
Frustrated, and angry about ...well, I guess where do I fit in now? really.
This is my business and my life.
I used to compete hard, now I just don't have the energy.

Any way...sorry about the ramble.
Just happy I'm "not alone"...when I often feel very much on my own.

~Warm Regards,
Mary