First visit to neurologist Monday - what to ask about?
 

I'm seeing a neurologist for the first time in Monday. It has been 8 weeks since my fall.

I'm able to describe the situations that bother me -
I'm slow at work - inefficient. Frankly, I'm slow at home too.
Screens cause headaches after about an hour of focus
Overstimulation - I struggle in group settings, or busy settings. I find my home life can be overwhelming, and I can't always cope with my kids. This makes me very sad.
Driving is hit and miss. Sometimes I get headaches, sometimes it is okay.
I get very impatient when overwhelmed - not a good combo with kids.

The MRI I had done was clear

I will be asking about continuing activities I struggle with - does it delay recovery or do i have to just learn to cope?
Are there things I can be doing to speed my recovery?

I'm looking for advice on what else to ask or prepare for.

Thanks

I doubt the neuro will be much help other than to suggest taking it slower.

An MRI will vary rarely show any damage. A DTI (Diffusion Tensor Image) MRI will usually show evidence of injury but not change the course of treatment.

Neuro was helpful - I hope.
She did let me know that my symptoms are consistent with a frontal lobe injury.
I have been referred to a psychologist to help with anxiety.
She prescribed Alertec to help with focus and
Atacand to help with headaches.

Follow up with my GP in 2 weeks.

In the meantime - back to work and hopefully normal one day!

Interesting med. Alertec was show to behave similar to caffeine. 400 mgs of Alertec was similar to 600 mgs of caffeine (3 to 4 strong cups of coffee) so a common 200 mg dose would likely be like 1 to 1 1/2 cups of strong coffee.

I have 80 mgs caffeine tablets for those times when my brain gets bogged down. usually, a half a tablet does the job without any jitters.

It will be interesting to see how it works for you.

I am perplexed about using Atacand. It is a blood pressure lowering drug. Have you tried checking your blood pressure when you have your head aches ? I can get head aches with BP of 116/78. If my BP gets low, I get lethargic.

At least this neuro is trying to help.

Mark,

A small dose of Alertec -100mg 2x/day. She said if it doesn't help after a coup,e of weeks to stop taking it.

The Atacand is an off-label use but she said there were studies that support it helping.

I will keep you posted. Both medications have side effects - I've been told to expect dizziness.

I'm back to work full time in another week, so I hope it helps.

I really do feel she wants to help.

I would really encourage you to get a blood pressure kit so you can monitor your own blood pressure. It the BP meds cause too much BP lowering, you could get dizzy enough to fall and hit your head. You can't afford that.

Good idea, Mark. I had some dizzy moments today.
But I was more alert!