Return to work, return to pain
 

Just finished first week of return to work. Or rather not. Had to leave work early severe headache and sky rocketing BP. Tried to contact nuero but he is out of office. Ended up in ER again.

After several hours nuero finally called me back. Changing med from depakote 500 EC to cymbalta. Another week of no work, as a restriction.

On an up note the ER Dr very straight forward said no activity and that means cognitive rest. And he meant it. Wow.

Oooo. Sorry to hear that.

Ask your doctor for a script of Beta-blocker. I have propanolol in the cabinet and glove box, Just in case. Skyrocking BP can cause a stroke. You already have an injured brain. My BP would skyrocket to 195/145. A deadly BP. A dose of propanolol would bring it down within 20 to 30 minutes or less.

Having some propanolol can save you an expensive trip to the ER. They can't do anything for you besides help you get your BP down.

My best to you.

I'm so sorry it didn't get off to a good start, RM. Was that a voluntary return in the end? I'm glad your ER doctor prescribed you something helpful at least. You need to rest and not have this stress.

Mark, Does propranolol help with PCS symtoms? I sometimes wonder if that throbbing pressure I feel in my neck and head is my BP rising. I've been on a low dose of propranolol for years for an unrelated condition. If it would help with that horrible throbbing / head rush / dizziness I will see about increasing the dosage.

high blood pressure
 

curious about the high rise in blood pressure and head injury. I know since my accident I have had several high reading when going to doc office etc. I had an elevated bp the night of the accident according to medical records. Often the nurse will wait several minutes and retest it and it seems to come back down. Should I have ever had any concern here? Is there a coorelation with bp and head injury

rmschaver - you must have a really descent employer... I wish I did

Yes, there is a connection between concussion and BP. It can be due to the over-stimulation causing a fight or flight action or it can be an injury to the adrenal system causing an adrenal fight or flight reaction from very simple triggers like a startle.

I believe every patient who presents with PCS symptoms and has incidents of high BP should be trained about when to use an emergency supply of BP meds. I know too many people who have had very upsetting and dangerous situations due to these BP spikes. They can be deadly. Strokes and heart attacks.

BP
 

Nuero said GP should address BP. BTW father in law gave me a old BP machine to track months ago. If i graph it there is a slow and steady rise weekly. Not sure why it skyrockets but my wife and I watch for it closely. A severe headache that is not responding to pain meds is a good indicator your BP maybe high. 180/110 is where we seek medical attention.

Thanks all can't spend more than a few mins online.

Just wanted to drop-in a supportive hello, thinking of you, rmschaver.
It's good to know that you're "taking good care of you" in this your return to work; and mindfully monitoring, tracking, watching your bp.
Kudos.

Theta