1st appointment, what to expect?
 

So.. I am in my 3rd week after my concusion and still dealing with the headaches. Everything else has cleared up but the headaches. So what can I expect going to the neurologist? I am paying out of pocket with no insurance help and I hope I don't get blown off.

Anyway, I think I am going to try no TV or computer at all. I already limit my TV and Internet time. Just want to do whatever I can to speed this healing process up.

why does watching tv bother you? It bothers me. My first neurologist visit..he told me shut the door after the kids go to school and go lay in a dark room all day and rest...no kidding. Oh..and don't do anything that brings on the symptoms. I told him brushing my teeth brings on the symptoms!!

Hello: insurance
 

So sorry you are going through the no insurance gambit. I didn't eithor, and had multipal surgeries. I went to the hospital that was designated for state patient help. Filled out multipal forms, financial disclosure etc. I also talked to the doctor himself about my lack of insurance. Many doctors have compassion and will reduce their fees. Many state run hospitals can help with patient advocacy and getting your bill reduced. Things cost even when you do that, but you have a better chance on not having huge bills. Ginnie

Xoe22,

I am not sure you will get much help from the neurologist. There is not a lot they can do. They can prescribe amytriptyline (Elavil) in small doses. It sometimes helps with the head aches. If you can control the head aches with ibuprophen, tylenol, or aspirin, you will be as well off without the $250 specialist's bill.

I have a lifetime of concussions (14) and have been seen by doctors for only 4. They were not able to help me at all. One tried to help me sleep so the head aches would possibly lessen but the meds he gave me had horrible side effects.

One sent me to the head ache group session and clinic to learn skills for living with head aches. It was his way of saying, let's treat your head ache the cheapest way.

You might ask the neurologist's staff if there is no fee if the neurologist cannot help you. Maybe that will get you a good answer.

I'd save my money unless the head aches got intense and interrupted my ability to function.

But the bill will be paid by you.

My best to you.

I agree with Mark. I saw my neurologist and it was a waste of time and money.

All he did was confirm that I had PCS and PTSD. I asked what could be done to help with the pain, I couldn't concentrate, cried all the time and my eyes wouldn't work right- He said keep taking pain relievers and maybe you need new glasses.

I have insurance but I still felt ripped off of my $40 copay and time.

Neuro appointment
 

Hello,

Sorry to hear about your non insurance situation.

My first appointment with the neurologist was helpful. Basically over the months that I saw him I tried many different pain medications. Ultimately, I always ended up going back to Ibuprofen once i could handle being off Percocet.
Hopefully if you want to keep trying for a pain medication that works your doctor is supportive. It is easy to get discouraged with all the side effects and the look when they are like "You don't like that one either ?"

Besides meds, I had an EEG and a MRI. Both were negative. But, I did have a seizure around month 11. EEGs are not always correct, as in my case.

Honestly, The main things that helps to hear from the doctor are:
I'm sorry, PCS is so hard, Don't give up, take care of yourself, don't swim alone, you will get better. You will get better still never gets old for me.
I didn't find out about this site until after the initial months of visits so you're way ahead of the game!
I will say that most of my later appoints were useless except for the tests to reassure me that there was nothing acute going on. And the s/e of the meds were horrible- only start trying different ones if you are desperate.
I hope your appointment goes well.

I agree with Postconcussion, basically seeing the neurologist is a comfort thing, it just helps to have a doc say that you aren't going to die tomorrow. For me, I just wanted to know that there wasn't something really wrong with me that the small town docs in Wyoming didn't notice. The Neuro had me take a few tests, he had me stand on one foot and cover one eye and other stuff like that, he had me get some blood work done. Basically he told me that I was suffering and he was very sorry but there isn't anything wrong with me that I need to worry about. That was what I needed to hear after 6 concussions within a year it was nice to know I didn't have a blood clot waiting to break lose or blood pooling in my head or some other weirdness that would cause me to have health problems or die later. He put me on 3 different kinds of pain meds, 2 weren't strong enough, and the 3rd made me so sick I stopped using it. Ibuprofen is the only thing that works without major side effects though I only try to use it sometimes.
It was really nice because he was the 8th doc that I had seen and he asked me questions that led to me naming off all my problems without me having to introduce them. In other words, I didn't have to prompt him or just lay down the facts for him, he knew exactly where to dig to find all my symptoms. "What happens when you are walking in the cold?" My headaches become sharp and piercing. "Do certain external things cause pain like lights or sounds?" Yes, florescent lights and higher voices or sounds cause throbbing pain. Etc... It was a nice change from "What's wrong?" Well my head hurts constantly and and and and... "Sounds like you have PCS alright! Good Luck!"

I hope you get some good answers.

Just some advise my Neuro gave me was that headaches are lazy, they like to use a jumping board to start, so if you can find things that help the headache to start and avoid those things, then you can help your brain from becoming habituated to pain. My problem is there are too many jumping boards to avoid them all, but I try some.

Good Luck,
Margarite

postconcussion,

EEG's are always correct.... But, they are only indicative of the time that they are taken. They try to trigger problems with lights, hyperventilating, etc. but can not always cause a seizure to manifest. I have had seizures before and after EEG's that were inconclusive or normal.

In some situations, they will schedule a 48 hour EEG in a hospital setting to try and catch a seizure as you cycle through two whole days.

If you had not had a seizure before the EEG, it was just a wild and expensive fishing expedition.

MRI's are also a wasted effort unless there is a serious symptom that shows up in the normal neuro status tests. A CT at 3 days post concussion is most likely to show any bleed if one exists.

I hope Xoe22's neuro does not charge too much or try to do a bunch of expensive tests.

I have had a neuro tell me and the WorkComp insurer that there was nothing wrong with me yet the neuro-psych assessment and a qEEG showed serious dysfunctions.

Attorneys who understand mTBI and PCS warn their clients about being careful with neuro's and other doctors because they tend to be ignorant of concussion issues and either give false diagnosis or prognosis or other nonsense to mess up the understanding of the concussion.

It is best to find a good referral to a specialist in concussion.

Hey guys, I thank you all so much for your responses. Well, my nurologist exam was a waste of time and money. The Dr. Was some super old guy that acted like I was a waste of his time. He checked my reflexes, looked in my eyes, and asked me to walk a straight line. He then said everything was ok and the headaches would go away in time. All my symptoms have been charted by date but he had no intrest and trying to understand what was going on. $150 down the drain. It's kind of my fault because I should have researched and found a doctor that knows something about concusions.

He told me no contact for another week but it was ok to start doing the non-contact stuff. So, today I ran the warm up lap with the team. When I stopped I was really,rellay dizzy. Then about 30 min later The headache started. I am so frustrated. So, one of my teammates gave me the number to a Dr. That specializes in concusions and general sports medicine. I will call tomorrow.

xoe,

Do you play a contact sport? This is a serious matter. Your brain needs lots of time before you risk any kind of repeat heat trauma, if ever.

You should not be exercising to a level that causes a return or increase in symptoms. Start very slowly and stop before you feel any symptoms. The next week, try a small bit more intensity. Take it very slowly. Every time you cause a return of symptoms, you have delayed your recovery.

Rest, good nutrition, low stress.

My best to you.