Stanford
 

I just made an appointment (for next month) with the Neuroscience Department at Stanford. I have no idea what, if anything, they can do for me. Not much else to try.

Anyone here with experience with Stanford?

I doubt they can do much but confirm you symptoms. Some will be tempted to prognose a full recovery due to the plasticity of the brain. Most NeuroScientists are more focused on the plasticity of the brain and less on the long term limits. They will likely say that brain Training is your cure-all.

Thanks Mark. Well, even a confirmation at this point would be a Godsend. I've had so many horrific problems since the Crash of '76, many of which I've had to defend (e.g. turndowns for disability benefits, etc.). Having a nexus point for my constellation of symptoms would actually be a huge help.

Kenjhee,

Have you symptoms been static since '76?

Or have they become worse in recent times?

What symptoms are you looking to have confirmed?

Definitely not static, though there is noticeable trending. Some symptoms are currently better, others worse.

Well, this is a huge can of worms for me. Just the basic framework would go:

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: this rolls in on me with episodes that can and do last for years. I am currently in partial remission, in the sense that only about half my day am I fatigued. Basically I must sleep 16 hours a day. CFS is very hard to prove to Disability companies (I have had to go through litigation). It would be nice to tie it firmly to the accident, instead of "Well, one day I woke up really tired and it hasn't gone away in 36 years."

Migraines: again, very hard to prove to the DI companies. Anybody can say they get headaches. However, in this case I have geography on my side. Not too hard to tie a head injury to head aches. Currently get every few days, treat with sumatriptan and/or hydromorphone. Worse period was a few years ago when I had a two-year period where I got a migraine every day. I almost committed suicide during that period.

Myalgia: this one is very hard to confirm. My muscles hurt, all the time. I must drop opioids every two hours, in general, during waking hours, just to function at all. One of my theories is that the myalgia is a symptom of Chronic Fatigue, in that muscular pain is part of the immune system response.

Anger: this is one of the symptoms that has recently undergone a culmination, so to speak. Since the crash, I have had wild problems with uncontrolled anger. Blowups at work, strange decisions and behavior, that kind of thing. Then finally...and I do not know if this is the kind of thing one should publish on the internet, but I am desperate for vindication at this point...I was convicted for making a threat on a former supervisor's family. It was during the legal process that I found out that this kind of behavior can be caused by just the sort of frontal brain injury I received. I was shocked to find out how little awareness exists in the legal system for brain injury victims. I would like to change that, not just for myself, but for all TBI survivors.

OK, had the first meeting today with two neuros. They were actually pretty honest. No guarantees that they can do anything for me. Basically they will take it a step at a time and go after the most serious of my symptoms, the migraines. They also ordered an MRI, which I doubt will show anything but I at least want to rule it out. There will also be a neuropsych review. Will keep you all updated if you like.