Everwilde,

Thanks for posting this information. I have an appointment with a cervical specialist in January, and I wasn't sure if it would be worthwhile or not. I have really bad neck problems from my injuries since mine are all sports related. I would probably have a bad neck even if I would not have gotten all of the concussions I got. I have always speculated that I was cutting off blood to my brain, or something similar to that, because of my neck/head injury. Your post gives me reassurance to see the specialist. Thanks again.

Thanks for that info, mhr4. I am planning on trying the neurofeedback and am hoping that will help me deal with the symptoms on the bad days.

Just as you said, I have been encouraged to take useless medications and so far, I haven't found anything that really helps. In fact, the side effects are worse than any benefits they might have. If I'm going to feel lousy anyway, I'd rather not be any meds at all. But, I also have some good days free of symptoms to give me hope that I'm getting better. It's just taking a long time.

Hi Everwilde,

Thank you so much for your detailed post. Hearing your story does give me a lot of hope. You have a lot of the same symptoms as I do. I forgot to mention the dizziness that I've been having for the past two months. Sometimes, it feels like I'm walking on a ship that is moving. But, it seems to be decreasing slightly over the past month or two.

Also, I am taking daily magnesium, riboflavin, and feverfew to prevent the headaches and it seems to help. My doctor prescriped Topomax and I felt really spaced out and tired all the time so that's why I turned to the natural remedies as recommended by the NY Headache Center.

Like you, I have occasional "head pressure," sensitivity to light and noise, and days when I'm extremely fatigued. Those symptoms are improving, albeit very slowly. If you found that getting your C-2 and Atlas aligned through a chiro resolved a lot of these symptoms, it might help me as well. But, as you said, it makes a difference which chiro you see. Your theory about the brain stem and description of its various functions intrigues me. I've had neck problems for about 10 years now, so it is possible in my case. But, how do I find a good upper cervical chiropractor who really understands these issues?

Thanks again for your post.

Don

Donna,

I'm sorry you had to go through all those concussions, but am thankful that you are doing much better now. That is very encouraging to me!

Thanks.
Don

As a long time believer in chiropractic, I learned about Upper Cervical Chiropractic a few years back. I capitalize it because it is a very special subset of chiropractic. There are a few web sites that discuss this protocol.

http://www.nucca.org/

http://www.upper-cervical.com/

http://www.upcspine.com/

I have not tried upper cervical chiropractic yet because the start up costs can be high. They take some very specialized x-rays prior to treatment. My previous insurance did not cover chiropractic.

Now that I am on Medicare Advantage, maybe insurance will cover it.

A physical therapist may be able to do some simple neck manipulations, but they do not have the special training that chiropractors have. I have been seen by a very good physical therapist but her upper cervical skills were minor compared to a good chiropractor, let alone a upper cervical specialist. .

My insurance does not cover the upper cervical chiropractor either, but it has been well worth the investment for me. I think that the start-up costs were not that bad, something like $300 dollars. But each follow-up visit is $40+. I had so many odd mishaps that I ended up going back a lot and it ended up costing me quite a bit. I suppose that the average person could spend around $1500 and a few months of time to bring it around.

The procedure is pretty straightforward. They take a few specific x-rays that show the exact alignment of your neck. They lay you on a special table, enter in all the info, and a small metal rod precisely taps the bones into place. The first time I had it done, it was such a light tap, that I thought, "that won't do anything...". But, I sensed an immediate release in head pressure, and over the next days had a lot less fatigue and all the other symptoms started to clear up. Then he has you come back 2-3 times a week to check and make sure that things are in place, and to calm down any problem spots, sort-of like a physical therapist. If you lived anywhere near the Eau Claire, WI area, I would recommend him.

An interesting side-note to all of this relating to dizzyness. I have found that if my SCM muscles ( a protruding muscle from below your ear, and down the side of your neck) get tight, or my jaw muscles get tight from stress, chewing on beef jerky, or clenching my teeth from a headache, I will get dizzy. If I can apply pressure to the SCM or jaw muscles and clam them down, the dizzyness goes away. Why? The these muscles attach back into the upper neck area, and if they start to pull, they can create a pressure on the brainstem again. I have noticed a similar mechanism with my shoulder getting tight. Just another theory...

Thanks for those links, Mark. I'll see if I can find some specialists in my area who can see if I might have alignment problems. It definitely is something I need to explore.

If I'm being honest, its hard for me to trust doctors anymore. I've had so many of them give me bad information or try to run up a lot of unnecessary tests and fees. It can be a major challenge to find doctors who are compassionate and really listen to the patient. I had one neuro minimize my symptoms and actually suggest that they were psychosomatic, as if my worrying was the cause of the symptoms. His solution was to take xanax and stop worrying. Needless to say, I fired him.

Everwilde,

Now that you mention the link between your jaw muscles and feelings of dizzyness, I have also had problems with my left jaw over the past few years. Whenever I chew on something like licorice or beef jerky, it seems to pop out of place and it is very painful for a few moments after that happens. However, I have not experienced any dizzyness when that happens. Still, I probably need to have that checked out as well. What kind of dentist/doctor would I see for problems with my jaw?

In my case, the dizzyness seems to mainly happen when I'm at work. It usually comes on when I get up and walk around after sitting for prolonged periods of time. I rarely notice it at home. However, I never had this dizzyness before I had the concussion almost a year ago. It's very puzzling.

Is that what they call TMJ? I am not sure who is best to see for that condition. Every head injury is so unique in how it affects the person. If you can notice patterns of cause and effect, it will be your greatest help. For me, I think that the most of the dizziness subsided after a year and a half.

It might be TMJ, I don't know. I might have to see my dentist and have him take a look at it. In any case, the pain is very short-lived and there is no dizziness that results from it.