Hi Aims,

I agree with PCS Learner in regards to the different type specialists as their training in those areas are much more qualified in detail. Mark as well on the Chiropractor.

I would still hang on to the appointment with the Internal Med doc though in case the others are just as booked - out. A Neurologist is another who may be able to help you.

I totally understand the heart racing & feeling as if it's gonna spring out the front & back at the same time. B-complex (morning, afternoon, dinner), Folic Acid (1) & B-1 (1-2) (Night).... these are for the Central Nervous System and continue to work wonders for me!

Are you anywhere close to the Mayo Clinic?? Just another thought....

Best of Luck to You,

--Toni

fyi,

I have read the Mayo Clinic's online resource about concussion and mTBI. I was shocked to see they are no better than the average family practice doctor. They downplay the long term symptoms of concussion.

Hopefully, they have a doctor or two who knows more than the online comments.

If a specialist says you are fine in their specialized area, don't completely excuse that specialty. The ENT said my nystagmus test was normal but a PM&R doc ( Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) saw that I had a problem with horizontal nystagmus, a common symptom of brain injury (and intoxication)

The neurologists rarely do a thorough enough neurological work-up. They very rarely do a Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE) thai is used to check memory functions. Research shows that some neuro tests will start out normal but if continued over an extended period, cause a fatigue that leads to a positive result ( symptomatic ) in that specific neurological test.

Concussion needs a much more thorough and consistent way of being diagnosed. The medical and psychological professions are still fighting over this territory. At least a neuro-psych assessments can identify the dysfunctions, even if it may miss on causation.

Regarding the B vitamins, I take ten times the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of B-12 and B-6. Most B-complex are at RDA unless they are a B-50 or B-100 complex. Toni is right at taking it multiple time during the day. I only take in the AM. My forgetfulness make the AM tough enough. I have zip lock snack bags filled with 24 pieces. Now, that is a mouthful. And yes, I can take them all at once, including the 6 horse pills. Gulp.

Don't forget D3 and the minerals, especially the trace elements. Magnesium helps with sleep.

Be careful with your doctors' appointments. If you develop a medical record of too many visits with no problems found, it can be used against you. You want to avoid the dreaded word "somatoform" in your medical record. Our health care system looks for reasons to call patients hypochondriacs.

And, do not self diagnose. Just tell the doctor your history, your symptoms or experiences. Doctors are becoming very savvy to cyberchondriacs, Patients who read about something online and just know they have it.

sorry you are going through this

medication can help but may not be good in the long run but talk it through with a doctor

controlling the breath, I am lucky that I had this skill before my injury, it seems silly to say we should learn to breath properly but for me it works

slow rhythmic breathing allowing your and pushing your abdomen out on the in breath and in on the out breath,

the object is not to hyper ventilate, but the opposite just to slow every thing down

practice this when you are calm , it really can help

welcome toni

the b vitamins are all good advice, glad you found us and look forward to reading more of your posts

I agree with the advice to keep your appointment with the internist. If they are compassionate and understand brain injury at all you will have a sort of central clearinghouse for any further medical tests, visits etc.

I also agree with Mark that you need to be somewhat careful. That's another good reason to have your internist make referrals. In our case when docs would say,"no, this is fine" I would say, "well what would you suspect?" There started to be some very specific patterns in their responses (i.e. "looks like optic nerve to me") that were documented in her records.

You might get to the point that your gut tells you its one thing or another and your internist won't make a referral. Then you might have to make your own appointment regardless of insurance repercussions, etc. Tell people your mom is making you do this so she looks like the hypochondriac, not you. I'm willing to shoulder that burden for my kids for sure.

Thanks for all the help and advice. I just turned 19 yesterday and I've only been out on my own since January so being sick like this is hard because I'm not sure what to do. My mother and I talk about it but she's still kind of convinced that I'm just making it all up.

Thanks for all the vitamin advice. I think I'll wait until I talk to a doctor before I start them because I don't want a doctor to think that I am self diagnosing/ medicating. The only reason I started looking into PCS was because that's what the ER doctor had diagnosed me with, a week after the accident, and I was still having symptoms such as the headache. I wanted to see if the symptoms followed with PCS before I went into a doctors office and had them tell me I was crazy.

Thanks again for all the advice I really appreciate it!

--AIMS