Hello, my son was in desert storm too. He was Navy at that time. Sorry you have had such head trauma. Please take the time to heal. You only have one life. If you persist with symptoms as you described, perhaps a trip to the neurologist you had is in order. The memory issue can be scarry, especially because you have to have it for work. Stress from not working, or working after time off is all difficult on a person too. I will hope and pray your place of work will be understanding no matter what you choose to do. ginnie

I have a doctors apponintment next. Until then I'm out from work until then per the doctor's orders. Just got a call from the company that handles my company's workers comp claims and they want to send a person of their own to my appointment. I think they said she is a nurse. This feels kind of invasive to me. What's the deal with that? Would it be wise to bring my wife along who's also a nurse?


This is really strarting to make me feel like I'm the bad guy here. I just want to be rid of the headaches, dizziness and speech issues and go back to work because this boredom is driving me crazy.

As info, I've worked for my company for 15 years and except for when I was out after falling off the roof I can count the number of sick days I took on one hand.

Have you checked with a Workers Comp attorney yet?

Take the comment from the Work Comp company about sending their nurse to you appointment as a warning.

You need good legal advice.

Work Comp is supposed to be a No Fault system but the insurance companies look at the injured worker as the enemy. Their goal is to pay for as little as possible, regardless of your true needs.

You sound like you do not want to be adversarial but you need to be. If you don't, they will take advantage of you. You paid into the Workers Comp system with your 15 years of paychecks. You are due a good result. You are not going after your employer. You are up against an insurance company. They don't care how long you have been employed.

Pride will not pay the bills when your Work Comp benefits get cut off. Hard work will not overcome a brain injury. You need to get legal help so they can protect you and your families interests.

Hello again. I think it is always a good idea to bring someone with you to the doctor. If nothing else they may remember something you forget etc. I also take notes. It is also mental comfort to have someone with you who understands.Bring your wife if you can. Good luck to you. ginnie

explore our work comp forum for ideas & tips, it's just good to have some info ahead of time and to go forward with.
check the sticky threads up near the top of each forum too
wc forum-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum30.html


Did or does employer know you were still having some issues w/ dizziness before the work accident?
[Through it all during the past 10 months I've experienced headaches and some dizziness but I've dealt with it.]

If not keep mum on that & don't talk about the wc claim or your injury to any work friends or employer any more if you may have before.
Just best to keep details to yourself.

I learned all this after the fact also, the HR /risk management lady acted like she was my friend and was acting helpful , but i think she sabotaged me - I was naive about the whole thing and trusted her & the system.

Luckily mine was not a major injury but ended up a mild and sometimes moderate chronic thing.

Jo-Mar

Thanks for all this information.

Donna

It's been a few days since I posted so here's an update. Been to the doc twice. I'm still away from work and I'm hoping to go back next week. I still get 2 or 3 headaches a day and still experince dizziness. My wife and daughter say I still ask the same questions over and over again.

My main issue is with these headaches. If those would just go away I feel my life would be much better. One other issue my family and I have noticed is I lose my temper and I easily fly off the handle. This bothers me because I've always been calm and cool before my second injury.

One other concern is my doc wants mr to see a neurophsyc. Why and what can the do? I've been reading up on some test they give you and it seems these test are nothing but bogus and the interpretation of the results is conflicting.

What if you return to work and fly off the handle there, or repeat things over and over??
Will employer work with you or ??

Might be better to wait a little longer if you can , so you don't risk problems or complications at the job or with employer.

But I don't know what your specific work situation is.
If you work alone most of the time, or in a group or team.

ArmyVet,

The NeuroPsych Assessment is the only way to determine what your true symptoms/dysfunctions are. If the proper battery of tests is done and interpreted by an NeuroPsych Ph.D. who does not have a bias against Post Concussion Syndrome, you will get some valuable information.

If the NP Assessment is done using the wrong or an incomplete battery of tests, the report can be used against you in your Work Comp claim. If the NP Ph.D. has a bias against PCS as a cause of your problems, it will be very difficult to ever get the bad report discounted.

This is why you need to talk to a Work Comp attorney.

I am curious where you read that some of the tests are bogus. They are researched extensively. The problem is the interpretation, not the tests. The Halsted-Reitan battery is the most commonly used battery of tests. It includes the WAIS, WMS, Trail Making, Finger Tapping, and some others. Each has a focused objective.

For example, the Trail Making test tests memory, visual perception with distractions and the ability to switch tasks while retaining memory. The PASAT (Paced Serial Addition Test) tests cognitive skills and multi-step processing. A good battery will include a test or two to check for validity and malingering.

If you decide to have a NP Assessment done, consult a WC attorney first. You need to be sure the proper battery is done by a reputable NeuroPsych.

I wish I could sit down with you, your wife and your daughter and explain what happened to me and the mistakes I made with my Workers Comp claim. I was hesitant to push hard with the Work Comp claim and now have to try to survive on about 15% of my previous pay. My wife had to find a job. She had not worked since before we got married 24 years earlier. Her meager pay and my SSDI disability check still have us in the poor house. A proper Work Comp settlement would have made a huge difference.

Please, have you wife read these posts. She will be the one to care for you as your condition gets worse. Post Concussion Syndrome hits hard as the subject ages into the 50's.

My best to you and your family.

I have a neuro test next week. Nervous too. I have just found this site through another PCS person and am finding things on here that scare me. I have PCS. I hit my head on a solid wood door that became stuck on a mat and when it got stuck I pulled harder and hit my head on the soft spot. Also damaged my eye. I read a post about using the wrong words or thinking of aword and it does not quite reach your lips. I have had this injury since 09/10 and am worried that this will not go away. That this is what my life is going to be like. That I will never be the same person again. I have read where it has made some people a better person, I am not there yet, it has not made me a better person. I am struggeling everyday. So many things wrong, dizziness, spacey, blurred vision, tinnitus, fatigue, anxiety, can't sleep, light/noise sensitivity, headaches, etc.

All most everyone on this site has had their injury for a long time and still have symptoms. That is the part that scares me.

I am lucky to have a great employer working with me and am currently receiving long term disability. Worried about the money, but my husband is making it work some how. I have been denied SS benefits. Although they think I should fight it. My husband says not to cause I may be better by the time I get a hearing.

I am going to keep on reading this site and hopefully get a little hope.