[swiftfoot55]

Just wanted to update everyone on my status.

I had a brain trauma around a month and a half ago, and have been feeling the effects.

Things have mostly gotten better. I have returned to work (70 hour weeks) and can go to the gym and do light exercise (haven't tried returning to crazy workouts).

I've also eliminated alcohol and try not to go to places where it is too loud or overwhelming. Safe to say, for now my going out days are largely over.

In any case, the one remaining symptom I am still having is pretty bad headaches. They start when I wake up and stop when I go to sleep. They are right behind my eyes and the beginning of my forehead, and get much worse when I move my eyes from one place to another (desk to computer, for example). Another great example is looking both ways while driving - that kills!

The headaches have impacted my ability to work and I wonder if anyone has any ideas? I've been to a neurologist and he has prescribed nortriptyline and topamax, but quite honestly the nortriptyline didn't do very much and I am scared to try the topamax.

I do have a large prescripton of vicodin and I've felt that ultimately if I have to, I'll live on a combination of pain killers to get me through the years of this high work load.

Would love to hear any other headache remedies that have worked for people - medications, alternative therapies, botox, etc.

Best,

Swifty

[Consider]

First off, I want to say congratulations! Going back to work is a big accomplishment! I am actually just getting back to my life bit by bit every day. I now play a bit of games without getting nauseous or dizzy. I am also now on Gabapentin which helps with my fears and anxiety! I am almost ready to take on the world! It's been a long journey, glad you are getting through yours. Feel better and good luck!

[swiftfoot55]

Did you have headaches? Has the gabapentin helped? I actually have a full bottle of gabapentin that I could try. I've heard mixed things, particularly for headaches as it can be very hit or miss.

Also, we should play WoW sometime!

[Consider]

The gabapentin has helped, I am on a lower dose, it calms me down for the most part, the headaches are decreased and my neuralgia pain is greatly reduced by a ton! I will send you a message with my Real ID for WoW.

[Eowyn]

It sounds like the headaches are connected to your eyes and vision. Many of us have had trouble with our vision following brain trauma. You might consider having your vision checked by a regular medical eye exam AND a vision efficiency evaluation (VEE) which will see how well your eyes are working together.

You can find practitioners here who do these types of evaluations: http://www.braininjuries.org or http://www.nora.cc

After my VEE, I had 10 weeks of vision therapy which helped reduce my headaches and got me back to driving and reading again.

[swiftfoot55]

Thanks. What do you think the main difference between a standard ophthalmologist and a VEE type practitioner is? I have had my eyes checked following this incident and was given the all clear.

Though I will say, the standard eye exam they did really messed me up for a few days in terms of soreness and pain behind the eyes.

[Eowyn]

A medical eye exam checks each eye to make sure it is working correctly.

The VEE checks both eyes to see how well they are working TOGETHER, doing things like adjusting to near and far, moving from place to place, etc. It is a totally different type of eye exam.