[courtney.w]

Hi My name is Courtney, and I live in the Atlanta area.

I was at a Halloween party two weeks ago and hit my forehead on a doorknob (don't ask how). My friends who were in the other room heard the commotion and thought I would have to go to the ER because it sounded so bad. In my drunken stupor, I insisted I was fine and went to bed. The next morning, I had a terrible headache. I thought I was just hung over until a friend mentioned my fall. Then I remembered hitting my head and I was almost positive that the headache was related to that. I was a bit groggy, but I didn't think this was necessarily related to the head injury. That is the first time in my life that I can say I have woken up the next morning and did not remember key parts of the night before... there are still things from that night that are a bit hazy.

Two weeks have passed, and from what I'm reading online, I seem to have classic symptoms of someone who had a concussion. I'm getting headaches, particularly in the afternoon and evening when I'm more tired. I feel like I have less energy than I did before this happened. I already was struggling with depression, but that seems to be even worse since the fall.

The headaches seem to be improving somewhat, but I've also been trying to stay ahead of them by taking Ibuprofen on days that I know I'm going to be more tired due to my work, etc, so I really don't know exactly where I am on that front.

I know it sounds like a no-brainer, but here's the problem: I'm vastly underemployed and have no insurance. If I had insurance, I would be going to the dr immediately to get checked out, just for my own peace of mind. But like I mentioned before, I've been reading up on this and it sounds like all they will be able to do for me is prescribe something for the headaches, and I probably won't be able to afford the medication anyway since I have no insurance and very little income. So, on one hand, I don't want to not go to the dr if I really need to... I had hoped I would be better by now. But then again, like I said, I have no way to pay for this, and I don't want to put my family in even further financial strain over my idiocy if there's nothing that can come from owing that money but affirmation of what I already strongly suspect.

So, for those of you who have experience with this, I realize you are not doctors and cannot give medical advice, blah blah blah... but based on what I have said, does it sound like I can get away with just monitoring this for a few more days, or should I be trying to get this seen about? Thanks in advance for your help!