[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!

[courtney.w]

I guess I should add that, when the headaches get bad, no amount of over-the-counter medication helps... I also feel like I can't think as clearly as I could two weeks ago, but I can't help but wonder if that is at least partly due to the mental strains that go along with being underemployed? So much of this seems like it could be attributable to varying causes!

[Mark in Idaho]

courtney,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Your symptoms sound like a concussion. You need to go to the doctor or ER if you experience any of the following:

Extreme headaches, especially focal head aches. Lost of motor control, especially on one side of your body. Vision changes or a very noticeable difference in the size of your pupils (somebody else needs to make this observation), extreme nausea,

At two weeks post injury, these events are very unlikely.

I also suggest you find a Medicaid clinic or county health clinic and ask for advice. There may be a nurse advice line you can call.

Stay away from alcohol and any intoxicants. They are bad for an injured brain.

Check out http://www.gatrustfund.org/ , the Georgia Brain Injury Trust Fund. They may have some resources for you.

Also, read the vitamins sticky at the top. It has some good links at the bottom of the first post.

Recovery from a concussion can be painfully slow. Do everything possible to lower your stress levels.


My best to you.

[courtney.w]

Mark,

Thank you for your informative reply. I'm not sure if I would call the headaches extreme right now... they are pretty much a dull ache most of the time, but when I get extremely tired or stressed they get worst. If I notice anything else that you described, I'll be sure to make myself go to a doctor.

I'll check out the link and the post you mentioned right now.

As far as lowering my stress, I wish I could. I'm a teacher who lost her job last spring due to budget issues, and this happened at the worst possible time, as I was expecting to be able to start trying to get pregnant this fall. I'm having a hard time with depression right now, thanks to my lack of work and the other issues that go along with that (including marital issues, among other things), and on top of that the only work I can find right now is as a substitute teacher... it's almost impossible to control how much stress I encounter as a substitute, since I never know from one day to the next what I'm going to be doing until I get to work. It also means I can't afford to take any time off to rest, even though everything I have read says that rest is a vital part of recovery from a head injury. I don't have any sick days, and my pay as a sub is already horrible enough without losing money due to illness of any kind. The next day I have off is Wednesday, and even then I have a list a mile long of things that have to be done... no time to slow down unfortunately.

Thanks again for the information!

[Mark in Idaho]

Courtney,

I suggest you contact Georgia social services at http://www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-details/1626

They may have a program that can help you. You are currently disabled by your injury. There may be short term disability available to you. The stress of your job may fall under Workers Comp and allow you to spend some time recovering.

The chronic head aches are not usually a problem, even when stress and fatigue makes them worse. When a head ache becomes a medical issue, you will have such pain that your only thought is to get to medical care or call 911.

Get signed up with an ObamaCare health care plan. At a low income, you should get a reasonable premium.

Use Wednesday to make these contacts.

My best to you.

[courtney.w]

Thanks again I'll definitely follow all of your advice, although I won't be getting much help form Obamacare. I'm eligible for insurance through my husband's company; it's just that the premiums to add me would be $600/month, on top of what he pays just for his insurance... and that's for the rest of this year. It will be going up even more in January, and I barely even make $600/month after taxes... so Obamacare won't help me because I "can" get other insurance. Good times.

[Mark in Idaho]

I understand. My wife works a part time job just to pay for her health care premiums. Her deductible is killer high and we are saddled with medical bills from her shattering her wrist last year.

Still, you should inquire to see what assistance is available. Plenty of people are in your same predicament. It does not hurt to ask. It may be humbling but there are many helpful people out there wanting to help you find a solution.

[courtney.w]

I definitely will. Thanks!

[courtney.w]

Update:

I was feeling better for a few days, and then all of a sudden yesterday my headache got worse again. Today, I was substitute teaching, and as I was slowly walking through the classroom to check on students, I got a bad headache and started seeing start and sparkly swirls. It was pretty scary. I kept doing what I was doing and made it through the period; after all, I didn't want to scare anyone and I would have been in big trouble if I had made the staffing company find me a replacement. I have an appointment tomorrow with my doctor, and I'm guessing she will tell me I need at CT scan. I have no idea how I'm going to pay for any of this... I guess we'll see what happens. :/

PS: My injury occurred on 10/26... shouldn't I be past this part of it by now?

[dagma1]

Hi Courtney,

Sorry you are going through this, as always Mark has some wonderful advice.

I am pleased you are seeing a doctor tomorrow, definitely mention what happened today as it's very important.

I can only speak from my own experience, I had a concussion almost 8 months ago, I've had a lot of problems, I had the most severe headaches I'd cry, couldn't walk straight, think straight, slow in every way, on and on...this went on for months.

Take extra special care of yourself, take things slow. Good luck tomorrow.