As I am new to this site....I just wanted to say a much heart felt thank you to everyone who has commented and shared info on pcs. Because of the wonderful people on this site we have options to go after. Options that the doctors and specialist have not been able to give us besides rest and time.

Thank you so much for all your information. God Bless.

Good luck to you and keep in touch!

If I may, you mentioned your son had a CT, but has he had an MRI? There are certain imaging series in MRIs that can be useful for spotting the effects of a TBI. The CT was likely used to rule out any cranial hemorrhaging which would have required immediate attention. You may also want to inquire about PET and fMRI scans with your son's neurologist.

maxim,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Yes, a Diffusion Tensored Imaging MRI and others will subtle show signs of a brain injury but they will not change the treatment. They are expensive and usually not medically necessary by 'medical necessary' guidelines.

Have you had any of these imagings done ?

Hi, yes I've had a DTI as well as the other MRI series. The PET scan was part of study I participated in for ex-hockey/football players. I was just curious considering the extent of his symptoms whether there was any more analysis done.

Most of those other imaging systems are done for research. They do not have much value in determining what treatments to do. Treatments are usually based on individual symptoms. The research is more to validate the symptoms.

MRIs are the mainstay of these types of injuries and we shouldn't discourage the parent from seeking more knowledge regarding her son's condition as I believe that was the basis of her question. People who are still symptomatic years after the impact will show a host of markers including tau buildup, DAI lesions and gradual atrophy of the affected region(s), otherwise it needs to be explored further.

yea, but get our insurance companies to pay for that..............I needed eye therapy and I was one of the luck ones that my Insurance would pay for at least a tiny portion of it.
Just for an MRI you need pre authorization and trust me I have good insurance.

Getting expensive imaging done that will not change treatment protocols can often lead to upsetting the insurance companies so that they start to deny medical care. A good MRI of the upper neck to look for upper neck injuries is definitely worthwhile. But, it will require an expert read looking for torn or stretched ligaments and mis-alignments of cervical vertebra.

I have persistent PCS symptoms. Multiple MRI's, an MRI/MRA and a PET scan showed nothing abnormal except for a vascular irregularity (minor out pouching). The test that showed significant problems was a qEEG/VEP/AEP. Very few know how to read the fine waveforms to see the dysfunctions.

At some point being able to determine if a traumatic injury exists can help determine if other types of doctors can better approach the problem. Concussion seems to be a catch-all because it can sometimes show an all-clear in acute cases but that's rapidly changing.

My insurance didn't hassle me at all although in my case you can see the impact area from my scars.