[CatOhio]

I went to the Neurologist for the first time yesterday. He viewed my MRI and said everything looks great with my brain, neck, and eyes. He also said it usually takes 2-3 months to recover from PCS so I just need to relax and rest since it has only been 30 days since my MVA that caused the concussion. He then prescribed me Nortriptyline and said it will have me back to work in 2 weeks. The two largest issues I've been having are continuous blurred vision and dizziness. I'm a little skeptical that this pill will stop the double vision. Has anyone taken this pill before and noticed a big difference?

Also, my company only allows 5 days of sick per year then, you need to pursue other options like short term disability, FMLA, etc. I have been on short term disability (through disability ins)since the accident, but feel like I always have to pull the doctors teeth to get my disability dates extended since my symptoms are not improving as expected. They sort of give me this look when I tell them I am unable to perform my job which is 100% on a computer in a high stress environment due to my vision. I certainly hope my vision and dizziness improve and allow me to go back to work in 2 weeks, but I'm freaking out because I have not seen improvements to date. Anyone have experience with short term disability?

In addition, I have a EEG scheduled for tomorrow. Not sure if any of my issues will show up as abnormalities.

[Mark in Idaho]

Your neuro is speaking beyond established knowledge. Nortriptyline helps with symptoms but not healing. I've never heard of it helping with dizziness and vision. Have you requested a vision assessment ? NORRA.cc can direct you to the nearest behavioral optometrist.

These timelines doctors try to promote have no basis in reality. They may have a vague statistical meaning but that is all. Maybe Attorney Gordon Johnson's info at subtlebraininjury.com can give him a sense of reality.

The EEG will not likely show anything. A Visual Evoked Potential test, a very special limited form of EEG would be interesting as it shows how the brain responds to visual images.

I don't know anything about STD but think there is a forum on NT about STD.

Please know we are behind you as you fight for an opportunity to get better.

My best to you.

[chrybmb]

Thank you for your info Mark


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CatOhio]

I took 10MG of the Nortriptyline for the first time last night and I will NEVER take it again. I did not sleep at that well then, when I woke up, all of my dizziness and blurred vision symptoms were significantly amplified. My vision became fuzzy and my dizziness turned into room spinning. Once I got up and started walking around, I became nauseous and I did end up vomiting several times. I became short of breath, my jaws "locked up" and it became really hard for me to talk. I even had seizure like activity that had me on the floor. The ambulance had to come and take me to the ER. I called my Neurologist while at the ER and he first told me that I sound fine (which is one of the most frustrating comments to hear from a professional while concussed) then, he told me to stop taking the Nortriptyline. The ER physicians diagnosed me with Vertigo and said that I had some rare side effects to Nortriptyline. Based on some of the reviews I have seen online, I had really high hopes for this drug. I have never had bad reactions to any medications in my life, so this was a very scary experience.

[CatOhio]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the info regarding the Nora website. I saw a behavioral optometrist today from that site today. She was awesome and knew exactly what tests to give me to identify the issues. It was so refreshing for her to say right from the beginning that I will pass the normal exam with no issue, but then we would continue with the vision therapy portion. That's when I knew this was going to be different from the eye exam I had a week after my concussion which was over in about 15 minutes. She sent me home with lots of eye drops, a pencil, eye patch, and a syntonic unit to use at home for 20 minutes each day. Then, I will go back to see her in a few weeks for in office therapy.