Thank you for the responses. Yes, a neuro-opthamologist has diagosed my daughter with convergence insufficiency and accommodated infacility.

Also, my daughter is scared to ride in a car, so it will be difficult to get her to a neurologist even if we can find one who will take her in less than 6 months. My daughter feels that the jerkiness of the car may set off a string of migraines, and she is trying to decide if she thinks the risk is worth it. Any suggestions in this regard would be appreciated - has anyone out there had problems going on a car ride?

Mark, we appreciate all your suggestions. We will definitely look into those.

Judy Ann,

I had a hard time in a car for a year or so but I managed, I figured ways to survive.

I would think that she needs to look into this...it could change things for her.

Take some small rides...some warm up runs before the appt.?

Bud

There is a way to make a car ride much easier. Tell her to ride sitting forward so her back does not touch the seat back. A lot of the vibration comes through the seat back. Also, roll her shoulders forward. This increases the shock absorbing capability of her spine. Sitting on a resilient pillow may help, too.

I was hyper sensitive way back when and could tolerate speed bumps and other bumps in the road this way. I still use this technique even though I am much more tolerant of bumps and vibration.

If she has access to somebody with an old style Cadillac or other land yacht that wallows down the road, it would be worthwhile.

I would not suggest a generic neuro appointment. Some effort to find the right doctor or team would be worthwhile. UC San Diego Medical School would be worth checking out.

Believe me. There are opportunities to find experts if one has the time to do the research and calling. They are often affiliated with teaching hospitals.

Has she ever had her hormones assessed by a neuro-endocrinologist ? EsthersDoll has had success and has posted many comments about her experience.

You consulted a neuro-opthamologist or neuro-optometrist? I have done many sessions for my convergence insufficiency with neuro-optometrist. Not sure how much I helped but most of them I just try and if I see no improvement then I have to stop. Most are not covered by insurance. During my sessions I saw some people with strokes, kids with vision issues etc., My neuro-optometrist was good I can say.

I also consulted a good neurologist specialized in neuro-opthamologist. His take is I have no vision issues and asked me to take some anti-seizure medicines like Neurontin or other meds for my issues.

Riding in a car was a big challenge me too in the beginning. Even now riding is not pleasant but I can manage with the way I sit and have some cushions etc., I rode in my friend's new Benz SUV recently and hardly felt any bump. It was very smooth always and he also a very good driver. You have to get your daughter out to doctors somehow.

My daughter dictated the post below:

"Hi. It's been a while, and I wanted to update everyone on how I'm doing. I have an appointment with a migraine specialist in mid June, and I am hopeful that he will be able to help. I also am getting a CT scan in a couple of days in order to check for increased intracranial pressure. I also recently saw a psychiatrist and she put me on 15 mg. of mirtazapine (Remeron) in order to help with my sleep. I have only been taking it for 3 days, but my sleep has been so much better. I have been getting 12 hours every night, and my migraines actually seem less intense during the day. So far this is the only medication that has seemed to have any effect on my migraines at all. I really want to continue it, but I've been having a weird side effect. If I hear a sudden noise or see something suddenly come into my field of vision, I get startled and my brain feels like I have just received an electric jolt. It happens even with touch sensations sometimes. Yesterday I accidentally bit the inside of my cheek when I was eating, and that also triggered a strong electric jolt. Earlier today, I was trying to remember a name and when I remembered it, I got an electric jolt as well. I put in a call to my psychiatrist to see if I should continue this medication or not. I would love to, since it seems to be helping, but I am very wary of something like this becoming a permanent side effect for me. It seems to me that injured brains are more vulnerable to getting locked in cycles. I got tremors as a side effect of a medication I was on a few months ago, and even though I have discontinued the medication, the side effect remains. So I don't want to risk that with these brain jolts. Not sure what to do, but I hope my psychiatrist will have advice.

Just a random thought I had the other day - to the poster who said that antibiotics helped his migraines, are you much of a traveler? If so, you should consider visiting one of the many beautiful countries in the world that have a slight risk of malaria. When I was living abroad, I was taking some doxycycline every day as a malaria prophylactic. An antimalarial course of antibiotics usually starts a month before you leave on your trip and ends a few days after your return. If you are willing to risk the long-term effects of sustained antibiotic use, you could even move to one of these countries and be migraine free as long as you want.

Thank you everyone for your advice, and best of luck in your ongoing recovery. I hope I will have good news to report soon."

JudyAnn : I am the one who posted antibiotics helps with headaches. Right now I am still traveling in Asia and can easily get antibiotics

But long term usage seems to be dangerous and more and more hear stories about problems with antibiotics and resistant bacteria. Being said that now I am thinking to try for one week since my headaches progressively getting bad for the past 1 month. Alcohol helps but I quit completely.

I had some shoulder and neck pain last week and doctor gave me a combination of paracetamol and NSAID and muscle relaxer for 5 days. It sure helped with shoulder and neck pain but not my headache which is disappointing because I read this combination should work for headaches too

Hi JudyAnn,

I am about 13 months from my concussion. In the last few months, I have been fired from my job, checked into a suicide prevention center, started therapy, found hope, re-found my family, understood love better.

I say all this to provide a bit of hope. As terrible as things might seem sometimes, just hang in there and some sliver of hope will enter the picture. My absolute best to you.

Daughter,

I had a real time with things startling me as they passed into my field of vision quickly...birds for example made me duck. Tall item shelfs in stores above my height had me flinching as well, they left me feeling as if they were falling on me. Mostly gone now.

Headaches have greatly reduced as well..I am more down to what I would describe as a sore head instead of a headache.

I have been doing eye therapy and those symptoms have almost totally ceased with the exception of when pretty fatigued from work or not wearing my prism glasses faithfully.

Maybe you should have your eyes checked?

Bud

If she is using ear plugs, be sure to check for earwax build-up. An earwax compaction can cause dizziness and other neurological symptoms. You'll need a scope to see deep enough. My dad got one from a medical supply shop. Don't use qtips as they will push the wax in further.

Removing the earwax from my ears lessened the severity of my dizziness and vertigo.

My daughter dictated the following:

"My last concussion was 5 months ago, but I am still having difficulty with aerobic exercise. I have reduced my routine to one minute of aerobic exercise at a time, and that will give me a migraine for several hours. If I do any longer than that, my migraine will last all day. I am curious to see if anyone else has had similar problems with exercise."

If anyone has a reply, please let us know. Thank you.