Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

Wow,

I was put on the dilantin and phenobarb in Jan 1971. I missed a bullet when the doctor didn't prescribe those poisons they gave you.

My seizures were very mild, petit mal (absence) and cognitive seizures.

What functions do you lose from the poisons? Just motor ataxia or also sensory?

My father passed away from complications of Parkinson's and vascular dementia. I understand your struggles with a movement disorder. My brain condition sometimes manifests as tremors and limb jerking. Sometimes my Neurontin helps. Other times, nothing helps. I end up sleeping in the other room in a reclining chair because my body jerks prevent my wife from sleeping.

At my last doctor's visit, she warned me about the long term side effects from the Neurontin.

Before I started the Neurontin, I had ballistic movement problems. If I started to move my arm, it would fly to the end of that range of motion. I had hit my wife a few times when this happened in bed. I once kneed her as I tried to roll over in bed. The Neurontin has stopped the ballistic movements but not all of the tremors. I still have occasional postural rigidity problems where my shoulder and upper back muscles tense up. My fingers and toes occasionally spasm in strange positions.

My hands will grip objects in my sleep. My wife knows to keep her hands away from mine because I will squeeze her hand with a vise like grip in the dead of sleep. Sometimes she will find me locked in a major body spasm with a grimace or scowl on my face.

Sometimes an odd thought or stimulus will cause muscle jerks that I have to literally shake off by shaking my arm or shoulders.

I wish somebody could tell me why this stuff happens. Fortunately, it is usually just weird or funny. Other that the few times I hit or pinched my wife, it has not caused any serious problems.

One neurologist wanted me to try Gabatril and Seroquel. After checking the literature, I chose not to try them. I did not need to try a weak shot in the dark with such strong side effects with unknown long term outcome.

Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

Hockey,

I agree. maybe those who think they have PTSD from their brain injury are mistaking the brain injury for the trauma caused by the physicians and others telling them that all of their troubles are 'in their head.'

Well duh....

The pros just think it is in the emotional thinking and not the physiological processes and anatomy. They are the ones who should have their heads examined. We PCS/MTBI have a good idea of what is happening in our heads. We just want someone to recognize the reality of our symptoms and offer some valid explanations and help.

No matter how firmly the pros try to tell us that we are nuts, they are still the ones with a screw loose.