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Questions posted in the
Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Question Title: Hubby still suffering many symptomsForum: Neurology Forum
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My husband was injured over 6 months ago by an object weighing approx. 100 lbs. falling from above him, striking his head, neck, upper back. He was not knocked unconcious (?), but was definitely dazed from the trauma. The dazed effect stayed with him for days following the accident. I questioned unconcious because he doesn't recall being removed from the injury site. He received lacerations from the trauma on his face, head and back. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital where c-spine x-ray's were done and came back fine. Since the injury he has experienced persistent headaches, neck pain, vertigo, (which is one of the reasons that keep him from driving), dizziness, visual disturbances, weakness in arm, head pressure (soup bowl like), muscle spasms on the side of his neck, memory problems, nausea, excruciating pain when moving neck, accompanied by crunching noises, (he used to be a laugher), varying extremities numbness/tingling, inability to concentrate, reversal of words, stress increases head pain (action movies have to be avoided), more. Presently wears soft cervical collar and is taking meds. to help head pain, sleep and other symptoms. Has experienced many meds. along the way, still experimenting with different meds. to try to control headaches. He was a very common sense type of guy before this injury, but has since felt that his common sense was knocked out of him that day. About a month after his injury he had a: EEG-normal, CT-scan showed enlarged ventricles/excess fluid in his brain (doctors saying this could be normal for him, yet there are no other films to compare to), MRI showed hern. disc C3-4, Ulnar S.E.R. study shows abnormal, (where we don't know, nothing has been done further since this test), he has no curvature in his c-spine now. Tried Chiropractic with very painful results, since stopped. No recent tests have been done to verify changes or more results. He has been examined by Neurologist doing the simple exam of reflexes, etc. that show no clear deficits. I am learning that in "TBI" this is normal. Another MRI is suppose to be done to check for nerve compression in his c-spine vertabrae, pending ins. co. approval. He has been diagnosed with "closed head injury", post-traumatic headaches, cervical disc injury, chronic pain, post-concussion syndrome, head/neck injury. We've been told many times that he was lucky he wasn't killed in this accident. Also that this is a time thing, and that there are numerous things wrong, but no one thing that can be pinpointed. We wonder if/when the headaches will go away? How long is he going to have to stay on meds. to tolerate these symptoms? Are there more tests that should be done, or should have already been done? We feel that there is something wrong, that is being overlooked. I know what my husband feels and experiences every day since DOI. My knowledge and belief was, that the sooner you find out the problem, the better off a person is in the long run. Yet, so much time seems to go in between everything. Our lives have definitely changed since this day. Is there any help out there, or answers ?????? Thanks for the question. Sorry to hear about your problem. These types of injuries can cause alot of physical and emotional discomfort. As you can imagine there is extensive literature in this areas and a number of centers around that deal with TBI. There is a Brain Injury Association 1776 Massachusetts Ave NW, ste 100, Washington DC 20036-1904, 1800444-6443, 202 296-6443. These are very difficult cases to manage and it may be wise to be followed by someone locally with expertice in this area. Treatment often involves medication, PT, OT and neuropsych evaluation. Avoidance of any habit forming medication is important. Studies have shown that as many as 24% of patients may still have headache at 4 years and 18% still have dizziness at 2 years. If they are concerned that he has too much fliud on his brain then a spinal tap should be done to measure the pressure and see if removal of some makes his symptoms better. As you can tell these problems are very difficult to treat and are generally cared for by psychiatrist and physiatrists. Good luck This information is provided for general medical information only. Please consult your doctor regarding diagnostic and treatment options.
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