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[nyeve2489]

Hi there, I was in a car accident in January-my fault(my neurologist thinks I had a seizure but won't confirm for sure).  I had an concussion for over a week (slurred speech, memory loss, falling down, exhaustion, thought I had the ability to keep doing tasks, etc...) A CAT scan was done and everything came back normal.  A month or so later I woke up talking jibberish that was completley incoherent to my wife, confused and exhausted.  I slept for three day's straight.  This just happened out of the blue.  In May it happened again.  I went to my PCP and was talking strangely-splurch instead of speech- and could not repeat the converstaion to my wife due to memory loss.  I had an MRI, EEG and everything came back normal.  My neurologist brought up the fact that he supposed everything was due to an seizure, including my car accident but felt that giving me medication was to extreme at this point.  My PCP then phones me to tell me the doctor, or whomever reads the MRI found a spot that could be a sign of MS.  My nurologist brought up something that he saw on the test but said he felt it was mute to discuss at this point-the MS spot I suppose.  I travel A LOT for my job and as soon as I left I can only guess at this point that I had a seizure.  I've been slurring, sleeping for day's, blurred vison and can not comprehend information.  I fell off a ladder about 6 feet high as well. All tests are coming back normal and no one has an answer or feels medication at this point is a good idea.  I'm going to lose my job.  I need to find a solution.  What questions do I ask? What tests do I insist on getting done? Why do my symptoms come and go?  They last for a week or longer and then leave for up to a month and come back.  Latley I'm getting scared to be alone and am developing anxiety attacks.  I can recieve service from the VA and hope to be admitted to the hospital soon but how do I know what to do or say? My thoughts are seizures, MS, Narcolepsy, Idiopathic hypersomnia, I have rapid leg movement, sleep apnea(?) - I don't know.  Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you very much.
nyeve09

[ggreg]

Dear NY Eve,
Sorry your wife is having to stand in for you, but I recall a very dear friend who never married, and he got fatally ill and had to go it alone, and I felt so bad about it becuz I was too sick to get to him, so it turns out to be a blessing that you have her to help you, one of the amazing things about marriage is somebody has got your back thru thick and thin.  I went thru that with MY husband when he was in the VA (he was a Vietnam Vet) and I didn't mind at all.  Women like to care for other people, it's hard-wired in our genetics, so try not to worry too much for her, other than of course hugging her and giving her flowers and so forth.  Smile.

I hope your wife will go ahead and take you to the VA this week, if you don't have to travel off somewhere again right away.  They have plenty of kids in there, by the way, but usually only in the waiting lobby... your first trip will be a long one, so a babysitter is in order.  But you won't necessarily be hospitalized right that second, rather they'll want to do a little testing first, so you can still hold down your job if you go down to the VA.  

The VA also has a department that helps with the types of financial assistance I mentioned in my earlier post, so your wife could go to that department in there while you're being seen, and she can scope out if they can get you Workman's Comp checks coming in if you get fired, and if they can get you Department of Social Services DSS type financial assistance and also if they can help file for Social Security Admin SSA disability for you.  If they can't do all that, then my previous post about where to go for help will work fine.  I was just thinking of convenience if the VA can do all that.

Gee, your work is travel and you gotta communicate, that's right, you mentioned it before, and sounds like an important position you have.  But do not worry about what your bosses think of the situation; they are not so much unhappy with you, as they are about not having your good work to rely on at the moment.  And keep in mind you are very good at communicating via internet, maybe they have another position doing that.  Or could be you can get another leave of absence.  

But while it's best to wait until they fire you so you can get Workman's Comp paychecks, you are still eligible for the DSS and SSA disability stuff IRREGARDLESS of whether you're fired.  So, since you are obviously getting overwhelmed with working, and you are most definitely disabled at the moment, then if you'd like to throw in the towel, why, you won't be totally without financial resources if you don't want to wait to get fired.  If you do resign, try to get encouragement from your work that they will rehire you when you get better, or at least that they will give you a good reference.  

I'm assuming your anti-anxiety medicine is a tranquilizer.  It won't "cure" what you got, but it should help you relax better and feel more positive about what's going on around you, so keep that medicine going, for sure.  Could be they need to try an additional tranq or increase dosage, so you'll feel better.  There is a book out by a lady physician who went through a similar illness as yours, I forgot the details of how come she got pretty goofed up in the head, but she wound up having brain surgery, and the story details her entire saga of struggle, absolutely fascinating read.  A librarian can steer your wife to that book in the nonfiction section, I cannot remember the name of the author or book, but you may enjoy reading about someone else similar to you.  

Wish I could diagnose you and tell you what's wrong.  But I do know this, you ought not to be slurring speech and sleeping forever and all the other stuff, so that has GOT to be jumped all over by the "pros from Dover" at the VA.  (Quote is from the movie "Mash.")  God speed, I'll be thinking of you.  
GG  

[nyeve2489]

GG-
Thank you for all the wonderful advice and suggestions.  You make it sound easy but sadly I find my wife is having to take care of most of this for me so I'll let her know what is to come and what needs to get done.  I can't drive, talk with anyone because they can't understand me, I can't remember anything (for about 2 weeks after each incident) and though I could sleep for weeks on end it seems, I have forced myself to get up and go to work but find myself after just a few hours unable to concentrate any longer or see for that matter because of my blurred vision. I'm feeling very inadequate these day's with my wife driving me all over the place for appointments and what have you so that doesn't help.

I travel for a living so I don't usually head into a office environment.  I  came back from over seas after 11 day's and most of that was traveling while I slept the entire time. I was supposed to be there for a month.  My boss is not happy.  They are aware of my symptoms as I had to take short term disability for two weeks after my accident but I'm not sure how tolerant they will continue to be since I have to work with customers from all over the world, not to mention we work with the government so liability is a huge issue.  

I am presently on anti-depressents and was recently put on some anti-anxiety medication but nothing seems to be helping.  Before I left my neurologist wanted to do a sleep deprivation study but I'm not sure what that was going to accomplish and I only had 3 day's to get that done before my trip so I said no.

My wife is unemployed and I have a child so I'm extremely worried about finances and losing my home.  I will follow through with all of your advice and I thank you for reading and answering my post.  

[ggreg]

Dear NY Eve,
Glad you'll be able to get into the VA, they'll hunt it down what's going on.  While it's possible a seizure caused your car wreck, it's also JUST as likely that you DID NOT have a seizure.  I personally think you started having all these symptoms strictly as a result of your wreck.  Just go on over to the VA front desk and ask to see the neurology department, tell them you're there because you were in a car wreck and you ain't been the same since, slurred speech, sleeping for days, mental confusion, and that your MRI showed a spot on the brain.  They'll direct you around from there.  Tell the same story to ALL docs you wind up talking to.

Expect to spend many hours and probably a repeat visit, just trying to get set up in there.  Since they found "a spot" on your MRI, you'll need to tell your VA doc about that report and he'll need to look at the report and pictures.  He can get them forwarded over, or to speed things up you can bring them yourself, or ask your general doc to go ahead and send them on over to the VA neurology department.  

As for the anxiety you got, that's because you're worried about losing control.  I'd be scared too.  I knew a fellow who drove a UPS truck and slid on some ice and was in a minor wreck, but after that, he refused to work anymore.  He got scared from losing control, you know.  Me, I got panic disorder, also from a car wreck, spent two months in the hospital, and so that feeling of being out of control was awful.  It's plagued me my whole life, and another lady who posts on here sometimes, she's the same way from her wreck.  A car accident can really do a number on a person's psyche.  

Next time you get nervous, practice deep breathing, it'll lower your heartrate, and as a result, it'll bring down your anxiety level.  I've been deep breathing all over the place for many, many years, and it works pretty well.  Also, worst-case scenario can help, like if you get nervous riding in a car, ask yourself, "Is this the worst thing that could happen to me today, getting in a car and driving down Main Street?"  It sort of snaps you out of it and grounds you.  As for slurring and such in public, why, if anyone looks at you strange, just automatically tell them you were in a car wreck and this happens sometimes, tell them to pay no attention to it.  That puts them at ease, and it gets you off the hook.

As for your job, talk to your supervisor as soon as possible, explain what your MRI showed and your symptoms, and tell them you will do your best to come in and do your work on a regular basis, but occasionally you might get these sleep episodes that last for 48 hours at a time, but your wife will call in and tell them when that happens.  Then you must tell yourself that you got a responsibility to your family to get up and go to work, no matter how sleepy you feel, just give it the good ole college try.  I mean, could be "will power" will get you back on course.  If not, don't push too hard, you don't want to pass out at the workplace, of course, but at least you'll have done your best to try and you'll have alerted your supervisor what's going on, so they can put all this in correct perspective.  

If you do get fired, immediately go to the employment security commission in your town and file for workman's comp benefits.  (Do not quit your job or you won't be eligible for that.)  You should also go to the social services department in town and ask them to help you file for disability and also to get any other financial assistance you are eligible for.  (On the disability papers, you can put down MS as a tentative diagnosis, you could also put possible brain injury from a car accident as your second, and then write down all your symptoms, your MRI report as proof, and that the date of your disability began when the car wreck happened.)  It's good to get that ball rolling, because they turn down half the applicants they receive right off the bat, but on the REVIEW, that's when the big guns look at your stuff, and by then, you may have a good diagnosis and the VA docs in your corner to appeal your first claim.

Now, this is not to say that you won't get better.  The brain has wonderous healing powers and may overcome these symptoms you have within six months or so, who knows.  But if it were me, I'd go at this with everything I had until it's resolved somehow.  Also, the VA will be able to hook you up with a psychologist and they will give you some calming medicines to help you cope with the various unusual situations you find yourself in.  By the way, most VAs have a department that can help you with all that disability filing stuff I mentioned before, so you can look into that perhaps when you do an appeal.

By doing all this stuff, or even part of it, you will automatically feel like you're more in control, thus your anxiety will lessen, which is half the battle.  In addition, you won't feel as worried about work, because you will have talked to your supervisor.  And you'll also have a few back-up plans in the works, in case this is a serious health problem.  Also, you will be moving FORWARD instead of being stuck.  I wish you all the best in your mission to get some good help with your health issues.
GG