The radio frequency (rf) treatment was not approved by the insurance company, so I'm waiting until my appointment with the new neurologist on November 7th before I schedule any more treatments from the pain management center. I think the rf treatment was a shot in the dark anyway and I don't really have many, if any, other options.
In the meantime, I got my thyroid checked to see if the nodules have grown since last year, that's a negative. One less thing for me to think about :) Well woman visit went well, gotta go for an annual mamogram.
My head pain is unchanged; still there daily and unrelenting at night, thank goodness for drugs that knock me out and ice packs to lay my head on.
On a better note, my social security disability was approved so there's some financial help on the way.
Sorry this sounds so down in the dumps. My primary care doctor added Wellbutrin and took away Nortriptaline to see if it helps with my mood. Maybe I'll be in better spirits next time.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Physical Therapy for your Head?
I went to a physical therapist at Barnes last Friday, her name is Jean. She's the head of the PT portion of the rehab program I'm going to. I mentioned to her when I was there last Thursday that I really had a stiff neck and it was causing alot of occipital nerve pain. I also mentioned that the physical therapist that did my initial evaluation said there wasn't anything they could do for me from a physical therapy perspective. I also told her that I was referred to someone outside of the Barnes clinic that was going to charge me $90 hr that I didn't have to spend right now. Jean said that she could help me and scheduled me for a visit on Friday.
She did some mild stretches with my neck and scalp as well as did some pressure point work. I let her know when it hurt but overall thought the therapy was helpful. After a couple of days I can say that it did help with the neck stress, but I'm still having a lot of episodes of pain in my head. Jean suggested that I start a headache journal on a daily basis so that we can review any progress. I started one and hope it will help. It has a diagram with a model of a head in several positions, so it lets me draw exactly where my pain is and then I write notes below to describe it. I will try to keep this up and take it to the neurologist on November 7th.
I'm scheduled for a radio frequency procedure on October 16th. I still haven't found out if the insurance will cover it. I need to check back with the doctor's office tomorrow. Glad I have the whereabouts to stay on top of this stuff.
She did some mild stretches with my neck and scalp as well as did some pressure point work. I let her know when it hurt but overall thought the therapy was helpful. After a couple of days I can say that it did help with the neck stress, but I'm still having a lot of episodes of pain in my head. Jean suggested that I start a headache journal on a daily basis so that we can review any progress. I started one and hope it will help. It has a diagram with a model of a head in several positions, so it lets me draw exactly where my pain is and then I write notes below to describe it. I will try to keep this up and take it to the neurologist on November 7th.
I'm scheduled for a radio frequency procedure on October 16th. I still haven't found out if the insurance will cover it. I need to check back with the doctor's office tomorrow. Glad I have the whereabouts to stay on top of this stuff.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
A Bump from a Log? Post Concussion Syndrome?
Today I was watching snipets on the sports channel on athletes and how they became disabled due to concussions. It made me think back to August of 2011 when I got a concussion. I was cutting the grass around a Bradford Pear tree in our front yard. It has low branches, which I knew about, but somehow was concentrating so hard on cutting the grass beneath the tree that I hit my head smack against a low lying thick branch. It knocked me backward almost off of the lawn mower. I had the mental whereabouts to flip the switch to stop the blades and moved the tractor out from under the branch so I could sit up, but that was one hell of a blow. I got a good goose egg on my head above my left eye right at the hairline. I don't believe I got sick to my stomach later, but I was dazed and confused for several days. I also had a persistent headache for about 4-6 weeks. I thought I had overcome that, but what if some of my problems with my head and nerves and pain are caused by post concussion syndrome? That is a good question I think I should ask my neurologist when I see her on November 7th.
If I remember right, I believe my symtoms eventually went away and I was fine by November when we went on a Thanksgiving Week trip to Disney World. At Disney I did get a vertigo episode in the evening at the hotel on the day that I went on the Dumbo Ride with Jamie. I attributed it to my Menier's Disease, but I wonder if I just had enough of a jolt in my head on that ride to bring back the concussion symptoms. Hmmm. Who knows?
I can't help but think that this could be why I have nerve/head pain on my forehead and directly above my eyes. It could also explain the Occipital Neuralgia because my head was forcefully jerked backward when I hit the tree.
Maybe I'm going down a wrong line of thinking but I think I need to include that information with the neurologist along with a request to take a good look at the nerves throughout my head and look for any damage or compression. If found, identify which, if any, can be surgically corrected. Because I cannot tollerate any of the anti-seizure meds, surgery is really the only option I want the neurologist to provide for me. If I can even get half of these symptoms corrected or reduced with surgery, I would feel so much better. We'll see.
I've decided to start tracking the symptoms going on in my head on a daily basis using outlines of a head front, back, and sides with a comment section under each. This will allow me to graphically show where the pain is and then explain it in better terms.
In the meantime, I'm continuing with the Pain Management Rehab. I have a few more weeks. I think it's a good program and enjoy visiting with people who know what I'm going through.
If I remember right, I believe my symtoms eventually went away and I was fine by November when we went on a Thanksgiving Week trip to Disney World. At Disney I did get a vertigo episode in the evening at the hotel on the day that I went on the Dumbo Ride with Jamie. I attributed it to my Menier's Disease, but I wonder if I just had enough of a jolt in my head on that ride to bring back the concussion symptoms. Hmmm. Who knows?
I can't help but think that this could be why I have nerve/head pain on my forehead and directly above my eyes. It could also explain the Occipital Neuralgia because my head was forcefully jerked backward when I hit the tree.
Maybe I'm going down a wrong line of thinking but I think I need to include that information with the neurologist along with a request to take a good look at the nerves throughout my head and look for any damage or compression. If found, identify which, if any, can be surgically corrected. Because I cannot tollerate any of the anti-seizure meds, surgery is really the only option I want the neurologist to provide for me. If I can even get half of these symptoms corrected or reduced with surgery, I would feel so much better. We'll see.
I've decided to start tracking the symptoms going on in my head on a daily basis using outlines of a head front, back, and sides with a comment section under each. This will allow me to graphically show where the pain is and then explain it in better terms.
In the meantime, I'm continuing with the Pain Management Rehab. I have a few more weeks. I think it's a good program and enjoy visiting with people who know what I'm going through.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)