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I am prefacing this post with an explanation of my daughter's history. She has a mental illness, and nine times out of ten when she seeks medical care, the doctors discount what she tells them and just assume she is making things up. It's like they see "mental illness" in her history, and decide that this is the source of her problems, so they don't bother to investigate any further.
She has had several concussions (diagnosed by doctors) the last occurring due to a serious automobile accident last October when she lost consciousness. She has been having a lot of issues such as fogginess, memory problems and trouble with speech. None of these issues are due to her illness or her medications. Her primary care doctor sent her to a neurologist. The problem is she lives in a rural area, and there is only one neurologist anywhere near her town.
During her appointment, the Dr. gave her several tests such as drawing a clock, remembering five word and repeating them later, pretty much the standard neurological tests. He basically told her the answers, marked any mistakes she made as correct (he even drew the clock for her!) He asked her how many concussions she has had and she told him. He asked how many caused her to lose consciousness and she told him just the one resulting from the wreck.
He told her that it was only a concussion if she lost consciousness, and that none of the other instances were concussions since she stayed awake and alert. Apparently, all the other doctors she has seen over the years were not aware of this "fact". I myself have had several concussions, but I guess my doctors were misinformed as well.
So now she is left out on a limb, with deteriorating mental alertness. The closest neurologist other than him is more than 3 hours away, which would be difficult to get to since their vehicle was destroyed in the accident and her license has been taken away. She has had some horrible doctors before, but this one has to be the worst. He obviously either doesn't believe her or her medical history, or he is really as incompetent as he appears.
Has anyone else ever heard of the doctor's explanation of what constitutes a concussion? I think he is full of BS, but then I am not a doctor.
He is full of B.S. I used to work on a Neuro Rehab unit in a hospital. There is also what football players get, minimal cognitive impairment, after enough hard blows to the head. You absolutely can get a concussion from hard blows. Anyway, she may not know that she lost consciousness for just a minute or so. Find another neurologist.
I was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome following an accident. I did not hit my head and I don't think I lost consciousness but I know I was very out of it and confused for maybe a minute after the final impact.
I was having symptoms very similar to your daughter several weeks later when my ortho noticed I was having trouble thinking of words and asked me how I was doing other than the shoulder and neck injuries he was treating. I told him I thought the stress was making me confused. I was having memory lapses etc...He said the pain from the injuries might be causing sleep issues or it could be a head injury. He referred me to a neurologist who did diagnose post-concussion syndrome. It lasted about 6 months with some symptoms receding while others manifested. During that time, I developed migraines and I still get those from time to time.
I think it would be a good idea for your daughter to get a consultation with another neuro. It sounds like the one she saw decided that she must be seeking disability or planning to sue someone and he didn't want to be involved, or, like you suspect, he saw mental illness and just wrote her off.
It would be great if she could see another neurologist. Unfortunately, the closest one is in Denver three hours away. They have no vehicle, her husband can't drive and they have no money. She had a learner's permit when the accident happened, but because it was her fault, that has been taken away, and she is now reluctant to drive anyway.
Her dad a step-mom usually drive them around when needed, but they both work and used up all of their leave time helping her and her husband and daughter after the accident.
My husband and I also live in a rural area, and he is able to have video conferences with his VA doctors. Maybe she can somehow get the clinic to do that for her.
Talk to social services in her area. Even try senior centers, which sometimes have overlapping programs for disabled people under senior age. They might know of some program in the area to get people to doctor's appointments. We have something like that in my area, which is also rural. Try the insurance company if she has insurance and complain about the doctor she saw and ask for a second opinion. Did she tell her PCP about her experience? Can they take a bus? Do you have bus fare to send them? Try everything. You can make phone calls for her from wherever you are.
I would just see a different doctor but to be honest it may not have anything to do with her neurological function. I had a lot of memory problems I felt weak during the day which is a symptom of cancer so I thought after internet searching. I had shortness of breath a PC doctor did a lung volume test he said something was wrong because I should have been able to pull more air in. That sent me thinking I had something wrong with my diaphragm because everytime I go get a chest x ray they tell me My right side of my lung has an elevated diaphragm. At this time in my life I had a real issue which was sleep apnea I snored really bad my wife kept telling me to get it checked out. Turned out that was the cause of all my problems I had obstructive sleep apnea. I stopped breathing 60 times an hour about once a minute while sleeping. I wasn't getting good sleep it was the cause of all my problems my weakness was due to lack of good sleep and oxygen deprivation at night my o2 would drop into the 60% range doctor said I was lucky not to have a stroke during the night. My shortness of breath was because of all the snoring caused my lungs to be irritated. I have been using a CPAP for almost 2 years now and it's like I have a new life again I feel like I'm in my 20's I have so much energy all my issues went away with in 2 weeks of using the CPAP. I'm not saying what ever she has isn't related to the auto collision but have to look at everything because if you could have another problem that isn't related to the concussion. I would just find another doctor have a friend drive her or you drive her.
It's too bad she can't move closer to a city with more choice in doctors / health care. My son is epileptic and also bi-polar. He sees a neurologist. His seizures are caused by sleep deprivation and flashing lights trigger them.
Your mention of her 'zoning out' sounds a lot like what my son has. I don't know if your daughter has had seizures but the side effect of them is brain cells die. The fogginess and other things you mentioned sounds exactly like what it's like after our son has a seizure. They can be big or small. There is medicine to help.
I am prefacing this post with an explanation of my daughter's history. She has a mental illness, and nine times out of ten when she seeks medical care, the doctors discount what she tells them and just assume she is making things up. It's like they see "mental illness" in her history, and decide that this is the source of her problems, so they don't bother to investigate any further.
My daughter has OCD and has the same problem with doctors thinking it's all OCD. I took her to the doctor for hives and breathing difficulty and the nurse practicioner said oh, it must just be her OCD making her think she has hives and breathing difficulty.
Anyhow, does your daughter have any other symptoms with the brain fog and difficulty speaking? Does she have days that are worse than others, or is it pretty much constant?
It is too bad there is not another doctor to consult. I am not one and have no idea what is the problem but it certainly sounds like he has ideas different from most doctors. My husband, about 2 months ago fell in the driveway. We ended up in ER the next day. The first thing the ER doctor did was a partial brain scan and no hubby had not passed out, but he did his face on the drive way. The doctor did the scan because he said whenever you hit your head, even your face there is the possibility of brain damage or a concussion at least. Luckily he had no damage.
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