Good and bad

The good news is doctor is guna refer me to nerve specialist for my lower leg to find out why I fall over he were reluctant to go down the TBI route with me and and i broke down. I'm home now and that appointment and drained the hell out of me..why are doctors so scared of tbi..at least hes seen my no balance on my left leg..the tbi journey continues 👍👍👍

[Marnie22]

Well done for getting through that. I find doctor's appointments extremely exhausting and emotionally draining and that's just when I see my lovely, supportive GP. I believe that the answer to your question is that many doctors simply don't know much about brain injury and that leads them to incline towards non brain injury diagnoses. An example would be when people get diagnosed with mental health problems that are not mental health problems - they are the consequences of a brain injury. I once had to fill in a form that would have had me diagnosed with depression except that I wrote an explanation by each answer to explain that the symptoms were actually part of my brain injury! That's one reason why I research everything for myself and consult the Headway helpline as well!

Hopefully you can relax for a bit now. 🌼🙂

[Hidden in reply to Marnie22]

He very quickly turned his attention to my leg when I shown him how I fall over I struggled throughout it tbh even with my son there with me he starting going on about the physical side of things I'm not convinced by what he said regarding my memory and fatigue I cant remember what he is referring to I'll just have to see what comes through post hopefully i can find out why my balance is like it is. I left feeling weird and confused I've calmed down a bit now so I'm relaxing..that were tough as tho

[Marnie22 in reply to Hidden]

Once you get your letter and have a think about it, you could have a chat to the Headway helpline, (0808 800 2244,) as they can help you process the information and clarify things with you. Of course, you can always ask us lot on here for our opinions as well! 👍🙂

[Hidden in reply to Marnie22]

Thanks Marnie22 it's much appreciated I'm guna give headway a ring 2moro and try make sense of what happened at my doctors hes left me more confused than owt else he just wants the quick fix route but I'm learning more each day. The car that hit me caused closed fractures of both tibia and fibula and I needed surgery to align my leg the doctor is going with damage to the Peroneal Nerve is causing me to fall over so I'll see where is goes and my head was the usual psychological stuff doctors throw at ya blah blah blah lol 👍

[Marnie22 in reply to Hidden]

Keep up the good work! 👍🌼

[Painting-girl]

Hi Stammers, really well done for going to the GP in the first place.

Don't worry about them checking out physical symptoms first, because even the neuro specialists will do that, with lots of blood tests and so on. They (and you) don't want to class anything that might be potentially treatable as if it's the result of brain injury, without first checking out whether it might be anything else first. Basically, they do need to rule out other things first. Also do remember that part of the care for brain injuries is to try to alleviate the individual symptoms (like the headaches and depression) one step at a time.

As Marnie says, do talk over everything with Headway.

Remember that your healing will actually have started already with the realisation of what happened to you all those years ago, and the sense of recognition you've experienced by reading everyone else's stories on here.

Hang on in there 👍🙏

[Hidden in reply to Painting-girl]

Thankyou Painting girl your comment is much appreciated I showed my doctor foot problem and hes confirmed it as foot drop he has ordered blood tests too so I'm now on that rollercoaster now could be a bumpy ride I've been doing some tests on my left foot and I cant lift it off the floor toe to heal if that makes sense. I've realised that the closed fractures of my tibia and fibula in my left leg may have caused nerve damage and other problems. This for me wont go away and I've lived this for 37 years so I'm init for the long haul for sure. Your all amazing on here 👍👍👍

[Painting-girl in reply to Hidden]

Hi Stammers, that's why it's important to get individual issues looked at - hopefully you might get some physio that might help with your foot? 🤞

[Hidden in reply to Painting-girl]

Yeah definitely my lower leg is a big one for me as it's got a muscle deformity where my fractures were it's a constant reminder but I'm determined to get the right diagnosis and treatment as I've never had any. Trying to get this out there is the hardest part after all these years. My disability with my leg speaks for me. Like you say one step at a time.