A BUMP ON THE HEAD

Be aware that what I am going to say is 100% fact and it is very gruesome.  I need to tell you all of the gory details so you can truly understand what a miracle it is that I am alive today.  On Sunday 11/3/96, I bumped my head on the door frame of my car while exiting from the vehicle.  It stung for a few moments, I rubbed the area a little  and I thought nothing else about it.  On Wednesday of that same week I started to get headaches, and a huge lump called a Hematoma (blood clot), caused by a Subgaleal Hemorrhage, formed on the back of my head between my scalp and my skull on the Occipital bone, so I starting taking Advil to try and relieve the pain.  I called my primary care doctor and was told that it would be very painful for at least a month until the blood in the clot reabsorbed back into my system.  On 11/23/96 I called my doctor again, because by this time the pain was getting worse instead of better like he said it would.  I was referred to an after hours doctor who confirmed that I had a blood clot and then sent me home.  On 12/9/96 I saw my doctor again and by this time the blood clot had grown to a size of 6x2-1/2” and could be seen from across the room.  He then ordered a CT scan to check for a skull fracture, and ironically the blood clot didn't show up on the scan because the contrast medium wasn't ordered, and no skull fracture was found.

          

For the next month I went to the emergency room twice, was given pain killers, and sent home both times with no answers.  I had x-rays, saw a neurologist who diagnosed me with Occipital Neuralgia, went to a pain clinic where they wanted to stick needles in my head and give me THREE Occipital nerve blocks and FIVE  Stellate Ganglion blocks, saw a neurosurgeon, and visited my primary care doctor several times with no relief in sight.  I was given many different pain killers: Fiorinal, Daypro, Amitriptyline, Tylenol 3 with Codeine, Ambien, Demerol, Clonazepam, Darvoset and finally Roxicet – none of which helped to lessen the horrendous pain at all and I got allergic reactions to many of them.  I was also taking a regimen of 3 extra strength or 1 prescription Advil and alternating it with 2 extra strength Tylenol every 2 hours for over a month and even this didn’t help me. 

 

I also tried alternative medicine: Feverfew caplets which are normally taken for migraines which I have never had, Arnica topical gel, and a topical herbal mixture of St. John’s Wort oil, Arnica oil and Aloe Vera gel which had the consistency of salad dressing.  I would plaster this greasy mixture onto my head every day, which made my long hair a nightmare to look at and it had a nasty smell.