Question:
Almost three weeks ago I was involved in a car accident when I was side impacted on the passenger side by an SUV. I have back and hip pain, but I've noticed something else. I've had a headache every day since my accident, and now they're starting to become what I believe are migraines (I have nausea and feel like my head could honestly explode). Is this common? I saw my PCP a week ago Friday and mentioned this, and she recommended physical therapy (primarily for the back pain). I went to PT for the first time last week and they suggested rolling a towel and placing it under my neck for my headaches while laying down because during the day we can sit very far forward. Problem is that I wake up with these headaches, and the towel is not helping. I do plan on calling my doctor Monday because I didn't think I was going to be able to drive home Friday based on the intense pressure, but are there specific questions I should be asking her? I'm wondering what kind of tests they did on you to rule out a head or neck injury?? It sounds like there may have been an injury or some kind...or could be a muscular reaction to how you moved in the accident.

What did they do in terms of workup on you after the accident? Did you go to a hospital...or just the doctor when you noticed pain?

Answer: I just want to relay a story to you that hospitals can make mistakes in care. My husband was in a very bad head-on accident 2 years ago in Pittsburgh. He DID have all the proper tests... however they mis-diagnosed a major injury that could have meant his death. They read a torn diaphragm as a lipoma (fatty tumor) - his stomach, spleen and omentum {internal fat}were actually migrating up into his lung area. I flew home (Massachusetts) with him a little more than a week later....injury still not diagnosed. I took him to the ER -- they STILL didn't diagnose it -- took NO films, just thought his discomfort was due to bruising. Finally, our PCP thought that their diagnosis of lipoma on the chest wall VERY suspicious and ordered a new CAT scan. Make a really long story short... he had major surgery to correct the tear and a long convalescence thereafter. I can't believe they didn't do even a set of xrays, especially since your hands went numb! That just floors me. If it were me, I'd be in there tomorrow, *insisting* on xrays of my neck and any portions of my spine that has nerves controlling my hands, if they aren't all in my neck. For your own sake, if this injury turns out to be something you or your insurer end up seeking compensation from the driver who hit you, you may need the xrays for documentation.

And later on, if these headaches turn out to be/turn into migraines, insist on an MRI of your head, which a migraine specialist would do as a normal part of a basic migraine workup, and possibly an MRI of your neck as well. Be very proactive in making sure this injury gets examined very thoroughly. It could save you years of pain. Some of us here have migraines from injuries that happened many years ago.