General Discussion

I have experience. I will share some here, and if you want to talk, I am happy to answer any questions, or give more advice.

First of all, for future reference, always take photos at the scene of the accident. I take photos of my car and the other car. In case, I also take photos of the license plate of the other car. If he flees, you have some info on him.

Never say you are OK. This was taught to me in driving school - Young Drivers of Canada. Symptoms can take up to a couple of weeks to show up. If you say you are ok and then symptoms show up later, they will try and use it against you.

NEVER talk to the other person's insurance company. They can use and twist anything you say. If they call you, tell them you are looking for a lawyer and to please stop contact. This did not work for my last accident. They kept calling me and I kept telling them besides giving my name, phone number, birth date and the date and time of the accident, I would not say anything to them. They harrassed me, but I was in so much pain, mentally and physically, I could not research and find someone right away. Whatever you do, do not talk to them!

See a doctor. Even if you feel fine, see one and have everything checked. I knew I was in a lot of pain, but until I saw a doctor, I did not know I had a concussion/traumatic brain injury, whiplash or the myriad of other things I ended up diagnosed with. Sometimes you do not know what you do not know.

If you are going through anything, sometimes it helps to not feel so alone. I found several great forums on Reddit. There is a TBI (traumatic brain injury) forum, concussion forum, car accident forum and more. It helped with my brain injury, especially, because so much is not known or understood about the brain. If you end up with such an injury, it helps to talk to others who know everything you might be going through, from headaches to memory loss to grieving who you were and not wanting to accept the new person you have become.

It is so important every step of the way to document with the medical profession what you are experiencing. It is important to find tools going forward. For example, I have a laminated card that explains I have a brain injury. It says things you may expect from me - slow to answer questions, off balance, getting mad/irritated easily, etc. plus an emergency contact number.

Things my dr did not tell me, but maybe assumed I knew? I was diagnosed with a concussion. Sounds like your accident is bad enough that you may have one. Not all concussions are equal and nor do they all present the same way. I was not told after a certain amount of time (four weeks, I think?) it turns into PCS - post concussion syndrome. It just means it is an extended concussion.

There was something else I had to figure out on my own, but my memory was severely affected (I have forgotten my husband's name at times, but never did before the accident) My speech therapist told me I have the top three reasons for memory loss, including pain and anxiety. It came back while I was writing that, and now it is gone just as quickly. Ugh! So sorry. I really do want to help you.

Trust your instincts and look up what they try to give you. I looked up one prescription and found it was bad for someone with things I have. I called my dr and explained what conditions I had and how the internet said I should not take it. They said it was fine. I called the medication company. They said if I took it, I could end up in a coma or dead. I did not take it.

If you are just achey, epsom salts are your friend. Pain patches can help. Icy Hot pain patches do not stick well and will fall off. Lidocaine patches (OTC, not prescription) also seem to tend to fall off. The best ones for staying on, I found, were CVS (drugstore chain) pain patches. They heat up nicely and are really hard to pull off.

Absorbine junior roll on does not do anything for me. Biofreeze roll on woks well.

Take it easy and rest. Know if there is some sort of concussion or brain injury, things are not in your imagination For example, things can sound too loud at a volume which never bothered you before. You may have light sensitivity in general. But it may really be irritated by screen time - TV or computer. Sometimes I "watch" tv with my eyes closed.

Anyway, do not want to bore you. Again, so sorry this happened to you. I hope you will be ok. If you need to talk, I am here. Oh! My concussion specialist said give it three years before you find your new normal. I am going toward four years now! But some things did somewhat resolve themselves. Hang in there.