It’s important to be a good patient. Why? And, what does it take to be a good patient? Diagnosing a head injury is not a simple thing in some cases.
In some cases it is obvious a head injury has occurred because there has been some significant following loss of consciousness and post traumatic amnesia. This is usually when you have suffered a moderate to severe head injury. In those cases it is not difficult to attribute your neurological problems to your injury.
However, you may suffer a head injury where there is either no or a very short period of loss of consciousness and no post traumatic amnesia. This will fall into the mild category and may not even be recognized by any of the professionals at the time, only to become a problem some time down the line when you become aware your brain is letting you down in terms of your behavior and problems processing information generally.
From the doctor’s perspective, standard medical tests to diagnose head injury can often be negative. In many cases the CT Scan or MRI (these are very expensive machines that take a picture of the brain) results are "negative". In other words, normal. You can suffer a significant head injury and still not have a positive finding on these tests [medical terminology is strange; a "positive" finding means they have found something—it is not "positive" in the sense of being good for the patient]. In fact, all the medical tests can be negative on a person who still has a significant head injury. For example, the blood tests may be fine, you may be able to stand, walk, and talk without difficulty. But you may still have significant problems with memory, fatigue, and headaches. You have to remember that doctors are trained to rely on medical tests to give them direction on what to do next. If all of the medical tests are negative, what is the next step?
Many doctors rely on neuropsychological testing. Neuropsychological testing is probably one of the best vehicles for diagnosing head injury. It’s between 90 and 95 percent correct in accurately diagnosing someone who has a head injury. Right now, it is the best technique available. But not everyone has access to a neuropsychologist. Without good documentation, it is easy to see why your doctor may not think you have a head injury and may not wish to go to the expense of having you tested by a neuropsychologist. It is very expensive.
there. Don’t self-adjust the amount of medication. If your doctor gives you a prescription that is supposed to last a month, and in three weeks you call and say you’ve run out, the doctor will quickly figure out that you didn’t take the medication the way you were supposed to. Using a medication holder and properly taking your medications sends a message to your doctor; it shows that you’re serious about your medical care.
It is important to realize that doctors see a large number of patients. You can help your doctor by listing your complaints in a brief manner. For any visit (when you come back to tell them how you are doing), try to give a brief report. Even if your doctor is well aware of your complaints, develop a common language in reviewing your problems. For example, in dealing with headaches, it’s good to develop a numbering system. Use a pain journal (get a monthly calendar) and rate your pain each day from "1," meaning no headache, to "10," meaning the worse headache you’ve had in your life. Now when you go to your doctor, you can say, "I was having "7" headaches before the medication, but I’m now having "5" headaches." Show the doctor your journal each time you visit. This is quick, short, and conveys a lot of information. Even if there is no progress, still use this system--"I started at "7"but they remained at "7" even after the medication".
One more important thing about doctors. They like to hear about progress, if there is any. They like to see people get better. Although it’s important to talk about your problems, it’s also important to acknowledge your progress. For example, someone may continue to have headaches, but the doctor’s efforts helped make the pain half of what it was three months ago. Reporting progress is also the sign of a "good patient".