I have been working with a group of research students on a study on brain injury via the University of Victoria.
I had to go in for blood sampling and saliva sampling, and to answer a bunch of questionnaires today…. this is about the fifth or sixth time that I’ve gone in and done it. It’s all a volunteer and it’s pretty interesting to me to see a couple of early 20s young women that are so interested in brain injury and what makes people tick.
Two of the questionnaires we did today I have never seen or done before. The second last question of the last questionnaire was, “do you ever suffer from any nausea as a result of your brain injury?”
I’ve suffered with nausea for most of my adult life, more so, the last 10 years or so. Although we do chalk my brain injury up as a result of cumulative concussions and we know that I had my first concussion when I was three or four as a result of a retired police dog, a homemade skating rink and the dogs chain lol (it was a story mom like to tell). We also know that for many years of my life, I was an accident, looking for a place to happen four whiplash injuries. Falling into a cement staircase in Merritt. Getting kicked in the head. Falling through the 2nd floor to the first via a heating grate (twice no less)
It’s kind of interesting to me that my nausea has been a focal point for my seeing doctors as often as I have in the last 10 years my GP, three different gastrointestinal specialists, a couple of sports medicine doctors and a couple of surgeons and not one medical professional has suggested that there’s a possible connection between my brain injury and my nausea.
In fairness, brain injury is one of those situations where no two people are the same and no two injuries are the same but boy oh boy I’m some kind of tired of taking the highroad. I really think I would like to scream and holler and stamp my feet if it made me feel better.
Knowing this doesn’t change anything….but maybe it can change everything….we shall see
