My 13-year-old daughter, Emily, suffered her fifth concussion in January. She seemed to be improving until about 2-3 weeks after the concussion. She began vomiting intermittently which soon became daily and then multiple times a day. She was nauseous and dizzy all the time, could not attend school, and at times could barely get out of bed.
Around and Around and Around We Go…
Our concussion rehabilitation physical therapist said he had never seen anything like this from a concussion, and that as far as he could tell she had no vestibular issues and that this was not from the concussion. There were even suggestions that she might be faking. We spent months seeing various specialists (including GI, concussion specialists, naturopath, integrative medicine, and even the Mayo Clinic), all believing that this was something else besides the concussion.
We had many invasive tests done, all returning “normal.” At one point she ended up in the hospital from dehydration. GI gave her an acid blocker to reduce the high stomach acid they thought was causing her to vomit. This made her even sicker for the next month (we eventually had her stop taking it).
It’s Not Some Phantom Issue Afterall, It’s The Concussion
Western medicine was not helping Emily so I tried chiropractic. The first chiropractor did neck adjustments with no improvement, but she did refer us to Dr. Schmoe. I was hesitant because I knew nothing about functional neurology, but I was willing to try anything at this point. Dr. Schmoe spent some time talking to me on the phone before we went and explained that Emily’s symptoms were likely being caused by the concussion.
He was the first person who seemed to know exactly what she was going through AND how to help her.
In our initial appointment, he did a series of computerized eye and balance tests with a very thorough chiropractic neurology exam. I thought it was very interesting that after 5 concussions and rehab that she had never had any of these tests done before! The results showed that she did have a significant vestibular imbalance (caused by trauma to the brain stem) which was making her feel like she was on a roller coaster all the time. At our results meeting, Dr. Schmoe did ten minutes of treatment: no adjusting, just very specific head and eye movements and activities to stimulate the brain stem. Within that first ten minutes she was already starting to feel better and I knew that we were in the right place.
We did three intensive full-day sessions with Dr. Schmoe and she made drastic improvements. Additionally, he ordered some blood work and we discovered that Emily was deficient in many nutrients, and was not absorbing food properly because of low stomach acid (the OPPOSITE of what the GI doctors thought) which was caused by trauma to the brain stem. He gave her home eye and brain exercises and some supplements and Emily has continued to improve. We are now down to seeing him once a week and Emily (and I) are enjoying having our lives back! We owe this all to Dr. Schmoe. Thank goodness we found him!
A Family Affair!
Once I saw the results that Emily was having, I decided to have Dr. Schmoe evaluate me. I have suffered from digestive issues and food intolerances for the past several years, in addition to shoulder dysfunction from a wakeboarding accident. He did the full array of testing on me and to my surprise found a slight vestibular issue on me as well!
After a few sessions with eye exercises and brain stem stimulation, my shoulder started to feel better. He explained that when you have a vestibular imbalance the rest of your body compensates to try to bring your body into balance (for me, it was my shoulder trying to compensate). Since I began seeing Dr. Schmoe, I have also found that I can think more clearly and that my vision is brighter and sharper (I never realized it wasn’t as sharp or bright as it could be), and my digestion has gotten a little better. He also ordered blood tests for me which showed malabsorption, so he is also working with me on supplementation to heal my gut and restore my health.
Thank you to Dr. Schmoe!
Heidi C.
