Non-IBD health-related question

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Hi all, so I was just rear-ended this morning on my way to work. (Totally the other guy's fault!) It wasn't a bad accident, it happened at a low rate of speed, both the cars are fine, the other driver is fine, and I'm fine... I think. I'm shaken up obviously, and the other thing is that I hit the back of my head on the headrest when my car was hit. I have a bit of a headache now from that and I'll probably have a bruise or a bump on the back of my head.

So, I'm not quite sure what to do. I've bumped my head a zillion other times in my life (I'm a bit of a klutz, ha ha) but car accidents are a bit different. More scary and more liability issues too. I guess I'm just not sure if I should go to the doctor! I have a minor headache and what feels like a bruise on the back of my head and that's it. I will definitely go to the doctor if it sticks around, gets worse, or if I get any new symptoms like dizziness or anything of that nature. What would you guys do? Wait it out (and probably be fine) or go to the doctor "just in case"?

***I know there are always a ton of "should I go to the ER?" type threads on the forum, but I feel this is a much different situation so it's hopefully not a redundant question. And I know that, when in doubt, go get seen by a doctor, but I'm in so much doubt and all I have is a minor headache so I would feel really silly going to the ER for something so small! So I at least wanted some input before I go make a fool of myself and end up being prescribed a hug and some Tylenol.

 

[Lisa]

Cat - from experience - you SHOULD see a doctor! Even if it your primary - if you hit your head hard enough to have a bump/bruise - you will probably suffer the effects of whiplash tomorrow!!!

ALSO - you need to make sure it is documented that you had an injury, no matter how small you think it is. Did you have a police report made out?.....you SHOULD! ...in NY - it is REQIURED to report a personal injury accident or your license/vehicle can be suspended.

You also have to watch for the other person to file a claim with your insurance (did you exchange info?) - it could have been a legitimate accident - then again it could have been a staged one.....

GO TO THE DOCTOR!!!!

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks Paso. Whiplash didn't even occur to me, my neck feels fine. I don't feel like my neck moved much at all, my head just sort of banged back but it wasn't a whipping back motion if you know what I mean. I just tried calling my GP's office but the receptionist said that my doctor and all the other GPs there are fully booked today. I could go to urgent care, might do that this afternoon. Now that you mention whiplash, my neck does feel more tender. I am sure I'm just being paranoid now but then again I don't know!

I did call the police and they came and looked at the cars. They said that because the damage was so minor, they wouldn't normally do a police report - in WI, there has to be a certain amount of damage (I think he said over $1000 of damage) before they'd do a report. They said if I decide to file a report later that I can do so. I did tell the cop that I bumped my head and may go to the doctor, and he didn't say anything about needing to file a report based on that so we must not have that same law here. And yes, I got the other driver's insurance information and I called my insurance co - left a message with a call center and am waiting for my agent to call me back. The guy who hit me was either a high school or possibly college student, very young guy and he seemed pretty clueless so I don't think it was a staged accident.

So, worst case scenario, if I do have whiplash and don't go to the doctor, what's tomorrow going to be like? Will I be incapacitated or just in a somewhat annoying amount of pain? I don't know anything about whiplash. I did know a guy in high school who got it pretty bad in a car accident but refused to go to the hospital or doctor, and he seemed fine later. But I don't want to base myself on that one guy I knew a million years ago of course.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Okay, I'm going to urgent care. Will update later!

 

[Mayflower537]

Hope everything is okay. I'm glad you went to urgent care.

 

[DustyKat]

I hope all goes well Cat...:hug:

On reading your OP I totally agree with Paso. Whiplash was the first thing that sprung to my mind and all else aside it should be documented as often symptoms will not be apparent straight up. Good luck!

Dusty. xxx

 

[Dunbar]

Hope all is well. Pasbpuff said it all. I was involved in one a couple of years back not even a bump on the head like yours but my t3/t4 vertabra and the soft tissue were damaged. Saw a chiro for a long time. All my chiro said was he was so glad I drive an old car that one: was made of metal and two: I didn't have airbags. Apparently airbags cause a lot of damage all on their own. Go figure.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I'm back! And I do have whiplash - the doctor said that's pretty much a given with rear-end accidents. They did x-rays to make sure I didn't break anything and all is fine there. The doctor said I will probably be in some pain, not terrible pain, but definitely pain, over the weekend due to the whiplash - she also said I should probably be feeling okay again by Monday. No neck brace required either so at least I don't look like a weirdo. The doc prescribed muscle relaxers and Tylenol with codeine. I'm not going to take either until bedtime as it sounds like both cause drowsiness. My neck definitely feels more stiff now than it did earlier so I'm glad I went in. I'm sure the pain will set in soon. I'm just taking regular Tylenol now until bedtime.

So, I'm okay. Nothing broken and nothing serious, just a bit of whiplash.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Dunbar, my car is 11 years old so not very new. It's a little egg-shaped Toyota. My father-in-law once told me that the egg-shaped cars are very strong, something about the shape. So even though it's a little car, it's very sturdy. An old friend of mine used to have an egg-shaped little car too, and she told me she once rear-ended a big car (Cadillac maybe?) and her car was fine but the big car had a lot of damage. So, yay egg-shaped little car! And I do have airbags but wasn't going fast enough for them to go off. I believe you have to be going something like 8 mph or faster, and I was barely moving. I was turning left at an intersection and I yielded to a bicycle who was coming from the other direction, but the guy behind me apparently didn't see that I was yielding and he hit me. I was going maybe 2mph max so the airbags stayed put.

 

[DustyKat]

I hope all settles quickly Cat and you aren't in too much pain hun...:hug:

Let us know how you go over the weekend!

Dusty. :heart:

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

It's now about 10 hours after my accident and my neck is feeling very stiff. I talked to my mother, and she said she had whiplash a few years back and that her neck was really stiff for a few days, then felt better. She never had actual pain, just stiffness. So hopefully that'll be my experience too. The urgent care doc did say I will probably be in pain tomorrow though. I hope she's wrong!

 

[DustyKat]

Fingers, toes and everything else crossed Cat! :hug:

Dusty. :heart:

 

[em6263]

Oh, ick. Sometimes the worst cases of whiplash come from low-speed collisions. Take it easy! Warm baths/showers really help. So do gummy bears, for some reason.

I really hope tomorrow isn't too bad for you. Thinking happy thoughts.

 

[rxgirl]

Don't hesitate to continue to get treatment. I have been in 3 rear end collisions and ignored the symptoms during the first two. As a result, I have significant neck issues. With the lat one, I went to a chiropractor and it was a lifesaver because i had sciatica pain from my foot being on the brake pedal when i got hit. Some people are against them, but I believe a good one is heaven sent. The auto insurance paid for it, but it resulted in some nasty calls from the driver at faults insurance . Still worth it...it is your long term health.

Hope you are feeling better and take care if yourself! We all have enough other problems.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks all! So it's day 2 and I'm actually feeling much better than I expected. I would even say I feel better than I did yesterday! I haven't had to touch my Tylenol #3s yet, still just taking regular Tylenol and it's working well (there's got to be a first time for everything I guess - regular Tylenol does nothing for my arthritis/bursitis or IBD but it apparently works wonders for whiplash!). As long as I keep moving my neck around, it doesn't get too stiff and feels okay. I even managed to walk the dog today and I felt a bit better afterwards, so it seems I have to stay active rather than resting a lot. I might attempt to do some yoga later today or tomorrow. So far so good though, I had one twinge of pain earlier but Tylenol stopped that in its tracks and I am feeling okay.

 

[DustyKat]

Soooooo good to hear Cat! and still keeping everything crossed that it continues this way.

Dusty. :hug:

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thank you, Dusty, you're always so kind. I'm feeling a lot better today, almost back to normal. Just a slight amount of neck stiffness but otherwise I'm feeling fine, no pain. I'm getting my car looked at on Tuesday, so fingers crossed that my lil' Yumi (I gave her a Japanese name because she's a Japanese car) comes out fine, too. I don't want to have to fight with insurance to get repairs done if I don't have to so hopefully I won't have that stress to deal with (I know I might have a fight to get the other guy's insurance to pay for my medical bills, although they won't be much, I only had x-rays done). Hopefully everything will be all back to normal soon with my neck and my car, and then I really hope things calm down for a nice long while! I don't need any more health issues or stress for awhile, I've had my fill lately!

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Just another quick update - I'm great, feeling back to 100% again. I was feeling about 90% yesterday so I decided to try hitting the gym. At first I was going to take it easy, but once in the gym I decided to just act like it was a regular day and push myself like I usually do. I felt great in the gym, then very stiff in the neck, back and shoulders afterwards, so I was afraid I had overdone it. But I feel great today so I think it was the right thing to push myself. Hopefully I'm all done with whiplash.

My car is fine too - no frame damage! Yeah Yumi! They did say that with the scuffs and slight damage to the bumper that they want to replace the bumper cover (it's apparently actually cheaper to replace the bumper cover than it is to sand and paint the existing bumper cover - seems so wasteful to me, plus it seems a little silly to do purely cosmetic repairs to an 11 year old car, but that's just the way it's done I guess). My insurance company is just starting to work on the claim from their end, but it sounds like everything will be approved since nothing about the accident was my fault, so my medical bills should be paid and Yumi should be getting a shiny new bumper cover. So all is good, I'm feeling good and shouldn't be stuck with any bills. Phew!

 

[DustyKat]

Woohoo! So happy for you Cat!

:mademyday:
Dusty. xxx

 

[em6263]

Hooray!!!