Severe tbi and complications

I had a craniotomy in May 2014. Abcess left temporal lobe from bacterial meningitis of my brain. I had chronic sinusitis. Life lessons. OK Learning to live again after a brain injury is quite something. I have ptsd as I was critically ill and was coded. One thing I have learned is I do not proceed or think the way I did before my craniotomy. I now use critical thinking skills. I do get tired more easily. I need sleep. I am a retired nurse so I relearned lost medical knowledge but am always learning something new from this area daily. I was aware of the risk of future decoration in my brain and cognitive functioning from the craniotomy but it has not occurred yet. My neurologist has told me my future risk for alzheimers dementia et is about the same as everyone else. 30% One thing I learned for sure after my craniotomy was self care is very important. I learned and am still learning how to say no.

I agree that relearning all the necessary tools for life was not easy but it was doable. It's just sad that decades after the tbi from a car accident and 40 day coma has come to bite me in the ass. Life is what it is right now and I'm not just going to roll over and play dead. I will need to use the same principles as those used just after the tbi. Stay strong on your journey

Hey shooter987, I’m really sorry to hear about everything you’ve been through. I can’t imagine how tough it must be dealing with all these challenges after a TBI.

I found some helpful info on headache Surgery when I was trying to understand how nerve pain and headaches can evolve after brain injuries. They talk about how certain treatments, like nerve blocks or Botox, can sometimes help with nerve-related pain even when things get complicated.

It’s definitely not a fix-all, but learning about these options gave me some hope when meds alone weren’t enough. Wishing you strength and better days ahead. You’re not alone in this.

Hi @daniellmorgan,

Thanks for this info. I will follow up with my doc.

Dear @shooter987 & other TBI folks,
Thanks for your writing. You’ve done this for the last 30+ years ago. For me, the last 12-13 years ago. I has a bicycle accident in 2012. After that, I’ve changed… my ability is gone when I was working at my city; my memory has lost a lot my remember when my kids where young and Christmases back then; thankfully,my wife great when I came back to her. I’m up to loss 70-80% of my ability/memory. I’m here for “normal” use to talk to people.
Thx,
Greg D. @greg1956

I had the very same traumatic auto accident in the early 80s now I'm 74 and neurologist surgeon cannot operate on me it would be to dangerous. So I suffer from the same symptoms that you have. It is a daily struggle, it has affected my life daily. It's a daily battle so I feel your pain keep your head up and keep going.

Hey Shooter
I’ve been doing some research and some illnesses have simiarities. So why cant their healing treatments also help with other similar illnesses?
There seems to be parallel symptoms and potential benefits from ptsd treaments. “Cognitive therapy” to rewire our responses to things. A calmer response. While maybe its been done in the past, can revist it for a few sessions. Theres also life coaches who similarly help to break things down, to reduce overwhelm / improve cognitive emotional responses, without feeling as invasive.
That part of your brain has atrophied, why cant you build some of it back up? Or in neuroplasticity, another area of brain can help out.
Nourishing the brain has benefits for alzheimers. So doing some puzzles and word searches can exercise that for tbi too?! There are alot of games on apps that are really memory and word games. Perfect for strengthening areas affected by tbi.
Optimizing nutrition may be a thing too. Getting enough omega 3s and such.
Havent you had a glass of refreshing lemonade on a hot 100 degree day? Theres nothing better than freshly made.