Adult Life after a Traumatic Brain Injury

Every time I read about the experiences of others who "know and understand" TBI gives me courage and validation.. I still need to find a way to help myself walk wiwthout balance problems, tightness and pain in my shoulders, a foggy brain, dizziness and fatigue as a start. Add to that the gap that never has healed together in my broken neck and the resulting muscle fatigue in my shoulders and arms when sitting in a chair holding music or a book brings on much pain and just writing all of this here ( which is therapeutic in itself) brings on tearfulness and sometimes even a flash back of horror of the accident. So, keep writing dear friends....I will keep trying myself.

Hullo Dawn

I totally empathise with your experience. I had a similar experience my self and my symptoms were loss of short term memory, loss of balance, eyes that found it a major effort to open... and muddled speech. My brain often felt very foggy. I also had to give up my career.

What I found - 14 years after the RTA when I was knocked back to the kerb and the base of my skull and top of my neck hit the edge of the kerb like a "karate chop" - was Hyperbaric Oxygen which is oxygen under pressure. It was developed as a therapy for deep sea divers and after many years has helped people with M.S and head injuries. Perhaps the Mayo Clinic will have some experience of this therapy.

What is helping me - is writing it all down for my family - so that they understand exactly how I felt straight after the car accident and how I have felt through the years.

One set of symptoms that I have not read about anywhere - is that when I was floating between being unconscious and "coming to" was that I had absolutely no pain or sensation of my body even though I also had a broken leg and shoulder-blade . I also had no active movement so could not open my eyes BUT the strange symptom that I also had was that I COULD HEAR now and again! I heard people talking and heard..... "Someone get her a blanket she must be freezing cold " and " Don't lift her like that she might have a broken neck".... which I did have though luckily only a hairline fracture. I heard someone saying " You've been knocked down by a car " but was not taking this information into my brain as I thought I was still in my bed!!! The only feeling I had was of the soft bed I was lying in!!!

I am looking into nutritional support for my brain . it is much easier to deal with a broken arm or leg!!
Over time it is amazing how some parts of the injured brain heal... otherwise I could not write this post as I now find learning new skills very difficult.

I HOPE THIS HELPS

cLAIRE

i CAN ONLY THINK OF LLT,RED LIGHT LASER THERAPY AS A POSSIBILITY.

Thank you for thinking of me. I continue to live the dream of a person with a brain injury (my snarky reply for the day). Actually, I'm struggling a great deal with PTSD issues and its really affecting my family life. I've been looking at treatment plans but finding it to be a daunting task. The intensive therapy program that I think would suit me best costs about $5,000 and is located 10 hours from my home. I feel I need to do something because my children and husband describe me as a very angry person. Not how I want to be remembered, but trying to figure out how I can pay for this as my health insurance would not cover it. I live right in Rochester, home of the Mayo Clinic, but find treatment options horribly limited here because I'm not a vet or a youth with a sports injury. Would anyone have any advice or recommendations?

Hi @dawnpereda
I was thinking about you today and wondering how you are doing. It's a cold day with fresh fallen snow where I am today. I'm thankful for the brilliant sunshine and my wool sweater. How are you?

I wonder if any of you have tried LLT, with red light.

Absolutely, @dawnpereda

Thanks for letting us know about the extended benefits of journaling!

Teresa

I agree. The hardest part for me has been learning to take the time to do it every day. Most days I get it done. I absolutely make sure to journal when I have had a big life event. We just went on a short vacation to South Dakota and I detailed it every night in my journal. My family now looks at it too when recounting what a great time we had! Taking that into account, I guess my tbi can actually be helpful even to others!!

@dawnpereda

I think that journaling is a great way to deal with health problems! It helps us express our feelings about a disorder or problem and it also helps us to see patterns to symptoms, etc. Sometimes finding a trigger to a problem can be so important.

Teresa

Thanks for checking us out and reading the posts! I appreciate your input. I can only speak for myself, but I'm sure others have also, and can say that I have spent a lot of time talking with my doctors. The hard part is that we all heal differently and no one is guaranteed a predictable outcome. I journal everyday and this has helped me to see what progress I have made. I started journaling as a way to "remember" my life. I have seen some healing and progress but am still saddened by how affected by my tbi I remain. Some days are better than others. If I write things down it helps me to remember and keeps me on track during my day. I am the poster child for sticky notes, calendars, and journals!! Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!