The effects of moderate to severe TBI can be long lasting or even permanent. While recovery and rehabilitation are possible, most people with moderate to severe TBI face life challenges that will require them to adapt and adjust to a new reality.
Moderate to severe TBI can cause permanent physical or mental disability. Because polytrauma is common with moderate to severe TBI, many patients face additional disabilities as a result of other injuries. Even patients who appear to recover fully may have some long-term symptoms that never go away.
Challenges with work and completing tasks that were once routine can be much more difficult than before the injury. Some patients find that the skills and abilities that they used before the injury to meet these challenges are not as sharp as they once were.
These ongoing challenges can also affect the patient’s personal life. People who have experienced brain injuries may take longer to do cognitive or “thinking” tasks associated with memory, such as coming up with the correct change in the checkout line at the grocery store or placing an order at a restaurant. Family relationships will almost certainly change, and in some cases the patient will be totally dependent on their caregivers.
Despite the advances in early diagnosis and treatment of moderate to severe TBI, the fact remains that traumatic brain injury will be a life-changing experience for many patients. Helping the patient, family members, and caregivers to cope with these long-term consequences is an important part of TBI rehabilitation.
Motor Deficits and Disabilities
For many patients, the damage to the brain resulting from a moderate to severe TBI may lead to life-long disabilities or motor deficits. The term disability in relationship to TBI means a loss of physical or mental function caused by damage to the brain. Motor deficits refer specifically to the effect of damage on motor skills or movement.
Examples of disabilities and motor deficits caused by moderate to severe TBI include:
- Paralysis
- Spasticity (muscle stiffness) or uncontrolled movements
- Problems walking, talking, or swallowing
- Difficulty carrying or moving objects
- Vision problems
- Loss of fine motor skills, such as buttoning a shirt
- Inability to recognize something based on touch
- Difficulty thinking and remembering
- Difficulty with social relationships
Other challenges that a patient with moderate or severe TBI may experience include:
- Difficulty making and keeping personal and professional relationships
- Difficulty being part of social activities
- Difficulty taking part in recreational or leisure activities
- The decreased ability or inability to keep a job or go to school
During the rehabilitation and transition phases of TBI treatment, members of the healthcare team will provide information to the patient and their family members about dealing with these issues. Specific tools and coping strategies will be suggested. Examples of coping strategies and tools include:
- Writing a detailed list of steps needed to complete a task
- Using prompts or visual aids to help remember things
- Using assistive devices to move around, such as a walker or a wheelchair
Learning new ways to do things is a very important part of recovery.
Other Potential Effects
The long-term symptoms of TBI can be divided into several categories, including physical changes, cognitive effects, sensory effects, perceptual effects, social-emotional changes, and others. You’ll find a partial list of these symptoms and possible effects below. Keep in mind that the severity and duration of symptoms and effects will vary greatly from one patient to another, depending on the severity of the TBI.
Physical effects
- Sleep disorders
- Loss of stamina (easily fatigued)
- Appetite changes
- Difficulty swallowing
- Physical paralysis or spasticity
- Chronic pain
- Loss of control of bowel and bladder functions
- Seizures
- Difficulty regulating body temperature
- Hormonal changes
Cognitive effects
- Difficulty with attention, focus, or concentration
- Distractibility
- Memory problems
- Slow speed of processing
- Confusion
- Perseveration, which is the abnormal persistent repetition of a word, gesture, or act
- Impulsiveness
- Difficulty with language processing
- Problems with executive functions, which include planning, cognitive flexibility, abstract thinking, rule acquisition (determining right from wrong), initiating appropriate actions, and inhibiting inappropriate actions
Speech and language effects
- Aphasia (difficulty with talking or expressing ideas, understanding everyday language, and problems with reading and writing). Types of aphasia can include:
- Receptive aphasia, which involves difficulty understanding the spoken word, or
- Expressive aphasia, which means the patient knows what they wish to say but is unable to get the words out. In some cases, the patient is able to perceive and comprehend both spoken and written language, but is unable to repeat what they see or hear.
- Slurred speech
- Speaking very fast or very slow
- Problems with reading comprehension
Sensory and perceptual effects
- Difficulty recognizing and distinguishing between touch and pressure sensations
- Difficulty perceiving temperature
- Difficulty perceiving movement and positions of the arms and legs
- Difficulty with fine discrimination (for example, distinguishing between small everyday objects, like coins)
- Difficulty integrating and understanding information gained through the five senses (sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste)
Effects on vision
- Partial or total loss of vision
- Diplopia, which is weakness of eye muscles that causes double vision
- Blurred vision
- Problems judging distance
- Involuntary eye movements, called nystagmus
- Photophobia, which is intolerance of light
Effects on hearing
- Decrease or loss of hearing
- Tinnitus, which is ringing in the ears
- Increased sensitivity or intolerance to sounds
Effects on smell and taste
- Anosmia, which is loss of or diminished sense of smell
- Loss of or diminished sense of taste
- Bad taste in the mouth
Social-emotional or behavioral effects
- Dependent behaviors
- Fluctuating emotions
- Lack of motivation
- Irritability
- Aggression
- Depression
- Lack of inhibition
- Denial or lack of awareness
About the Author
The Center of Excellence for Medical Multimedia (CEMM) is a dynamic initiative from the Office of the Surgeon General, supplying award-winning interactive multimedia for patient education throughout the Military Health System.
Center of Excellence for Medical Multimedia. (n.d.). Moderate to Severe TBI: Long-Term Effects. Retrieved March 28, 2019, from https://tbi.cemmlibrary.org/Moderate-to-Severe-TBI/Long-Term-Effects
Comments (676)
Please remember, we are not able to give medical or legal advice. If you have medical concerns, please consult your doctor. All posted comments are the views and opinions of the poster only.
Chris F replied on Permalink
I've experienced a couple major head tramas over 30 years ago. I've since had trouble maintaining jobs and relationships, wondering what was wrong with me. I'm not starting to experience issues throughout my body that aren't making sense and I'm starting to look into the possible ties to my TBIs, as they make sense. Problem is my support system is not strong.
Leif replied on Permalink
How is it going? Have you had any luck pinpointing the source of these issues? Any recourse? I similarly had a severe brain injury in a car accident when I was 17. (1993). I'm 46 now and over the the last 5 or so years I am having a very hard time with my thoughts. I can almost feel my brain grinding to a halt and there's nothing I can do about it. At least that I know of. And what's even more frustrating is that I don't even know how to explain this to anybody. Because I don't understand it myself.
Eileen replied on Permalink
14 years ago I was in a major car accident and had a severe TBI most people think I look fine and I'm terrific, I understand your feelings with your thoughts. The truth is you can't explain it to people they don't understand. It's just something that goes on in your head. I do a lot of reading and sudoku to stop my head from racing.
Kevin Frame replied on Permalink
On March 12, 2015 I was in a head-on collision while in California on Spring Break. I was having the time of my life with my two men who Co-founded ”The Sun Devil Riders club” with me, until I had a quick conversation with death. I had to be resuscitated twice during the ambulance ride and subsequent emergency surgery in the ER to address a ruptured kidney, two collapsed lungs, broken back, damaged intestines, blunt force trauma closed head injury, also other internal injuries from being skewered by a road sign. While I was having a battle of will against death, the ambulance team that saved my life rushed me to the nearest hospital, Mission Viejo Hospital. Good thing is that the best neurosurgeon was on call that day. The really amazing thing is that I was lying on the asphalt until the ambulance got there for 25 minutes. In E.R they placed lung tubes, removed my kidney and drilled a hole in my skull to relieve pressure on my brain. I was then placed into ICU with a Traumatic Brain Injury that left me in a coma and had another surgery the next day to complete the removal of one kidney, it was demolished by a road sign.
I don’t really know what happened after my accident but, my family has helped to fill in the missing parts of my memory. After I beat death by the skin of my teeth, I was in ICU for weeks. My parents flew into California to grieve and do whatever they could for me and my team. The first thing that the ER team did was to cauterize the wounds and control the bleeding. Then I needed a nephrectomy. My kidney was demolished from the trauma that an extended tree root that I landed on took revenge on me. Next list on the agenda was to saw into my cranium to release the pressure on my brain to prevent additional brain damage that would have ended my life.
During the surgeries I received multiple units of blood to keep me alive; 9 units of to be precise. I was then placed into ICU with a Traumatic Brain Injury that left me in a coma. My brain continued to swell and I had multiple mini-strokes so I had to undergo another surgery to remove part of my skull to prevent the swelling from ending my life. They induced hypothermia as a way to keep my body from failing. My liver started to shut down and I turn mustard yellow. They kept me in a coma for a month and a half to aid in healing also kept me with the broken back. Blood was required during this surgery as well as later during another surgery to repair a broken vertebra in my back, replace my skull bone. After having the trachea tube removed, and the esophageal tube removed I was air evacuated to Arizona and taken to Barrows Specialty Select Hospital. I was still semi-comatose and unresponsive. They then decided to move me to Care Meridian skilled nursing facility to further heal and see if I would regain consciousness.
After a month and a half of being at care meridian, going through physical, speech and occupational therapy. I still couldn’t speak, sit up, feed my-self and remained in diapers. Care Meridian is a skilled nursing facility. My family spent their time with me every day. I had somebody with me at all times. Once I got to the point I could stand 3 hours in rehab, at that time they moved me to Barrows inpatient facility. I was staying at the hospital, I was gaining a lot of progress with Christine in speech, Allison as my occupational therapist and Nate the physical therapist. Months passed by until I was able to go home. Sweet relief, my own room! Ohhh, it has been changed to make sure I will be safe, my brother moved into my room. Having someone with me every moment and having a railing on my bed to make sure I cannot fall out of bed in the night.
My mother came across Rehab without Walls. It is a facility that has therapists for each discipline (Physical, Speech, Occupational, Neuropsychology, and Vocational). I really enjoyed my time at Rehab without Walls they picked me up from my home every day and I brought my own lunch. Months passed by and I was having headaches, also my language was getting worse and worse. I felt some liquid oozing from my forehead, I don’t know how or why but I had a small pocket of infection underneath my cranium that interrupted my speech and my cognition. IF it was not caught, it probably would’ve sent me to my demise.
I then got an infection under my bone flap and had to have another surgery to remove the flap again and clean the infection out. The surgery went wrong; I had a brain bleed and mini strokes during the surgery. I went into a brain surgery with 100% vocal movement and then after that brain surgery, I could not say anything. I could hear and understand but could not reply, me and my mother both sobbed. The surgery damaged the language center of my brain and demolished my speech. I woke up without the ability to speak AGAIN and this time the doctors said it wouldn’t come back (showed them!). I then had seizures because of the brain bleed. I had lost all the progress that was made over the last year and once again started over to learn to walk, talk, feed myself and do basic tasks of daily living all over again. Went back to Barrows inpatient rehab again to start all over!! Three more months of inpatient care there and intense therapies and this time with seizures added on. I stayed there for about 2 months. I remember when I was in my hospital room; I wheeled myself to my therapists offices to make I would have WHOLE hour! Then after I was released from hospital I then started for the second time Rehab Without Walls.
I want to spell this out, THANK YOU to every Doctor/Surgeon/Nurse/Therapist that has worked on my body or mind or emotional problems without you I would be either dead or not the Kevin that I am today. So, THANK YOU. Now I have thanked everyone that has helped me I will talk about when my language was destroyed.
Now I really remember that period of time through present day. I was going into Rehab Without Walls 5 days a week. They were happy and distraught about seeing me again. I loved my time at Rehab Without Walls. In the second time I was going to RWW I got some progress but, my insurance stopped paying for me to go there. Again, my parents are my heroes battled against the insurance companies to get me back into RWW and this was my final session with Rehab Without Walls. Every time I talk about RWW I want to talk about Karen Will. I love Karen Will (A Speech Therapist) who has guided me into the love of language and how important your speech is in your time on this rock.
I remember RWW fondly but, I will skip over the 1.5 years that I was in RWW and I will resume talking about what I’m doing in my life after I graduated from RWW on April 12, 2017. On the last day at RWW I told myself to document what I have done. No rest for the wicked, I started at Advanced Neurologic Rehabilitation for PT and speech. ANR told me that they would start cutting the appointments by 15 minutes to save time for documentation. I thought about that, after 2 weeks I would miss a whole session so, I found another rehab center for physical therapy and occupational therapy.
Neuro & Brain Performance Center is the most PATIENT FOCUSED facility I have been to. Coming from a patient that has been through the medical circus more times that I care to count. They do have love for their patients. The wonderful attribute that they have in their clinic is run and operated as a loving home. Their patients aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. John Davis and Duane Blau have a special slot in my heart.
___________________________________________________________________________________
I typed out a quick summary of my accident on Ortega Highway: Head on collision and then hit rock cliff, 20 minutes on the asphalt waiting for ambulance, fractured vertebrae, side punctured by rock outcropping and tree root, ruptured one kidney, partially collapsed both lungs, bruised liver and stomach, skull micro fractures & TBI, resuscitated 2x on the ride to the hospital, resuscitated once on the ER operating table, repaired internal damage and controlled bleeding. Drilled skull to relieve pressure from swelling, intubated and installed lung drain tubes, moved to ICU on March 13, continued operation to remove one kidney and repair other internal injuries. Next days in a coma, swelling of the brain continued, causing mini strokes/brain bleeds, swelling continued, continued to experience mini strokes/brain bleeds, part of skull removed to prevent death due to brain swelling, coma continued for approximately 4 weeks. Mid-April back surgery to stabilize vertebrae fracture, reinstalled skull bone removed previously, late April flown to Phoenix, arrived St Joe critical care unit, stayed for 11-12 weeks, transferred to Care Meridian, in Barrow Neurological rehab on 4th of July 2015 for approximately 6-8 weeks, transferred to home mid to late august and then began rehab at RWW, infection under reinstalled skull bone was drained at St Joe/Barrow in September, became worse, operation to remove infected material done at St Joe/Barrow in October, caused severe brain bleed in speech processing center, returned home and then attended RWW again for most of 2016 and continued till April 2017, began PT and Speech at ANR in April. Began OT at Brain and Neuro Performance Center in approximately August/September 2017. I started Physical Therapy there after ANR started cutting my appointments to 45 minutes.
I know it is kind of a long story but, now you know a little more about my life; Traumatic Brain Injury included and how you can triumph over the horrific things that guides me to a happier life. I still have the ambition to go back into school, work, find where I am needed and wanted. I am happy you are still reading my story, this story is not concluded but I am still breathing. This story has helped me to recall all of the horrific events and to realize that the gift of life has to be your first priority.
Love life. Never give up on yourself.
So much else has happened, sometimes I get down on myself about what I missed out on. Though I realize what I have gained thru this life. SO much information has passed thru my life the last 7 years. It is surely not what I thought my life would be like. It still can be a good life. Thank you for reading this. Here's to the future.
Jane replied on Permalink
Hi, I don’t really know where to start but just need to know there is hope for my partner, he does not really remember anything including our relationship but he’s never lost that look he gives me or how he’s so demonstrative with me which is what I have always hung onto but at 51 he was put into a home and because I’m not next of kin I have had to battle every step of the way and I still am. No one listens to Oliver properly and why he gets agitated when I leave and why I can only visit between certain times and am not able to say bye, he has to be distracted while I leave and it has been like this for six months and nothing is moving forward, all the authorities say is we have to keep him calm and safe which I understand but surely he is entitled to a quality of life. He is still awaiting a titanium plate to be fitted as he had to have the front part of his skull removed which is well over a year ago. I have to travel an hour each way to see him and I am restricted when I can see him, the other residents are lovely but have had mental disability since birth so Oliver has nothing in common with them. We live in the UK as I think this is a USA website but I just related to your story and any information would be helpful.
Thankyou
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I had brain surgery in 2006 .... My brain has never been the same..... I'm foggy in the head and have a hard time concentrating....thank you All for sharing.... I get it now.... All doctors keep giving me antidepressants that just make it worse.... I get it now
Mitchell replied on Permalink
I don’t usually offer advice, but I’d like to pass this along. Ketamine infusions can be very helpful. The downside is you must continually be retreated and it is incredibly expensive.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Back in 8th grade I was bullied by 5to 6 girls I got my head hit off of lockers an the floors an the teachers or principal didn't do anything about it about the thousand times my mom called the school an me kept going to the nurse the principal finally did something about it but the last day before the girl got kicked out she hit my head off the lockers again I still got the knot's on my head that was like 25 years ago I want to my doctor she ran lots of tests an she sent me to the neurologist were I found out I got head trauma that can't be fixed I deal with really bad head pain every day the neurologist is trying migraine medications to help with the pain my doctor is trying vitamins to see they will help with the pain the pain in my head are so bad there's times I can't cope with it I'm forgetting a lot my writing is sloppy there's times I can't think I don't complete tasks it's hard for me to remember
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Thank you!!!! I have Acquired BI following a craniotomy to resection my cerebellum (tumour), and it's amazing the commonality of TBI symptoms that the medical profession have had trouble explaining for me.
Steve replied on Permalink
When I was almost 2 (back in the 70s) I crawled behind an electric stove. The wires came off the back of the stove, hit my chin, and took out about 1/3 my skull. A lifetime of other head injuries (baseball bat to the head, running face first into a brick wall, hit by a car, launched about 20 feet to land on my head, and many more) and I find it difficult to do anything. I have no internal clock so sometimes I don't sleep for days, other times family has to come by to wake me up enough for food water bathroom. I try to work my brain some. I watch the news then call my dad to discuss it. We compare what I remember to what was actually reported (usually get very little right). Since I can't drive I have an electric bicycle (no license required so doctor can't stop me). Riding around for 30 minutes to an hour (not pedaling, i ride in pure electric mode) I have to take a 2 or 3 hour nap to bounce back from sitting on the bike. Last couple years I find I am getting very.... grouchy. I am quick to angry outbursts. I have always been a really nice guy so when it happens I am so embarrassed I hide in the house for days. Most people have their head injuries later, after some amount of personality is built up so you can see the difference. My family still expect me to be doing good because it's been over 40 years, but they don't see it gets harder by the day to be "normal".
julie replied on Permalink
often times i find health care professionals to be more problem then they are help they make everything more difficult and a hardship and worse instead of better or being a improvement or smooth getting help from and a pleasure they are more of a misery. I think they don't care or don't think about their own actions and behaviors and how it impacts people with TBI..
Will replied on Permalink
I was in a car accident when I was 5 years old.. back in 1995.. from that I received a traumatic brain injury.. my mother was driving the car on this freeway and ended up going into oncoming traffic hitting another vehicle head on.. she had me in the front seat either with my seat belt on or not.. I flew face first into the dash board and fractured my entire face.. I was life flighted to the hospital where they would proceed to save my life.. I don’t recall any of that.. I only know what I’ve been told and if I’ve forgotten anything I’m not sure and I’m sorry.. my father has passed away and I have no one left to tell me everything that happened back then.. I barely recall any of my childhood.. just glimpses here and there.. I tend not to remember a whole lot even leading up to today.. anyway.. I had to relearn everything all over again.. how to eat, how to talk, how to walk, etc etc.. all at the age of 5.. I was very confused and had completely changed from before the accident to after the accident.. I suffer from migraines, memory problems, anxiety, ptsd, vision problems, and a few other things.. I have episodes where I watch myself walk but I’m looking at myself from up above my body.. I have episodes where I get very disorientated and confused.. there’s times where I can’t remember words for things.. i have migraines daily.. I have balance issues.. I tend to forget things easily.. I’m 33 years old now trying my best to make it through life the best I can but it gets hard to do.. but I keep on going no matter what.. I was told I use by tbi as a crutch when I said I couldn’t remember something and when they asked why I couldn’t remember I said it’s probably because of my tbi.. idk.. I honestly don’t know why I can’t remember things.. I don’t like how my memory works.. it’s super random and spotty.. like I could be watching a movie and bam a random memory of a moment from my childhood pops into my head.. why? Idk.. the movie won’t even have anything in relation to the memory.. i tend not to stay mad very long as I’ll forget I’m mad or what I’m even mad about.. I’m trying to live my life the best I can.. idk what to do anymore really.. I’m tired of all the migraines.. I’ve been diagnosed with bi polar, and other things.. but I can’t help but wonder if the tbi is the root of it all.. like if someway I could fix it.. all these things wrong with me could go away and I could be free from it all.. people have told me to turn to God for help and that he’d make it all better.. I’ve been told to try many things.. nothing has made it better.. but I’ve found this thing called excedrin and that helps make things bearable at times.. I’ve tried going to a doctor but they piled so many prescriptions on top of each other because they weren’t working so eventually I couldn’t afford it and they told me if I can’t afford to get my prescriptions then they couldn’t help me.. so I quit going.. I mean I know I don’t have it so bad.. and I shouldn’t be saying anything.. but it just sucks.. I don’t wish this on anyone.. idk.. I guess that’s all.. I hope you all are doing alright out there.. don’t let the tbi beat you down.. never give up.. keep on staying strong..
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I was hospitalized after having bad MS flare-up, I "came to" 3 days later in the 2nd hospital with no memory of anything that occurred after entering ambulance at my home. I was in 4 point restraints ina diaper and my brain felt like someone whacked me in the parietal occipital and temporal regions, my eyes were on fire, and the that night I realized I was being sleep deprived - the hospital was 'accidentally' leaving a very bright light on, all NIGHT long. I told them but they didn't believe me. I found out 18 months later that they gave me anti-psychotics Geodon and Haldol and I am not psychotic or schizophrenic or bipolar. I went through HELL, 130 hours straight sleep deprivation with no way to cover my eyes. I was delusional, who wouldn't be, and I wasn't able to get my medical records from them until 18 months later so I couldn't sue them, I looked like a psych patient, and I was even taken off ALL meds including thyroid and cholesterol, I had NOBODY to help me, and now, 2 years later it's too late to sue, I have a movement disorder on TOP of MS symptoms, my vision disorder has increased triple-time, I cannot even walk more than 5 feet without excruciating pain from Abnormal gait which is worse then ever. I have been treated like a pariah, my voice is slurred and doctors that now finally gave me meds for this headache and eye pain and nerve pain and muscle spasticity think I am doped up, I wish I was doped up so I wouldn't be in constant suffering, I am 62 years old and my life is OVER. I have no family, I cannot leave this trailer without a wheelchair and I can't drive, I don't even have a wheelchair accessible vehicle to get out of this godforsaken trailer. I am being abused by my "health care surrogate" and no one even cares if I live or die. I refuse to kill myself, and life is just a horrible endless nightmare and I have no good days at all. Typing this has been hell, I once was a human being and now this stabbing unrelenting nerve and muscle and eye and skull pain is driving me to a point where I honestly don't know what I am going to do next.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Hi brother, I don't know what happened next since it's been more than 3 years but for emotional support you can reach out to me at danish.zakria@gmail.com. May GOD ease your suffering.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I feel your frustration. I had a massive stroke nearly 7 years ago and still struggle to figure out what and how my life should continue.
I've dealt with depression, anxiety and PTSD forever and am at the point that i can barely hold on. Suicide is increasingly becoming more appealing option.
Mental health care providers are clueless about the depths of my sorrow and confusion they offer no help and little hope.. I am very vulnerable. I have no friends- this is by my design.
Rachel replied on Permalink
I speak healing over you in Jesus’ Name! I am sorry you are are in such pain. I pray for complete healing!
Sylvia McColl replied on Permalink
Please remember..firstly, you are not alone, people do care. the brain injury association are awesome and they have a group meeting twice a week socializing is great people express there concers speak life stories chat and have a laugh do look into speaking to them about this pleas I have empathy for your situation and I myself experienced that light constantly on no sleep thing in hospital brain injury assoc advocate and make society aware of this often hidden disability TBI etc chin up chorpy please I hope u have a smile cos I believe in you many we reach out dint become pessimistic keep positive and rise up join groups staff to come together and spread awareness and help people help themselves
K replied on Permalink
Have Faith and go to church. The demons hate that. Sounds similar to my experience,forced medications,hospitalizations,all to cover their asses for their mistakes.
Joe Bob replied on Permalink
In 1986, I experienced extreme head injury in a motorcycle accident. I don't remember that day, the week before, or the month afterwards. I hit a brick mailbox doing about 40 mph without a helmet. I hit it face first. The injuries that were sustained were an occipital skull fracture, two parietal skull fractures, and I blew a hole in the membrane between my cranial cavity and the nasal cavity. CSF was leaking out of my nose. I had two large gashes on my right side of my face, and had skin missing from most of the right side of my face. I had developed a brain bleed and excessive pressure was building. Miraculously, I survived that incident only to have another excessive brain injury 2 years later. I got hit by a softball on my left ear and partially separated the ear from my head. In both instances, I was unconscious for more than 10 minutes. Since those two incidents back in 1986 and 1988, I have had three more concussions where I didn't lose consciousness.
Fast forward to today where I have short term memory loss, I am highly fatigued, I cannot learn basic algebra for my job, have been diagnosed with MDD, and my eyesight is deteriorating. I will need cataract surgery in the coming months.
I am wondering if my extensive head injury past has caught up with me now? Could my head injuries have caused my Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) as well as the other issues above?
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I was severely beaten 17 years ago… still have a permanent knot on my forehead, near hairline, top right side. Since then, I’ve acquired this “stutter/tongue jerk”, and it’s almost as if my brain glitches. I’m beginning to experience difficulties with comprehension of spoken word. Could this be a TBI? My abuser never let me see a doctor, so I’ve never had it checked. Is it too late for doctors to tell via imaging if I’ve suffered a TBI?
anonymous replied on Permalink
A.TBI.should.be.visible.on.a.CT.scan.These.are.quick,and.done.by.all.emergency.
departments.I.don't.know.for.certain.but.I.imagine.some.types.of.damages.would.still.
be.visible.
If.a.person.has.TBI.symptoms.but.the.CT.scan.is.not.showing.injury,the.correct
.procedure.is.then.to.have.an.MRI,which.show.much.more
Cynthia replied on Permalink
No they can tell if there was any kind of brain bleed, called closed head injury. With MrI
Denise replied on Permalink
I suffered a sever brain injury while working in 2007 however I did not know that I did until 2017 when I got my memory back after 10 yrs.
I was trapped in my own head for yrs. and I can not believe that Doctors, Friends lawyers everyone believed I understood them. Just because I could say Yes or OKAY
Not 1 Doctor or anybody for that matter ever ask me if I even knew what they were saying.
I had no clue and still half the time do not. I was told to sign papers DO NOT DATE.
They were sent in the mail. So I did
No idea what they said. Come to find out I lost everything I have worked since I was 12 yrs. old. 2 kids myself and now nothing.
Why?
The Company and my Friend of 25 yrs. chose Not to file accident report for 2 1/2 months and the lie about what happened to me due to the fact that he and the general manager knew I lost my memory.
No medical treatment for over a Month I woke up 16days later at home sick and confused in pain went to hospital
test fine yet
Doctor Did you hit your head? I woke up this way. I do not remember hitting my head.
Doctor go home lay down for a few days do not drive. I do not see anything wrong.
I left however forgot that I went to hospital. Why? Is it that after so long now I can remember things that happened yet I am not allowed to do anything about it. Why?
The Statue of Limitation protects my friend and his company. For Not getting me Medical treatment in a timly manner and lying about what happened.
what a system.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Please help me? I need help im most of these things and lost
Ron J. aka TBIG... replied on Permalink
Hello to all my TBI Survivor friends... I read the 1st page of comments you've all left, & see parts of everyone's stories, problems, fears, everything- to be EXACTLY, or VERY SIMILAR, to my own! On my birthday, August 2, 2000, I turned 45 yrs old. Went to work, & late that afternoon, the truck dealership I worked at, as a parts counterman, was very busy, I hadn't worked for this dealer very long, & was still learning where everything was. I asked parts mgr where a location shown in the computer we used was, & was told in an upstairs mezzanine, @ rear of warehouse. I'd only been up there couple times, but I went to look. Phones were ringing, customers @ counter, so I hurried best I could. There was no lighting upstairs, & it was not organized, so I searched best I could. Soon, parts mgr is below me, yelling to hurry up, I tried, never found part I needed, & with parts mgr still yelling @ me to hurry, I turned to go downstairs, I'd come back later to find my part. I never noticed the steel beams for roof of building were lower where I ended up as I looked around, as opposed to where I originally started at. I'm 6ft 4in tall, & was not quite running running, when suddenly I heard a bang, & when I opened my eyes, I was looking at the roof, & heard mechanics downstairs, laughing, then yelling, "Ron, you ok?", but I couldn't talk, move, just moan! Next thing I knew, I'm @ emergency in hospital, where x-rays, CT Scan, & exam by a Dr took place, & I was given diagnosis of "just a concussion", & was returned to work. I'd had maybe 6 or 7 concussions in my life, from playing baseball as a kid, through high school, also basketball in high school, plus a couple rear-end car accidents, 1 by a bobtail truck, as I was stopped @ lights in a big intersection, truck hit me going 45mph, whiplashed me so hard, I broke the seat back, hit & collapsed steering column with my chest, never hit my head, just snapped my neck hard!
I actually felt fine, when I went home from work that day. Fixed dinner, watched TV, & went to bed.
When alarm woke me, got up, to shower, with WORST HEADACHE OF MY LIFE! Threw up in shower, but thought I HAD to go to work, since I'd hit head, missed time, work would be mad if I stayed home. Dressed, fixed lunch, went to work. BUT- stopped 2 times, & threw up both times! At work, punched in on time clock, looked @ card, & to my shock, it wasn't 8/3/2000, it was 8/6!! I immediately went into shock! Owner ran up, yelled @ me about where had I been, & fired me on the spot!
I learned later, the dealer's Worker's Comp Insurance Co., had gone bankrupt, the State had liquidated the the Insurance Co, the largest Work Comp insurer in Calif, (@ the time), & was 1 of almost 30 other Work Comp insurer's that had gone bankrupt between 1999 & 2000, & my employer had never re-insured his business, & had thrown my claim form away, for fear the State would see he hadn't re-insured! So, began my battle to learn what had happened to me, to get proper care, to be paid Work Comp benefits! I lost my house, ended up homeless, couldn't get an attorney to take my Work Comp case, forcing me to represent myself, learn Work Comp law, THEN- as my symptoms appeared over time, TBI, PTSD, Seizure Disorder, Memory, Balance, Coordination, Vision, Severe Tinnitus, Loss of Cognitive & Executive Skills, Loss of Smell, Emotional/Anger/Behavioral problems, Social Appropriate Skills, Attention Deficits, on & on! About 5 years later, told I'd never work again, my family & friends either abandoned me, or didn't believe any of this was true, although Mom & Dad allowed me to move back home, but I had all my belongings, enough furniture, etc, for a 3-bedroom home, all in storage, which I could barely afford! My Worker's Comp case settled in October 2007, giving me a 100% Permanent Total Disability Rating, medical care for anything related to my TBI, paid for, for life, as was cash benefits, although only 2/3 of my weekly wages while I worked, I applied for, & received SSDI, MediCare, through Social Security, but due to my Work Comp benefits, my SSDI was apportioned, or cut almost in half, I get token cost of living increases to SSDI, but no cost of living increases to my Work Comp bi-weekly checks! As time went by, my diagnosed problems have worsened, I started having problems walking, climbing up/down steps or stairs, balance got worse, in 2017 I fell @ my small rented in-law cottage, rupturing quadriceps tendons in BOTH KNEES, fractured patella, & fibula in right knee, plus torn lateral meniscus in that knee too, plus either damaged vertabrae or discs in upper neck, which the State's Insurance Guarantee Assoc,(similar to FDIC for Banks, if bank goes bankrupt), has denied me surgeries to repair, leaving me unable to walk, or stand, I need caregiver help to get outside, Guarantee Assoc has denied payment for caregivers too, so I've been outdoors maybe 4, 5 times since my fall in 2017! My current landlord, who bought house where my cottage is located, after original landlady lost property on foreclosure, doesn't bring my mail, or maintain my cottage, & has tried to prevent visitors access to my place, to visit, or to help me, which I've filed complaints with local rental authority about, leaving me a prisoner inside this cottage, which no adult protective service, disability rights agency, police, or anyone else, has done anything about, or even believe what I've told goes on! My parents, in their mid-90's, moved to Oregon, near my older sister & her husband, in 2018, were in assisted living, I was informed on 10/4/21, by my sister, that Mom/Dad both, had tested positive for Covid-19, then this past Monday, 10/11- Dad died from Covid, followed by Mom dying on 10/12, & I can't even get off bed, get outside, or go to their funerals! I'm now 66 yrs old, I BELIEVE I may have had a small stroke, about 3 months ago, in my sleep, since I've suddenly lost about half of the ability to move my right arm!
Back in maybe 2004 or 2005, I was allowed to see a neuropsychologist, @ Alta Bates Hospital, in Berkeley, Calif., the first day I saw this Dr, he told me to buy a paperback book, titled:
"Coping with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury" by Dr. Diane Stoler, & if I didn't have that book when I saw him 2 days later, don't bother coming, until I DID have it! It's in it's 4th or 5th version now, I think. My suggestion to EVERYONE who's had a head injury, TBI, even Alzheimer's or Stroke, to buy this book! It's no difficult to read, it's in plain English, not medical language or terms, it's organized in a logical order, & it's to this day, the BEST THING I'VE EVER READ ABOUT TBI! ONE THING IT EXPLAINS, @ THE VERY BEGINNING, IS THIS-->>
Whoever you were, BEFORE your TBI, that was Ron #1, Suzy #1, whatever... But after your TBI, you become Ron, or Suzy #2, #1 is not going to ever come back. Your brain may or may not get better, depending on YOUR injury, & everyone's injury is different, what you want to do is, do the best you can, either with help from an experienced rehab specialist, trained in TBI, or by yourself, so that YOUR #2 is the best you make him/her!
Some people even went so far as to have a "funeral" for their #1, since that person won't be coming back.
Once you stop thinking about how you WERE, & concentrate on who you want to be NOW, you'll get there faster, & be happy sooner. Learn about TBI, that book helped me more than anything, still to this day! I've read it or parts of it, over & over, so many times, it's helped me feel normal, but it's MY NORMAL!
Good Luck to you all, please don't give up, or stop learning, ok? Bless You All!
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Your are very inspirational and thank you for the book. I'm not the one with tbi my son is and I just confused him so he want nothing to do with me but I want to help so much I just have no clue how. Btw I'm his mom.
Like you I have read the comments above and im in shock like a dear seeing headlights. I out of words for what ppl and professionals and the government and just Humanity for individual person is just disgusting here in the United States what time I'm so sorry. Brought back my spirit I'm grateful for your story.. thank you 1000 times for putting it out there.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Thank You for post! My MVA was in 2014...I had 2 brain bleeds & swelling that prevented ANY surgeries for the many shattered & broken bones needing each there own way to solve&/ fix... I am only 39 & feel like I am in my 70's w demensa!! I have had SUCH a difficult time trying to figure out if there's ANY WAY that the progression of this can be slowed down... I'm scared to death because if it's this bad now, what in the world will/could I do in 3-5 years you know? I Journal, make lists & that was my savior @ one point but am finding that to become more confusing than ever expected & I don't have a support system & am a Mother to my son turning 10 in just 2 weeks & AGAIN, am just frightened at the ENTIRETY! I had heard a while back of some methods used for football players that had their blow after blow & their poor brain developed that disease...the name of it is named in the movie "Concussion". Oxygen Chambers & some kind of pressure being put on the back of the neck allowing all of the "FOG" to "flush away!!!" How AMAZING that would be right!?!? I will absolutely get the book as I would't even know HOW to navigate looking for a solution? Thanks again :) Caseyjacks@gmail.com
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Wow unbelievable - amazing story and WOW again - what a brave man for sticking it out! I'm two years in and want to commit suicide and my story isn't even half as hard as yours! I am praying for you and your story helped me start to become Sheila #2 now makes so much since. I really do applaud you for all the efforts and legal and business end that occurs after injury! No one talks about that part! Nightmare - thank you
Chris replied on Permalink
Im 15 years past when i got my tbi and had lots of thought of suicide as well, it more so in the ist 5 years stay strong it does get better!! Ive had lo g stretches of doing and feeling pretty well, but my meds have been causing some trouble of late, going to try to get it figured out. Talking to other tbi survivors helps more than I thougjt it would in the beginning. But just to talk to others about it helps to feel like youre not alone in all of this. Hope you all get to feeling better never give up
Kelsey Brenton replied on Permalink
I've received a T.B.I. approx. 10 year ago, what a serious lifestyle change this was! What I miss mostly is my kind, beautiful partner along with the fact that I'm no longer able to work, lost my houses, the ability to walk, my vehicles, my long sought after sweet job as a union electrical worker, I'm no longer able to make any sense of time, I may have lost most not everything but most of what I'd worked towards getting what I didn't loose is my ability to be an understanding, open kinda guy! THANK GOODNESS I'm still able to think, react and understand most of whatever I'm exposed to!
My new goal in life is going to spread the feeling of love, understanding and security!
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I was about 4 going on 5 when I had my brain injury I was on a queen bed and fell off while sleeping and hit the concrete we was in the middle of redueing are floors in are house and I remember siting on the floor crying for help and it felt like hours until my grandma came in the room and got me she just thought I was having a bad dream so she took me to her room to go back to sleep only to be woken up about 10 times of me puking in her bed so she thought I had a stomach bug still to this day I don't remember why I didn't tell them I fell I guess I lost conscious and don't remember what happend so I stayed home that day since they thought I was sick but my mom said she had a weird feeling in her gut to take me to the docter that's when we got into the office and right away he asked my mom to turn off the lights and that's when he saw it my eyes wasn't dilating and he told my mom to rush me to the hospital something is very wrong and that's when they felt my head and I had a big knot and i remember my mom asking if I hit my head and at that point I didn't even know so she took me to the hospital and they ran an MRI and said I needed to go have surgery right away I had an epidural hematoma and I didn't have long to make it if they didn't start right away . So they let my family know that I might not make it or if I did I would be a vegetable for life but the next day I woke up and eveything was fine I wanted some makeup and some clothes so they knew I was okay but a few years later I started having eye trouble woke up and my eyes were crossed i had excellent vision before and out of nowhere my eyes took a change and then years later I started having very bad migraines to where it would be 2-3 a day I couldn't even go about my day because they were so awful and the weird part is the only place that hurts when I have them is on my side of my head where I had the surgery same spot and all and now I'm 24 still suffering from them but lately I have been dealing with memory loss , extreme PTSD , anxiety , ocd , I have very bad social skills , which I have never had before I've always wondered if I would have any problems down the road after having a severe brain accident .
Matt replied on Permalink
Hi there I'm 42 I was struck by a car while walking down the road I was in a comma for 2 days so that was 2010. No problems until 2016ish started with bad migraines till 2019 then grand mal seizures started was diagnosed with focal epilepsy and severe short term memory loss. Hope the best for you.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
My son had a very hard blow to the head from a hard object on July 19 it is sept the 8 and he is just now waking up. He can’t talk eat or walk .All of his body muscle is gone I’m really concern about him . Will he ever recover and do you think having family members around him now will help him remember things. Cause right now he rembers nothing except 3 people but when he goes back to sleep for 15 min he forgets
Kevin Frame replied on Permalink
Give him patience, and work with him on it. There are an unlimited amount of quick games you and he can play. But NEVER stop trying to push.
Buck replied on Permalink
Have patience, as the brain can reestablish neuronal connections through a multitude of synapses.
In general terms ( rewire itself).
I can provide you with some encouragement, as I and several of my close friends where in a severe car accident 21 years ago.
Myself, and the 2 others whom lived, all sustained TBI's , months had past until a recovery was established.... the extent of recovery is unknown to all individuals who sustain a TBI, but I will say that with diligent rehabilitation, and positive thoughts and regulated diet. It is achievable.
I have learned to walk, talk again, and have recovered to the extent to own, operate a construction company.
A multitudes of " triggers" may hinder the daily conditions with a TBI, but supportive, patient friend's and family can to wonders.
I wish you the best.
Dandan replied on Permalink
My heart goes out to your son and family. I'm sure he appreciates you all being there. Family is everything with injuries like so. There is no time frame to give, his body must heal on his own, and that is not something anyone could know, right now. He remembers three people, which seems to be a good sign. My prayers go out to you and your family.
Michael replied on Permalink
The double vision from the TBI isn't caused by weakness of the eye but rather from one of the eyes being rotated. At least that is what it is in my case. One of my eyes rotated 5 degrees from my head injury. I had a brain stem injury.
Tara replied on Permalink
The optic nerve was damaged.
Margot replied on Permalink
Actually it's the oculomotor nerve because my daughter suffered a TBI over ten years ago and left eye does not rotate together with the right eye. There is therapy for that I hear.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Summer beak just started two days ago. I was 13 and graduated from the 7th grade. I went to my best friend's house, and we decided to go on a bike ride to get ice cream. The helmet my friend gave me broke, so I put it back in the garage, and started riding my bike down the street. Tim, my best friend at the time, came up behind me holding the helmet. His dad just got home and just happened to have the part to fix the helmet. I put the helmet on, and we went on our way. We started going down a steep hill, riding on the sidewalk. Unbeknownst to me, ahead of me the sidewalk was cracked, and the two cracked parts pushed together which made an A shaped wall on thes sidewalk. I hit the concrete with my front tire, and the bike flipped me and smashed the top of my head on the concrete. I blacked out for a few minutes, and when I came to I couldn't talk for about 3 minutes. When I did talk it sounded like I was mentally challenged, and the words themselves made no sense (according to my 3 friends). I never went to the hospital because we didn't want to tell anyone so we could all still go to summer camp. I don't remember much about that summer, except for the anxiety and headaches that started. I only made it through half of the 8th grade, I just couldn't do it. My math grade in the 7th grade was exactly 100%, after the concussion the numbers and lines were completely abstract to me, it was like learning Russian while being spun around. I quit the 8th grade and had to be homeschooled. I went to a regular high school (thank God) but it was a struggle. The anxiety and brainfog made it very difficult. I am 32 now, still living withmy parents, and I am unable to drive. My anxiety pulsates throughout my entire being second by second. I can't think, and I had to start taking Adderall and Ativan, which hardly do anything to help me. I am very blessed that my friend brought me my helmet, I believe I would be dead, or partially if not totally paralized had I not worn the helmet. I was an exceptionally intelligent child, who taught himself to play the piano at 4, and was reading 4 books a month by the 3rd grade. I wanted to be an inventor, but I could have been anything I wanted. Thankfully I have an online business, and my wonderful parents. I feel like a part of me died that day. I never cried about it, but writing this and thinking about it in this way is making me cry. I am just now coming to the realization that I will never be the same again.
user2 replied on Permalink
Hey Bro Can We Talk Something about this a little bit
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Hi
My dad is currently in the acute ward trying his best to recover. He fell on 12 May and he is 67 years old suffered a severe TBI. He is currently at GSC 12 but he isn't engaging enough with the stuff to be able to be accepted into rehab so they are pressuring me to take him out and place him in a nursing home.
I feel like I am being rushed to take my father out of the ward and they are telling me things that it doesn't look promising him engaging and understanding.
I am trying my best to fight for him and I have heard from many other people and drs that some people just take longer and need more time. I am trying to buy him more time but as mentioned before they are telling me he would be better off going to a nursing home.
Does anyone have any advice on your experiences on what to do?
His GSC score only went up again today to a 12 so is this a good sign that he might be slowing becoming more and more alert?
He has a peg tube as he had a trachy for a while so now he has issues swallowing a bit.
thats the only thing he has. everything else is stable.
thank you
Poppy
Steve replied on Permalink
Contact a firm called Laura slader ot who specializes in tbi rehabilitation they have been fantastic and have and are still helping my partner.
I cannot recommend them highly enough. They have given my partner and I hope for the future. Speak to them they are a god send
Dotty replied on Permalink
Well glad I ran into this blog of posts, I had a horrific fall backwards down the basement steps & hit my head on the Steel pole that holds up the I beem in 1/14/08. Ended my Career as a Circuit Design Engineer! They didn't do brain surgery until Feb 08. Not sure why so long. Completed 6 months of rehab (all aspects). After that both shoulder surgeries, both knees, back ,throat, left foot & more, just can't remember all of it. I was just 46 when that happened & now I'm 59. I've had ongoing medical problems ever since. 2nd Brain surgery was on Sandy Hook day ( when shooter killed all those kids back east) I had been watching it all day & got up to eat, fell dusty & hit my head on the Glass dining table. I tell ya! So far I've had 5 brain bleeds, 2 brain surgeries & 14 other surgeries. I have learned to know that the person I am now is not the same person before the original Accident. None of my Family or my only Son think nothing's wrong with me. OMG! I just wish they could walk in my shoes for one month & experience the Stamina problems, medical Bill's, medications & the lack of help needed. Oh, I too was arrested & charged with resisting arrest due to my left side is weak. The Lawyer handled that & 20K. My Family treated me as though I was a DUI person. So sad!. I continuously go to the Gym, keep busy & walk my doggie. Life has changed & it was difficult to go from 150K a month to 1,590 a month. Just wanted to share my story (some of it) , I'm Grateful to be alive! I thank God every day. Stay positive & keep moving forward. I use the old saying from my Mom.... Pull your boot straps up & keep going.
Idol time is death time & I know that is NOT for me. (Yet).
Stay Strong everyone. The new life really is not so bad.
Xoxoxo
Anonymous replied on Permalink
7/12/"
READ
STAY POSITIVE
KEEP YOUR HEAD UP
BETTER YOU BETTER
DON ' T DRINK DRIVE
GBY
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I was severely beaten 17 years ago… still have a permanent knot on my forehead, near hairline, top right side. Since then, I’ve acquired this “stutter/tongue jerk”, and it’s almost as if my brain glitches. I’m beginning to experience difficulties with comprehension of spoken word. Could this be a TBI? My abuser never let me see a doctor, so I’ve never had it checked. Is it too late for doctors to tell via imaging if I’ve suffered a TBI?
Anonymous replied on Permalink
one day my friend hit me one the left side between parital and frontal lobe may be that was parital lobe now i have headache so how long i will face with headache
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Went over a 4 to 7½ story cliff. Coma for 17 days. The prognosis wasn't good. Organ donation people were want to harvest organs as soon as I passed. At that point it was than 10% chance to live.
Did not self evaluate for ten years. After 25 years I finally was able to put it behind me. That's when I had reached 100% recovery.
Melissa replied on Permalink
Congratulations on your physical recovery, emotional growth, and ability to forgive. I'm sure that if you choose to share more about your journey to recovery and being able to "put it behind you" it would be an encouragement to others.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I need your help, Son has been involved in a motor vehicle accident, Glasgow coma was catastrophic, has had excellent recovery vs doctors prognosis.
MVA was 2005, has become aggressive towards all, etc. know what I mean?
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