Aging After Brain Injury: BrainLine Talks with Dr. Steven Flanagan

I had a severe tbi almost a year ago, suffer nothing no seizures no memory problems nothing at all..will i maybe have a seizure down the road or something serious maybe in the coming years?

My husband is 53 years old. His injuries are from his youth. I skimmed over the comments to see if any resembled his situation. Dan in Ontario describes the same symptoms: the sensitivity to sounds and lights ( " flooding"), the depression, anxiety, focusing difficulties, short term memory loss, and some others. I am looking for current info to help my in-laws understand, but there isn't a lot out there. We do have an excellent neurologist. He has explained it clearly and has validated what my husband experiences. I noticed several comments describing the sensory overload, the term we were given is "flooding". We have found info on it and my husband says it is very accurate. To all of you, you are not crazy, it is all directly related to the brain injury.

I am 29 years old with 2 children and a fiancee.  I was in a car accident June 2010. I lost control of my vehicle driving home drunk and went off the road and flipped five or six times.  I did not have a seatbelt on and I was ejected from the vehicle.  My mother was told I was unresponsive upon EMT arrival and had to be resuscitated. I suffered a TBI, broken neck, broken ribs, skull fractures, lung punctures and a severely lacerated ear.  I had a chest tube in each lung because of the lung punctures and I was in a coma for almost a month i think.  I recovered quickly and did not suffer many external injuries.  Thank you God I did not hurt anyone else in the accident but I still suffer from the injuries sustained that night...the one that haunts me the most is my tbi.  My main concern is my memory and the feeling of not being in control.  I do suffer from other things as well like poor balance, depression, body pains and social anxiety.  And I used to be the SOCIAL BUTTERFLY! One other symptom I'm beginning to notice is my progressive sexual behavior...anyway it's nice to read other stories of tbi folks and it make me feel not alone.  

it feels so good to be validated! my neurologist just made me feel like i was craizy and alone. i was assaulted a bit over two years ago and suffered a mild tbi. i have not been the same person ever since. i have all sorts of problems and i oftentimes feel like i am losing my mind. i have problems remembering things, its hard to talk or sing, and even to feel emotions. i am sensitive to bright lights and loud noise. i get dizzy a lot, especially when i need to track things with my eyes, and driving has become impossible. i can no longer exercise for more than a few minutes at a time and i gained weight. my visual and auditory processing has been affected, and sometimes even my sense of taste. i have digestive issues and developed hemorrhoids from being in the bathroom for so long i suddenly developed arthritis a couple of months after the tbi and my gut tells me that that too is related. i have slowed down physically and on bad days, every movement is a chore. i feel depressed sometimes and i see that my depression is causing anxiety an depression in the rest of my family which makes me feel worse. i'm sorry for all of you who are going through similar experiences. i hear you

I am new to all of this related to TBI. Our son was born 1 month early due to placenta abruption, his oxygen was slowly deprived for an unknown amount of time. Immediately following his birth he demanded attention. He would not stay alive , after several different attempts to keep him here a blood transfusion was the fix. He received moderate to severe brain damage global , meaning all over his brain. He suffered a stroke after birth and seizures causing cerebral palsy To date he is nearly 19 months old. He is severely delayed in all areas however Not to be entirely held back. From the beginning his doctors urged U.S. to begin many therapies and explore anything at all that benefited him. I think and learning that everyone and anyone who doesn't understand a brain injury are scared of it, their quick to pass the effects off to something else. Be it a bad day, behavior issues all of their own or just not enough information to go on. That makes it 100% hard on you , who lives and fights through it daily. Our little man is still just a tiny baby man growing into a boy, but I see how harsh the world is even to him. A baby. Cannot imagine being an adult, a teen or any age for that matter trying to fit into this normal world however you can. My very best advice is to NOT stop challenging yourself daily , forgive yourself when you don't perform to the so called normal levels , remember to praise yourself when you overcome or achieve something or anything because You are your biggest advocate as an adult. I see already early on that if we didn't fight for him or push him in ways he doesn't know how - NOONE would. That's not fair when your an adult , who is looking out for you but you. Do not give up on you. You don't have to be a very tiny baby or nearly 19 month old yo matter to be heard. Don't hesitate to tell your story or ask for a minute , you deserve it. After all your fighting an every single second battle against your own brain, your actions or outcomes are not always yours or your own intentions. Hard wired for battle is what we say for our little man. Because everything is and will be a battle but amazingly beautiful when achieved. Stand in awe of yourself occasionally. You survived something terrible that left you half or less or maybe a little more in ways. Look for the ways to be more. These are all the things I believe someday when my son will understand more that I will say to him. I don't know much about long term, really just learning to take it day by day as his mama on this terrifyingly gratifying journey we are on. Together. These next things may sound silly but I have to think all brains are created equal in ways - we started a water mobility program for him. Mostly because he can't walk or crawl and we want to increase his strengths without pain. In water your weightless , flightless but it's amazing sensory input. If you can find some safe water places to do your jan activities in or find a program. Our area has a program for it called mobility. Find soothing things that fit into your lives - yoga , running , writing, horses or any animals. They bring joy and know us humans pretty well. Good luck to you all. Would love to hear of any others similar to our boy , born with a TBI and outcome. Take care.

 I had severe TBI 23 years ago and now at 42 years of age, I am given medicine to fix "life cycle change i.e. change of anxiety levels, insomnia, migraines and cluster headaches, change of cognitive functions" and wonder if I am not missed diagnosed because there is not enough information on the impact of TBIs and aging. I always have had headache and migraines since my accident where I was a Jane Doe for a month and unconscious over 24+ hours and had swelling on the brain along with brain stem injury with the prognosis of permanent memory loss and no short term memory ability. Well I just graduated nursing school and it has been very hard to stay focused and keep the knowledge current long enough to take the test. My next hurdle is the state boards. I guess I am seeking knowledge to why it has been so tough. I was a straight A student in high schools with a high IQ and graduated 2 years early via accelerated educational program where I never had to study for a test. The scientist in me needs an explanation if there is one. I don't want to believe that at the age of 42 I am forgetting stuff like my daughters middle name or the spelling of my street address of 10 years because it is a "life change thing" and lack of sleep. Cindy

I am 53.  I fell off a 20 foot platform, while taking a photo of my daughter and her friend.  I lost my balance and stumbled forward doing a back flip over the edge.  I was in the hospital nearly paralyzed.  I have rods going down my whole thoracic spine.  I do have a mild brain trauma and still getting tested to see what the tests show.  It has been a year and a half of hell psychological, emotionally, physically and now discovering my of brain injury effects.  It has been a process of complete tears, depression and over-whelmingness.  I am lucky I can work, as I am can work out of my home.  I suffer from severe fear, depression, and worries about my future.  I feel incredibly alone as no one really gets what you are going through.  I have sensory problems, sleep problems and memory problems.  Also, multitasking problems.  I also struggle with chronic pain from my spinal injury.  It is all very very very frightening.  I found once I was released from the hospital, no one told me what to do.  I always wondered what if I could not afford health insurance.  I lived in Manhattan to keep my 15 year old daughter close to her dad, but can barely keep up with the business, the cost, etc.  I know I am doing pretty good, but I tend to need people to come to see me, and need to keep my weekends simple.  I was always active athletically, a traveler, and fun to be around.  It all has changed me even though I try to hang onto the positive and keep pushing forward.  What else is there to do.  I try to go easy on myself and remember what I can do and how I do solve problems that come up unexpectedly.  I never felt so vulnerable in my life before. I wish I could find someone who has had a similar example to mine in terms of injury.  

Sept 5, 2010 we got the call your son has been injured in a drilling rig accident may not live. Fortunetly the piece of drill stock broke his skull which allowed some room for initial swelling. Next Craneiectomy.  coma,new teeth,screws and new front of skull. 4 years later workers compensation does not feel the seizures are related to the TBI .With everything I have just read I will push for life long medical coverage. There was no follow up after initial treatment and 2 weeks of rehab.He does have some menal processing issues minor now. Can not play base ball any more vision issues. Some over reaction and none appropriate responses.Currently he is 34 so say a prayer he has hired a workers compensation attorney and his first appointment with workers comp is Aug 5th.

I was 20 when I was in a car accident and in a coma for 2 weeks. I am now 52 and when I say anything about issues dealing with my TBI people act like I need to get over it, that it's all in my mind, so to speak. ; )

Now I am married with a son 8 yrs and MS Education. I am reassured that my issues are real. I try to stay calm with yoga, meditation, eat right, go to bed on time, stay involved in stimulating activities, read and be socially as active as I can and forgive myself and try harder. <3