Brain Injury After Effects.

h7nlrp2v0g5u48

I suffered a brain injury last April and now suffer from a number of side effects like fatigue, loss of short term memory, Loss of sense of direction when going into buildings and walking outside. Also I find it very hard to sleep because of what happened to me on the night of the brain injury. I don't remember what happened that night or been in hospital. So I was wondering if anyone has suffered a brain injury or stroke how do you manage to cope with the long term effects. I feel this is a very important health issuse to highlight as it can change your whole life in the blink of an eye if anyone is unfortunate enough to get a brain injury.

Gremlinertia

Have you been in contact with Acquired Brain Injury Ireland? I know of their existence as a support service.

2006K

2nd the advice of ABI,their based in Tipperary but travel and do workshops all over. Have you been asessed by Dun Laoighaire Rehab? Have experience of someone close who had a hypoxic brain injury 3yrs ago,similar problems,short term memory loss,not being able to be around large groups/places,confusion and nitemares/vivid dreams while sleeping,also very bad fatigue. Roll on 3yrs and hes made a massive improvement,he attended alot of ABI workshops and worked hard on memory tasks,doing really well now,wish you all the best,its tough going.

Michelle_b

Hi, I currently suffer from effects of brain injury- headaches fatigue, short term memory issues poor sleeping schedule. I have found ABI amazing. They are very supportive and it's great to be around people who understand. Especially look normal but not... struggling with whats going on. If you want to private message me for any advice x

h7nlrp2v0g5u48

Gremlinertia wrote: »

Have you been in contact with Acquired Brain Injury Ireland? I know of their existence as a support service.

Yes I have just started a three month period with them. My occupational therapists arranged for me to have an assessment with them a few months back so I started last week. They offered me two hours a week and a guy comes out from Limerick every wednesday to help me to be more independent with the likes of being able to walk into a shop and pick up items and pay for them without panicking and getting frustrated if I can't manage to count the right amount of money. Also he is going to help me to get back using a bank machine which I also used to do before my brain injury. My main aim is to get back to the gym and try and learn how to use the treadmill and other machines again I used to do before my illness and before my loss of short term memory.

h7nlrp2v0g5u48

Michelle_b wrote: »

Hi, I currently suffer from effects of brain injury- headaches fatigue, short term memory issues poor sleeping schedule. I have found ABI amazing. They are very supportive and it's great to be around people who understand. Especially look normal but not... struggling with whats going on. If you want to private message me for any advice x

Hi as I've only started with ABI I can allready see some positive changes in the way I might tackle certain tasks. Usually my wife would do alot of the tasks for me but with ABI the encourage you to try a certain task without any pressure and it's great to know that if you panic or have difficulty completing a task that they are there to help. Thanks for the offer of advice if I need it. I greatly appreciate it.

h7nlrp2v0g5u48

2006K wrote: »

2nd the advice of ABI,their based in Tipperary but travel and do workshops all over. Have you been asessed by Dun Laoighaire Rehab? Have experience of someone close who had a hypoxic brain injury 3yrs ago,similar problems,short term memory loss,not being able to be around large groups/places,confusion and nitemares/vivid dreams while sleeping,also very bad fatigue. Roll on 3yrs and hes made a massive improvement,he attended alot of ABI workshops and worked hard on memory tasks,doing really well now,wish you all the best,its tough going.

As I have only had my brain injury 11 months I am now only starting to use the services I need to improve my quality of life. At the moment I suffer from fatigue, mood swings, short term memory loss, lack of sleep and sense of direction like going into builings and not been able to find my way out. Also I am not able to go back driving for the immediate future. But all these things I hope to work on in the comming weeks and months with the help of ABI and other services like the Neuro Rehab Team in Limerick.

2006K

Its a really great service,it is grt to be around people with similar experience,most ppl with a brain injury dont look ill so ppl assume their not! It would normally take 2yrs they say to get back to the level you were or as near to it as possible. The ABI can equip you with a card that you can show when you get flustered/confused at the till or banking,that can be very helpful,also if possible attend the workshops when available,I know some were very reluctant but gained lots of help/strategies to cope. All your symptoms are quite normal for brain injury and I know in a few cases grt strides were made in the 2nd year. Also try counselling and anxiety meds classes,they all help when combined as a whole. Best of luck to you ☺

Beasty

I suffered a traumatic brain injury 3 years ago as a result of a cycling accident. I was unconscious for about 30 mins but because I also suffered multiple fractures to my face and arms they became the main priority. Looking back it's very clear the medical services really did not follow up on the brain injury properly. However I managed to get to see a neuropsychologist 4 months after the accident and only then started to better appreciate the nature and scale of brain injury I suffered

Now everyone is different both in terms of the nature of injury and its effects. I read up a lot on all of this and also read the books of Richard Hammond and James Cracknell. This studying gave me a much better understanding of the nature of brain injury and its manifestations.

3 years down the line I know I'm not fully recovered but equally I am in a very different position to the one I was in even 18 months ago. It's a long haul and I know I am much more susceptible to mental issues be it through additional knocks of stressful situations

I would certainly recommend getting specialist help and also getting in touch with national organisations like the one mentioned already and the likes of Headway. That can help both you and hopefully the people around you who may well struggle to understand the long term effects of something like this.

h7nlrp2v0g5u48

Beasty wrote: »

I suffered a traumatic brain injury 3 years ago as a result of a cycling accident. I was unconscious for about 30 mins but because I also suffered multiple fractures to my face and arms they became the main priority. Looking back it's very clear the medical services really did not follow up on the brain injury properly. However I managed to get to see a neuropsychologist 4 months after the accident and only then started to better appreciate the nature and scale of brain injury I suffered

Now everyone is different both in terms of the nature of injury and its effects. I read up a lot on all of this and also read the books of Richard Hammond and James Cracknell. This studying gave me a much better understanding of the nature of brain injury and its manifestations.

3 years down the line I know I'm not fully recovered but equally I am in a very different position to the one I was in even 18 months ago. It's a long haul and I know I am much more susceptible to mental issues be it through additional knocks of stressful situations

I would certainly recommend getting specialist help and also getting in touch with national organisations like the one mentioned already and the likes of Headway. That can help both you and hopefully the people around you who may well struggle to understand the long term effects of something like this.

when I left Cork University Hospital after my operation to stop the bleed on my brain I was sent to St Camilias hospital in Limerick for one week for Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy. That was last May and when I finished there I was not referred to my local physiotherapists or Occupational Therapists let alone counselling. Thanks to my wife who it really affected badly called out to our local health centre one morning and met an OT who happened to be on duty and asked her if she was ok. My wife explained what happened to me and that both of us weren't copeing at all and that we had gotten no info on brain injury or the services that were available to us. She got the ball rolling and set up appointments for me to see my local Physio, six sessions of speech therapy arranged an assessment for me for Headway In Limerick which I did and hope to start in the next couple of months. Only for my OT I would still be sitting at home and possibly on my own as my poor wife and kids were finding it very difficult to handle what happened to me. And as you say the family seem to be forgotten about when something like a brain injury hits a family member.

h7nlrp2v0g5u48

2006K wrote: »

Its a really great service,it is grt to be around people with similar experience,most ppl with a brain injury dont look ill so ppl assume their not! It would normally take 2yrs they say to get back to the level you were or as near to it as possible. The ABI can equip you with a card that you can show when you get flustered/confused at the till or banking,that can be very helpful,also if possible attend the workshops when available,I know some were very reluctant but gained lots of help/strategies to cope. All your symptoms are quite normal for brain injury and I know in a few cases grt strides were made in the 2nd year. Also try counselling and anxiety meds classes,they all help when combined as a whole. Best of luck to you ☺

I have three main tasks I would like to achieve with ABI and they are improve my confidence when going shopping and using a bank machine, improve my sense of direction as I get confused when entering certain buildings and can't find the exit and lastly work on my travel management like taking a bus from a to b without assistance. So ABI are going to with me on those tasks. I had my third counselling session with the rehab neuro team so hopefully they will help me cope with the worry side of things and the fact that I nearly died that night.

h7nlrp2v0g5u48

As I am only at the start of my rehabilitation after my brain injury and I'm still classed as been in the early stages of dealing with what happened to me has anyone who suffered a brain injury say four five or even more years ago learned or excepted what has happened to them after using such services as ABI or Headway?