Brain Damage vs Brain Injury

[Negeen]

Is there a difference?

[BarbadosKay]

Hmmmn. Good question. Gonna take a stab at an answer but I'm not a medical expert. I think they are different because I suggest a person could have a brain injury without any brain damage - for example, my brain was injured by a massive trauma but the MRI scan did not show any brain damage. My brain injury resulted in post-concussion syndrome but not brain damage. Waddaya think?

[Negeen in reply to BarbadosKay]

Mri's are useless most of the time. So that wouldn't be the best reason to say there's no brain damage. But I do think there'S a difference. Ppl can heal from brain injury but maybe not from brain damage.

[BarbadosKay]

Why do you say MRIs are useless? I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this as I never heard anyone talk against MRIs before.

[Negeen in reply to BarbadosKay]

There's a lot of things that mri's just don't pick up. So as far as a diagnostic tool, it falls short of it's intended purpose more often than not.

[BarbadosKay]

What should we do then? Is there another type of test (or bunch of tests) we should pursue as well as an MRI? What's the best diagnostic tool (or tools)?

[Negeen]

I mean it just depends. Mris are useful sometimes.. Neuropsych evals are prob the most sensitive measure for detecting brain basef disfunction.

[BaronC]

MRIs are useless most of the time? That'll be news to the two hospitals who treated me back in the early part of my recovery. If ever I've heard a sweeping statement, that's it.

I'm sure much as in any aspect of healthcare, there are medical professionals who are better than others at reading results of scans, but to claim MRIs are useless is similar to claiming it's pointless having an x-ray to check on broken bones.

The fact remains that MRIs have been used for years to successfully aid the treatment of many conditions, not all brain related and remain to this day a very important tool despite apparently falling 'short of it's intended purpose more often than not.'

My ex partner had chronic epilepsy, up to twelve seizures a day. Two MRI procedures pinpointed the exact point on the brain they were originating from and her condition was treated and 'cured'. All due to MRI

I'll happily go through the MRI process any time, 100% confident.

[Negeen in reply to BaronC]

I said most of the time. It picks up some things and it doesn't other things. There's a girl who has severe anoxic injury she can't even hold a conversation since her injury but her mri's are always normal. It's just not a reliable measuring tool for all impairments. If you want to jump down every comment I make and attack me you are succeeding but I find your endeavor to do so rathwr frivilous. If your injury gets picked up by an mri- that's great! But there are a ton of brain impairments it just doesn't pick up.

[Danslatete in reply to Negeen]

A wee bit sharp there, not attack just different opinion maybe?

I do understand your frustration and where it comes from tho.

[BaronC]

Sorry? Err, I just disagreed with you and offered an alternative opinion. I will leave this conversation now. Sorry for any offence caused to anyone reading my comment.

[B_S_A in reply to BaronC]

Now now everybody, we're all on the same team.

[Danslatete]

I think mris are the bees knees.

I have endured horrific pain from nerves damaged in my spine, I was given a ct scan X-rays and MRI. I then had surgery to decompress the nerves giving me back the ability to walk and toilet. I had more scans and more surgery a year later.

Years later I had an accident injuring my thoracic spine, I got an MRI and because of it avoided surgery, I had other less invasive treatments.

I had my car accident following year, I had X-ray, ct, an MRI .

I showed the nerve that applied my left arm was bruised, that I had bruises on the brain. More importantly no bleeding. It was a great comfort to my family. It also showed the step in my neck did not need surgery, just a stiff collar, up to that point they were talking halo frame or surgery to stabilise.

My dad was diagnosed with a sinus infection an It didnt go. They scanned and found he had a possible stroke. He had surgery on what they thought was a blood clot, found a nasty cancer. They knew he would not survive and we spent quality time till he passed just 3months later.

Yes there are limitations to the technology used but this does not mean they are no good. There are many types of MRI scans including functional imaging. I have 'white bits 'that are important to the doctors but makes no difference to me and how I function, so maybe it's just our attitude towards our ability that counts.

[Negeen in reply to Danslatete]

Yes, it's good for some people not good on others. Mainly cardiac arrest, hypoxic, anoxiC patients it doesn't catch the neuronal damage. I have never had a functional mri- but I think I should have for sure.

[Danslatete in reply to Negeen]

So neuronal level damage. I have diffuse axonal injury, so maybe it is down to how tiny the elements that are injured and the strength of the machine to see such small problems then?

[Negeen in reply to Danslatete]

Pretty much yes. I'm sorry to hear about your DAI that is a very serious BI. Glad to see you have come as far as you have.

[Danslatete in reply to Negeen]

Thanks, but I'm not sure if any injury is more serious than another. Anyone getting an injury finds it devastating no matter what type or how long it lasts.

Your injury is devastating to you and that is why were all here, to find someone who maybe can understand how we feeling.

[Danslatete]

Oh and I don't see a difference between brain injury and brain damage.

My brother has epilepsy/ hydrocephalus amount other disabilities. The damage was there at formation of the baby, the effects of the damage caused other injury which caused more damage etc.

My injury caused the damage to my brain.

In both cases the brain is injured and damaged.

There is no difference. Just use of language

[Negeen in reply to Danslatete]

How is your brother coming along?

[Danslatete]

He's 45 and lives independently. He has spina bifida and hydrocephalus and epilepsy and emphysema and congestive heart failure , arthritis in his shoulders , severe s and spiral scoliosis and some learning disability too.

He recently had both legs amputated because he got gangrene in his feet and due to poor circulation it was only safe to take them off mid thigh.

It is two months ago, he is back home and doing gardening, cooking cleaning shopping etc as normal. He has 2 hours a week of care to do the things he physically can't do. That includes going to hospital and doctors appointments because he can't always remember what they say, he can't always say what he wants in the time given.

He has always been as Independant as possible making the best of what he has. Life is not always easy, it's what you get on and achieve that matters

[BaronC in reply to Danslatete]

What a man, what an inspiration. Please, please pass on my very best wishes to him

[Negeen in reply to Danslatete]

Yes, your brother sounds like an inspiration.

[Phat01]

There are different types of scanners, the latest ones can detect neural damage. CT scanners date from the 70's, MRI's from the 80's but they've come a long way since then. CT scan time now is super fast to reduce radioactivity exposure. I think my scan was from a 90's one, not the latest.

[Jamiedavid93]

I asked the same question to my medical team and I was told that brain injury is something that can be rehabilitated and recovered from to an extent, but brain damage is just as it is and will never change.

[hayabusa]

My neurosurgeon said the MRI scan will not show microscopic brain damage. It will show major brain bleeds and macroscopic damage.

[Negeen in reply to hayabusa]

This is true hayboosa. Mri's have a difficult time picking up things that are not localized in nature.

[hayabusa in reply to Negeen]

Some of the older scanners lack definition in their imagery.

It's like having poor eyesight when you get old lol

Lack.of detail is not helpful in scanner images.

Our local hospital has two scanners and thd brain one is rubbish. Its a mobile unit at the hospital roadside so gets vibrated everytime a vehicle goes past.

The latest scanners give much more detailed images which can enable accurate diagnosis or even a diagnosis

[Dawn_Dighton]

Well said. Iv had lots of test done MRIs cameras up and down and I'm will very unwell it just don't do it all.