New Here: Hi all. Ended up here via a website i use... - Headway

Headway

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chilistrucker profile image
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Hi all. Ended up here via a website i use and the advice of 1 of its users. I had a fall in May 2014 and had an extradural haematoma, 3 bleeds and fractured my skull in 3 places. I know i am very fortunate in the fact that by September of 2014 i was given the all clear by my consultant. I know, i realise it could have been much worse. The thing is that the injuries have cost me my job which i loved and led me to battle the DVLA/DMG for 2 years now to get my LGV licences back. This has caused in itself me to have some issues with mood swings and the like, anger, (in my head only). I have pretty much kept this to myself but of late it has been more prevelant and its not as easy to hide. I honestly thought my depression/moods etc were all down to my issues with the DVLA/DMG but through looking at the Headway website i'm now not so sure, if that makes sense?

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chilistrucker
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sospan profile image
sospan

Hi and welcome

By the "all clear" do you mean that you aren't at risk of more injury or don't have any more residual symptoms ?

Either way you have done well to get your LGV licence back which shows people have a high degree of faith in you.

One of the "traits" of a head injury is that symptoms can not only develop some time after injury but also be masked by other symptoms. It is quite a common occurrence on here when people have gone through a period of rest after an injury, feel better, go an do something they did before and then have all sorts of issues they didn't have before.

Stress is real bad for head injuries and mood swings especially anger goes with it and is oh so common as well.

There are a lot of things when you receive a head injury they don't tell you, why nobody on here has ever found a good answer. Sometimes, it is earth shattering news like more than 50% of head injury suffers split from their partners afterwards. But it is other simple things like you will be forgetful, get angry, have problems concentrating and practical things like driving at night may be tricky because your night vision won't be good or may have trouble reading.

So without knowing more about you, what you have said so far is quite normal.

So welcome and all the best with your journey to recovery.

chilistrucker profile image
chilistrucker in reply to sospan

Hi, and thanks for the reply :) Since I got the all clear in September of 2014 there have been no issues medically in any way shape or form. For this I feel very lucky especially when I read other peoples stories of what they and their families have been through.

Sadly i don't have my LGV licence back, which I think has caused me some problems on its own. Its a very, very long story but briefly, after the all clear the DVLA let me go back to driving for 2 weeks and then, the DMG, (drivers medical group) overruled my neuro consultant and revoked my LGV licences once again. I have been fighting this for the last 2 years and it has put immense pressures on my life, (I hope that doesn't sound over dramatic.)

I pretty much gave up in March of this year after exhausting every avenue, but the DMG would not budge. Luckily a few weeks ago a government report came out showing that the DMG/DVLA had been investigated by the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman and they slated the DVLA/DMG for all its failings, and there are lots of them. So my fight is back on.

Since this all started up again though i have felt the mood swings, anger issues have come back with a passion and I put this down to the DMG/DVLA battle starting again. To be honest though, now I'm not so sure? I definetly think it is a factor but after reading various stuff on the Headway website I am beginning to think if there is more to it? I hope not, but I have really struggled this last couple of weeks, one minute happy as Larry, the next an intense anger where I almost feel I could hurt somebody. Obviously I wouldn't, I'm just a bit concerned that I used to be able to keep on top of everything and deal with it, but now I'm struggling.

Perhaps its just me, being a bit 'woe is me' but it does bother me that I have no control over the moods and ups and downs of late. I can even tell now when they are coming. The other night I was driving home from the "van" driving job I currently do, and I could feel it coming, it was almost like the tide coming in, wave after wave, until it reached a main point, (that i'd rather not say) and then it started to subside, like the tide going back out again. I hope that makes sense?

Anyway, enough waffle from me, and thankyou for your reply.

sospan profile image
sospan in reply to chilistrucker

I had a similar story with a licence - I retook my test at one of the specialist centres and passed without any problem. I drove for another 4 years without incident then when having a chat with my GP he determined I was medically unfit to drive and that was it.

Anger and rage as I mentioned earlier is very common. It isn't necessarily a mental thing and can also be a chemical or of all things a hormones. Quite often there is an imbalance within the metabolism caused by the head trauma. This probably why you feel it wash over you like a tide of emotion, some people experience anger, some people experience depression or get tearful.

The good news is that organic problems can be picked up with a blood test and treated with medication. A visit to the GP for a test can lay this to rest

If the rage is from a pyschological base then it is quite a bit more involved to resolve. Again your GP could help.

All the best on your journey to recovery

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