My husband had a fall 3 1/2 years ago, resulting in fractured skull, a small bleed on his brain and various broken bones. My concern is that everything he does is done to the extreme, he shaves with a razor and goes over and over till his face is grazed and bleeding in places, this also happened with a shaver, then he would tap it to clean the shaver head so hard he kept breaking them and they cost £25 a time to replace, showers go on for ever washing his body and hair over and over,when eating, plates and bowls are scrapped to get the tiniest scraps and any food left on other peoples plates is grabbed and eaten as if he's starving, when having a picnic our granddaughter dropped some ham on the floor and he was about to pick it up and eat it before the birds got to
Has anyone else encountered anything like this? Could it be as a result of his head injury or a symptom of something else
Many thanks
Worried wife
Angela
Written by
Maccasgirl
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12 Replies
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Go and talk to his doctor, he may need something to calm him down. OCD behaviour can also be helped by counselling to help him deal with these extremes of activities.
Hello maccasgirl, I was told by the OT that when doing a task with a brain injury and not stopping when it's done, could be down to the part of the brain that's damaged. I'm not explaining right well sorry. Example, if I butter a slice of toast, my brain tells me I'm done, so I stop. If my partner keeps on going with a task, then I let him know he's done. Its maybe worth asking an ot for help. Starting with the gp.
Hi my partner had a bleed on the brain 18 months ago and yes he shows some strange habits now i try and take no notice but if they really obsessive i do tell him to take a step back and loolk at what he is doing but i would also speak to his dr
My son had a Subarrachnoid brain haemorrhage 8 years ago and had some obsessive behaviour following it. Not in the same way as your husband but he would repeat certain words over and over again, had a real issue with dog poo and what he would call 'surgical washing.'
I went with him to see a neuropsychologist, he asked my opinion on how my son was since the bleed and when I said 'this might sound silly but' and explained his behaviour the neuropsychologist said that was classic behaviour and was not surprised by any of it.
This was the first time we both fully understood the impact of the brain injury.
This obsessive behaviour has definitely lessened over the years however there are other issues.
We've found reading posts on this forum and Headway information so helpful. It's amazing how many things people with a brain injury have in common.
Seeing the neuropsychologist, which was necessary as part of a medical negligence claim, was like turning on a light of understanding.
I've rambled on a lot here because I can identify with how you're feeling. I have no idea if it's possible to be referred to see a neuropsychologist but it helps to understand behaviour following BI.
If you haven't already, look at the Headway information. I found it reassuring to know we're not on our own and there are reasons for certain behaviours. It certainly helped us to understand.
Going to your doctors is a first step, your husband and your family definitely need help and advice.
Thanks Alice, people getting in touch and sharing their experiences has reassured me, I was beginning to think something more serious was going on, but I will certainly go and have a chat with our GP
Thank you so much for spending the time to reply , I wish you and your family well
I drive my Family mad with strange smells like Lenor on my clothes lol xx drives me potty water tastes like yuk !! Remember Princess Margaret had a stroke and she got in a hot bath ..scalded her feet as we cannot always tell if water is too hot, my food is nice phew! but smells etc drive me potty just had bed changed daren't tell them it stinks. Not nice what it leaves us with but cannot help it. I shower every am and pm. My chair stinks just had a new cover on it !!! Daren't tell them as they are lovely. Sometimes I want the old Win back but I am alive and a survivor some do not come this far.xxxx Remember although our weird habits drive you mad it is not our Fault so Love us for faults and all xx Hopefully we will get over this ..crying as typing ..Thanks to our Carers and dont lose patience with us!
Win, thank you for sharing your perspective on your life , I admit I don't always have patience, I try to take a breath before I reply to the repeated questions for the 4th time , if I'm tired or stressed then my patience is limited, but we enjoy good times when he's comfortable and feels safe we can laugh at some of his quirks, besides he makes a smashing cup of tea and brings me a biscuit too if I'm lucky
Bless you Win and take care I'm sure your family are so very grateful that you are a survivor and are thankful every day xx
Sometimes us carers/supporters do lose patience because we are only human but all BI survivors are amazing to me. You battle the world on a daily basis so be proud. X
I can relate strongly to this. I suffered a relatively mild injury to my frontal lobe 3.5 years ago, and only addressed it in the last 6 months or so, as I sustained it while living outside the country.
Anyway, the injury eventually led to many, many strange changes in my behaviour, one of them concerning an odd habit of preserving and being protective over food, and only stopping eating when all the food was gone, rather than when I was full. It wasn't obsessive, I didn't even think about it, I just did it as though it was perfectly normal. That's largely stopped since I began treatment, but it was very strange, and I didn't notice how much i was eating. But put it this way: the symptoms of my injury began when I was cycling around the world. I must be the only person in the world to cycle 13,000kms and actually GAIN weight.
I can't speak to the other compulsive behaviours like over-shaving, I don't think I went through anything like that, but the food thing struck a chord with me. There's actually even a rare disorder that suggests a connection between a mild brain injury and our relationship with food. I had nothing quite this severe, but given my own experience, I think this particular connection is real in some people. Check it out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gourm...
Hubs will get there eventually with your help Macccasgirl and we can be annoying so and so's with our habits mine is crying a lot also eating cake/biscuits when on a downer but I had to stop as my hands felt comfy on midriff lol xx Good luck to you and hubs. Been out shopping and had a nice cake and a coffee that cheered me up ha xxxx Start another diet tomorrow xxxx Ta to our Carers as we do appreciate you xxxx Right off to watch womens football 1/2 time lol xxxx
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So...my husband had a stroke
Caring for someone with a TBI
