I'm a TBI survivor; an Extradural Haematoma after a fall in 1984 aged 17.
I'm still learning as are my family. I had no post TBI care or rehab after leaving hospital and despite decades of problems,( loss of career, loss of education and severe mental ill health) the root of my problem wasn't recognised as being my TBI until I was sent to an ASD assessment in 2017. I've been going through neuro rehab since 2018 with a private sector Clinical Psychologist.
It almost feels like my journey is just beginning!
Written by
Glenquoich
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Hello. I was just reading your story on your profile page. Thank you for sharing your experience. Sadly so many people, even doctors, think a broken head is like a broken arm, you should be over that in a few months. Trying to explain to them is like being in one of those nightmares where you’re trying to scream but no noise comes out. Thank you for still having hope, and for letting us see that there is still hope.
First off👍❤ to ur wife..its beautiful her being by ur side.
I just read ur profile page n just want to thank u for sharing .
Everything started for me in 1985 n continues.
I get what u have been through n I'm sending u a hug🤗
Hello Glenquoich and welcome. Reading is something of a chore for me these days but I found myself engrossed in your profile story. Seeing your life torn apart by such an arbitrary event has surely been devastating for you, and you describe your heartache so vividly.
You are an extreme example of the lack of awareness of brain injury and its catastrophic effects. Most of us here on Headway have been left alone to deal with the aftermath of our injuries.
I had care second to none after a Subarachnoid haemorrhage in 2011 and a check up 3 months after discharge ........then nothing. Any further neuro support was initiated by me personally, and this is so often the case for others. Finding the validation and support from this forum has been my abiding lifeline.
Thank you for persevering with the typing issues and for sharing the past 36 years of your life with us ; I do hope you'll continue to share. Hope to see you again soon....
Have you tried going to a hyperbaric oxygen centre or getting an o2 concentrater for home use . I have done both and reported much improved in reduced fullness headaches and dizziness .covid not helped as centres been shut tho opening again. My story only goes 2.5 years so cannot compare really as my sore toe is mine and not yours
Strangely enough, I've been looking into that; I'm always looking at treatments to improve my overall condition. Transcendental Meditation has been a big help over the past couple of years as has craniosacral massage for the headaches because I no longer use pain meds due to allergies.
My blood O2 levels are generally very good and living in a remote rural location in the Scottish highlands for the past 2 years means there's not the same pollution (and noise) and when the fatigue allows, I get some good walks.
I've been looking into the Wim Hoff breathing techniques recently and also some podcasts by Dr Andrew Huberman on neuroplasticity albeit these guys are in the realm of the 'superhuman' types, I'm sure I'll be able to glean some useful information.
Your story is similar-ish to mine. I fell on my head in 1998 and was released from hospital as I seemed OK & was laughing and joking. I don't remember my accident or the camping weekend I was on with friends, nor the long trip out of the Australian 'bush' where I had my accident (I had to firstly be carried to a clearing where my friends could get phone signal then carried back to the 4x4 to be driven to another clearing where the helicopter ambulance could extract me and take to to Brisbane hospital). My memory is sketchy for months after. Nobody realised that I'd damaged my brain. I didn't feel right. I went back to the hospital with an excruciating headache, blurred vision and nausea but they sent me away with paracetamol. During my 6 year struggle to find out what was wrong with me my marriage failed, I lost my job, my friends, the home I'd just built in Bundaberg and eventually ended up back in my Mum's spare room in England. 3 suicide attempts. Self-medicating with alcohol. A spell in a mental hospital. Repeatedly told that my problems were 'just' anxiety. My step-father disowned me for being a malingerer. Then one day a counselor asked if I'd ever had my brain checked after my accident. She got me a Headway booklet, Psychological Effects Of Brain Injury and Bingo! every symptom I'd been describing for 6 years was there in black&white. I was horrified. But thrilled to finally have an answer. I had loads of tests and my brain damage was classed as moderate to severe but because I too maintained my intellect and could hide my symptoms people still don't believe that I experience the problems that I do every day. I have to sleep for 1 - 2 hours every day as my brain batteries deplete rapidly. That's almost every day for 22+ years. V tired now but I just wanted to assure you that you're not alone and are among friends. Fellow Survivors.
Well done 👍 you’re in the right place here, when I read the posts I see things that I e had to face myself. Take care and we really understand what you are going through. First the insurance wouldn’t pay out after my accident because I’ve still got all my limbs but persistence did the job. I really hope you’ll be happy and healthy for ages
Apart from my TBI itself; apparently I crawled the half mile home when I 'came to' in the trench and once home my ill informed father thought he could shake and slap me back to normal, I think he'd watched too many old boxing movies; I tend to have the same reaction.
Laughing and joking seems to be my body's way of dealing with physically traumatic events, in particular Easter weekend 2005(ish) I'd stabbed myself through the hand with an knife by accident while trying to open a particularly stubborn oyster. I had long hair and a beard at the time (still do) and rolled up to A&E in hysterics with a knife through the palm of my hand. When asked what had happened by the triage nurse I told her I'd "just escaped from my crucifixion".
Cue one very puzzled nurse and a very embarrassed wife.
In this day & age I am probably supposed to say 'lol' or 'lmfao' but I'll just say that your anecdote made me smile. Apparently when I was in a neck-brace, my face pouring with blood, on a stretcher & being strapped into the helicopter ambulance I was asking when the drinks trolley was coming round...
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
new here partner with hypoxic brain injury
CO poisoning brain injury
Brain injury and dementia links? 
Traumatic brain injury
Post Traumatic Brain Injury
