Help and advice please.

[Cjl7813]

Father in law had a fall inside his bungalow, fell backwards onto a hard wood floor, the fall was attributed to heart arrhythmia, he had a pacemaker fitted for this.

The fall caused a bleed on the brain, which it was decided by the neurosurgeon did not require an operation. He was prescribed dexamethasone and was discharged from hospital 12 days after the event. He was weaned off the dexamethasone over the following 3 weeks, that is a week ago now. Since then, he complains of feeling weak and is sleeping a lot during the day.

He has always been active and very fit for his age, 80. Since being home his moods and angry episodes have been difficult for my mother in law to understand, he is forgetful and not very steady on his feet.

Is this something to be expected following a head injury such as this and does anyone have any advice on how we can help him through it please.

[Marnie22]

Hi. I am so sorry that this has happened. I think you could get a lot of relevant information and support by calling the Headway helpline on 0808 800 2244. They helped me find out that I had a brain injury five years ago and have been a wonderful resource ever since.

Best wishes. 🙂🌸

[Cjl7813 in reply to Marnie22]

Hi, Thanks for replying. Our concern at the moment is that since the dexamethasone has stopped, he has become a lot more argumentative and shouting, whereby this was extremely rare before.

He now complains of headaches again and is a lot more sleepy since the medication stopped, does anyone know if this is common?

Thanks

[cat3]

It's possible the dexamethasone (being a steroid) was having a therapeutic effect on your father-in-law's mood and now he's no longer benefitting from it he's experiencing the classic after-effects of brain injury.

I see his fall and subsequent bleed were 5 or 6 weeks ago and his symptoms are much in keeping with most people's here on Headway, and this is really early days in terms of improvements.

The overwhelming fatigue and confusion are commonplace, as are the emotional outbursts. And these are partly due to the aftermath of trauma to the brain, but also to unrealistic expectations of recovery when in fact brain injury is something to be accepted and managed rather than cured.

As Marnie suggests, phone the Headway helpline tomorrow for information on all things 'brain injury' and after-effects. Staff can reassure you and provide print-outs for you and your father-in-law explaining the symptoms and how to manage them, whether personally or with professional help.

Best wishes for better days ahead.. Cat x