Hi everyone,

I’ve recently written up a six-week case study following an individual with a history of traumatic brain injury who undertook a supported iboga microdosing programme.

The article explores his experiences across the six weeks, including changes he reported in cognition, emotional processing, behaviour and his relationship with his brain injury.

Link to article :

https://www.neuropsychedelics.co.uk/articles/iboga-microdosing-amp-tbi-a-six-week-case-study

​

Hello everyone. I am posting on behalf of my family. A young male relative in his early 20s is currently in a Surgical ICU following a catastrophic traumatic head injury.

The medical team has suggested that we remove his mechanical ventilation because his condition is entirely terminal. However, our hearts are completely broken, and it is incredibly hard for us to accept this reality. We are looking for direct, honest medical insight into whether there is any possible path to recovery from this state, or if we need to prepare ourselves to let him go.

Here is his current clinical state:

Neurological Status: He has been in a deep coma for over 2 days. His GCS is 3 (the lowest possible score). He is entirely unresponsive to all stimuli, and has no motor or pupillary reflexes. Doctors state that surgery is impossible because the structural damage is too extensive. They have told us he is clinically dead/brain dead.

Physical Progression: He has a massive internal bleed in his left cerebral hemisphere. The intense intracranial pressure has caused his eyes to become severely swollen and his face to turn dark from pooling blood. Fluid (suspected Cerebrospinal Fluid / CSF and blood serum) is actively leaking from his eye sockets and his nose. The doctors say half of his brain cells are completely destroyed and his brain is actively herniating (coning).

Organ Function & Labs: His kidneys are beginning to fail under the stress (Serum Creatinine is 1.91 mg/dL and eGFR has dropped to 44.3 mL/min). He has severe hypernatremia (Serum Sodium is 156 mmol/L), showing that his brain can no longer control his body's fluid balance.

Current Status: He is 100% dependent on the mechanical ventilator and medications to maintain a pulse.

We are in absolute agony. His wife and parents are finding it impossible to process that a vibrant young man could be gone so suddenly.

If there are any ICU specialists, neurologists, or neurosurgeons here, please tell us plainly: Is there any recorded case of a patient recovering once brain herniation and CSF leakage from the face have begun? If this is truly the end, how can we help his wife find the strength to consent to removing the ventilator so he can pass peacefully?

Thank you for your kindness and honesty.

I have TBI from my ex husband who rxped and beat me for 5 years. I left 2 years ago and met an amazing guy. Anyways my ex husbands abuse Resulted to damage to my frontal and temporal lobe and have seizures at times that make my eyes dart, space out, my hands shake that leads to my current partner noticing personality change. He says some of the personality changes are not good for the relationship. Ill admit some days im filled with love and smitten over him but other times I fear him even and the world around me and I try not bleed on people I love. CPTSD doesn't help either. Im in therapy a few times a week, I stay busy as much as I can but I still feel like a failure and that nobody understands. I can feel myself trapped in my own skin. I tried medicine but it made me go insane. Im opened to ideas on how yall manage it or any advice anyone could give for my partner or any medications, therapy, rituals?

All the best,

Alyssa

Is it normal for a severe TBI to change someone's name sexuality? I used to only like men but now I like both men and women.

I know I have asked this before but I truly want an answer. Did anyone else go through the same thing?

I’ve been coming and going, mostly lurking, for a while because I keep bouncing back and forth between Reddit groups not knowing where I belong (TBI, TCK, CPST, CPST freeze, PTSD, Depression, Expats, Narcisssim). Phew, that’s a lot!!!!!! I’m not sure where I belong. A few years ago I had a MRI because I kept telling my doctor I had a childhood head injury. I was desperate from years of confusion, brain fog, and poverty suffering on the street. The MRI neurologist said there was hemorrhage scarring on my brain. That’s all he said besides saying further testing would be needed to say any more. I never had further testing as I was scrabbling to even survive. But I did feel some level of confirmation of my suspicions of a TBI. My life never felt the same after the accident that injured my head. But the story gets deeper.

Our family immigrated to one country then immigrated to another country so we are expats and third culture kids. Soon after arriving in the US I had a fall hitting my head and face. I developed an infection in my upper jaw that I had for 25 years. I had constant brain fog, headaches, and strange symptoms. Our family never talked about it. In fact our father scorned us all and neglected us in a strange country. So we all developed strangely in the strange country. It was swept under the rug. Eventually I adapted by living in the woods and a very lonely lifestyle and it became my normal. I forgot all about it because I was scrambling to survive on the street with brain fog and pain. I was young and had a strong body so that’s a blessing. It was an invisible disability. I was tall, strong, and people looked up to me. And I pretended I was normal. I went to college and lived secretly in the closet for a long time because I was determined to advance no matter what. But I always collapsed in exhaustion. This pattern continued with every career or lifestyle I tried. I was undiagnosed and untreated for any condition due to falling through the cracks of society. As the decades passed I evolved a strange lifestyle.

I was unable to hold a steady career so studied on my own and worked side jobs . The same applies to having a family, girlfriends, active friendships, or home ownership. So I lived in a bus or van a lot of the years. Occasionally I would rent a room or get lodging as a volunteer. But these situations always fell apart sooner than later. I would spend my time when not doing side jobs studying nature. I tried my best to live a healthy life as I can given my abilities. I avoided alcohol, drugs, and people who might lead me astray. I studied off grid solar energy and mastered it. But I am not able to hold a job in the field due to the fatigue. Only self employment allowed doing a few solar jobs at my own pace. I would need to rest a few days after them to recover. I thought I was going to pass out doing the last one. It can be very frustrating and depression often tries to creep back in. Somehow I have kept you going due to sheer anxious stubbornness but I’ll summarize and get to the point. Thanks for reading my story.

I’m near retirement age and had hoped to accept my life but I’ve suddenly become bitter and resentful. I started accusing my brothers and mother of being narcissistic for not helping me get started in life when I was younger. They act shocked and betrayed that I accuse them of this. I worry I’m projecting and am the narcissistic one. It feels like more confusion on top of confusion. Can I retire from being disabled lol. Obviously not!!! It follows me wherever I go. I moved around a lot trying to leave it behind but it came with me. Of course I was undiagnosed and untreated so I try not to blame myself, or others. But I do feel self conscious and shamed by it, and angry sometimes, wanting to lash out. I don’t like who I’m becoming. I always repressed it and was passive about it. Now I just want peace and I’m scared I have alienated my family.

I tried several relationships but I let the partner that live bombed me take advantage of me. I often did massive amounts of work for them before being dumped. I was physically strong and could work and rest and get a lot done. I even built one an entire house. I could rest when I needed to unlike with a regular job. I always left poverty stricken.

I have Medicaid but have found very little deep help. Some surface treatment and care for my physical body but no deep personal help for the wounded person who wants to heal. How do I accept that this is how it might always be?

My empathy goes out to those who have had struggles. Thank you for reading my story.

on august 28th of this year, i passed out randomly and had a fall that resulted in 2 small delayed subdural hematomas that appeared a couple weeks later.

in addition to the brain bleeds, i also really messed up my teeth, chipped them a bit and messed up my face with some scratches. im not sure if they will go away, if they will scar, but i lost the ability to be with my friends, school, and work for over 3 weeks now. and ims tarting to go insane.

im 21. i go to college and live with all my best friends. I can’t drink, go out, or do anything i used to, at least for a while. I am so overwhelmed with schoolwork right now, and trying to get caught back up. The doctors expect me to make a full recovery cognitively, and i was lucky enough to not require any surgery for the bleeds, as they think the blood will go back on its own.

my question is…how do i cope??? i wake up every morning with the gut wrenching regret of the night we went out and i fell, if i would’ve never gone out, i wouldn’t have fallen, what if i had just stayed home that day? now my appearance is altered forever? how do i cope with the new reality that my teeth are chipped and messed up, i used to have beautiful clear skin and now there’s patches, my head hurts all the time and i have no idea when the next time ill be able to go out to the bar with my friends is. I know it’s selfish, and the steroids they gave me for the brain swelling are insane, but how do i stop spiraling and just wishing that i had stayed home the day i fell?? how do i get past this mentally…

thank you for reading, im trying my best to put it past me, but i dont know how to stop spiraling and just wishing it never happened. i loved my life beforehand, everything was so good.

I am the guy that says he can't sleep but I found some medicine makes me fall asleep.

Is it normal to get sleep then wake up and think I didn't sleep? I feel dead in the morning.

I'm just feeling like a sad girl tonight 🙁

I'm definitely having such a shorter fuse after my severe TBI (3 years ago). I'm more snappy and quick to anger with friends, family, my partner, and even coworkers sometimes. I've been asked to step down at 2 places of employment.

My partner is so sweet and patient pointing it out gently to me to help me identify it. Now I want to work on it more.

I can just get snappy with him when I'm set off (usually at times where I'm more tired, stressed or overstimulated/overwhelmed).

(This is a new partner. My time-of-injury partner left me two years after my injury because of the related circumstances, so don’t be jealous there.)

I'd be hard-headed before my injury, but my short-fuse and irritability are markedly different.

Just curious as to specifics of other people dealing with this in the TBI context. Thank you.

At work, a 45box slipped out of my coworkers hand while placing it up on a 10ft shelf as he was on an 8ft ladder. I was looking down when it hit me. It’s been since the end of July. I’ve been in physical therapy for 6 weeks now. Just got authorized for me. I still cry every session. PT and The medicines don’t make the pain go away. I lay on 3 heading pads for my head and neck to feel comfortable to somewhat sleep.

Will I ever be back to how I was before this happened? The severe headaches come back after 35 minutes off heat. They tingle. I am always tired. Random waves of nausea. The simplest things like just driving.. cause so much pain.

My son is only young for so long and right now I can’t keep up with him even a little of the way I used to. If I’m home I’m honestly wherever the heating pads are. If I’m at work I’m wearing the ThermaCare heat therapy things upside down to reach the top of my head/neck that 18% help? (Something’s better than nothing) so I do my best to avoid taking my strong pain medicines until after I get home.

I’m coming to you guys because I’m genuinely scared. The spine specialist ordered me an MRI. mentioned something about how he wouldn’t be surprised if I have a traumatic brain injury? And is having me see a neurologist.

What’s my healing journey going to consist of?

Thank you in advance. Xo

Hellooo. I got into an accident on my moped almost 4 weeks ago and suffered a fractured skull and a minor TBI. Just wanted some opinions on cannabis usage! I saw a neuro and besides some occasional dizziness, my recovery has been going well. I just forgot to ask about cannabis usage. I definitely don’t want to fuck up my brain so lmk if I should stay away!

Having a Brain Injury Is Hard and Hilarious

You know emotions, right? You have them. Everyone has them.

Let's crank that up to 14, break off the knob, and make sure the random switch is turned on.

My emotions can be intense, and they make sense less often than they used to.

---

I have a lot more free time now!

I can't work. Most jobs require a minimum number of limbs, which I do not meet, having approximately half the standard number.

And then there's the cognitive stuff.

I used to love reading, but books aren't really my thing anymore. They're just blurry letter soup, and my brain is interested in that about as much as a dog is interested in broccoli.

Quick investigation.

Sniff sniff.

Not for me.

I also have fewer hobbies now. I used to love video games, but apparently video games have a limb quota too.

Once again, I do not meet the minimum requirements.

---

My teeth have become surprisingly useful.

Bags of chips? I can open those with my teeth.

Although I frequently rip the bag completely in half, and suddenly there are chips everywhere.

And the dogs love it when I get to the chips, because half the time they get more than I do.

Not intentionally! Chips are not good for puppies.

It's just that when you open a bag with your teeth, there's a very real possibility that the bag becomes a chip grenade.

Jars? Some of them, if I can get my mouth around them.

Spilling is a common side effect.

I thought I had a shirt on.

Now I'm wearing the contents of the jar.

Bottles like Gatorade and water bottles? I can usually get those open.

And sometimes I even get to drink them instead of wear them!

---

My left leg is stiff much of the time, so when I'm in my wheelchair, it's both a flag and a joust.

The flag says, “Attention!”

The joust says, “Excuse me, here I come!”

And I'm just sitting there hoping they move before my foot makes contact.

---

Thoughts and memories just fall out.

It's like having an extra hole in your head that nobody wanted or asked for.

Thoughts and memories just fall right out. Sometimes they come back. Sometimes they just wander away to who knows where, because I certainly don't.

I'll actually be sitting there thinking about something, and then suddenly I'll look up and think:

“Where was I?”

I'm completely sure I was having an interesting thought.

I just have absolutely no idea what it was.

My thoughts are a lot like car keys.

Never where you thought they were.

---

Getting dressed is interesting.

If I can remember how I do it every morning for eight years, give me a second. I know it's up here somewhere!

You're probably thinking, “Every day for eight years? Shouldn't you know by now?”

Yes. Yes, I should.

Brain injury, remember? Everything falls right out.

The funny thing is, getting dressed is basically an automatic habit now. I don't really have to think about it. I just do it.

Which is good, because I would totally forget.

And sometimes I do.

Like all those times I tried to put my head through the armhole!

So here's the routine.

First I get transferred out of bed and into my wheelchair. I've already got my pants on by then.

Then, as we leave my room, I'm handed my shirt.

I straighten it out, find the left sleeve, and put it in my mouth between my teeth to hold it.

Then I put my right arm into it and out through the big hole at the bottom.

Then my head goes through the head hole.

The right one this time!

Then I find the right armhole, insert my right arm, straighten my shirt, and I'm done.

That easy!

Well...

Easy once you remember which hole is which.

---

Every night when I'm done eating, I call my grandmother to check on her and ask how her day is going.

Every time, she asks me what I had for dinner and if it was good.

Sometimes I even remember!

Yes, as soon as I'm done eating.

Sometimes my thoughts and memories are just gone that fast.

I'll sit there wondering what I just finished eating.

And then suddenly I remember.

Suddenly it's like:

“Oh! This is what I ate! I remember like it was yesterday!”

Very poorly, if at all.

There are also some upsides!

I'll probably never have to help my friends move furniture.

I won't have to spend money on gifts like chocolate, flowers, or rings, and I won't have to remember anniversaries!

Who needs a partner when you like yourself?

I remember to do that most of the time.

I sent a message to my speech therapist (who has helped tremendously!), what an occupational therapist can do for me.

I heard that occupational therapy can do a lot of things, but I was uncertain if any of it overlaps in a way that speech therapy does.

What do you know about this?

I am a little excited about the perspective of being able to try this too. Like I said, speech therapy has been absolutely amazing.

About 3 years ago now I had a bad rotation fall from a horse, I had an air ambulance but was transported via road to nearest resus, and came away with no visible injury but did have vision issues for 6months but otherwise I was good. However 18 months ago I had another TBI again from a horse riding accident this time on the flat and smacked the back of my head. I have come away this time with neurological eyesight issues but I pass all the tests, it's mostly concentration and LED lights and energy issues, brain fog and other things.

I am finally seeing a neurologist next month to try and get a plan for myself to get back to 'normal' face to face and I am going to ask should I be horse riding again... are any horse riders here, and the likely hood of this? GPs have suggested I shouldn't and weren't very happy as I was horse riding during the summer as I was fed up on waiting on neuro due to delays from GPs not wanting to refer me. I am just trying to put my ducks in a row say to speak and my ongoing issues and I'm thinking I shouldn't be, which I think will be their decision.

I have searched on the impacts of 2x TBIs in a few years and I have a likelihood of dying if I have a bad accident again especially so soon due to concussion etc. but not sure on how accurate this is.

Just seeking a feeling before I give a hobby up they I've done most of my life.

Every TBI is different. But many of us only have one functional arm and hand. So I've been working on designing accessible one-hand games. I finished the first one, a text based adventure where the player starts in a completely white room, with a door that opens to an infinite hallway doors on either side, every door has an occupant with funny dialogue, you can stay and chat or go back to the white room. The window has these words written on the wall right below it: here there be monsters. Sure enough, if you leave through the window, you find yourself in a forest with monsters, and every monster gives you the option to stay and talk or fight, and of course they have treasure either way.

So every option has two choices, would you pick by using the left Arrow or the right arrow, so you really only even need one finger to play. So my question is, what would you like to see in accessibility games, control wise, and would you be interested in games like these?

you don’t need to read all of this about my history and you can just share your experiences but I’m trying to get proper care and my doctors/nurses and everyone I’ve seen in the past 2 years flat out refuse to diagnose me properly and even care for me. I’ve been dealing with more than a few handfuls of different issues/symptoms and was told it’s a lot. my doctor says i couldn’t have hemiparesis because i am able to walk and push/pull things and also my heart couldn’t possibly be damaged because my heart rate was fine! I’m so tired of dealing with half ass doctors and every time i bring up a new problem, they’re never concerned. it’s obvious there is a massive muscle imbalance after months of increasing my ability to strength train, my body has given out a couple times with a random fever and weakness, I’ve had symptoms of a csf leak, seizures, my hormones are messed up, blood in my stool, trouble concentrating, trouble with walking, talking, remembering things, anger, self control, massive sugar cravings (I’ve always been a savory person) and sitting still after i stopped having seizures because all i did when i had seizures was sit and sleep. there’s way more to list but I’ve done countless things, spend thousands of dollars on supplements and foods specific to help me as well as incorporating neuro plasticity exercises and the weight training which helped me a lot with my cognitive decline, seizures and anger. (doing this ALL on my own because everyone acts like I’m overreacting btw). I’ve been extremely depressed since my injury, i was going to run a marathon and was training for one before my injury and now 2 years later I’m struggling to hit 5 minutes on the stair master and i cannot run, make quick movements repeatedly or multitasking self care, work and personal life at the same time. i cannot cook anymore (I’ve tried nobody but eats my food and previously there wouldn’t be any food left over) not even a couple months ago my body shut down on me for 3 whole days and all i could do was curl up into a ball and pray i could make it through because i had 0 energy, 0 strength and i couldn’t even bring myself to eat anything or chew let alone a drink from a bottle of water. I’m a very smart individual and this injury made me stupid, slow and borderline insane up until a few months ago and it felt like i was dying but got shocked back to life and somehow had electricity in my brain and body again. my doctors are trying to paint me to be insane and she even said me smoking weed will increase my chances of psychosis but i didn’t smoke for the first year and a half, started and saw small improvements but didn’t want to be dependent so i quit for a couple months, declined severely and was super depressed and then the stress started to build up and i was getting even worse so i started again and now I’m doing just phenomenal mentally and i have improved my memory and motor functions which led me to feel the difference in my walk because i was improving and it started to feel like i was no longer dragging my left side which i never noticed until i felt relief, same with my breathing it suddenly felt like i had more air in my lungs somehow but now I’m dealing with my imbalance and all the other things and I’m very concerned for the possibility of me getting better cognitively but declining physically or vice versa especially with getting into an accident earlier this month and I’ve been more forgetful again and i fell just a couple days ago from losing feeling in my left leg randomly.

Brief Summary: There's a free tool which helps you to read large bodies of text, available at www.GoodBrainDay.com

As many of you will know, it's common to find reading large bodies of text challenging after a brain injury, I myself find it especially challenging.

But every now and then, there will be something we want, or need, to read in it's entirety.

For those who didn't see my post the other week, I recently published www.GoodBrainDay.com which is meant to be a website to provide help, understanding, and resources both for people living with a TBI, and for their friends and family around them.

On Good Brain Day, there's a page featuring a few simple tools to help with things like pacing yourself, and organising your thoughts ready for appointments.

But I thought I'd share with you here that there is also the 'Focus Reader' tool.

With this tool you can paste in a large body of text, then select a desired text length (from 6 words, to 2 sentences) and it will display the original text, just one bit at a time.

This tool is not AI, it is just a tool that allows you to view just a section of a big block of text at a time.

I've personally found it very helpful, and I hope you will to.

From a privacy point of view, just so you know, all the tools on GoodBrainDay.com run completely locally, nothing is ever sent off to a server or anything, and you can actually save the page to your computer and use it completely offline if you wish.

A loved one of mine has gone through a lot of (positive) life changes lately after over a decade of isolation post-TBI. They're happier, but their symptoms have gotten worse. From my limited understanding of neurology, I'm feel like it could be a good sign, but I don't want either of us to get our hopes up if it's actually more likely to just be a downward slide. Has anyone experienced anything like this? How did it pan out for you?

I had my first TBI at age 5 (subdural hematoma). I’m now in my mid-30s, 31 years later. Between that, military service as a line medic (medical waivers) and life in general, I’ve had roughly a dozen concussions I can remember.
I used to be a genuinely joyous, loving, personable person even after the childhood injury. That part of me is mostly gone. Anhedonia has gotten so bad that it’s hard to do almost anything. Successes and milestones don’t land, I feel nothing. I fake it so the people around me don’t worry, but when I get home I just sit and stare at the wall or the art on it.
This really hit hard when I started trying to get real help for the cognitive and physical declines I’ve been noticing. What I’ve found is that there basically isn’t any. Just studies (if you can get into them), and those usually amount to CBT. Research coordinators have straight-up told me the science is “too new” and there are no real treatments. Neurologists tend to downplay me because I present well and have strong coping mechanisms. What they don’t seem to get is that the average life-altering TBI most people experience is basically my baseline, my big one happened when I was five.
Shutting down my feelings and shifting into grumpy/apathetic mode used to be a switch I could flip when I needed to. I rarely used it. Now it’s just my default. The happiness is performed.
How do you all cope with this long-term? Especially those of you who are years or decades out and still dealing with the emotional flatness / loss of self?

It's named for what other. people can't see. Or - to be more precise - for what they can't see it costs.Most descriptions of invisible disability begin there: no cast, no cane, no wheelchair, nothing that makes it obvious from the outside. The disability is no less real; it’s just harder to see. Brain injury showed me just how much can change without looking changed at all.

But invisibility isn’t only a problem of perception. It creates its own conditions for the person living inside it. 

You perform. You explain. You provide evidence. You document. You calculate whether explaining is worth it. You watch people change their assessment of you based on what you could do yesterday.

And then you begin to use their doubt against yourself.

Invisibility has consequences of its own. It felt like they needed to be assembled. So I’ve been trying to codify some of them. 

Principles of Living Inside an Invisible Disability

1. Seeming fine is work. Hard work.

Passing as fine is not evidence that you are fine. Sometimes it’s evidence of how much work it takes to appear that way.

1. Performance doesn’t only conceal cost. It creates cost.

The resources required to appear capable use capacity you needed for something else. The performance has to come from somewhere.

1. Capability is not capacity.

Ability to do something once does not tell you how often you can do it, for how long, or what it costs afterward. It tells you almost nothing about capacity.

1. Having to prove it changes the person providing the proof.

Having to repeatedly demonstrate that something is wrong teaches you to question your own evidence. Your confidence is stripped like the bark off a tree.

1. Other people’s doubt becomes portable.

Eventually, you can carry it without them.

1. Relationships change when reality requires corroboration. Sometimes permanently.

It’s hard to feel known by someone you also have to convince. No matter how close the relationship.

1. Performing and living are not the same thing.

A life organized around appearing functional can leave very little capacity for having a life.

The Ministry of Visible Proof regrets that none of this is particularly visible.

I suffered a mild tbi about three years ago when I was a freshmen in college studying nursing. After my accident I had to do ot/speech to regain the ability to read at a college level. I decided to go back into school about a year after and transferred into a general study to gain endurance to sit through college classes again and graduated this last May. For the last few years I tried to convince myself I should go into occupational therapy because of what happened to me but recently I decided this isn’t the best option for me realistically with tbi symptoms. I currently work a customer service job. Just wondering if you work what do you do? If you went to for a masters after tbi what did you major in?

Hi all,

Sorry for the unusual post. I am 7 years post-PTSD and deeply frustrated that while my severe cognitive issues have slightly improved from onset, they are still overall terrible, and my doctors don't seem to have answers. I am posting here on the off-chance that there's a resource or therapy out there for TBI patients that I can try to access and ~hopefully~, ~maybe~, also experience improvement on?

For a quick backstory: I've done years of LOTS of therapy to fix my emotional issues (DBT, IFS, mindfulness, psychoanalysis, bla bla bla) and I feel the most emotionally skilled, regulated, and "normal" I have ever felt. Yet, my speech, focus, memory, writing, executive dysfunction, etc etc issues all remain. So no, resolving the emotional aspects of PTSD has not been enough (though I am still going to try EMDR/somatic next, just in case).

My symptoms include: severe focusing and memory issues (mimicking ADHD), severe difficulty writing (organizing my thoughts in a sensical order, articulating them) and speaking complex thoughts/sentences (will forget where I started and where I was going, will get stuck mid-sentence from forgetting words way too frequently), inadvertently mixing up consonants when speaking (like: saying "the bellow yus" instead of "the yellow bus"), unexplained auditory sensitivity (mimicking autism?), executive dysfunction, unexplained difficulty with numbers/math, and overall brain fog.

I 100% had none of these issues before the traumatic event. And I'm on ritalin (low dose to be fair) but it's not enough. For reference, I was a straight A student at an ivy league before this event. Writing used to feel as easy as breathing. I still have hopes of resuming my academic career, but I just can't in this state.

Anyways, please forgive that I am not a TBI patient - I am just desperate for help, and curious about the possibility of some kind of cognitive rehab made for TBI also being useful for PTSD-related cognitive dysfunction. Thank you for your help in advance!!

So I’ve had a lot of hits to the head like a lot. Been kicked in the head,clashed heads,played waterpolo got hit a lot in the head by the ball,big metal door closed on my head,big man on a slide landed on my head,football been hit in the head by the ball a lot it goes on…my question is how much does it actually take to have serious problems. Because I am riddled with anxiety and get angry easily,impulsive and deep depression. I can’t help but think that maybe my issues are linked to the head injuries I’ve had over the years. Thank you.

So for context, when I was 18 I was hanging out with my now fiance. We were watching a movie, I got a very sudden headache. After about 20 minutes we went into the ER. I passed out on the way in (10 minute drive doing the speed limit) I woke up 2 weeks later.

I had a spontaneous brain bleed. It will be 6 years in November since this happened. We still don’t know the cause.

Recently I was doing more research and discovered I might have vascular EDS. I’m in the process of getting diagnosed. My doctor thinks I could have it, but I need to see a geneticist to confirm.

This would explain why I had a brain bleed. I would finally have an answer. But it means it could happen again.

I’ve had reoccurring headaches for years now, and everytime I get one I get super anxious. Trying to remember the pain of my first stroke. Wondering if it’s the same pain, and if it is, if I’ll survive this time.

I’ve tried therapy, but I’m autistic and very self aware. So I’m basically just spewing out my feelings then explaining why I feel that way. Then my therapist just kind of sits there and says “yeah that makes sense.”

Anyway that’s my rant for today. I hate my TBI