Traumatic Brain Injury

[mccormickgroup]

Hello all,

I want to get the opinion of some people who may understand my situation and be able to provide some insight.

I have been battling several issues, the most debilitating being my sleep patterns and concentration/organizational issues. I have been to a sleep clinic several times and am under the treatment of a sleep specialist MD as well as a psych for ADHD. I had originally seen the sleep doc to test for apnea, which was negative. After about two years of on and off evaluation, my doc thinks I may be narcoleptic and I will shortly undergo a MSLT to find out if I meet the criteria. The odd part is I do not have typical symptoms of a narcoleptic patient, IE. no loss of muscle tone. As for the psych, I have been battling depression and many ADHD symptoms for as long as I can remember. I find that I cannot keep any routine or system of organization. My lack of ability to remain organized and goal oriented has led to deeper depression at times; anxiety and elevated stress are common as well.
The reason I'm posting here is that I have recently learned of the effects a blow to the head can lead to. When I was younger (probably around 12 or 13; I'm 24 now) I was roller blading on a concrete driveway at a neighbors when I fell and landed on my head. The impact was on the back of my head, about at the crown on the left side. I was knocked unconscious for at least several minutes; long enough for my friend to run inside and get his mother. I can remember her being the first thing I saw upon awakening. Of course, there was swelling and a big lump came up. I remember being very sleepy and no one would let me lie down. My parents have never had health insurance and did not take me to the ER. I think maybe the neighbor didn't communicate the extent of the fall, if she even realized.
Try as I might, I cannot recall this point of time in my life. I vaguely remember the age range and can recall the detail of events to some degree before and after the fall. I cannot remember if my problems with sleep and concentration existed before or not. I do believe it was the summer when it happened, so any changes in my sleeping may not have been immediately apparent as I did not have to get up for school.
I do realize that testing would be necessary to confirm any long term damage from the fall and I plan on communicating this with my doc when I see him next week. I'm just going out on a limb here to see what people think regarding my situation. Could a brain injury be responsible for my troubles? I would hate to know that the root of these things has no cure, but it would provide some closure and provide a better explanation that my just so happening to be a narcoleptic ADDer with chronic depression

Thanks for any insight!
Johnnie M

[jphartson]

You sure have quite a few symptoms of a TBI.I'd go to a doctor right away. Good Luck. Jeff

[Lawrence63]

Johnnie,

I just found this forum as I have also been having some similar issues. I was diagnosed ADHD almost 4 years ago and my GF does not think the prescribed Adderall is working. I've had at least 7 concussions from sports to car accidents to blows to the head from fights & have wondered for a few years if that is the core of my issues.

Some of my head injuries, such as being in a high speed, multiple rollover car accident as a passenger, did not render me unconscious but could have had a shaken baby effect on my brain. I have many TBI symptoms and am fortunate to have a good job where I work from home when not seeing clients. I feel like I'm losing the battle to be organized and sharp. I'm also lucky I've been in my industry since I was 15 so I can usually find a way to get it done. I have sleep issues that we originally blamed on my prior job situation where I was being railroaded by a boss with low self-esteem. 16 months past that with a trustworthy boss...sleep issues continue.

My most recent head trauma was 6 years ago when I was drunk and started a bar fight. While I got my shots in, I took 1 good one to my frontal lobe that left me with an egg on my forehead and pain for a month. I told my psychologist about all these brain injuries & she was fairly certain they were causing me all the typical symptoms...anxiety, irritability, inability to focus, etc, etc.

I've had 2 brain MRI's & unless you have a bleed, skull fracture or blood vessel issue, they don't show much in terms of prior damage. It's not like a knee scope that shows all the old cartilege issues.

I plan on pursuing the potential link between my issues & TBI & wish you all the best in your quest for answers & improvement.

Lawrence