Paranoia Due To Multiple Head Injuries

[gracer]

I remember in 2008 when my dad fell down from the 2nd floor straight to the 1st floor of our house one night. He forgot that there was a big gap on the 2nd floor hall as part of our house renovation at that time. He woke up, maybe still half asleep to supposedly get some water in the kitchen which was located in the first floor. That's when he fell, head first. He became unconscious for awhile and when he woke up, he was disoriented. Thank goodness he was able to recover after a few days without any complications. For the past years, I don't know why it's always his head which is always injured but he again fell a couple of times from whatever he's doing. That is why we have always advised him not to go up a ladder or go to elevated areas because he's very prone on falling. He couldn't be reprimanded though.


I do not have any scientific basis for this but I have a theory that his moments of wrong judgements and sometimes paranoid thoughts could have been caused by his series of falls for the past years. Anyone of you who has similar experiences or know someone who acquired some sort of mental issues due to falls? How did you manage?

 

[Bea]

Has he ever been diagnosed with a concussion, or at least been put on concussion protocol? I'm not an expert on these things, and I only know very minimal stuff about them, but head injuries are very tricky and delicate. Unfortunately, most of the head injuries I'm familiar with have symptoms that manifest physically, not mentally.

 

[gracer]

The first time he fell, which was the worst among them, he was admitted to the hospital and they did examinations to make sure that his head wasn't badly injured by the fall. Good thing everything was normal, no blood clots or brain damage was noted when the results came out. He suffered a deep cut on his head though which was immediately taken cared of by his doctor. Until now though, he says that sometimes he experiences severe head aches that only manifested after his first major fall.

 

[Pandora]

gracer I had a male friend that was in a huge car wreck which he suffered a blow to the head, several cuts on his arms and legs. He was flown into a local ER center were they did an x-ray of his brain and found nothing, however, ever since the car wreck he has become more aggressive towards his kids and wife (they are divorced now), doesn't trust anyone, only thinks about himself, and worries about everything. This has happened over a five year period. He goes in every so often and gets an x-ray done of his brain just to make sure his new trait isn't from the wreck. These horrible traits have progressed as he has aged. Maybe your father's traits are showing up as he gets older? Maybe something health wise is happening to him and showing up as another issue? My male friend has always thought his new traits were from the wreck but, no one has never noticed anything on his brain x-rays.

 

[gracer]

Thank you for sharing your friend's story Pandora. Now I know that my theory about my dad's psychological issues might really be true despite the normal findings. Your friend's case really reminds me so much of my dad's situation. I'm also considering his age right now though because I know this is the stage where Alzheimer's disease is also prevalent.

 

[joshposh]

gracer I had a male friend that was in a huge car wreck which he suffered a blow to the head' date=' several cuts on his arms and legs. He was flown into a local ER center were they did an x-ray of his brain and found nothing, however, ever since the car wreck he has become more aggressive towards his kids and wife (they are divorced now), doesn't trust anyone, only thinks about himself, and worries about everything. This has happened over a five year period. He goes in every so often and gets an x-ray done of his brain just to make sure his new trait isn't from the wreck. These horrible traits have progressed as he has aged. Maybe your father's traits are showing up as he gets older? Maybe something health wise is happening to him and showing up as another issue? My male friend has always thought his new traits were from the wreck but, no one has never noticed anything on his brain x-rays.[/quote']
Head trauma like that you have described usually results in a concussion and possibly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I would know because I have been in a motorcycle accident and was concussed. It does leave one, mentally on the edge and anything that use to affect you emotionally, will be intensified to the point where it is over reacting, and erratic outburst are common place. Before my injuries I was calm and collective. Now I'm on point and I blow up which is very uncharacteristic of me.


It's not only because your brain too a major hit. You also have psychological issues after an accident like that. If you were to jump into a car, you start to relive the whole events that lead up to the injury.

 

[Pandora]

I am sorry your going through flash backs joshposh My male friend doesn't have flash backs that I am aware of. He can get into any car or truck and not think about his wreck. However, I did notice that he is slow around corners, taking a turn. But, other then that he drives like he used to which scare the pee out of me. I thought if an individual gets in a massive wreck they would slow down some, however, it hasn't affected his driving. Would PTSD cause an individual to become aggressive and non-caring? I know at little about PTSD but, not enough to put two and two together. I think I will do some reading on PTSD, I am always looking for some good reading material. Thank you for sharing.

 

[joshposh]

I am sorry your going through flash backs joshposh My male friend doesn't have flash backs that I am aware of. He can get into any car or truck and not think about his wreck. However' date=' I did notice that he is slow around corners, taking a turn. But, other then that he drives like he used to which scare the pee out of me. I thought if an individual gets in a massive wreck they would slow down some, however, it hasn't affected his driving. Would PTSD cause an individual to become aggressive and non-caring? I know at little about PTSD but, not enough to put two and two together. I think I will do some reading on PTSD, I am always looking for some good reading material. Thank you for sharing.[/quote']
He might not be telling you about the reoccuring sound that he hears in his head or at night when he tries to sleep. That is when is when you relive your past. When you are trying to sleep, and the sound of the impact. Most of the time you don't see it coming. But the sound is there always.

 

[Pandora]

Thank you joshposh for giving me some more information about PTSD. I know at little bit about this disorder but, not enough to write about it. I know asking him if he has a hard sleeping will not happen any time soon. I don't like to pry into others lives just like I have a hard time talking about my issues. However, if I do notice him a little cranky or tried at least I have a little bit more understanding instead of thinking he had a bad day. Thank you again for giving more information on PTSD. It is interesting how this disorder can come onto someone without them noticing.

 

[kgord]

Well it should be stated that not all head injuries affect everyone the same way. Some may be perfectly fine after a head injury whereas others may have symptoms permanently. I think it depends in part on the seriousness of the injury, and what part of the brain was hit. I know I likely had a concussion as a child, as I fell done the stairs with my bike. I may have even lost consciousness for a minute or two. I sometimes wonder if that issue is what has caused me some problems throughout my life. Maybe, not...but it didn't help!

 

[gracer]

Hearing about PTSD from someone who's experiencing it gives a certain enlightenment to people like me who sometimes don't understand how people suffering from PTSD are really feeling inside. My dad never shares what he is feeling but I know that he sometimes tells my mom about his recurring headaches and moments of sudden nervousness without any cause. I remember my mom telling me that my dad sometimes feels nervous and anxious without any cause at all. I guess just like joshposh, he is indeed suffering from PTSD but he just doesn't open up much about it.

 

[joshposh]

Hearing about PTSD from someone who's experiencing it gives a certain enlightenment to people like me who sometimes don't understand how people suffering from PTSD are really feeling inside. My dad never shares what he is feeling but I know that he sometimes tells my mom about his recurring headaches and moments of sudden nervousness without any cause. I remember my mom telling me that my dad sometimes feels nervous and anxious without any cause at all. I guess just like joshposh' date=' he is indeed suffering from PTSD but he just doesn't open up much about it.[/quote']
Everyone deals with it in there own way. But there are triggers that can bring back haunting memories. I know guys that use to bow hunt all the time when they were young. Since returning from active military duty, these guys can no longer shoot or kill another living animal. There are people out there that look normal, but they have ways to cope with it, or can no longer function the way they use to.

 

[gracer]

You're right joshposh. Sometimes I actually pity my dad especially at times when my mom would tell me that he isn't feeling so well again because of his headaches and moments of being nervous as though he is feeling shocked or something. He faces me looking tough and all but I just know he's not really the same as he used to. I'm just glad he was able to survive that fall without any major physical disabilities or injuries.

 

[DDNatureLover]

It's true that head injuries can affect each person differently. It also seems that some are more prone to repeated injuries, perhaps due to their personality types, or the types of activities they engage in, such as thrill seeking types that drive fast, engage in extreme sports, work in fields where industrial accidents are common, etc. As Kgord mentioned, the part of the brain that's affected can determine whether there could be memory issues, personality changes, or other future symptoms. If you do a little research on TBIs you might recognize some of your dad's symptoms. You could also search for dementia symptoms, since there can be overlaps. Not all brain injuries show up on scans, despite reports of personality and behavioral changes, so it may be up to you to do some research and advocate for your father with his doctors.

 

[gracer]

It also seems that some are more prone to repeated injuries' date=' perhaps due to their personality types, or the types of activities they engage in, such as thrill seeking types that drive fast, engage in extreme sports, work in fields where industrial accidents are common, etc. [/quote']
This is so true. I keep on wondering why my dad keeps on accidentally bumping his head or still falls often. Sometimes I have mixed feelings of worry and annoyance whenever I hear about him bumping his head again or having fell again because it's always his head which is always vulnerable. I keep on reminding him over and over again to be careful with the things he does and to stop doing things that would just make him prone to falling again but he just won't listen.

 

[hades_leae]

It sucks to hear about those falls that he has taken. I won't pretend to know any expert advice. I don't think I've ever suffered from paranoia from my head injuries when I use to play football back in junior high school. I do know of some people in sports who have had them though because of all of the concussions they received through out their time as a professional athlete.

 

[jy76]

Some people like the boxer Muhammad Ali had developed Parkinson's Disease from hits on the hit.  However, some have claimed the disease didn't come from the boxing, but I seriously doubt if that claim is true.   Nonetheless, some people, like Michael J. Fox  for instance, have developed Parkinson's without being hit on the head.


Anyhow, Parkinson's is quite serious, so I think any paranoia regarding the disease would be justified, and people with head injuries might be very paranoid.

 

[Jasmin Cottontail]

I cannot assure that it's because of that (multiple head injuries) that's why he sometimes feels that way but it might be one of the factors to consider. Minor head injuries are not considered as okay or safe especially if it keeps from happening since our brain or some part of our brain can be damaged. That's why we always have to be careful all the time to avoid these from happening, although sometimes we can't actually avoid it because accidents can happen anytime.