Hello anyone who reads this. Frankly I'm new to this site and I am also pretty new to the TBI community. I'm reaching my 4 year mark of my new TBI life and I have so much to learn. However, something I've learned on my own and through basic research is that it is critical to have your hormones checked after your injury. I recently found out through my lawyer that my neuro surgeon told me and her in the beginning of this, that I had several hormone inbalances. I was not in very good shape then and I forget as quickly as I was told. My doctor felt that because I was so new to my injury it would be imprudent to give me any therapy for these hormone issues due to my frontal lobe damage and problems I was experiencing with anger and emotions. Years went by and after some simple Google searching I realized that some of my problems could he at least helped with hormone replacement therapy. It's not a cure for TBI. It can help you with your fatigue, sexual dysfunction, deppression, emotional issues, and your physically health. If you read the studies as I did regarding the effect of hormone replacement on tbi, it basically just helps alittle, wich in my case is more then anyone has offered me in terms of feeling better. I have personally only started with testosterone replacement therapy and so far all it has really done is help me with my sexual problems and I feel alittle better physically. From my reading and conversations with providers, I've found that HGH, adrenal glands, and cortisol are the main hormones you should have checked. If your a woman then you need to look at your estrogen levels. Men it's testosterone. Insurance, from my experience, doesn't cover the cost of the actual replacement hormones. Testosterone is somewhat affordable. Adrenal insufficiency, if you find out you have it, can be treated with steroids, that your primary can perscribe. Cortisol I believe is helped by injections, Wich you would have to pay for. Again, I'm not a doctor. I'm just a TBI survivor who is finding these things out almost 4 years into my injury. I wanted to post this because for whatever reason, know one told me about this until I was way into my TBI. My neuro doctor brought it up in my first month when I was literally a shell of myself. I remember the night I got hurt, but as far as my initial treatments from my brain injury, I barely remember any of it. If you are in my situation and know one ever told you about hormone issues after TBI, then please go get your levels checked out. I'm not sure but your primary should be able to send you to a lab to have basically everything I've mentioned checked. I personally haven't had my adrenal glands or my HGH or cortisol checked yet. It's my next step in the process of doing what I can to live a better life. I can definitely say that after two months of testosterone injections I feel a difference. My pain is the same, my deppression hasn't changed, and I still feel like shit every hour of every day. However, like everyone else living with this disability, I am optimistic that perhaps over time my testosterone therapy will help at least make my life alittle better. I've gained 50 pounds since I got hurt. I'm told that the testosterone will help me lose some of this bed weight but, you still need to exercise along with it to actually make that change. HGH replacement therapy is very expensive and I can't afford it sadly. Of course i still haven't actually had mine checked so it's possible my HGH levels are normal. From my reading I've found that 80% of all men who are diagnosed with moderate or severe TBI will have a combination of these hormone deffecienties. Those numbers drop in cases of less damaging brain injuries or concussion problems. In my case I have a very bad moderate TBI and I have a real problem with fatigue. I hope to get all of these hormones checked and if I can afford it, I'd like to have any problems treated. I'm hoping that at some point I'll be able to afford the HGH therapy as because I'm a 35 year old man chances are I'm already experiencing low levels of HGH. HGH problems are very typical in moderate and severe brain injuries. Like testosterone, HGH replacement has the chance to help you lose weight, lower deppression, help you regain muscle mass lost from being bed ridden, and also can generally help with your self confidence and overall sense of feeling good. In my case, although it's embarrassing to admit at 35, I have lost my libido completely and also suffer erectile dysfunction due to my injury. Since I started testosterone therapy my libido has returned to probably 25% of what it was. Also my erectile dysfunction isn't cured but its better then it's been since I got hurt. I hope this helps people on here and I'm sorry if this is somewhat concentrated more on men then women. I can only talk about what I'm experiencing and a women's body is just very different then mine. Good luck with all of you and if this helped one person it means so much to me. I love all of you other survivors and I'm pulling for all of you. My handle on here is " slobo421" if anyone wants to reach out to me please feel free. I don't do anything I used to do anymore lol and I'd be happy to have a conversation with anyone on here. I am not a expert of any of this but if you have any basic questions please ask....
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I need some help or advise please. My sister has a severe traumatic brain injury. She was in a near fatal car accident in 2003. Just recently she has been acting out of control. She is showing no respect to me or my mother. Calling us filthy names, screaming, etc. We will be having a normal conversation with her and if she hears something she doesn't like or something doesn't go her way she snaps into a fit of rage. Last night we had another "episode" and this time she became violent and physically hit me. I don't know what to do anymore and I don't know how to help her. You can't talk about it after the "episode" happens or it refuels the fire and we start all over again. We usually ignore the outburst when it happens or casually change the subject to get her mind off of what has made her upset but it is no longer working and I am at a loss. If anyone has any advise or help or knows a group or doctor in cincinnati ohio that would be great. Thank you for listening to me.
Hello Tara, I read your question asking for help for your sister. I had episodes of rage a few times! I went to a councilor and talked about what was bothering me, and took antidepressants, that helped. I would see a councilor and ask about Antidepressants for your sister. (Mike Black-Founder)
I've never had rage incidents personally and like the gentleman before me said when I have acted like a asshole to people I immediately regret it and apologize to people. As Mike said I was actually put on anti depressants before I ever had any outbursts just because I felt so different emotionally after my TBI, I needed somethings to balance me out. My pyschriatist immediately put me on a mood stabilizer and when I continued to have emotional issues after that he put me on a normal anti depressant. I still have a habit of reacting to people and what they say before thinking logically. I can say that over the course of almost 4 years I've learned to control myself alot better but occasionally I do get upset more then id like. Sadly that's just a part of having frontal lobe damage from what I understand. I've never went off on anyone though, I've never felt the need to rage on someone. Honestly if she has had these issues from day one of her TBI I'm very suprised that know doctor has told you or her she needs pyschriatric medications. Typically, when a neuro doctor knows the extent of your brain injury they immediately warn you of the risks of aggression and outbursts your describing. Frontal lobe damage from my reading typically always causes the survivor to have emotional issues of some extent. As the gentleman before me said, going to the gym works for him as a outlet. For others like myself and Mike we rely on medications. Every TBI is different, every survivor had their own personality before the TBI. At the point that she will not even listen and hear how she is acting I believe she will need a combination of several different treatments to help her with this, and even then it won't go away instantly. She needs a pyschriatirist, a therapist, and potentially maybe multiple medications. She could have any number of issues but I guarantee you it's not her diet. It's her TBI. The fact that she is unable to recognize this behavior is wrong is not a good sign.
Hi, Tara...I know this thread is old AND this is the reason why I joined this group. I'm curious how things have panned out. I am currently in the same situation with my sister in law and she has gotten physical with me two times in the last week. Thanks in advance for sharing what you ended up doing, how your sisters is doing now and any advice you might send my way.
