First, let me say that I have lived with brain injury for over 17 years. I'm not the one who was injured, but it has affected my life as much as it has my loved one.

It bothers me to see the term "mental illness" used to lump everything together because most of the problems being experienced by returning military personnel are not mental illness. Brain injury is defined as physical damage to the brain caused by physical force, insufficient blood or oxygen supply, toxic substances, malignancy, disease-producing organisms, congenital disorders, birth trauma or degenerative processes.

Bi-polar, PTSD and acquired brain injury share dozens of symptoms. How much physical force is needed to cause a brain injury? Who knows? Every brain is different, and every brain responds differently. Since most acquired brain problems involve memory, cognitive skills and behaviors... and no two people have the same memories, skills and behaviors BEFORE the injury, symptoms vary from person to person AFTER the injury.

Let me be very clear about this: a post-injury life can be very successful. My spouse was told she would probably never be able to work again. Today, she is a strategic sourcing analyst for an S & P 500 company. But it took a lot of work to get there. The key is to Never Give Up on yourself.

I've written a 7-page report entitled The War that Never Ends that you can download free. And I believe it should be distributed far and wide among military personnel to help people understand help is available from many sources at very little or no cost.

DaveBarker's edit I read the report, it is good. You have links to commercial site which violates TOS, so please post your excellent report minus the links.


Also-
This Member is your member name, please read our forum rules. We need to know who you are before credibility can be made.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DaveBarker,

netven I welcome you as a member, please let us know who you are. You started an excellent topic.

What is Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury to the brain caused by the head being hit by something or shaken violently. (The exact definition of TBI, according to special education law, is given below.) This injury can change how the person acts, moves, and thinks. A traumatic brain injury can also change how a student learns and acts in school. The term TBI is used for head injuries that can cause changes in one or more areas, such as:
thinking and reasoning,
understanding words,
remembering things,
paying attention,
solving problems,
thinking abstractly,
talking,
behaving,
walking and other physical activities,
seeing and/or hearing, and
learning.
The term TBI is not used for a person who is born with a brain injury. It also is not used for brain injuries that happen during birth.
What Are the Signs of Traumatic Brain Injury?
The signs of brain injury can be very different depending on where the brain is injured and how severely.
What Are the Signs of Traumatic Brain Injury?
The signs of brain injury can be very different depending on where the brain is injured and how severely.
Physical disabilities: Individuals with TBI may have problems speaking, seeing, hearing, and using their other senses. They may have headaches and feel tired a lot. They may also have trouble with skills such as writing or drawing. Their muscles may suddenly contract or tighten (this is called spasticity). They may also have seizures. Their balance and walking may also be affected. They may be partly or completely paralyzed on one side of the body, or both sides.
Difficulties with thinking: Because the brain has been injured, it is common that the person’s ability to use the brain changes.
I have several clients with TBI with chronic and severe PTSD.

TBI is an issue being constantly reviewed by the medical research community. The VA is deeply involved in this research.

Heres a couple links to recent areticles about "TBI's".

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...AR2007053101608.html


http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/01/17/army.brain.injuries/index.html

I found it especially informative about the potential relationship between getting multiple concussions over a period of time being associated with depression as a seperate and distinct function of said "TBI's".-JRC

Good links! Thanks pachesma.

Thanks again!

Good reading, hopefully all will read it.

my fiancee' was recently diagnosed with TBI. it has been a long, hard road for him and myself.
many times i get exstreamly frustrated with the system, as many of the people we have come in contact with make fun of him as he has a very hard time explaining himself, remembering issues, ect.. he is only 22. its great you are bringing light to a very complex subject. thank you!

I got a TBI when I was only twenty one years old them a second two years later. Then 4 yrs later I got struck in the head again. Believe me these took place in the 70's and then try having Generalized Anxiety Disorder on top of head injuries. I have never been able to work since that time. Yes, it was and still is frustrating trying to convince the military and the VA of the damage one gets while working on the job and getting injured at the same time. I had to re-write this whole article several times before I can post. Because, I get words and letters backwards and some words or letters are missing from my statement so I must go over and over my post to make sure it makes sense. I was never this way before my many head injuries. One required 15 stitches to sew me back together again. The second one happened when I was 25 miles away from my base and in the middle of nowhere. I had to drive myself to the US Army Hospital across the desert by myself. Half the trip to the hospital I still cannot remember how I got there to this very day. One hand on the top of my head the other sterring the vehicle. After the second hit I was never quiet right, well at least my nervous system started failing me.

quote:

I had to re-write this whole article several times before I can post.

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I had to re-write this whole article several times before I can post.

Thanks for your service then and now, as you share your experience to help others. I hope you will stay with us on this topic. Your post reveals valuable information.

quote:

Originally posted by 16903676:
I got a TBI when I was only twenty one years old them a second two years later. Then 4 yrs later I got struck in the head again. Believe me these took place in the 70's and then try having Generalized Anxiety Disorder on top of head injuries. I have never been able to work since that time. Yes, it was and still is frustrating trying to convince the military and the VA of the damage one gets while working on the job and getting injured at the same time. I had to re-write this whole article several times before I can post. Because, I get words and letters backwards and some words or letters are missing from my statement so I must go over and over my post to make sure it makes sense. I was never this way before my many head injuries. One required 15 stitches to sew me back together again. The second one happened when I was 25 miles away from my base and in the middle of nowhere. I had to drive myself to the US Army Hospital across the desert by myself. Half the trip to the hospital I still cannot remember how I got there to this very day. One hand on the top of my head the other sterring the vehicle. After the second hit I was never quiet right, well at least my nervous system started failing me.

i understand completely. he has to do the same thing. its really bad when he trys to explain the issues to the VA doctors and they keep rolling their eyes because he's not fast enough, or can't remember. then he can tell they are pissed off because he takes to long, so that makes him even more nervous so he gets even more frustrated... lather rinse repeat

i know i might seem like a bossy over bearing girlfriend when i go into his appointments when he asks me to and say hey! he is trying his best to explain it to you.. you will have to just wait until he can! so frustrating.. but one day at a time

navywendy,
One thing we did to help out with the doctor visits you mention is create a Why I'm Going to the Doctor List. We would write out every symptom and difficulty being experienced. It required a lot less "thinking" when talking to the doctor.

Thanks netven! I tell my clients that on every issue. Good sound advice, glad you are here.

quote:

Originally posted by netven:
navywendy,
One thing we did to help out with the doctor visits you mention is create a Why I'm Going to the Doctor List. We would write out every symptom and difficulty being experienced. It required a lot less "thinking" when talking to the doctor.

thanks, i think i will have him start doing that. i have made him keep a log for all his medications and headaches as the last doc we saw assumed because he didnt keep a log, he wasnt taking his meds and was in essence lying about everything. wow.. was i heated. i told her i used to be a corpsman, and i made dang sure he took his meds, and as sympathetic and empathetic as i am with him, i am in now uncertain terms a liar. well, needless to say we haven't seen that doc for awhile. i really am quite asstonished at some of the treatment all of our vets get from the docs and people at the VA. it has taken us since july 07 when he was medically retired to get anyone to actually listen and help. im glad now we seem to be getting some light on this issue. hopefully it will help anyone who is experiencing the same issues.

Thanks for the link!

"Inconsistent follow-up. Iraq war veterans face greater burdens in keeping appointments because they tend to be younger than other VA patients, with daytime work, school or child-care commitments. Some Iraq veterans also said they were under the impression that VA facilities catered to an elderly population and did not want to treat younger patients"

The above quote is part of the link I posted a bit ago, under "OTHER GAO FINDINGS", and I have to say it kinda rankled me it was in there.

I mean, we were ALL younger veterans once, and we all pretty much had to go thru the same thing.

When I 1st started going to the VA afta I got out in 1981 I had a wife, a newborn, and was working anywhere from 48 to 60 hours a week.My wife also worked full time or darn close to it.

And the "elderly population" at VA facilities at that time were the WWII vets, the Korean Vets were the middle aged, and the vietnam vets were the "new kids on the block".

Now; for the most part, the WWII vets are gone, the Korean vets are the "elderly", the vietnam vets are the "middle aged", and the men and woman from Iraq are the "new kids on the block".

Seeing as the VA deals witha specific part of the population; veterans, theres is ALWAYS gonna be the "new", the "middle", and the "elderly".

I can remember "way back when" sitting ina VA waiting room; after I also had to figure out how to get the time offa work, make sure my son was being looked after, etc., and be siting in there and be AT LEAST 20 years younger than anybody else in the room.

And I can remember more than one attending Doctor say words to the effect "your too young to be treated" and send me away with the "take some tylenol" routine. I've needed "new knees" for AT LEAST the last 10-12 years, and even though my 50th birthday was a couple-three years ago, The VA STILL gives me that "your too young" song & dance of theres.

I ain't being cranky about this but it sure seems to me thru reading online and seeing the occasional news story on TV or in the paper that the VA is doing more to help and accomodate the current influx of "new" veterans than its EVER done before.

While the VA sure shoulda been "up to speed" on whats now called "TBI's", its not like this type of injury was totally unheard of in the military prior to the latest conflict(I have 2 "TBI's" documented in my miltary medical records), it sure sounds like the VA is trying hard to come up with appropriate testing criteria.

Thread drift/Rant, Off-JRC

On the subject of TBI, I have an appointment with the VA in two weeks to get tested. I am sure it is related to my PTSD and memory problems. This happened when my truck was blown up by an IED and then I fell off from the top of my truck, bashing my kevlar against the ground. This topic concerns me deeply.

Pachesma,

Appropriate testing criteria is very, very difficult because some symptoms may not surface for months.

The situation is probably not much better outside the military realm. IQ and motor skills tests seem to be the norm. But neither of them address beahvioral issues like increased or excessive swearing, sexual disinhibition, anger, etc.

My wife's evaluation said, "She appears to have a flat personality." Appears to have?

The fact that she did not remember who I was, or that she was married or that she had two children was attributed to her being in a morphine-induced coma for two weeks - no mention whatsoever of brain injury.

Family members are usually the ones who see the "difference" before anyone else, including the injured person.

I'm thinking that if someone is "suspected" of having suffered a brain injury, their family members should be provided with information about what to look for...and how best to deal with it...and where to seek assistance.

I never heard of TBI before I got to this site. I knew of course that brain injuries occur, but had ha no reason to read up on the subject. I was badly shocked after a talk with my VSO made me realize the term may apply to me, in regards to injuries inflicted in a physical attack while I was AD. For nearly a month afterwards I showed freaky symptoms such as being completely unable to chose one thing from a list to start work on, falling over backward with no knowledge I was falling if I looked up towards the sky, and suddenly falling asleep for about 30-45 min every afternoon. I was told there had been some bleeding into my brain, and the situation may never get better, and was too cloudy headed to realize what that meant! I was also a GA pilot at the time, and when I could finally think reasonably straight again I had to retrain myself to land, because my perception of my center of gravity --and everything connected to that-- had changed. I suppose that explains the constant falling over...

I don't suppose I will ever know if there have been more subtle changes due to that injury. How can you tell if having trouble with stress is the result of PTSD alone, or is augmented by some effect of a brain injury, for example? The whole idea frightens me because I wonder if something else is going to suddenly jump out of the woodwork at me (so to speak).

I am in college and having a really hard time with much of my classwork. Part of that could be due to stress, but now I wonder if any of it is due to subtle brain changes. I was in school before and did pretty well, but now I usually have no idea how I am doing and have a lot of trouble figuring out the kind of things that were simple before.

I've nown dyslexics and people with bi-polar dsorder in college and watched how they coped. I think all of us are amazing people, managing as well as we do with whatever has been stuck on our plates to deal with. Just wish the VA saw it that way too. Kudos to those of you sticking in with and advocating for people with these problems.