[DebraJeane]

My son has TBI and has recently gone for an ultrasound and blood work for his Thryoid.

The doctor is believing that his TBI has caused this. He has blister break outs and sweats profusely.

He was also told that he must avoid wheat and/or has a Gluten intolerate condition.

Could this be a possibility?

Results on testing Monday, April 2nd.

Thanks!

[Mark in Idaho]

DebraJeane,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. I am sorry to hear about your son's injury and struggles. I see you are also pursuing an SSDI application for him.

With the information you have provided, it is hard to offer much help.

Can you tell us a bit more about him? Age, mechanism of injury and type of TBI, other health issues, prior history of head impacts from sports, etc. any medications he is taking,

A common problem from TBI can be the hormone system. It is extremely complex with cascading effects where on problem cascades to many others.

Is the doctor doing a complete hormone panel? How about B-12, D3 and folate? Deficiencies of B-12, D3 and folate can lead to problems with brain recovery.

Regarding the SSDI application, I am not surprised they are doing a wait and see response. There are attorneys who specialize in SSDI so legal aid is not necessarily the best direction. The attorney gets a fee of 25% of back pay up to a limit of $5400. They are not usually required this early in the process. So, has he only had one denial so far? It takes two denials to get out of your state's Disability Determination Service and to the SSDI appeals judge. Denial on the first application is almost the standard policy, especially for someone so early in their recovery.

Other than the sweating and blisters, what other symptoms is he struggling with?

Gluten intolerance seems to be the current rage. Fortunately, it is not catastrophic to remove gluten from his diet, at least for the short term. If he improves, gluten can be slowly reintroduced to see if he has a negative reaction. I have a daughter who struggles with gluten but has some tolerance for it if she is careful. There are other factors that can magnify gluten intolerance, that once addressed, lessen the gluten intolerance.

Let us know how else we can help.

And, try to remember that the brain heals slowly with often a roller coaster ride along the way.

My best to you.

[DebraJeane]

Thank you for taking the time to give me more of an insight into all of this!

My son is 30 and has always been healthy. He is a pipefitter/welder apprentice-finishing up his final year. As you know-this professional requires strength and durability in all types of weather and conditions. He lives in St Petersburg Fl - therefore - the weather is hot most of the time. When welding he has to wear full gear-hat, welding helmet, welding jacket and gloves. His TBI occurred in September of 2011. He has had previous "blows" to the head while sparring and according to his medical records - he has had blackouts before,

With this injury-we are not sure if he will be able to go back into this field.

His recovery from the head injury as been miraculous! He has short term memory loss and word loss at times. He still has headaches, anixiety and a few bouts of depression.

He is not allowed to work out or do strenuous activities.

At this time-he is on Dilantin for seizures and pain medication (Vicidin) for the headaches.

He has had two painful breakouts - his blisters are on his head, across his face, across his chest and in between fingers. He says that his body hurts all the time when he has this breakout.

He has cut gluton out of his diet...and that has seemed to help. He sweats easily and more than most of us.

I will continue to research the appeal process. I will follow your insight regarding an attorney and how this should proceed. I filed the appeal online and according to his case worker-his file will now be sent to another case worker and a new set of doctors for review. The answer on the appeal shouldn't take too longer (according to case worker). Not sure how many times this can be removed and when to turn this over to an attorney.

I hope that I have answered a few of your questions so that you may understand his case better.

Again........Thank you for your time!

D

[EsthersDoll]

I don't see the reason why your son decided to stop eating gluten listed in your posts.

Although gluten sensitivity is "trendy" right now, a real wheat allergy and Celiac Disease can cause very serious problems if it is ignored - especially when recovering from a brain injury!

My Dr. diagnosed me with a Wheat allergy (and a sesame seed allergy) after sustaining a concussion with a blood test. Before the accident that caused the concussion I never had any problems with wheat or gluten. Now I get hives and I wheeze after eating it which is indicative of a systemic response and that's why my Dr. gave me a blood test for it.

When a person has a systemic response to eating a type of food or after being exposed to a substance they are allergic to it means that toxins are being released in their brain in addition to the physical symptoms that are easily perceived. Unnecessary toxins being released in the brain can not be good for recovering from a brain injury.

If a person has Celiac Disease and they eat gluten it damages their intestines and that prevents them from being able to absorb nutrients properly. They can become malnourished and easily fatigued. And when a person is recovering from a brain injury, they need all the nutrients and energy they can get!

Some people even display systemic and anaphylactic reactions to foods but their blood tests do not show a food allergy - this is known as a "false negative". ("False positives" exist too.) But if someone has a blood test and has a bad reaction to eating food, then they would probably benefit from talking about it with their Dr. and staying away from that food.

If your son and/or his medical practitioner want to experiment with him not eating gluten for no reason then that's his prerogative. But if he has an allergy or is a Celiac, then he should definitely stay away from wheat and/or gluten. And good luck to him in trying - because it was SUPER difficult for me to remember to look for wheat as an ingredient while I was doing very poorly cognitively. And it's in practically everything! It was difficult for me to find alternatives as well. I'm doing a lot better cognitively than I was and I still have trouble with it and I was diagnosed with these food allergies almost a year ago.

[Mark in Idaho]

Does he have seizures? Or was the Dilantin prescribed as a precaution?

Dilantin is a powerful drug. Rashes, hives and other skin eruptions are known side effects.

It might be worth trying a different anti-seizure med. My doc switched me to phenobarbital when I could not tolerate Dilantin.

Has he been checked for herpes or herpatic neuralgia?

If he engaged in boxing or martial arts and took hits to the head, he likely has has a large number of sub-concussive impacts. They can cause serious problems, especially when followed by a severe concussion.

Gluten intolerance can be a due to a weak immune system similar to shingles or herpes outbreaks.

Plus, throw in a bunch of hormonal imbalances and "Katie bar the door."

If/when he returns to work, he needs to be sure to follow inhalation safety to the max. The compromised brain is far more sensitive to heavy metals and other toxins. If he does any work with aluminum, he also needs to protect his skin. He likely will always have gloves on so the skin contact can be well managed.


I hope I have not overwhelmed you. I tend to use a fire hose to put out a candle flame.

Other than his financial needs, try to not sweat the delays with SSDI. You are not experiencing anything unusual. It took me three years almost to the day to get approves. The average is 18 to 28 months depending on the office. There was an effort under Pres Bush to hire more case workers and admin law judges, etc but not much has improved. And, some states have staffed their DDS offices with classic moronic bureaucrats.

Sometimes, what helps is knowing the right questions to ask. It can get doctors and others to look outside their usual box.

Keep asking questions. Knowledge is power regarding concussion and brain injury.

My best to you.