[shezbut]

Hello everyone,

I'm just curious if the symptoms that are plaguing me are due to my TBI or if they're a combo of my brain surgery 1 year prior to the TBI. Please offer input if you can, thank you!

I have a heck of a time recalling names of people, places, and things. It takes longer for me to process information ~ for ex: looking outside the window, while I'm a passenger in a car, I don't have enough time to process to recognize what I see...much less come up with the names for these objects! I become very frustrated, because my brain cannot process as fast as "normal" people out there.

I become frustrated when others share their difficulty in remembering names, as it is NOT the same! 99% of the time, I struggle hard to recall names. I can call a person by their real name one minute & seconds later, I can't remember it for the life of me. Very frustrating!! My TBI was in my left temporal lobe 3/06, and these difficulties are apparently permanent.

Can anyone relate to this description, or is more due to the brain surgery?? Thank you!

[Mark in Idaho]

There is no way to determine whether this memory dysfunction is due to your surgery or your TBI. They can also be from the anesthesia. Chemo brain is common from anesthesia. Between all three, you have plenty of reasons for memory and processing difficulties.

I have learned to not look at objects near the car as it moves. It is just too fast for my brain. My processing speed has been diagnosed at 10 to 25% of normal.

I have never seen any improvement. Learning to focus farther from the moving vehicle is much easier on my brain.

There is also a specific part of the brain that ties visual images to names. This area can be damaged with little chance for recovery.

Try to learn to work with your dysfunctions rather than fighting against them. Your life will be much easier.

My best to you.

[Laura G]

...I become frustrated when others share their difficulty in remembering names, as it is NOT the same! 99% of the time, I struggle hard to recall names. I can call a person by their real name one minute & seconds later, I can't remember it for the life of me. Very frustrating!! My TBI was in my left temporal lobe 3/06, and these difficulties are apparently permanent.

Can anyone relate to this description, or is more due to the brain surgery?? Thank you!

Hi there,

What you are describing is damage to the language/word generation centers which are located in the left temporal side of your head, back of the frontal lobes. It is also somewhat responsible for sequential processing (one thing following another.)

Even though I was kicked in the right frontal lobe, I have noticed residual problems in myself with name finding for people and things. This kind of anterograde amnesia is really common. (Forgetfulness for things/events post the traumatic event.) And it is annoying.

But funny story: I have peacocks who roost in the pine tree behind the place I live. I was trying to talk about them to my landlady and could get the "pe.., pe...pe" sound out, got frustrated and blurted out penguins. It was a cute visual image of peacocks transforming to penguins - imagine?!!

You might want to have some neuropsychological testing done which can look at how much of a struggle you are having in word finding and word generation. There are two fun tests called Boston Naming and FAS. Since you are six years post your incident, then your symptoms are probably pretty stable by now I would imagine.

Also, I can totally relate to the speed of processing being very cut back. It is totally frustrating. I was supposed to go to an all day training at work in July, and told the trainer I could only go half a day per doctor's orders. It was hurtful when he responded sarcastically, "You mean you can't sit in a chair and listen for 8 hours??" I said no, I'd been brain injured by an inmate and he piped down (I work at a prison hospital.)

But it is hard to talk about, hard to be experiencing, and hard dealing with other people's lack of understanding. My heart goes out to you.

Take care,

Laura

His heavens shall drop down dew. (Deuteronomy 33:28)

[Mark in Idaho]

Laura,

I frequently blurt out the wrong word or name like you substituted penguin for peacock. The sounds are usually the same but the following sounds may be far from similar. Often, getting the wrong word out so I can hear it allows my brain to unlock and find the correct work. Frustration causes stress which only makes it worse.

Did you know that research shows that as many as 60% of inmates show signs of brain injuries? I would expect Soledad to have similar rates.

Next time someone asks you to sit and listen for 8 hours, you could tell them that you can sit for 8 hours but your brain will likely stop listening at 4 hours if not sooner. I find that I listen best with my eyes closed. I just need to remember to stay awake. It makes it hard to take notes.

Maybe you can have the presentation video recorded so you can watch it as your brain allows. I can't imagine getting much from the presentation in such a marathon session, even if it was limited to 4 hours. Most can not absorb that much information even with healthy brains.

Your right frontal lobe injury may have had a direction that caused a coup-contra-coup injury to your left temporal lobe.

I have never had a temporal lobe injury, only frontal and occipital lobe from impacts to the center of my forehead and the center of the back of my head, yet, I have word finding and sequencing dysfunctions plus other problems that relate to areas not specifically impacted.

[Laura G]

Yeah, Mark, I thought about that contra-coup since your brain rattles back and forth with a good whack. All those ridges inside. On the other hand, I have to think that with bruising and swelling on the interior, other structures would possibly get squeezed.

None of my doctors thought I have had language problems because I remained fairly fluent, but I certainly noticed the word stickiness, hunting for words which seemed similar to a 74 year old friend of mine, but not what I used to have at 50 years.

Re: brain damaged inmates, yes, we have known about the high incidence for years. I think the stats do say around 60%. Unfortunately we psychologists are so overloaded on caseload it is difficult to get the proper evaluations done for everyone, and I was in a specialized treatment program (professionally.) I don't know what the stats are for the psych program, but 60% for CA Dept of Corrections is right on. You know your stuff.

Thanks for writing. I was on a month hiatus after I first posted and you asked if I had a concussion - had trouble navigating the forum.

Getting acclimitized!! I am thinking about your insomnia but can't comment yet.

Cheers,