Hello Everyone !

I'm somewhat new here and am hoping to hear some stories of when/if people felt as though they had a return of their cognitive function and their personality.

I'm 22 and I'm feeling very down at the moment as I was in a place where I was really just starting my life after a long battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Depression and a 7 month battle with Benzo withdrawal syndrome when this all started. Over that time I had developed a headstrong and confident personality and had always felt that my wit (with the power of 20/20 hindsight, I wish I had ventured into comedy) and my emotional intelligence were my strongest points, I now feel as though that has all been taken away from me and I can only pray it returns.

So, to reiterate, if anyone could provide me with any stories of a return of their personality as well as cognitive function that would be greatly appreciated.

As you've probably already gathered, every concussion experience is unique. There is really no way to know who will recover, how quickly and how completely.

I never did regain the "old me" - but my TBI was severe.

A hopeful sign I see in your case is that, even at this early stage, you are aware that there is a difference between your pre and post TBI behaviour. Really badly injured people tend to be completely oblivious to their issues, even when they're leading to behaviours as extreme as acts of physical violence and rampant promiscuity.

PCS,

I have been off ssri's since 1/11/14.....it was a 1.5 year long quest to quit them. I had 2 weeks of starting to feel pretty positive about a full recovery from tapering off them when I hit my head.

What you have been through withdrawing is pretty traumatic then to add a head injury, wow!

Please look for ways to defeat this all. Even tiny victories begin to add up, even a smile when you feel down is important towards your freedom. What you have accomplished thus far is no small feat that involves a goal and determination. Use what you learned withdrawing for your head recovery.

Bud

Hi PCS,

I have been through the personality loss battle for nearly 21/2 years now and only recently have started to feel like me again. Still not the old me, but the me that is not lost in brain fog. It is an exhilarating feeling. I attribute it to doing everything my doctor told me to (after a year of denial and thinking I could do it on my own), patience, diet, supplements that help the brain heal like omega 3's and niacin, and really trying to see what I can do rather then what I can't do.

I also have read-ish (skim as reading is still troublesome) books that talk about pain management, healing, being present, and have taken to pray and meditation. I laughed at something the other day and it was pure my laugh in the moment no brain glitches and felt great!

Hang in there- look up websites and learn about your symptoms and issues and how to manage them. At this point it's about managing symptoms as they may never go away and finding a new place to call home in your brain. I think about it as I was on autopilot before my injury and turned out pretty awesome, now that I'm educated on the brain and myself how much better I a me can I be?! Like a baby learning everything- sometimes so do we and I hope you see it as opportunity not setback!

Cheers

Welcome to NT.

Regarding my injury and recovery, my TBI was considered moderate to severe; GCS was 11 upon hospital admission, with a skull fracture and an epidural hematoma with subarachnoid hemorrhage that required craniotomy surgery.

Recovery took about 5 months, first two was in the hospital. Early neurological testing (2 months in) showed significant deficits in short term memory, executive functioning, and spatial recognition. After 3 additional months of outpatient therapy, neuropsychological examination indicated a return to normal cognitive functioning. Those close to me indicate a similar return to prior social and personality.

That said, all brain injuries are different and they heal at their own pace.

When was your injury and what specific symptoms are the most problematic now? Lots of support available here.

Best to you.

Hi lightrail,

Thank you so much for responding. My injury was on the 29th of September 2014, my symptoms that are the most problematic are predominantly cognitive.

I'm a lot better than I was, as I've started working with a funtional neurologist, however I still struggle with both long term and short term memory problems (accessing my long term memories is difficult), attention difficulties, anxiety, the dreaded 'fog' and as I have mentioned, personality issues.

I was someone who was a constant thinker, humorous and charming and now I find myself with a loss of beliefs and sense of self. Its frustrating as this obviously interferes with every social interaction and I find myself with an inability to find relief.

I have heard numerous other stories on other websites where this was common for the first couple of months/year, it would take a long time but there was an eventual turn back to a sense of self, or a 'better' self considering their new found appreciation of things.

I know that each brain injury is unique and everyone heals differently, I just find it hopeful to read success stories.