I posted several months ago now and appreciate everyones support and responses to my first post. I wanted to update my condition and see if others have experienced similiar personality changes.

My car accident occurred in Jan 2008 and I was diagnosed with PTSD and PCS shortly afterward. My headaches continue to be ongoing and havent really improved since the accident. Always an ache behind my rt eye which seems to now get worse thru the day, likely a function of the 30mg Elavil I take at bedtime wearing off. I tried Topamax for a few months but recently went off it as it was all side effects and no headache relief.....my hair fell out like crazy, weight loss, and a problem with nervousness also.

I went thru Neuropsych Testing in June which revealed mild impairments in Attention and Memory. My neurologist just referred me to a Acquired Brain Injury clinic so I am very excited to be going somewhere with doctors who are specialists in this area.

Over the last several months I have been experiencing some personality changes. I am angry a lot of the time and if not angry then at the very least confrontational. When the anger does come it feels like I have no control over it. My wife says that I am like a different person since the accident. The neurologist said it is a symptom and will go away with time. I worry about the impact it is having on my wife and kids.

It is probably the scariest thing for me. I am wondering if it is a product of the head injury or merely a result of having all my normal routines taken from me + an almost constant headache......
Before the accident I exercised a lot. Running, martial arts, weights, calisthenics, and competed as a martial artist in submission grappling. Now I am unable to exercise, or even have sex, without making the headache worse.

I wonder if I had my normal life back if the personality changes would still be there?

Anyone with similiar experiences with extreme anger?

I can relate & empathize....
Headaches have been-are big & often debilitating problem.

i've also become emotionally volitile, lots of mood swings; hyper-irritibility , anger and more.. 'bad' feelings, reactions-behavioral changes. things i don't like that do affect others--esp. those close


i've "blamed" chronic intractable pain and know its a factor .... how much is hard to say.... i'm still seeking relief or better pain mgt.
more on this later.....


TBI 's and post trauma conditions may be more so 'reason' and present challenges...
research has long documented problems and changes that occur after head injury--focus often on 'psych' and treated as such.
but more research is showing organic causes/reasons and trying more treatmts


will try to share more as i can... now headaches & other problems --hard...

i hope you find answers, help, relief....
good luck

also wanted to add I do feel anger is part of a grieving process we go thru when dealing w/ Loss...

Thanks Pono.

I agree that it is part of the grieving process for sure. There was a link on here I found yesterday that lead to a book by a neuropsychoogist. He outlined some of the steps that a brain injured person goes thru. After the anger/depression stage he had a stage of Self Testing. That was where the person is recovering some and wants to sort of test themselves out for how close to 'normal' they are now.

It was so weird to read that because 2 days ago, before reading the article, I was having my wife test my memory. I set up the test to mimic one of the tests I know I had problems with during my neuropsych. testing. Amazing that the path one goes thru with a brain injury is so similar to others.

Its kind of comforting in a strange way. I'm not crazy and am on the path back to being myself again hopefully.

Hi, I having as I like to refer to as 'issues' since my fall 3 years ago this month. Do you remember the link to the book you referred to above?

If so, could you post it, I'd like to read it.

Thanks

Melek

Stay positive.....

hi all
I have changed my GP and have now stoped taking prozac , so it ant depression, well not clinical, rather circumstantial I finally got to see a professor of neurology and are waiting to see a neurophysiologist and neurosurgeon I get angry at things rather than people but a bit short with them too I felt like smashing a photo copier in a shop the other day I was angry that I could not work the dam thing and had to ask the girl in the shop for help I am angry at myself, I get upset that I feel fear in situations were, I would not have before, I get angry with the system that helps me on the one hand, and crushes me on the other, I get upset when people think that theirs nothing wrong with me, BUT I have moments were I laugh at myself and I am thinking of starting a thread entitled ( A FUNNY THING HAPPENED TO ME ON THE WAY TO THE FRIDGE ) you know the sort of thing . I found myself washing out the egg shells like you would a coffee cup I said to my partner look what I am doing , and we had to laugh , the head ache is the hard thing because it really wears you down

sorry for the rant but I needed it

kind regards Vini

I don't know if my experience will help you or frustrate you. I was involved in a car accident in Sept 03 and substained serious TBI. They said I was about a 7 of 10 at the time. It has been 5 years now and I am still helaing. Many things have healed over time but many things have not. My memory loss got a lot better. I used to would start up town and find myself on the side of the road trying to figure out why I left the house in the first place. That has completly passed after about 16-18 months. Personality changes are a given. I to find myself often easily angered for very minor reasons. My 2 biggest complaints have been severe Migraines and Insomnia. I have found a doctor that specializes in Migraines and TBI induced migraines. I am on several medicines and though at times I feel like I am living out of a pharmacy but the migraines are for the most part controlable with a strict diet. The key that I have found out is that you must get sleep to avoid the migraines. I am on the following meds if this helps anyone. 1st Zoloft for the depression. Verapamil as a migraine preventative. Ativan for anziety attacks. We swaped the elavil for trazadone to help with sleep. But i am also taking Ambien when needed and seroquel on a nightly basis. For the first time since the wreck I am sleeoing 8-9 hours a night and rarely have a migraine. I still have hope that I am going to get better since I have seen improvement over time. The best advice that I can give is take your doctor's estimate on healing and double if your case was severe.

Yup I have instances of anger here and there...

I actually got my last concussion from BJJ/Muay Thai and that was the end of physical activities for me. Now running, jogging, or even light exercise seems to trigger light headedness. It's been almost 1.5 years and it seems this is just the way it's gonna be now.

Golf and poker are gonna have to do it (though I do get headaches from pinging the ball off my driver at times)...