can't think Archives - Jumbledbrain

Simple bug Vs brain injury = Disaster

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 16:34:06 +0000

I know everyone dreads getting the summer cold. But that’s just because it’s no fun, right? Well, mine just knocked me for six (OK so I don’t play cricket but you get the picture.) As a brain injury survivor I’m used to fighting through brain fog, but an added head cold makes it even worse. This common bug has been playing havoc with me.

How a simple bug can have such a drastic effect on a brain injury survivor.

Everyone has, at some point, found it hard to “think straight” when they are struggling with a bug. And this is especially the case when your sinus’ are affected. It slows down your speed of processing, making everything that little bit harder to work out. Many brain injury survivors, like me, already have had their processing speed hampered. But this made it look like the descent of a glacier down a mountain could give me a run for my money. Also dexterity can be physically impaired, and for me this showed up by my stumbling around on the landing when getting up from bed. I gained a number of bruises from bumping into door frames and the banister all because my feet had decided to get creative with what a straight line looks like.

But seeing as I have weakness throughout my left, I’m kind of used to looking a bit strange. The thing I really hate is the brain fog! So many times I picked up my laptop thinking how it felt like ages since I’d last written a blog, only to turn it off again because I couldn’t think of what to say. Writers block is one thing, but there is always something to talk about when writing about life with a brain injury. Yet I had nothing. My mental sharpness was as blunt as a spoon.

Inflammation is the biggest culprit.

Our immune systems go into over drive when a bug such as the common cold, or it’s evil cousin, flu, strike. They have a detrimental effect on neurotransmitters, which can already be having a hard time if you have a brain injury. So the immune system goes into full attack mode throughout the whole body. It’s like having a SWOT team marching everywhere and being very trigger happy. And whilst it’s great to have the “good guys”, all this drama causes inflammation. Unfortunately their version of radioing for backup, is swelling blood vessels so the white cells (our SWOT team) can have easy access to the bad guys den. This is the equivalent of blowing a hole in the wall for them, rather than just opening the door. This is inflammation, and often is the cause of your aching joints, sore throat, stuffed nose and thumping head. Yep, that’s right. It’s the heavy handed approach your SWOT team has towards the pathetic small time criminal “cold” that causes all the suffering.

Of course I’m grateful for my immune system. And whilst it does seem to leave something wanting, it’s doing it’s best to protect me. Happily there are a few things you can do to reduce the sting of these symptoms:

Caffeine
Ibuprofen
Light exercise

Caffeine boosts the effectiveness of the anti-inflammatory behaviour of Ibuprofen when they are used together. Plus in increases mental alertness. (I went from a spoon to a butter knife. Alright this doesn’t perform miracles, but it helps.)

*Important note about Ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

There is evidence that suggests prolonged use of these drugs can rise blood pressure, which may result in heart attack or stroke. According to Gregory Cuffman, MD, “Taking an NSAID for a headache, or for a few days to ease a sore shoulder isn’t likely to cause a heart attack or stroke. It’s more prolonged use that can get risky.

In view of the warnings, it is best for people with heart disease to avoid NSAIDs if at all possible, and for everyone who is considering taking an NSAID to proceed with caution. Here are some strategies:

It’s important to take the lowest effective dose, and limit the length of time you take the drug.
Never take more than one type of NSAID at a time. There appears to be risk associated with all types of NSAIDs.
Try alternatives to NSAIDs such as acetaminophen. It relieves pain but does not appear to increase heart attack or stroke risk. However, acetaminophen can cause liver damage if the daily limit of 4,000 milligrams is exceeded, or if you drink more than three alcoholic drinks every day.
If nothing else works and you need to take an NSAID for arthritis or other chronic pain, try taking week-long “holidays” from them and taking acetaminophen instead.
If you experience chest pain, shortness of breath, or sudden weakness or difficulty speaking while taking an NSAID, seek medical help immediately.

The fatigue got me.

Even as I had just about strung a few sentences together, I just didn’t have the energy to write anything. As a brain injury survivor, well timed naps are an important feature of the day. But I have slept so much more than I have been a wake since this stupid bug got me. And even then I would wake feeling dizzy, and so would even need to go back to sleep. I think the only reason I would wake at all was just to either consume some water, or let it out.

So whilst it’s still just a cold, and not something to unduly worry about, if a brain injury survivor says their cold bug is getting the best of them, you hopefully will better understand what they are going through.

Have you found a simple bug can hit you harder following your brain injury? Have you got any coping tips to share?

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The agony of the cognitive tailspin after a brain injury

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 15:44:51 +0000

Most brain injury survivors find the change in their cognitive abilities the most frustrating. I have noticed a significant improvement in mine. However I’m still surprised when the bad days strike. I can go from being on the money, to being that member of the quiz team who insists they have the answer. And then it turns out what someone was originally going to put down would have won you the point. (Actually that’s not accurate because I’m not arrogant enough to be as forceful as that. ) In the moment I am confident of what I’m saying, but when it’s too late I can see where I went wrong.

Getting the details a bit skew-whiff.

Like many I don’t automatically tell everyone I meet that I have a brain injury affecting my cognitive abilities. So I imagine they might find my attention to detail is… lacking.

One day I met a friends Mum who I had only spoken to briefly once before. I jovially commented on her lovely Northern Irish accent, and she happily told me of her proud heritage. I told her my Mum was also from the Emerald isle, in an attempt to find some common ground. She was delighted to hear this and enquired where my Mum was originally from.

At this point I should tell you my Mum was from county Kerry, firmly in the south-west of the Republic of Ireland. Whilst Ireland is a much calmer and peaceful place now, the generation both these ladies are from would clearly remember the unrest the country went through. Even I do as the devastating affects the IRA and The Real IRA had are even within my lifetime.

The punchline goes horribly wrong….

Suddenly I realised I couldn’t remember, which I was surprised and embarrassed by. Under pressure I tried to think of what the words sound like. And I stumbled on something that had a familiar ring to it, and blurted out “Derry“. Instantly I knew I had said the wrong name, but I thought it wouldn’t matter as the conversation would move on and she wouldn’t need to know my error. I mean it’s not like we were talking about a distant relative, what daughter doesn’t know where her Mum is from? Particularly one who brought the subject up.

Her eyes lit up and she said “Oh not far from me, which part?” Oh dear, now I was snookered. Derry, or better known as Londonderry, is the second largest city in Northern Ireland. So her question was perfectly reasonable. As the word “Kerry” lazily made an appearance in my head I knew I had to admit my mistake.

“I’m sorry I meant Tralee in county Kerry” I said sheepishly. She gave me a stern look. “They are very different you know” she replied. In that moment I felt my cognitive slip up hadn’t just made me look stupid, I had insulted the Irish nation. Of course I understood the political history and how it still can be difficult both sides of the border. But what I had said was as upsetting as when foreigners think England is Great Britain, not just one of 4 nations.

Trying not to beat myself up.

Whilst I’m sure she wasn’t as worried by my mistake as I thought, I knew my Mum would have been. As she is sadly no longer with us, I could see her scolding me for misquoting her story. Yes she moved to London as a child and lost her accent, but she was still deeply proud of living on a farm in Ireland when she was young. I didn’t mention in this short conversation that my Mum had passed away and the lady moved on to speak to others. The situation was completely my fault, and she did nothing wrong. But I still felt stupid and that I had disrespected my Mum.

If there are times someone with a brain injury says something wrong, but can’t see their mistake, it could be a confabulation. Read more in Confabulation is not lying. False memories due to brain injury.

So my advice to others is, give yourself some breathing space. On those days when go feel your brain is struggling to get out of neutral, don’t put pressure on yourself. I should have taken a little longer to reply, or even said what my problem was. Then I could have avoided the awkwardness I created.

How has your cognitive ability changed? Has it landed you in hot water?

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Can’t think fast enough after my brain injury

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 12:37:38 +0000

Like many of those who have suffered a brain injury my speed of processing has been massively affected. This tends to happen as connections in the brain have been disrupted, so the messages have to find another way to reach their intended destination. This isn’t dissimilar to a closure on the motorway, so motorists are diverted the long way round. They’ll probably still get there, but it’ll take much longer and be knackered from the extra effort. The result is feeling like you can’t think fast enough.

Friends are great at being patient while I’m trying to find the right word, but in other circumstances it’s a different story.

I have noticed that if I feel under pressure, I’m much more likely to start struggling.

One day my car had a MOT check, and a few issues sorted. When I came to collect the car one of the mechanics was just bringing it back from a test drive, when he parked and passed me the keys. As I got in the car I must have accidentally knocked the door lock button and not noticed. The mechanic remembered something he wanted to tell me, so went to try to open the door. As I hadn’t started the car yet that set the alarm off, so embarrassing!

But I couldn’t think how to turn the alarm off! One of those moments when I needed to react quickly, but couldn’t, being punctuated by a car alarm just to make sure I had everyone’s attention!

I tried to push the alarm button on my key fob, but maybe I didn’t hold it long enough and the alarm continued. Now what? I pulled the door handle which, didn’t work because it was locked, duh. But how do I unlock it? I don’t usually unlock the door from the inside. Where’s the switch? Ermmmm, oh I’ll use the unlock button on the fob!

Having finally opened the drivers door, the mechanic lent in and held the alarm key on my key fob, silencing it. Why didn’t I do that?

I think as he’d put on new brakes he wanted to tell me to be careful whilst I wore them in. Sensible man with good advice. But I bet he went away wondering if I even knew what the brakes are, I was so slow!

I carefully drove off wishing the ground would just swallow me up.

Moments like that leave me feeling stupid and annoyed at myself. I’d always been one who could be relied on to come back with a witty retort, but now I couldn’t work out how to press and hold a button! In fact there are loads of things that aren’t complicated, but if it’s not something I do everyday, can take me forever to get there. I can get so frustrated that I just can’t think fast enough.

But in reality I’m sure the only person who notices or cares, is me. Everyone can have a funny 5 minutes, they just don’t need to know I can have a funny 5 hours.

For more on how a slower processing speed can affect your life, read Panicking impedes learning after brain injury and Why you must mind your head after brain injury.

Have you got some embarrassing stories who would like to share when you can't think fast enough? Do you always feel the need to explain yourself? Or like me do you slope off with your tail between your legs?

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