I know this is for concussions but we need to know the same for stroke. I'm 10 years out, when do I have to start worrying about memory loss?
http://www.ahchealthenews.com/2013/02/12/decades-later-head-trauma-can-lead-to-memory-loss-other-issues/
Talking with my mom the other day, I was surprised to hear that my
dad had seen a neurologist to discuss recent lapses in his short-term
memory.
Dad’s doctor discovered that his memory loss was likely came from the
slight shrinkage of the right frontal lobe of his brain caused by a concussion, Mom said.
The concussion occurred decades ago, possibly before I was even born.
All of this worried me, of course. I worried about my father’s
health. I worried about other friends and family members who had been
bumped, smashed and pummeled by athletics, car accidents and falls. I
worried about what I didn’t know.
A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI,
caused by a blow to the head or other excessive force. An injury to the
brain, which may or may not lead to a loss of consciousness, can impair
a person’s physical, cognitive and even emotional behaviors for days or
weeks.
However, studies are raising concerns about the long-term effects of
concussion and other brain injuries, even if suffered just once, says Dr. Raina Gupta, a neurologist at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
“The long-term effects of head trauma are just now being studied. So
not much is known,” Dr. Gupta says. “They very likely include changes in
cognition and, yes, memory loss.”
We know much more about the short-term effects, which include
headache, seizures, dizziness, insomnia, depression, irritability,
double vision, changes in smell, facial pain and the loss of memory.
These typically develop in the first days after mild TBI and generally
stop within a few weeks or months. But any of these symptoms can persist
longer.
“If you sustained a head injury years ago and are having persistent
issues with your cognitive function, such as feeling foggy or slowed
down, difficulty concentrating, memory loss or confusion, you should
definitely talk to your doctor,” Dr. Gupta says.
“Also be sure to discuss any changes in mood or sleep, and
difficulties with language, attention and processing information,” she
adds. “Long-term effects of head injury may lead to partial or total
disability that may prevent a person’s functional and psychosocial
recovery.”
Though it may be difficult to definitively connect such symptoms to a
head injury from many years before, physicians are certain such
injuries can cause changes in the brain, even at the cellular level. But
Dr. Gupta cautions that it will take more research to fully understand
these effects on the brain.
To avoid long-term effects, anyone suffering a head injury should be
immediately evaluated by a physician. After any head injury, you should
take your time to recover, slowly increasing physical activity and
exercise, as symptoms allow, under the supervision of your
doctor. During your recovery, avoid undue strain to the brain until your
learning processes have fully recovered. Seeking treatment for mood and
sleep disturbances also may be beneficial to your recovery.
“Anyone experiencing any or all of these cognitive symptoms, even
years after a blow to the head or concussion, should seek medical
attention and, if appropriate, further evaluation,” Dr. Gupta says.
“It’s always better to be safe. And there are ways we can help.” (I don't see any way that doctors can help after a concussion, there are no known protocols for that.)
I will definitely be passing this advice on to my dad.
Use the labels in the right column to find what you want. Or you can go thru them one by one, there are only 29,302 posts. Searching is done in the search box in upper left corner. I blog on anything to do with stroke. DO NOT DO ANYTHING SUGGESTED HERE AS I AM NOT MEDICALLY TRAINED, YOUR DOCTOR IS, LISTEN TO THEM. BUT I BET THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET YOU 100% RECOVERED. I DON'T EITHER BUT HAVE PLENTY OF QUESTIONS FOR YOUR DOCTOR TO ANSWER.
Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.
What this blog is for:
My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.
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