--- In Traumatic_Brain_Injury@yahoogroups.com, "Annie"
<anniewc169@...> wrote:

> Is there a way of finding out how "severe" a TBI is/was?? Mine was
> in 1998 and I have no idea how bad it was. I do know they told me
> I'd have limitations in some things.

Hud answers Annie's Q re: DETERMINING SEVERITY OF A TBI...

Hello there, one and all!

This is my first post to this Listserve. I have done an enormous
amount of research with respect to TBI, concussion, post-concussive
syndromes, confusional states, seizures, late onset neurological
sequelae... and especially AMNESIAS!

From my perusal of updated medical journals, I have put together the
following: there are several different forms of 'amnesia' which TBI
suferrers commonly experience. Unfortunately, I've noticed how
researchers and doctors use the terminology inconsistently: often
using things interchangeably when they are not synonymous terms; etc.

But in brief: Medical people used-to rely upon the so-
called "Glasgow Coma Scale" and a related system for assigning a
concussion a severity grade. The concussion scale looked at whether
or not the victim lost consciousness and if so: 1) for how long; 2)
how deeply unconcious; 3) how 'clear' you are once regaining
consciousness; etc.

Despite that doctors still use the Glasgow Coma Scale(s), there has
been a seachange whereby contemporary researchers have found that the
Glasgow Coma Scale[s] are not VALID...[they don't measure what they
are trying to measure]. They used to think that TBI severity could
be estimated on the basis of how long or severe the initial loss of
consciousness. It turns out to be of very poor accuracy.

I'll cut to the chase: The single most prognostic/predictive
indicator of TBI severity has been rather surprisingly found to
be ...THE LENGTH OF INITIAL AMNESIA PERIOD: i.e., after the
concussion, how many hours (if any) passed until you recalled that
you had had a concussion sometime earlier...

I've noticed for research purposes they define MILD TBI as having an
initial amnesia period of 24 hours or less. Put another way, if the
initial amnesia period was >24 hours, one would be disqualified from
participating in a study of 'Mild TBI'.

One researcher mentioned if it is >30 days, then it is almost surely
in the 'severe' category, not likely to be 'moderate'.

*So... how long was [any] initial amnesia period for you? Or did you
even have any awareness of such a process?

For me, it was in the range of 7-10 days before I shouted,'OH-MY-
GAWD... I hit my head like a week ago and totally forgot about it
until now'!

The 'Initial Amnesia Period' (hereafter, "IAP") is now considered the
single most important variable to consider in trying to predict
severity/prognosis. I'm sure this area is full of controversy b/c of
the long reliance on the Glasgow Coma Scale/etc.

If anyone is knowledgeable about the Glasgow 'instruments', I'd enjoy
being better informed.

best,

--
Hud. 8>D
----------------------------------------------------------

<SNIP>
> <sabisue@> wrote:
>
> Response to someone whose doctor said everyone got over it within a
> year.
>
> Virtually nobody I have ever spoken with "got over it" (the tbi)
> within a year. That idea is simply ridiculous (as you know and
> the "doctor" didn't, or didn't want to.)<SNIP>