Brain injury

Submitted By: pi

I am going to be working on a 16 year old boy who fell and suffered a brain injury, and would appreciate any ideas from other practitioners about how to approach treating him and what points might be most effective. I will be using tuning forks (sound / vibration) on the acupuncture points.

'R' had his brain injury to the right side of his head on August 2006 and was in the hospital for 3 months in a drug induced coma. He had 3 hematomas on his right front temporal lobe and 1 on his left. He had 6 operations to drain fluid and blood around his brain, and to install a permanent shunt on the right side of his head which drains excess fluid into his stomache and is controlled by an external control that works with magnets. He was unable to use the left side of his body (mouth drooped, arm, leg) for a month much like a stroke victim, and he experienced pain in his left toe which spread to his entire foot. Through physical therapy he is now able to walk with a limp though his left side is still weaker (mostly hip, knee, feet) and the pain has subsided. He developed tendonitis on his right knee from overcompensating, and got a cortisone shot which helped.

He is on the medication Neurontin for seizures and nerve pain in his foot. The causes of seizures were alcohol, strobe lights, fatigue, and one time his eyes fixed on a light in the ceiling, started twitching, and resulted in a seizure. He is also taking Valproic Acid as an anti-seizure medication, as well as a high blood pressure medication.

Prior to the accident, for 3 years, R was taking ADHD and anti-depressant medications (Adderall & Zoloft) for mood disorders. He had explosive mood swings and rage episodes, and frontal lobe issues with impulsivity.

After the accident, he was taken off all these medications, and he no longer exhibits the explosive anger or intense mood swings. He still has his ups and downs, but they are less severe and he exhibits more of the manic upswing like laughing manically, out of proportion to the situation. He gets impatient and frustrated and says, "I can't do this", and throws things across the room. There is a component of obsessiveness around certain things like cars.

He has started going back to school, taking 1 class, and is going to an occupational and speech therapist to help his brain get organized and help him recognize when he feels impulsive and not to necessarily act on that impulse. He lost over 50# and is now working out at a gym 2X a week to get his strength back. He seems to be always hungry to the point of compulsion. He struggles with an inability to focus, and doesn't seem to be able to think as deeply on subjects as he used to when he was on ADHD meds.

Thanks for any input! Btw, am I posting this in the right forum?

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