My Experience After a Traumatic Brain Injury - My Inpatient Psychiatry Experience

MY INPATIENT PSYCHIATRY EXPERIENCE

When I told the psychologist I started seeing to help me cope with the stress at my job that I didn’t feel any better at the end of my leave, she suggested I voluntarily put myself in inpatient psychiatry because she could not figure out was wrong -- the medication to treat depression wasn't helping my mood or alleviating any of my cognitive difficulties nor addressing my fatigue issues.

While in the psychiatry unit, I told the inpatient psychiatrist that I didn’t remember my hospitalization.  He requested my medical records.  After reviewing my records, he said to me: “Why didn’t you tell me you had a subdural hematoma and subarachnoid hemorrhage?".  I told him I fell and hit my head and I didn’t remember being in the hospital.  How could he even begin to think I would remember the specific diagnosis I might have been told during that time?  (I still didn't remember these terms after my hospitalization, so I ordered my medical records to learn them.)  I have no recollection of any doctor up to this point telling me I'd had a head injury.  In the early to mid 90's they referred to an injury to the head as a concussion, or open (penetrating injury to the head) or closed head injury (blow or jolt to the head).  Today a head injury is usually referred to as a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The inpatient psychiatrist then ordered neuropsychological testing.    I learned later the neuropsychologist who tested me recommended I not return to work but if I had to work I should go back part-time.  The inpatient psychiatrist let me convince him that I could go participate in my reserve unit's annual training provided I would come back if there was a problem.  I thought, yeah, right.   I told him exactly what he wanted to hear to get what I wanted.  And, I wanted to go on training with my reserve unit.  I missed training with my unit the previous year because I was in the hospital.