Posted on Feb 16, 2020
Brain Injuries Are Common in Battle. The Military Has No Reliable Test for Them.
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Diagnosing invisible war wounds with a questionnaire. How does a warrior with reasons to hide or exaggerate symptoms, or too shaken to answer questions accurately, report objectively or reliably?
Dr. Jeff Bazarian, University of Rochester Medical Center: "It’s bad, bad, bad. You would never diagnose a heart attack or even a broken bone that way... Here’s how crazy it gets: You are relying on people to report what happened. But the part of the brain most often affected by a traumatic brain injury is memory."
Dr. Jeff Bazarian, University of Rochester Medical Center: "It’s bad, bad, bad. You would never diagnose a heart attack or even a broken bone that way... Here’s how crazy it gets: You are relying on people to report what happened. But the part of the brain most often affected by a traumatic brain injury is memory."
Brain Injuries Are Common in Battle. The Military Has No Reliable Test for Them.
Posted from nytimes.com
TBI
Stigma
Mental Health
Wellness
Injuries
Posted 5 y ago
Responses: 3
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I have a # of articles pertaining to combat trauma. Many that I have interviewed present w/ complex presentations which places them at very high risk of suicide. We can diagnose brain injury by way of neuroimaging, some display brain structure while others display function. It may take a few weeks to reveal damage despite some initial symptoms.
We can even use the Bender-Gestalt psychometric tool as well. I agree the the VA is not on top of these common concerns. It pisses me off. I have shared my clinical research on trauma w/ our local VAC to no avail.
And just a reminder that we have no reliable or valid tool for pain which is a much more common phenomena
Rich.
We can even use the Bender-Gestalt psychometric tool as well. I agree the the VA is not on top of these common concerns. It pisses me off. I have shared my clinical research on trauma w/ our local VAC to no avail.
And just a reminder that we have no reliable or valid tool for pain which is a much more common phenomena
Rich.
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SPC Kurt Hesselden
Ever have any super long memory loss reported? I'm talking 52 years where events can be recalled, but no names/faces of platoon members that were served with for months in the field? Seeing their names listed on a roster or pictures brings no recollection whatsoever.
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SSgt Richard Kensinger
Kurt,
It is unusual to have this persisting and specific memory loss. It is the limbic portion of the brain which is responsible for converting short-term to long-term memory formation. I'm sure it was encoded and stored. Our brain exhibits unlimited storage especially of events that are important to us. Your's is quite specific. Absent any neurological damage, I suspect massive repression if these memories are painful. The bonds formed in a squad are the most intense of all relationships we have. If this is the case, your observing Ego deems them irrelevant now.
Rich
It is unusual to have this persisting and specific memory loss. It is the limbic portion of the brain which is responsible for converting short-term to long-term memory formation. I'm sure it was encoded and stored. Our brain exhibits unlimited storage especially of events that are important to us. Your's is quite specific. Absent any neurological damage, I suspect massive repression if these memories are painful. The bonds formed in a squad are the most intense of all relationships we have. If this is the case, your observing Ego deems them irrelevant now.
Rich
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SGT Robert Pryor
SSgt Richard Kensinger - BINGO! Yes, I have lots of specific memory loss. Plus I have episodes of transient global amnesia recurring about every 13 years (as far as I know). I have no recollection of those episodes, other than coming out of them. In fact, my wife, 15 year old daughter and I were discussing that very thing this afternoon. I'm due in the next two years or so. My daughter freaked and asked what to do if is just the two of us. My wife says the last one lasted about 45 minutes. Talk about luck! The first time it happened with her -- shortly after we were married -- I had no idea who she was, or even that I was married. So she asked me if I wanted to be married to her, a total stranger about whom I knew absolutely nothing. She says I got a bit smile and said, "Yes." Whew, dodged a bullet on that one. I guess everything I told her was the truth, so she essentially had me on truth serum and could ask me anything. Fortunately I have never cheated and have always been completely honest with her, so I am not worried about the next one.
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Col Casey "Radio" G. Thankfully all the Divots in My Head are Courtesy of Valve Wheels and Door Overheads on the Arkansas and California.
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