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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Subdural Hematoma
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
Subdural Hematoma
by TrasiA, Jun 02, 2002 12:00AM
Hi, my father is a 62 year old left handed man. He has been in good health up until 3 yrs ago when he seemed to be having the symptoms of a stroke. The on call neuroligist diagnosed him as having a stroke, that was later changed and they were not able to diganois what had happened. About 1 week after his happened he had a seizure. He has no history of seizures. Ever since this happened his whole personality has been different. He complained to the neurologist as his head "not being clear" and the constant feeling that his left arm and leg was "falling asleep". The doctor actually advised my mother that they could find no cause for these symptoms and that he was making them up. My dad was then referred to a psychiatrist who felt like there was something medically wrong. About 2 months ago my dad woke up to a full blown seizure (this would be his 2nd seizure) and was taken to the ER. We were advised that he had an extremely large subdural hematoma on his right side. We were told that it was quite old as membranes were growing in it. (How long does it take for membranes to grow?) He then had surgery the following day. They were able to remove a large amount of the blood but not all of it. My dad seemed better for 2-3 days after the surgery and was released from the hospital after about 6 days. Then about 8 days after his surgery he became very disoriented. He didn't know his name or who my mom was. We took him back to ER. He had an CAT/MRI/EEG/heart ultra sound done,all the tests came back favorable.He was released home after about 1 week. Since that time, all CAT scans have come back looking good. However, his days now are very up and down. He is being taken off the 2000mg a day of Depakote and his Lamectol dosage is being increased. It has been approx. 2 months since his surgery.He is still having signs of seizures, like his hand going in to a curved position and his arm going straight up in to the air.But we are just at a loss on why he is having the symptoms that he has which include: Hands shaking so bad he cannot feed himself, very dissoriented, waking up in the middle of the night thinking he is doing something that he is not really doing(such as clipping his fingernails), sometimes he does not know his name,diareah. Sometimes he seems like he is doing really good and then the next minute he is not. Why would there be such dramatic changes like that? Shouldn't there be a consistent improvement, we feel like he takes 3 steps forward and then 10 steps back.The doctors do not know if this is being caused by his medicine or his brain. We were also just advised that he has a caveroma. He did not advise of any type of treatment that would be done. Thanks for the opportunity to post these questions to you! We are in desperate need of help! Thanks again!
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Jun 03, 2002 12:00AM
, Jun 03, 2002 12:00AM
You need expert help from a neurologist, and there is a forum here that can help you. This is definetly not a mental health problem. Since you had to pay for this, I suggest you email the webmaster at mental health forum, tell him you want this posted in the neurology forum so you do not have to pay a separate fee.
You should pursue consultations with more neurologists until you find the cause of this. If you are not satisfied with one opinion, seek another, or find a university medical center near you where they specialize in this kind of problem.
You should pursue consultations with more neurologists until you find the cause of this. If you are not satisfied with one opinion, seek another, or find a university medical center near you where they specialize in this kind of problem.
Member Comments (1)
by woman45, Jul 07, 2002 12:00AM
Do your own research on the subject "yeast syndrome". See how it applies to your father. I believe you will find your answers in your research.
