Understanding Constant Fatigue After Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Constant fatigue, which is a feeling of extreme tiredness, lethargy, and drowsiness, can greatly reduce your ability to work and affect your quality of life. This may not be common knowledge, but a blow to the head that results in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause neurological damage that causes extreme fatigue. Check all the symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury.
How does a blow to the head produce fatigue? What are the signs of fatigue due to a TBI? And what are the best treatment options?
Here’s everything you need to know.
Page Contents
Symptoms of a TBI: Fatigue and Related Signs
What are the most common symptoms of TBI fatigue? The most common sign is usually described as extreme fatigue, but this sensation varies depending on each individual and the extent of the injuries.
Here are a few TBI fatigue symptoms.
Physically and Mentally Exhausted
TBI fatigue doesn’t stop at a feeling of tiredness, but it feels like a mental and physical drain that makes the most mundane, basic tasks feel grueling and overwhelming.
Poor Sleep
One of the worst parts of extreme fatigue caused by a TBI is that it usually comes accompanied by poor sleep and insomnia. These sleep disturbances make it difficult to avoid short daytime naps that make this and other symptoms worse.
Brain Fog and Similar Impairment
Extreme fatigue causes brain fog, loss of focus, and an inability to concentrate, so it’s difficult to perform everyday tasks such as driving.
Emotional Imbalances
Severe fatigue causes emotional imbalances and extreme reactions. It’s also common to experience irritability, depression, and anxiety, which makes the recovery process even more complicated.
Symptoms that Get Worse After Exercise
When not caused by a TBI, tiredness, and anxiety can be treated with a protocol that includes exercise.
In the case of TBI fatigue, exercise can worsen the symptoms because it causes a rush of blood to the head and forces the affected areas to work harder. This, in turn, can make the symptoms worse and make you feel confused about your emotional state.
What Causes Fatigue After a TBI?
What causes fatigue after a TBI? Rather than one single area of the brain that controls your energy levels, there are a few injuries that can cause extreme fatigue. Let’s take a closer look.
Altered Brain Structure
A traumatic brain injury can damage the neural pathways responsible for energy regulation, leading to persistent fatigue. When brain cells are injured, communication between different regions becomes difficult, so it forces the brain to work harder for simple tasks.
This extra effort drains energy faster, leaving you feeling physically and mentally exhausted even after minimal activity.
Pituitary or Hypothalamus Damage
The pituitary gland and hypothalamus play crucial roles in regulating hormones that affect energy levels. A TBI can disrupt their function, leading to imbalances in cortisol, thyroid hormones, and melatonin among other body chemicals.
This can result in severe fatigue, poor sleep cycles, and difficulty managing stress, contributing to exhaustion and making daily activities feel overwhelming.
Chronic Pain
Persistent pain following a TBI places significant strain on the body and mind, so rest and recovery become more difficult over an extended period. Pain-related fatigue often results from the brain’s constant processing of discomfort signals, which drains mental resources and reduces overall stamina.
If left untreated, chronic pain can create a cycle of exhaustion that worsens over time.
How to Treat TBI Fatigue
If you are suffering from symptoms of fatigue after a TBI, you may need specialized treatments to make a full recovery. Here are some fatigue treatments that may help you bounce back.
- Medication: Doctors can prescribe medications to help curb the symptoms and accelerate your recovery.
- Sleep Therapy and Physical Rehabilitation: Restorative sleep is essential, so many specialists also prescribe sleep therapy to aid rehabilitation work.
- Lifestyle Adjustments: A better diet, quitting alcohol temporarily, and other lifestyle changes can also help you bounce back quickly.
Contact Brain Injury Law of Seattle Today
Being constantly tired is not normal, especially if these symptoms appear after a traumatic brain injury. In many cases, fatigue is a symptom of an undiagnosed TBI because the feeling of tiredness often sets in after the initial injury, making it difficult to link.
What’s more TBI fatigue isn’t only tiredness – it involves physical and mental exhaustion, poor sleep, brain fog, emotional imbalances, and symptoms that don’t get better with exercise.
If you’re experiencing a heavy, lethargic type of tiredness that you’d never felt before, it may be linked to a heavy blow to the head you suffered recently.
Contact Brain Injury Law of Seattle to discuss your case, figure out if your injuries are someone else’s responsibility, and start building a winning case right away. Contact us today!
Other Areas of Practice in Seattle
Seattle Personal Injury Lawyer | Brain Injury Lawyer | Seattle Bicycle Accident Lawyer | Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer | Seattle Truck Accident Lawyer | Seattle Motorcycle Accident Lawyer | Seattle Pedestrian Accident Lawyer | Seattle Catastrophic Injury Lawyers | Seattle Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer | Seattle Bus Accident Lawyer | Seattle Premises Liability Lawyer | Seattle Product Liability Lawyer | Seattle Wrongful Death Lawyer | Seattle Car Accidents Lawyer | Seattle Maritime Injury Lawyer
Client Story
M.W., Kent, WA
"M.W. was riding his bicycle in a bike lane in Kent. He was a 24 year old elite cyclist in excellent shape. A driver of a truck in the lane next to him suddenly turned right and nicked M.W., making him fall off his bike. He was wearing his helmet. However, when he fell to the ground, his head struck the pavement along with his left shoulder. "
Contact Brain Injury Law
Call or email us for a free consultation, and find out how we can help you get your life back following a brain injury. We are here to help, answer questions, and educate you about what you have to look forward to. We have the medical and legal knowledge to tell you what you are facing and how you can be helped. We pledge to always tell you like it is so you can make informed decisions about your brain injury and how best to help yourself. This is what we do.
