Help Brain damage recovery

[left0vers]

Has anyone been able to undo brain damage? Is it possible at all?

(Mine isn't due to a failed attempt, I'm not actually sure why I got it. Could be anaemia, could be depression and isolation. Nevertheless, it's here and it's saddening.)

 

[NormallyNeurotic]

It depends. Some can heal with time. How did you find out you had it?

 

[Fadenself00]

can you go into a bit more detail of why you describe your issues as brain damage? any injury, drugs, medication involved?

If there's nothing like that involved, i would recommend to get a full medical checkup, especially "standard" stuff with your GP and maybe get a referal for a neurological checkup/imaging. If you're a biological woman/have XX chromosomes, maybe visit women's health specialists if the standard checkups didnt find anything.


Keep in mind that random, persistent changes in personality/mood with no clear cause are always a red flag you should check up on

 

[left0vers]

@NormallyNeurotic
@Fadenself00
Thank you for replying. The reason I think I have brain damage is due to the symptoms I've developed over the past few years. My short-term memory worsened, I became dyslexic and prone to stumble over words while talking, I am low in energy and very often confused and slow to understand. Lose my focus while trying to listen, have trouble understanding instructions, and my dreams are gone.

I've never taken any drugs besides what I was prescribed to treat my depression. I don't even drink. No physical injuries either.

@Fadenself00, never thought that problems in women's health could have an impact on the brain. I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

 

[Fadenself00]

@NormallyNeurotic
@Fadenself00
Thank you for replying. The reason I think I have brain damage is due to the symptoms I've developed over the past few years. My short-term memory worsened, I became dyslexic and prone to stumble over words while talking, I am low in energy and very often confused and slow to understand. Lose my focus while trying to listen, have trouble understanding instructions, and my dreams are gone.

I've never taken any drugs besides what I was prescribed to treat my depression. I don't even drink. No physical injuries either.

@Fadenself00, never thought that problems in women's health could have an impact on the brain. I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

glad this was helpful to you

The symptoms you are describing sound very concerning, please get a neuro eval ASAP

@NormallyNeurotic
@Fadenself00
Thank you for replying. The reason I think I have brain damage is due to the symptoms I've developed over the past few years. My short-term memory worsened, I became dyslexic and prone to stumble over words while talking, I am low in energy and very often confused and slow to understand. Lose my focus while trying to listen, have trouble understanding instructions, and my dreams are gone.

I've never taken any drugs besides what I was prescribed to treat my depression. I don't even drink. No physical injuries either.

@Fadenself00, never thought that problems in women's health could have an impact on the brain. I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

It could also be the drugs. What drugs are you taking?
Reading this again, especially the"dreams are gone" part seems like what an SSRI can do. Please still seek an eval, but if you're taking an ssri it could very well be that. withdrawl will be tedious and horrible and your doctor/ psychiatrist will probably tell you this isn't possible(they always do), but it is possible just very rarely recognized

 

[NormallyNeurotic]

Thank you for replying. The reason I think I have brain damage is due to the symptoms I've developed over the past few years. My short-term memory worsened, I became dyslexic and prone to stumble over words while talking, I am low in energy and very often confused and slow to understand. Lose my focus while trying to listen, have trouble understanding instructions, and my dreams are gone.

I've never taken any drugs besides what I was prescribed to treat my depression. I don't even drink. No physical injuries either.

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[left0vers]

[Hidden content]

I'm so sorry about your condition. Are you alright?

 

[NormallyNeurotic]

I'm so sorry about your condition. Are you alright?

Not really, but hopefully I will be one day. I plan to be. Thank you for caring, genuinely.

 

[gunmetalblue]

I'm sorry you are suffering with these symptoms. I agree heavily with what @Fadenself00 said, get a neurological eval and see if this could not also be linked to potencital side effects from your SSRI.

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[Xi-Xi]

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[DeadManLiving]

Yes. Look up nootrpoics

 

[Fadenself00]

Yes. Look up nootrpoics

This is very dangerous and broad advice! There's a big bias towards placebo-like "feels-correct/natural"-processes playing a big role in these recommendations.

If there's possible (med induced) brain damage on the table, you should automatically be even more cautious with substances.

Baseline eval, and investigating the antidepressant for potentially being responsible. Never throw additional substances on-top of it just because anecdotal reports claim fixing "brain damage".

@left0vers - please dont listen to this advice

 

[left0vers]

This is very dangerous and broad advice! There's a big bias towards placebo-like "feels-correct/natural"-processes playing a big role in these recommendations.

If there's possible (med induced) brain damage on the table, you should automatically be even more cautious with substances.

Baseline eval, and investigating the antidepressant for potentially being responsible. Never throw additional substances on-top of it just because anecdotal reports claim fixing "brain damage".

@left0vers - please dont listen to this advice

Okay. I actually didn't take SSRIs; I was treated with various neuroleptics. I don't know why they were prescribed to me, though, given how I was never psychotic or bipolar.

 

[Fadenself00]

Okay. I actually didn't take SSRIs; I was treated with various neuroleptics. I don't know why they were prescribed to me, though, given how I was never psychotic or bipolar.

That sounds horrible and irresponsible, I am so sorry :(

Could you give me a general timeline and which neuroleptics were involved? Also ‐ and this is the most important - are you still taking meds right now?/have these issues started right after (meaning up to a few months) a med change?
@left0vers feel free to send a DM, I'm happy to share experience where/when I can

 

[left0vers]

That sounds horrible and irresponsible, I am so sorry :(

Could you give me a general timeline and which neuroleptics were involved? Also ‐ and this is the most important - are you still taking meds right now?/have these issues started right after (meaning up to a few months) a med change?
@left0vers feel free to send a DM, I'm happy to share experience where/when I can

Thank you for taking your time to help me. The rough timeline goes like this:

2023-2024 (full year)
- cariprazine, dosage went from 1.5 to 6 mg within the first month
- lamotrigine, can't recall how much
Quit both because that didn't help.

2025, september
- aripiprazole, i believe it was 10 mg
Quit once I was out of the psych ward where I was forced to take it.

2025, novemder through december
- ziprasidone, 60 mg
Quit because it wasn't doing anything either.

Starting this January, I am taking nothing.

My dyslexia must have started around 2024, and my speech problems are probably from 2025. I didn't mention it, but I became prone to fainting in 2023. Now that I'm writing it out, it seems very apparent that those shit meds screwed me bad.

I hope it's okay that I share this here and not in a private chat, I figured this discussion could be useful to somebody else in the same boat. But if you want to, I can write a PM.

 

[Fadenself00]

Thank you for taking your time to help me. The rough timeline goes like this:

2023-2024 (full year)
- cariprazine, dosage went from 1.5 to 6 mg within the first month
- lamotrigine, can't recall how much
Quit both because that didn't help.

2025, september
- aripiprazole, i believe it was 10 mg
Quit once I was out of the psych ward where I was forced to take it.

2025, novemder through december
- ziprasidone, 60 mg
Quit because it wasn't doing anything either.

Starting this January, I am taking nothing.

My dyslexia must have started around 2024, and my speech problems are probably from 2025. I didn't mention it, but I became prone to fainting in 2023. Now that I'm writing it out, it seems very apparent that those shit meds screwed me bad.

I hope it's okay that I share this here and not in a private chat, I figured this discussion could be useful to somebody else in the same boat. But if you want to, I can write a PM.

and your diagnosis was just depression??!!

This was abuse and totally irresponsible then.. Please still seek an evaluation just to be sure, but crap, I'm very sorry.

There's no need for you to apologize for sharing your information no worries; in hindsight I should have offered you to send me the history privately if you wanted to (for your privacy), but I'm fine with it either way!


Are you sure you only got diagnosed with depression or was that just what they told you? (Depending on where you live, you might even have a right to request all your medical records of the institution(s) you were in. If you are in a state of mind where you can handle all the shit they have potentially written about you, then I would give that a try to get more insight into what they were thinking)

All the best to you, and feel free to DM me whenever you want!

 

[left0vers]

and your diagnosis was just depression??!!

This was abuse and totally irresponsible then.. Please still seek an evaluation just to be sure, but crap, I'm very sorry.

There's no need for you to apologize for sharing your information no worries; in hindsight I should have offered you to send me the history privately if you wanted to, but I'm fine with it either way!


Are you sure you only got diagnosed with depression or was that just what they told you? (Depending on where you live, you might even have a right to request all your medical records of the institution(s) you were in. If you are in a state of mind where you can handle all the shit they have potentially written about you, then I would give that a try to get more insight into what they were thinking)

All the best to you, and feel free to DM me whenever you want!

Depression is what they told me and what i felt personally. I've never had anything that would suggest a different disorder.

Well. It really sucks to hear that those meds were indeed unnecessary. I'm never trusting a psychiatrist ever again.

Thank you for your warmth, again. It's uplifting to see someone care

 

[NormallyNeurotic]

Depression is what they told me and what i felt personally. I've never had anything that would suggest a different disorder.

Well. It really sucks to hear that those meds were indeed unnecessary. I'm never trusting a psychiatrist ever again.

Thank you for your warmth, again. It's uplifting to see someone care

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[deny_conformity]

Carrying on with what everyone else is saying that it could be medication related.

I sometimes forget words mid sentence when speaking, but not when writing or typing. It's a not uncommon side effect of Lamotrigine. I'm on the high end of the dosage used for bipolar but they are tapering me down a little because of nearly a year of anhedonia.

 

[Arvayn]

I've also had worsening neurological symptoms after a near-death experience due to major depression, but I haven't gotten symptoms that are quite this bad.
Like everyone else opines, it doesn't sound like you have brain damage if you've been completely fine up until this point, and haven't done anything to damage your cranium... Still, a visit to the doctor would do you good, unless you live in the US.

 

[left0vers]

[Hidden content]

I don't but I certainly seem autistic with my mannerisms. That's so messed up, why would they do that to autistic people?

 

[NormallyNeurotic]

I don't but I certainly seem autistic with my mannerisms. That's so messed up, why would they do that to autistic people?

The medication can be helpful for people with severe self-harm stims (banging their head on the wall, biting self, etc), but otherwise I suspect she was worried I would be violent ESPECIALLY since another neurological disorder I have can also have aggressive meltdowns and psychotic symptoms (though I didn't have those symptoms myself)

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[left0vers]

The medication can be helpful for people with severe self-harm stims (banging their head on the wall, biting self, etc), but otherwise I suspect she was worried I would be violent ESPECIALLY since another neurological disorder I have can also have aggressive meltdowns and psychotic symptoms (though I didn't have those symptoms myself)

[Hidden content]

Psychs are just universally lying scumbags, aren't they?

 

[deny_conformity]

Something that helped me with my symptoms a bit was vitamin B12, vitamin D, and magnesium supplements. I was having fairly severe brain fog and I read it could be a vitamin B12 deficiency. At the same time I was diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency and I added magnesium because I heard it can help with insomnia.

 

[etherealgoddess]

Has anyone been able to undo brain damage? Is it possible at all?

(Mine isn't due to a failed attempt, I'm not actually sure why I got it. Could be anaemia, could be depression and isolation. Nevertheless, it's here and it's saddening.)

Doesn't matter tbh. We can't really do anything. I had a severe concussion, and that made a difference in my personality for sure. It made me a lot more neurotic. And it apparently relates to bipolar, and that's what I have.

Best to just take meds and live the best life you can instead of thinking about things we can't control. Figure out a solution and keep experimenting until something works out.

 

[copioushopelessness]

@NormallyNeurotic
@Fadenself00
Thank you for replying. The reason I think I have brain damage is due to the symptoms I've developed over the past few years. My short-term memory worsened, I became dyslexic and prone to stumble over words while talking, I am low in energy and very often confused and slow to understand. Lose my focus while trying to listen, have trouble understanding instructions, and my dreams are gone.

I've never taken any drugs besides what I was prescribed to treat my depression. I don't even drink. No physical injuries either.

@Fadenself00, never thought that problems in women's health could have an impact on the brain. I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

I know exactly what you mean. I don't know what to do about it though.