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Possible brain damage? Advice?

Old 08-19-2014, 01:39 PM
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Possible brain damage? Advice?

Hello everybody. I turned 18 years old recently and I have some problems in my life currently..

Well I first time drank little before turning 15. It was just harmless experiment. Nothing serious. After I turned 15, drinking continued. Continued till I was almost 18. But basically it was just usually on fridays. Very rarely I drank both days friday and saturday. And it wasnt always EVERY weekend. Not at all. I know Im def not the only one who starts drinking at that age but I regret everything so much. I had no problems in life. I just hanged out with the wrong crowd which I didnt see back then and couldnt think long term effects of my actions. Looking at it now, those guys are definitely becoming future alcoholics. The thing is, when I drank, I usually drank till blacking out. I also tried weed but only few times. Also I think I was developing little later than others so I think my brain maturity was even younger than my age then. I have read that drinking during adolescence can cause irreversible brain damage. I also smoked weed but just a few times and I was fine long after that.

I have been suffering from some symptoms little over a year. Started out with brainfog, hard to think clearly, memory problems. Then stress, anxiety, general nervousness. Nothing like I was before. This was very scary and fustrating. Also suffer(ed) from mild to moderate depersonalization/derealization, especially outside where there is other people. I found it hard to spontaneusly talk with people and come up with funny things to say, which I used to do before. I finally started realizing couple monhs ago that these all could be caused by binge drinking.. i havent drank nothing but 1-2 beers for like four times during past 3 months. Feeling little bit better, taking also fish oil, vitamins and l-tryptophan which seems to help with depressive feeling (dont wanna take SSRIs). Is there a chance for me to feel normal ever again and maybe my brain catch up with development if it has been stunted by this? Any advices would be appreciated.

One things is also that I found out my testosterone levels were low for my age. Could this be caused by my lifestyle and the symptoms are actually from low t rather than brain damage? I dont really know what should I do. Its been really stressful and also been having hard times to sleep for long time. Im afraid that this all has stunted my brain growth/growth in general.

Well thats it. Tought I should give this a go.
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Old 08-19-2014, 01:56 PM
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Welcome Fustration. Many of the questions you have can only be answered by a doctor. I'm guessing you must have seen one to find out about the testosterone levels, did you mention your drinking and symptoms? If not I'd recommend it. Our bodies can take a lot of abuse and eventually recover, but it's impossible for anyone here to diagnose your specific symptoms - good luck and please do see a doctor if you have medical concerns.
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Old 08-19-2014, 02:34 PM
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Can you see a doctor? the doc may send you to a psychiatrist or neurologist but they could assess you. Your age gives me lots of hope that you can recover with guidance from a doctor. A doctor may find nothing wrong but then at least you can stop the worrying because that will also affect your health. I have a severe brain injury, severe brain stem injury, severe head injury and a skull fracture from a car accident.

The brain injured don't usually have trouble sleeping, we have serious arousal issues. Hard to get my brain to wake up and get the connections going. I was abusing coffee and energy drinks until a doctor Dx me with post-traumatic ADHD (caused by the traumatic brain injury) and put on meds that would make a normal person climb the walls but they just wake up my brain and I function much better.

See if you can talk to an MD or nurse practitioner about your concerns.
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Old 08-20-2014, 12:08 PM
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The body can regenerate if given the chance from the effects of alcohol, as long as things haven't gone too far, even brain regeneration!!

However as others have mentioned best getting the facts and a proper diagnosis from a Dr, just to be safe!!
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Old 08-20-2014, 07:29 PM
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some thoughts

Originally Posted by Fustration View Post
I have been suffering from some symptoms little over a year. Started out with brainfog, hard to think clearly, memory problems. Then stress, anxiety, general nervousness. Nothing like I was before. This was very scary and fustrating. Also suffer(ed) from mild to moderate depersonalization/derealization, especially outside where there is other people.

Feeling little bit better, taking also fish oil, vitamins and l-tryptophan which seems to help with depressive feeling (dont wanna take SSRIs).

One things is also that I found out my testosterone levels were low for my age.
You state that "tryptophan [..] seems to help with depressive feeling." The uncertainty about it in your language may not be such a big surprise considering that many studies linked increasing tryptophan/serotonin to brain dysfunction, etc (do a search engine query for "Tryptophan Side Effects: L-Tryptophan Is Far From Harmless"). Low testosterone are certainly linked to depression, memory problems, etc.
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