Acquired Brain Injury - ABI - Diagnosis

Written by Julie Taylor

What Is Brain Injury or ABI?
An acquired brain injury is damage to the brain that occurs after birth and is not related to a congenital disorder, a developmental disability or degenerative disease. The term does not refer to brain injuries induced by birth trauma, but rather brain damage caused by motor vehicle crashes, stroke, fall, aneurysm, etc at a later stage in development.

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What happens if I drink?
Because survivors of brain injury have lost brain cells in the injury, the remaining cells must work harder for the person to do some of the same activities they did before the injury. If the remaining cells are affected by alcohol or drugs, they will not be able to take over the duties of the dead cells.

Brain injuries can cause problems in balance, walking or talking that worsen when a person uses alcohol or drugs

For people whose brain injury has caused difficulties with balance, co-ordination of movement (ataxia) and speech (aphasia is the total loss of speech) - alcohol and other drugs further reduce ability in these areas.

People who have had a brain injury often say or do things without thinking first

This problem is worsened by using alcohol and other drugs. Acting before thinking can be a common problem for people with brain injury. It is also a problem for people who abuse alcohol and drugs. Not being able to control what they say or do can lead to increased risk-taking, arguments, or other socially inappropriate behaviour. People with brain injuries may learn ways to control their behaviour. However, they are unable to use these skills well when drinking or using drugs.

Brain injuries can cause problems with thinking, such as concentration and memory

Using alcohol and other drugs make these problems worse. Many people have to learn new skills, or relearn old ones, after a brain injury. People may have trouble with concentration, memory, problem-solving and other thinking skills. Alcohol and other drugs can also interfere with learning new information.

After a brain injury, alcohol and other drugs have a more powerful effect

Brain injury results in a loss of brain cells. Those cells that remain must do their own work plus the work of the dead cells. Because there are fewer cells after a brain injury, more alcohol or drugs go to fewer cells, increasing the impact of the alcohol or drugs on that person's ability to function. The person becomes intoxicated more quickly, and the effect of the alcohol or other drugs is much greater. In addition, alcohol and other drugs interfere with the effectiveness of prescribed medications.

People with brain injury are more likely to feel low or depressed at times

Drinking alcohol (a depressant), or getting high on other drugs, makes this problem worse. Depression is fairly common after a brain injury. Some people may try to cope by drinking alcohol or using other drugs. While people may "forget" their problems for awhile, these problems are still there when they are sober. An endless cycle can be established at this point, with depression leading to substance use, which leads to increased depression. This behaviour decreases overall ability, increasing depression even more.

After a brain injury, drinking alcohol or using other drugs can cause a seizure

Some people with a brain injury have an increased risk of seizures. Those who are at a very high risk are given medication to prevent them. Alcohol and other drugs increase the chance that even those at the lower levels of risk will have a seizure. Alcohol and non-prescription drugs prevent seizure medications from working, further increasing the risk of seizures.

People who drink alcohol or use other drugs after a brain injury are more likely to have another brain injury

A person who has difficulty thinking clearly, walking smoothly, or reacting quickly due to brain injury is three times more likely to have another injury. People who further cloud their abilities with alcohol or drugs will have an even higher risk of another injury. Second and subsequent injuries will cause more harm than the first one. The destruction of more cells as the result of a second injury will leave even fewer cells to do the same jobs. Some abilities will be lost because of fewer cells to make these functions possible.