Elderly Care: Helping You Deal With the Dying Process

Elderly Care: Helping You Deal With the Dying Process

Are You Having Frightening Nightmares During Your Recovery From Brain Surgery?

Julio Carr

Recovering from brain surgery is certainly a scary and challenging time in anyone's life. No matter if you are recovering from having a tumor removed or you have had an aneurysm clipped or coiled, the emotional aspects of recovery can be devastating and a heavy burden to bear. Many patients experience symptoms related to those of the condition post-traumatic stress syndrome. When you stop to consider the fear and terror most people associate with having their skull opened up, you can easily see why nightmares can be a common occurrence after brain surgery.

What Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)  is a condition that can occur after a frightening experience. Brain surgery can certainly be considered a high level frightening experience. During recovery after brain surgery, you may experience symptoms of PTSD because of fearing another surgery or having another incident, like an aneurysm, that caused you to need surgery. Some of the symptoms you may be experiencing after brain surgery include:

  • Strong, overwhelming memories of the events during a frightening experience.
  • Many people relive the traumatic events over and over again, causing high levels of devastating anxiety.
  • Re-occurring nightmares involving aspects of the traumatic event. Nightmares about other aspects of your life that are pressuring you can become increased, causing the problems at hand to become much bigger.
  • Outbursts of anger and irritability, severe mood swings and dangerous depression.
  • Memory loss
  • Paranoia

Treatment For The Nightmares After Brain Surgery

Your neurosurgeon or other attending physician may refer you to a psychotherapist for the nightmares you may be having during recovery from brain surgery. Always remember you are not crazy and nightmares are simply a side effect of the surgical procedure and your fear of that procedure. Psychotherapy can help you step back from the situation for being able to view it in a different perspective, one that can allow you to see the reality of your surgery. Your psychotherapist can offer emotional support during your treatment you can depend on.

Medications Given Brain Surgery Can Cause Dreams

Most patients recovering from brain surgery are given strong pain medication and medications for reducing and controlling anxiety. Some drugs have been found to cause nightmares, sometimes also causing insomnia. If you are already stressed out from a serious and invasive surgical procedure on your brain, you can experience greater symptoms when drug related nightmares occur. Discuss with your physician about changing your medication if you are experiencing sleeplessness, anxiety, nervousness and, most of all, terrible dreams.

One of the greatest ways to ease your emotional stress during recovery after brain surgery is through the support of your family, friends and attending medical professionals. Never be afraid to talk about your dreams to your doctor, no matter how frightening or morbid they may be. Doing so could be the first step to stopping your nightmares and getting the restful sleep you need for making a fast, full recovery. Talk to your experts such as Newsome & Associates, Ltd. for more information.


Share

2024© Elderly Care: Helping You Deal With the Dying Process
About Me
Elderly Care: Helping You Deal With the Dying Process

As an elderly care worker, I have witnessed the deaths of many individuals. I have seen family members become angry, sad, and completely silent at the end. I have also seen individuals refuse to see family members out of denial. People deal with death in different ways, and the strong emotions are often unfamiliar and scary. If you have a parent or grandparent who is elderly, then I want to share with you what I know about end of life care and dying process. We are a society that does not talk about death, and this can cause great pain when a family member dies. Learn about the process and find out how to deal with your own emotions and how to love your family members at the end. If there is only a small amount of time left, then I want you to cherish the final moments.

Tags