r/braincancer • u/Tasty-kkd • 1d ago
Behavioral changes after children craniotomy?
My son had a craniotomy done to remove a large tumor three months ago. Not till very recently we noticed that if he got upset, his emotions got intense fast and extreme then he started screaming crying and hitting me and his dad relentlessly (not other people). Almost impossible to calm him down. He’s never done that before. He is generally a very delightful kid and has a good temperament. At this point, I’m genuinely not sure if it’s normal for a growing 5 years old or if it’s behavioral changes due to surgery. Any guidance is appreciated. Thank you!
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u/Agitated_Carrot3025 1d ago
Depending where the surgery was, it can impact emotional and/or impulse control. I was absolute hell at 5 sometimes but as far as surgery, I've had 3 right frontal craniotomies and it had led to me regularly seeing a psychiatrist and therapist. I'd certainly make sure his nuero team knows about this concern.
Peace, love and strength my friend ✌️♥️💪
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u/Tasty-kkd 1d ago
Thank you for sharing. The tumor was at cerebellum. My suspicion was that it’s hard for him to recover from the surgery especially in his case he had to relearn everything but he doesn’t have a good understanding of what’s going on with him. I will set him up with a children therapist to help him channel his feelings and frustrations into positive actions.
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u/Agitated_Carrot3025 1d ago
Such a warrior at such a young age. I truly hope the coming years bring you all some much deserved happiness. I'm probably showing my age a little but a kid his age should be worried about the next ball game, not all this. I'm sure that has to be very hard to understand at 5, doesn't make a ton of sense in my 40s. ✌️♥️
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u/ngbutt 1d ago
My son had a large pilocytic astrocytoma removed from the vermis of his cerebellum at 6 years old that resulted in extreme behavioral difficulties for years. There is a condition called cerebeller cognitive and affective disorder that can sometimes result from damage to this part of the cerebellum. Feel free to DM me if you want more information. It’s a rough time.
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u/OkClaim3206 16h ago
Not my child, but my (now) ex-partner has had some behavioral changes since his craniotomy late 2023. He had a tumor on the parietal lobe of his brain and a resection. He was happy go lucky before all of this. Now, he gets upset very easily and there is no reasoning with him. He’s pushed me away along with his family.
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u/Porencephaly 7h ago
Cerebellum is not directly a personality center for people. However, brain surgery is obviously traumatic for kids and it may be that he has more difficulty coping with stress due to what he's been through. Behavioral therapy and trauma therapy can both be very helpful for kids that struggle with emotional regulation after intense medical experiences. If he's taking Keppra or steroids they can also cause behavioral issues.
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u/cocholates 8h ago
I was 23 with my tumor, and I recall after my surgery due to medication (a couple weeks after i think )I’d be up at 7am asking my parents what the plans were for the day. I could not sleep and I could not stay calm. Anxiety was through the roof lol I couldn’t tell either. It wasn’t until a visit to the doctor’s office hearing it from my mom’s POV that made me realize everything, I even cried.
It might just be due to meds? A flow of different feelings too
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u/helpMeOut9999 2h ago
I definitely get immediate spikes of anger of the smallest things now. But I'm a full grown adult with great emotional regulation.
I definitely take a long pause and a breath and allow it to pass. But I definitely know I am more unreasonably angry over small things.
I would definitely mention to neurologist abd look into therapy psychology etc.
All the best
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u/caligrown87 1d ago
Is your son taking dexamethasone to quell brain inflammation? If so, that could very much be the cause of his temperament.
Post cranitomy (left frontal lobe), i couldn't speak much and had a temper due to dexa. Following that, I was moody as hell for a few months, even post-dexa. My brain was rewiring my filters haha