I Woke Up Gay: Straight man turns gay after stroke! Unbelievable claim?

reply to post by Advantage


You're the one fixated on the 'scary gay man'...

Bears anyone?

The thread title is a little misleading.
Was it a heart attack stroke or a one night stand that lead to a stroke stroke?

My husband suffered a frontal lobe brain injury years ago. Many times those with brain injuries have effects related to sex. In my husband's case, he is hypersexual. He thinks about sex all the time and can be inappropriate. It's common for me to find pornographic material lying around and sometimes, I'm just plain embarrassed by things he says and does. I've had to treat him like a child, making rules for him to follow concerning this behavior, since we have kids who do not need to be privy to this problem. It's a challenging situation.

The situation has become more noticeable as he is aging, as well as some other issues he has developed. I suppose just as uninjured brains change with age, his is undergoing changes as well, although the territory is not as well marked since every brain injury is different. The normal memory losses and other events most of us notice doesn't seem to be an issue for him. He is sharp in the memory of everything after his accident and some things prior, but he seems to have more pronounced depression and less control of impulsive urges than when he was younger. Maybe it's just harder to rein in those urges now.

His personality is different from what it was prior to his accident. His parents said it was as if their son died and an imposter took over his body with some memories of his life before. It's sad all the way around and sometimes I feel guilty because I have long since outgrown him, as he is somewhat stuck in a maturity akin to the age he was when this all occurred. I feel more like a second mother and less like a wife.

Originally posted by mainidh

Originally posted by halfoldman
So now I think all the anti-gay haters are just a stroke away from what they hate.

Ooh and there goes the "I was born this way" theory!

Good stuff, this thread is educational too!

I don't see how this affects the "born gay or straight" theory either way.

The person is born one way and is different after a stroke.

It says nothing on why a person was a certain way from birth to the stroke.
It merely suggests the brain can be rewired in ways we cannot understand.

How sexual orientation fits in with his new personality as a whole package is also mysterious - is it the root of that new personality or just a symptom? It's clearly the aspect that's culturally most relevant to us, but perhaps in ancient times that might have been the least important aspect of his change.

But a lot of the people would agree on your next point, that he must have been somehow latently gay before the stroke.
I don't really see why this has to be the case, but fair enough, it's an argument.

Let's put it this way, sexual attraction is a chemical reaction in the brain. For instance, I've tried to "turn" straight, but I just don't get turned on by women, let alone their "bits" ...

In other words, a stroke causes damage to the brain, depending on how severe it is, and therefore I think it probably could alter the chemical reactions in sexual attraction if the part of the brain that lacked oxygen was that specific part of the brain. I remember watching the documentary about this dude on BBCThree, and although feel a stroke probably could affect your sexual attractions, this dude just didn't seem to be what they made him out to be, for instance he may have been larger in the past, and played rugby, but when you see his photos of the past, he still looked somewhat effeminate and wasn't very successful with the ladies, apart from a couple. I had a friend like that, he said he decided to be gay because he couldn't get a girlfriend, although I think he must have been at least bisexual, so I think this is more of an excuse maybe, I might be wrong though.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

It is more likely he became disinhibited. This can happen follow brain injury.

I believe this 100%.

While really odd, it is plausible. People who have had traumatic head injuries have turned into artists and musicians overnight. Never having invested previous thought on their newfound love. It's strange, but the brain is strange.

Sure. If you cutoff Oxygen to the brain then why can't sexual orientation change? Sexual orientation is like anything else. It's biological based on chemicals and the brain.

I'd say the only limitation to one changing after a brain injury would be turning from white to Chinese or African to Greek. If your own attributes are controlled via the brain, then they can be altered a tad or changed altogether.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Perfect way for him to come out of the closet without getting prosecuted that "he has been gay all his life".

I mean, his family won;t be disappointed on him, THE STROKE DID IT!

I will hold the 1% believe that somehow the stroke damaged somesort of brain interaction.

This confirms what I always believed. Gay people have damaged brains. Maybe if we fix the wiring we can get the gay out of people. Just kidding - the brains are just wired differently.

So let's say they discover just what wiring is causing this. They also find that this is a genetic defect rather than a just a difference - think cleft palate versus brown or green eyes. Then they find that there is a simple procedure to reverse it. What happens next? Do we force gays to get the procedure? Do those who choose not to get it then get ostracized by society? Can you elect to get the surgery to become gay? Will Obamacare cover the cost?

This brings up a bunch of interesting questions.

reply to post by luciddream

Perhaps, however the relationship with his mother (which was very significant before the stroke, and I'm not sure if he had a complete family unit) had deteriorated completely during the making of the documentary in my opening post.

So it came at a very heavy personal cost, and it seems he only retained one friend from what was once a wide circle of friends in his old life.

Another person in the clip who had a stroke and changed from a bricklayer to an artist also lost his wife and family (although he remained heterosexual).
This seems to be quite normal in such cases.
He says at first people got annoyed because they thought he must be pretending, and after many years they realized it was genuine, but then they felt too sheepish to come back.

I suppose it must also be hurtful because they cannot remember much of their pre-stroke life.

Peoples brains can change an awful lot after brain injuries so part of me isn't really taken aback by the concept. However, the other part of me is veering more towards the stroke was just used as an excuse to pirouette out of Narnia.
Right now the serious bit is out of the way, I can't help but chuckle at some similarity.

reply to post by sligtlyskeptical

Incidentally, the therapist in the documentary also mentions a case where a gay man turned straight after a stroke.
However these cases appear to be extremely rare (if not unique).

These connections must be so intricate that I doubt it will become a medical procedure.

And it's not just the sexual orientation that changed but the whole personality.
Sexuality may also be caused by different factors in different people.

We don't know whether the sexual orientation change was the root of many other changes, or quite incidental to them.

But yeah, it does bring up those fears of gay people having their brains rewired by surgeons trained in Bible college - yikes!

Reply to post by sligtlyskeptical

Different than you does not equate to damaged.

If the brain changed as a result of trauma is the result the damage?

Are musicians and left handed people damaged?

What you've been saying all along is obtuse and ignorant.
I'm not saying you should accept gay people. I'm saying you should awaken yourself to the fact that everyone is different and those who are are neither damaged or Anti American.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by mainidh
reply to post by Advantage

 

You're the one fixated on the 'scary gay man'...

Bears anyone?

Sorry, Im a woman. Gay men dont do much for me.

Reply to post by Advantage

perhaps if you bash one in the head (as recent evidence shows), they will?

I wonder if this will eventually lead to a scientific understanding of what exactly leads an individual to find their same sex sexually attractive as ooposed to opposite? The findings would be groundbreaking to say the least.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Wow. I had a stroke and all it did was make me lose the ability to write, tie my shoes, play the guitar, button my pants, whittle, and basically use my left hand. I went from typing 200wpm to 10. Every reply takes so long now. It only affected me physically. Not mentally other than being tired all the time for no reason. The numbness on my left side is annoying. I can't hold things in my left hand. I forget they are there. I can't tell the difference between my lighter and my pocket knife in my pocket and keep trying to light smokes with my knife. It has been a year and 2 months and I fear I will never recover. How can one have a stroke and become gay? Doesn't the guy have the severe debilitating physical handicaps we stroke survivors deal with every single day? How does that work?

Originally posted by spinalremain
Reply to post by Advantage

 

perhaps if you bash one in the head (as recent evidence shows), they will?

I wonder if this will eventually lead to a scientific understanding of what exactly leads an individual to find their same sex sexually attractive as ooposed to opposite? The findings would be groundbreaking to say the least.

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

Given recent scientific studies, I dont believe that one excludes the other. I think that one can be "born gay" and can be "accidentally" by stroke or whatever mechanism prone to homosexuality. I see the typical " AHAH! Toldja you werent born that way and its brain damage" posts.. yet they are so narrow they dont comprehend that it isnt exclusive.

I'll just never understand why it matters so much.

Originally posted by Ookie
Wow. I had a stroke and all it did was make me lose the ability to write, tie my shoes, play the guitar, button my pants, whittle, and basically use my left hand. I went from typing 200wpm to 10. Every reply takes so long now. It only affected me physically. Not mentally other than being tired all the time for no reason. The numbness on my left side is annoying. I can't hold things in my left hand. I forget they are there. I can't tell the difference between my lighter and my pocket knife in my pocket and keep trying to light smokes with my knife. It has been a year and 2 months and I fear I will never recover. How can one have a stroke and become gay? Doesn't the guy have the severe debilitating physical handicaps we stroke survivors deal with every single day? How does that work?

Probably depends on which region of the brain the stroke effected the greatest.

Now all he needs is another stroke to turn him back straight.

reply to post by Ookie

The documentary mainly focuses on the sexual orientation change, which is I guess what interests people.

He does mention some physical changes, such as a drooping eye which he distracts from with his fringe.
He also feels guilty because he feels he doesn't contribute much to the hair salon where he works.
That, and his ongoing medication do indicate that there may be other debilitating effects from the stroke.