10/24
Post Concussion Day #32. Cleaning up around the house takes just too much walking back and forth. Yardwork = getting up and down. Makes me dizzy!
10/25
Post Concussion Day #33. Went in to work for a couple of hours, unofficially (if HR asks, I was home watching the grass turn brown), to deal with some organizational tasks. I still can’t filter auditorally or visually – everything has the same significance and it takes a ton of concentration to focus. Many coworkers glad to see me – heartwarming. Left with a headache and tight neck and shoulder muscles.
10/26
Post Concussion Day #34. Spent the day sleeping and reading USADA documents...maybe the need for a nap wasn’t due to the concussion....
10/27
Post Concussion Day #35. Breakfast at Barbette. Lots of yardwork. Exhausted.
10/28
Post Concussion Day #36. Mark says I can consider going back to work as soon as I consider making a sandwich to be “making a sandwich” and not “multitasking”. Sticking to a sequence is surprisingly challenging! My Experiences with (hopefully) Temporary ADD
10/29
Post Concussion Day #37. Spent the afternoon finally able to start through my desk piles for the first time in 5+ weeks: misc. stickie notes, financial stuff, papers, bills, filing, clutter....
10/30
Post Concussion Day #38. Coffee with a friend with a short ride afterward. Riding straight ahead on a bicycle = fine. Changing directions while walking around a school library = queazy. No balance issues. I feel at home on the bike.
10/31
Post Concussion Day #39. Sunny day! Felt pretty darned OK. Answered work email. Writing anything takes me twice as long as usual. I haven't been writing writing yet...I miss it, but I can't really stomach it right now.
11/1
Post Concussion Day #40. TODAY, impatience set in. Tues. and Wed. I felt relatively OK except for some fatigue. Still spent the majority of each day on my arse. Today I woke up with the whirlies and they stuck around for the day. Criminy. Yes, everything is moving forward...bla, bla, bla....
11/2
Post Concussion Day #41. Biked downtown to meet Mark for lunch. Meeting coworkers and lots of skyway walking was exhausting. I definitely felt “flat.”
11/3
Post Concussion Day #42. Sitaround Saturday. Met up with friends for supper -- I'm not an extrovert, but I sure enjoy getting out and being around people.
11/4
Post-Concussion Day #43. Posted four sets of cycling shoes on CraigsList and needed a nap...there’s all the pictures, the taking, the uploading, the descriptions.... A dull headache seems to be the pattern after a few hours of concentration.
11/5
Post Concussion Day #44. Friends who have gone through similar say this is when it gets tough: feeling better enough to have some relatively normal days, but not consistently enough to depend on feeling well every day. It’s easy to do too much and then I pay for it.
11/7
Post Concussion Day #46. I’m finding that I'm better able to concentrate without exhaustion, multitask (multitasking is two things, like cooking while doing laundry), work through a list, filter out a lot of extraneous visual and auditory stimuli, drive freeways without fatigue. I’ve felt “relatively OK” for three days! “Relatively OK" = fatigue and maybe a slight headache, but not feeling wiped out. Progress!
11/8
Post Concussion Day #47. All my past experiences (illness, injuries) tell me how healing "should" progress, but Progression doesn't seem interested in my preconceived assumptions. Writing, wording, organizing, filtering noise, multitasking...all are still tiring, but not exhausting anymore. I met up with WD for his bicycle commute home through Lowry Hill. It felt great to be out, but really? Hills??
11/9
Post Concussion Day #48. Woke up tired and headachy with my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth...which, you know, isn't so far-off given I'm clawing out of a pit with regards to my fitness level.
11/10
Non-Epilogue...seven weeks. You know how you feel coming off the stomach flu? Feeling better, attitude better, but still fatigued and droopy? That's about where I'm at. I'm getting used to a new ebb and flow. It seems that each week adds a day that I wake up feeling relatively OK--three so far this week--but I'll then deal with whirlies and fatigue for a few days. I haven't been too impatient yet...tough to be ancy when I'm feeling queazy.
-The Old better by fits and starts Bag
4 comments:
Thanks for the update. I can only guess how frustrating this whole thing is for you. You're in my thoughts and prayers.
Thanks Jeff. You know, it has actually been more interesting than frustrating (did a little editing so it didn't sound so dour).
Nausea was the main side effect, besides weird focus/concentration issues, and when I'm nauseous I just want to sleep. I wasn't too ancy or bored!
Damn, you really had your bell rung, didn't you? I wish you well.
I can tell you that your brain (although I know all situations are different) will recover. It is very hard and maddening to wait for it to happen, but it will.
I never thought that I would be the same after my stroke. The change was subtle but I felt it every day and had to re teach myself a lot of things that used to be second nature.
Be positive, make little tests for yourself, and hang in there. It will get better.
I am sending positive thought your way.
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