The fatigue and brain fog are VERY frustrating to deal with. I struggle to find words all the time and my reading comprehension just plain SUCKS now. I can't read more than a page or so (be it book, memo, email, etc) before I just cannot sort things out. I start re-reading sentences and paragraphs over and over...with nothing sinking in. I have to stop at that point and then come back to things later. I can listen to things okay...but even then my brain will easily wander. Sometimes I will start talking and I completely lose my train of thought...often forget what I was doing in the middle of doing something. And I can tell these things are getting worse and worse with time...and I just turned 30 so I really don't think it's an age thing. And I know it's not a med thing because I'm not on any of those either.

I hate to say that I just generally learn to deal with it...like everything else. But I have found ways to cope with things so I can continue to work. It's taken me over a year...I've been back to work almost two years now...but I've been learning my limitations and adjusting the whole time. I know I can't focus on things for long periods of time...so I guess it works in my favor that my job has me juggling lots of things at once so I don't really HAVE to focus on any one things for long stretches of time. The worst is when I have to do schedules...I start staring blankly at the screen for long stretches of time if I don't take breaks and stop to do other things in between.

But generally...it comes down to knowing my limits and working around them. You have to be honest with yourself about what you can and cannot do and deal with what IS rather than just being frustrated about what used to be. I got a promotion a few months ago to an HR and Operations position and this is actually perfect for me. It has put me in a position where I can balance office work with the more physical hands on work. I can tell that this job is really pushing my mental limits though...so we will see how it goes over the next year or so. I am VERY blessed right now though to work with a team of people who value what I do though and in an environment where we all support each other.

These things just take time though...which I know you don't want to hear. It's absolutely wonderful that your pain is getting under control. That's really the first step...and if you can conquer that then you can learn to come to terms with everything else. Just don't give up on yourself...you are stronger than you know...we all are.