I've been driving since 2 days after my injury (my injury was from falling off a horse, not a car accident). The ER doc only told me not to drive myself home from the ER but that it was fine to drive the next day.

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have been driving right away, as even short drives in our rural area exhausted me. I am the only driver in our household though, so if I didn't drive, everyone would be stranded at home.

I generally don't drive in the city in heavy traffic and if I have to, usually for a doctors appointment, I make sure that I sleep before I go and that anyone else in the truck is silent while I'm driving.

I also can't listen to the radio or music or anything like that while I drive any more. (I can't listen to music at all anymore, it increases my head pain and in the case of classical music, makes me angry for some reason!)

I have done some longer drives (6 hours total) to visit family a few times, but I often stop once or twice during and will sleep in the truck for at least 30 mins, sometimes an hour and then continue. I find those trips exhausting and difficult, where they used to be fun and I liked going... now they are a chore and I dread them.

I always enjoyed driving before my injury... I still enjoy it now, but I find it tiring... but its one activity that let's me feel a bit like my old self. It also lets me get around easier. The rest of the time I walk with a cane, slowly. When I drive, no one knows I'm injured.

Starr