Hi Lily- I was like you and went back to work full-time immediately after my accident. The concussion symptoms didn't start showing up for about 10 days to two weeks after. The accident was the other person's fault (ran a red light and hit me), but my own insurance was giving me problems immediately, too, so I hired a lawyer right away. So, luckily I started P/T for my whiplash injury with in a few days, but the concussion was never really taken seriously til months later, when things were still not where everyone thought they "should" be. Problem is, there's not a lot of long-term, detailed research on head injuries to really even say what's normal and what's not, and how they should be treated. It's a sad state of affairs. I will always wonder, too, if I'd have done better if I had taken a break. Problem is, I already had a surgery scheduled for a month after, and that was going to take up all of my leave time. I simply didn't have the possibility of taking time off.

As for the time thing, I still have trouble with this over a year out. Things that happened before the accident seem like they happened more recently than things that happened afterwards. I had to get a smart phone so that I could set myself alarms for meds, alarms when it's time to get my son from school, reminders for everything. It's actually helpful because it was taking too much of my brain power to try to remember all of those things...and I just couldn't anyway. I used to have a mind like a steel trap, so that was rather hard to get used to. One thing that also helped me a lot is to automate everything I possibly could, especially recurring things like paying bills.

Another thing I had trouble with was trying to hide the problems I was having. I thought I was doing really well, but then I went back and looked at work I did right after the accident, and found a whole lot of errors. A couple of friends filled out questionnaires before my neuropsych eval (which was about 10 months after the accident) and I was pretty surprised at how they described me, how I'd changed. Now, when I see a look on someone's face that says "What's her deal?" when I'm trying to talk to someone about scheduling something or any kind of planning or decision-making, I just tell the person I've had a head injury. 95% of the time, the person's attitude is great and it actually takes the stress off of me a bit. Another thing that was super hard for me: asking people for help. I was trying to power through, too. One bright spot in this whole ordeal is that some of my friendships have gotten much deeper, partly because I allowed myself to ask for help. Also, knowing that things could have ended up much, much worse has put a lot into perspective for me. I have gotten over quite a few fears I used to have, and done some silly fun things I never would have done before, simply because I know how close I came to not ever having the chance to do them at all. That was another bright spot.

Also, you mentioned your thyroid. I'm hypothyroid, and I had to have my dosages adjusted a couple of months after the accident. Everything went suddenly haywire in the matter of a week or two. I recently started seeing an osteopath to try to look into a more holistic approach to healing, and she ran a giant endocrine/hormone panel. Pretty much everything was in the tank. The other doctor I was seeing after the accident (the one who didn't initially take the concussion seriously) now says I might have neuroendocrine problems due to the TBI, and he's referred me to an endocrinologist. All of those chemicals are related, and the damage done to the brain in a TBI can have very real affects on the rest of the body. It's pretty amazing, but just this summer, researchers discovered that the brain is actually connected to the lymphatic system of the rest of the body. So, not only can't we trust that doctors in podunk towns will have the most up-to-date information, but there's plenty of stuff that is just plain unknown, period.

I would echo MarkInIdaho (I think that's who said it) and suggest you make a claim on the driver's insurance. It just might reimburse you for work you miss due to doctor's appointments, physical therapy, medications, etc., too (my policy, and the policy of the person who hit me did). I know my own policy had a set amount per person in the vehicle, not just one amount split over everyone. The driver paid the premiums for the benefit, and you need to take care of yourself. Just keep a journal of how long appointments are, make copies of bills and receipts that you pay out of pocket in case you can be reimbursed. Especially if you have to take some time off of work, every little bit helps, believe me.

Were you injured in any other way, such as whiplash?