Yes, for most people recovery is a roller coaster. For some it is a very wild roller coaster. Sleep quality is often the cause of many of the bad days, and fatigue days. Over-stimulation can also be a cause of fatigue. Over-stimulation can cause a mental crash were you cannot do anything but stop and zone out.

One of the problems with sleep can be over-stimulation. The PCS brain often loses its ability to ignore stimulation. A normal brain puts considerable processing power into sorting and ignoring stimuli. The PCS brain struggles to do this. It wants to pay attention to everything. This can be just annoying or be truly mentally disturbing where the mind cannot settle down. It can trigger bouts of extreme sleepiness.

Learning how to moderate one's environment can help. Reducing triggering sounds and visual stimuli can help. Using masking sounds or visual images can help. For example, I and a PCS friend I know both use the TV to help us sleep. We use headphones to not disturb others with the volume low. Reruns work great. The mind knows what is happening so it is easy to drift away. I end up having dreams that fit the dialogue. It is odd but I often get my best sleep this way.

What is going on in your mind when you wake up? Are there any specific stimuli that you are aware of?

I use a weighted blanket because I sense the air around me that is a bit cooler than the sheet and blankets. The weighted blanket fills in these air spaces. I also need no stimulation sleep clothes with a similar feel all over my body. In the beginning, I dreaded going to bed because it was miserable. Waking up to stressful dreams was a real struggle.

Has your husband noticed anything about your sleep? Strange breathing patterns, twitching, etc?

The seeing spots is indicative of the brain not being able to ignore stimuli. In most people, those spots don't go away because they have always been there. Floaters and eye debris can catch the attention of the mind. Over time, the brain just regains its ability to ignore them. Many of us have sought out an ophthalmologist over concern for these spots and been told that they are normal and always there. If we look for these spots, we can find them but we can return to ignoring them again.

The tinnitus does not make sense. Experts do not understand it. It may be that we just have to learn to ignore it or mask it. I have loud tinnitus in my left ear and at a more tolerable level in my right ear. Learning to accept it and ignore it is usually the best solution.

When you experience fatigue/collapse during a long walk, what are your symptoms? What is your environment like? Traffic, people, voices and other sounds?