Hello! I stumbled on this forum by accident, and I am so happy that I did. My husband was in an accident almost two years ago while on a tractor. A tree smashed his left side of his face crushing all of the bones on that side. While his physical appearance is exactly the same, he is no longer the same person.

He tries, but his personality and stamina are just not what they used to be. He says he feels like he has constant pressure in his head, the smallest tasks tire him out, and his moods are up and down dramatically.

We went to a brain injury clinic and were told he should go into 3-6 months of combined therapies, however it is hours away from home and we are not in a position to be able to make this happen. We live in the middle of the woods in a very rural area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and resources are not exactly close to us.

We saw his neurologist yesterday and heard for the first time what we really already knew deep down but have never heard it aloud. "You are healed from the injury, but you are not the same person you were and you will never be." UGH...tough pill to swallow.

Our marriage, our family, our lives have changed and in many ways, have been stressed emotionally to the max. We are trying to stick together and figure it out, but it is so tough sometimes. I am dedicated, however, to finding everything we can to make the most of what we have and find a way to find happiness.

The doctor said he has severe depression (not a shocker to either of us). He wants us to start Cymbalta (20 mg then work up to 30). He also wants him on 1800 mg of Neurontin (900 at dinner, 900 at bedtime). He says the Cymbalta will help with the depression and Neurontin with muscle pain/tightness, sleeping issues, and nerve pain. I've been reading a little about these drugs and am a bit concerned that he is going to have more issues from the drugs than he does now...

I'd love to hear other's experiences with all of this.