Write down all your symptoms so you don't forget them and so you can talk about them with your neurologist.
Rest as much as possible. Your brain is trying to heal itself and that takes more energy than usual - so when you
exert yourself mentally or physically it's going to be counter-productive towards your getting better.
No on can even guess how long it might last. Your neuro might try to do this - take whatever prognosis is given with a grain of salt. My first neuro tried to do this with me - he said it would take a few weeks and 20 months later I am still not back to normal - granted I suffered some rare side effects, but it still made me very upset and I thought I was doing something wrong when I wasn't getting better and that wasn't good for my anxiety levels.
On that note, try not to get too anxious. Although it's disconcerting to experience your brain not working the way you've come to know that it should after 58 years of life, experts believe anxiety does not help the recovering brain. Likewise with depression. I think it's only natural to freak out and get depressed about this kind of thing - but limit it, or reduce it as much as possible if you're able to. And don't get anxious about getting anxious.
Even though you were very active before the injury (which is probably a good thing and why you're not doing even worse now!) your brain is 58 years alive and typically experts say that teens and 20-something brains heal the best and fastest from these types of injuries...
and gets progressively more difficult with age.
Make sure you eat as healthy food as possible. Nutrition is a valuable part of helping your brain to heal.
Stay away from processed foods, sugar, caffeine, alcohol and MSG.
Embrace taking your vitamins, including a good multi-vitamin, a good B-Complex and Omega 3-6-9 oil.
My neurologist has advised that I take B12 in addition to the B-Complex which already has B12 in it. She recommends shots of B12 but since no one in my home can administer them for me, she says sublingual B 12 is the best alternative.
Rest. rest. rest. and rest.
You might find that any kind of mental stimulation will aggravate your symptoms. If this is the case, avoid that stimulation, like TV, Radio, etc. as much as you can.
My Primary Care Physician told me early on that if I feel like doing something do it, if I feel like resting do it. Exercise can provide your brain with more oxygen which will help it to heal -but it can also exacerbate symptoms. It can be a fine line and one difficult to discern when your brain isn't working correctly. So, try doing things, but if they make you feel worse or bring on more symptoms - which could only flare up days after trying to do that thing, then don't try to do that thing anymore for a while... it's all about baby steps. Boring boring baby steps. (Sorry, I was very active before the injury I sustained and it's been 20 months and I still want to MOVE and I'm not yet able to...)
There is a lot of valuable information and support in these threads... bookmark the page so you don't forget about it and read through and re-post with more questions as you feel the need to.
Welcome to Neuro-talk.
