<<What steps have you taken to accept you current limitations?>>

<Mark, thanks for your reply! I'm not trying to be difficult, but I don't really know what that question means? (Maybe that's the problem, I don't know if I believe I have any limitations.)>

You do have limitations. Some are temporary and some will be long term and maybe permanent. Fighting against these conditions is counter-productive. Accepting your limitations does not mean you are choosing them to be permanent.

<I'm not sure if these are the answers to that question or not:
-- I make time to nap almost daily>

This is good but not a complete solution.

<-- I understand it takes me longer to do things and I get less done in a day than I used to, but I don't like that. >

Your last comment is problematic. I have lots of conditions I do not like but I do not fight against them or become angry because of them.

<-- Since paying cash causes me many problems with figuring out change etc, I now only use debit and credit cards to reduce my stress.>

Have you spent any time to try to learn a new way of counting change? I have had to learn new ways of doing math because I can not hold numbers in my head.

<-- I try to avoid situations that increase my symptoms or that I know will induce my anger.>

This is a very good skill to develop and strengthen. Good for you.

<I see this injury as a temporary situation, I remember what it was like to be me in the past and I expect to get back there or close to there. Maybe this is the unreasonable part of my thinking?>

I think you need to work to change this thought. I may have an advantage because I have lost functions in small steps starting 40 years ago. I learned to work within those losses. When I had a big change in 2001, I was more able to learn to accept those changes, even though it was about a year before I finally understood those new losses.

Research suggests that a large amount of post concussion improvements come from learning new ways to live life and work-around the PCS limitations. There can be great personal reward from learning to do a lost function a different way. Carrying a load of "I am angry because I can't do this" prevents us from learning the new skills.

<All I know is I didn't take my pill last night before bed and today I feel better than I have in a week. I still had to nap, but I didn't feel so tired that even breathing was too much work!>

You may be right than this med is the wrong one for you. Don't be afraid to try something different. But, I suggest you put more effort into accepting that you have new limits. Put you effort into learning more work-around skills and accommodation skills. Make a list of the things you can no longer do as before, then try to learn ways to do the same thing different ways.

I had to learn to recognize when I was at my limit. I had to stop the task and set it aside. It is much easier to return to it later than to fight with it and suffer failure. I also learned that the timing I had put on a task tended to be unrealistic.

I learned that there are three glasses. One glass is half empty. One is half full. The important observation is that the glass I chose was TOO BIG. Once I chose a smaller glass, I was able to complete the tasks in the smaller glass. I can always go for a refill, if I feel I need to refill the smaller glass. But, I have learned that the smaller glass is usually the better size.

<If that's the best they can offer (and maybe its not? I've only been once to the rehab clinic) then I'll just muddle along on my own.

I already feel I've given up so much and I can't do much about it, I'm not willing to give up more for a pill that may or may not eventually improve my life. I have things to do... I want to move forward from this.>

I don't think the pill is designed to improve your life. They all have side effects that need to be balanced against the benefits. I think the pill is designed to give you a break from your anxiety and anger so you can start to see a way forward. The pill only gives you a chance to see what has always been there but lost in the cloud of frustration, anger and angst.

I think you may do better to try to accept the new you before trying a new pill. I know how hard and humbling it can be. Been there, doing that for decades.

My best to you.