Thank you
 

Hi all of you. I was just wanting to say thank you to all of you. Before finding this site I was reconciled to non recovery - as I was told this is as good as it gets. I now think there is a lot more hope. You have no idea what it is like to know that there are others the same. Having PCS is very lonely even when you are surrounded by other people as that sends you into a fog with the noise. I think that I must be having one of my emotional moments - what a girl!!!

Anyway -thank you!!!!! Does anybody have any ideas on coping with Xmas??

Lynlee

Hi Lucy
 

To Lynlee, Yes do some volunteer work, visit someone in the Hospital, make some cookies for someone you don't know, and be Thankful for what you do have.

Enjoy Life Jeffn

Lynlee, thank you so very much for being o this board! I have learned so much from you and everybody else here. You are a fighter and you continue to seek answers for this PCS. My biggest wish for you is that you find a cure. I'm the same age as you and I hope that we both will have a good quality, long live. I am still optimistic that I will get better soon. As far as Chistmas goes - like Jeff says - baby steps, or just taking it one day at a time.

Jeff, you are such an inspiration, always optimistic - thanks a million! Sometimes I get mad at the person who caused my accident, but I know that only hurts me, so I try to be forgiving and knowing that he is in prison makes it easier too.

Sorry about your laptop being stolen, don't know why these things have to happen to good people!

Amen!
 

And thank YOU for being so thoughtful in your replies to this newbie to PCS. I've shared your posts to me with family and friends and they are so happy that there are people out there that understand what I'm living with right now.

And I meant the 'right now' because like all of you, I do hope that this is not permanent.

Y'all are really great and I can't tell you how comforting this place is. :grouphug:

~Lori

Oh, and how I plan to handle Christmas
 

Lots of 'special' eggnog. tee hee.

Hi RisibleGirl, about that special eggnog - I don't want to spoil your party, but did you know that alcohol is very bad for PCS? I read somewhere (and some of the people on this forum have found this out firsthand) that it can worsen the symtoms, so I am staying away from it and try to have a good time anyway.

You know what's funny? Alcohol helps the severity of the myoclonic jerks (learned that from a myoclonic forum! Some of them use alcohol to deal with the jerkies), but you're right- I do pay for it for a few days afterward with a lot of brain fog and confusion. Probably one of the reasons I took my home phone with me to the doctor instead of the cell phone the day after we had a party. :rolleyes:

I do take it easy though- because on top of this mess I have liver affected alpha-one antitrypsin deficiency, so I am not a huge alcohol drinker.

I guess that now I have two reasons to stay away from the fun stuff.

Bummer!

Jeffn I didn't mean to sound sad and lonely not sad lonely and desperate - it is the kind of loneliness of not having any people around that are of the same PCS!! The Xmas thing is so tiring - shopping rellies and all that kind of stuff - like too little time and energy to do what you want to do etc. And don't ask me to bake cookies! Following recipes is not something I am good at - I can never remember what I have put in the bowl - I have made a system of putting things away immediately after adding them but there have been some strange things cooked in my kitchen at times!! Lynlee

Thank you Sissy
 

Thank you Sissy for the positive feed back. There's a lot of really good people here looking for the solutions to TBI /PCS and I think part of the solution is being able to talk to people that are experiencing the same type of symptom and personality changes that are caused by the Trauma or Concussions.

I've come to the conclusion that these symptoms and personality changes are un acceptable to me and I've made up my mind to do something about it.

I'm an Irishman so getting mad is just apart of my DNA and it's a matter of focusing that energy in the right direction.

A little bum out about the laptop being stolen, so I'm having to ask myself how can I turn this negative into a positive. Making some phone calls and re building my plat from. I'm thankful this happen in 2007 and that the was no personal fiancial information on my laptop. The new system will be set up for an OS system only and all personal information will be placed on a flash drive and pass word protected. Welcome to the Brave New World.

It's a lot easier to replace a laptop then it is to rebuild a brain

Looking forward to 2008 and making the changes that need to be made to get back on course.

Your correct Sissy it is better to forgive those who trespassed against us.

Take Care and I hope your Holidays are special. Jeffn

Jeff
 

Hey, have I mentioned yet that I'm the Data Information Security (computer geek) education and awareness manager for a 50,000 employee bank? Not going to name the bank, but I'll bet you can guess.

It's my job to keep people informed about safe computing and keeping our customer information safe. You're doing the right thing by password protecting. It's amazing the things people are doing these days to steal information. Oh the horror stories I hear.... ;)

Lucy
 

To Lynlee, It's not about baking cookies, It's about doing one kind act for someone you don't know, a gift freely given.

Dealing with Christmas is hard for some people and having to deal with the PCS symptoms makes it even harder.Your tried you don't feel good your emotions are bouncing off the walls and your having to pretend your someone your not and all of these symptom have a negative effect on our social and personal lives. No Fun I have to deal with the same issues.

I would weather be sitting down at The Tender Box smoking cigars and enjoying a good cup of coffee with my friends planning my next fishing trip or making money so I could pay for the fishing trip, but that's not on my plate right now.

Re building my brain is on my plate and I need to stay focused on that task.

In my opinion Many people have forgotten the real meaning of Christmas.

A lot of people here understand how difficult it is to deal with the PCS symptoms and how dysfunctional it makes one Holidays or not. The last several Christmas have not been a piece of cake for me either so I try to stay focused on the good memories and hang out with the people who love and care about me today. I am a very Blessed man because I have real friends who are there in the good times and the hard times.

Take Care Jeffn:)

Risiblegirl
 

Hi Lori Thanks for the feed back. Talking to the boy's in Seattle on this one. I only get sucker punched once.

It's not the laptop, street value 50.00 - 100.00 bucks it all my personal information, photos, research projects business and personal contacts and software that was stolen. That is my concern. I can only hope these people are stupid enough to pull the hard drive and try to sale the laptop for parts.

This is not going to happen again. Any idea's or suggestion on this matter would be most appreciated.

I'm thankful no one was hurt.

Being very Pro Active on this issue. Jeffn

Jeff
 

If you had your passwords saved on your computer- change all of them immediately.

Contact all of your financial institutions and let them know that your data has been stolen

I'd contact the credit bureaus and put a hold on any new credit offers. That's the most important thing of all. They can flag your account so if any one tries to open a new account, they have to notify you first.

You can google "protect credit information" or "identity theft" and you'll find lots of links to places to help you.

I guarantee you that if someone has your laptop, they have enough information to open new accounts and steal your identity.

I'm glad you're taking this seriously. I'm also sad that you lost pictures and things.

Thanks RisibleGIRL
 

Lori Thank you for the insight. I wasn't looking at the identity thief issue still in shock that this happened in the first place.

I'll get on this Monday am. Your right there is enough personal information on my laptop to create a new identity. Not Cool.

I do have the police report and that maybe helpful, no financial information on this unit, but it would be smart to change everything at this time and create a firewall. Bank accounts and credit card information.

I know people who have had their identity stolen and it is a nightmare I don't need to deal with at this time.

Thank you for the help.Jeffn

Most banks, etc. are open on Saturday. I highly recommend that you do it tomorrow rather than Monday. Some have 24/7 customer service.

Yeah, I know, I sound like an alarmist- but I know what can happen. All an identity thief needs to know is a combination of your name and only one of the following:

Your birth date
Your social security number (of course!)
Account number(s)
Your address

With any of those combinations- they are set to steal your identity. Trust me, that's a HORRIBLE mess to unravel.

When anyone has a company laptop stolen at my company- we automatically go into panic mode. Even though we have encryption software on all of our computers, those hackers can be brilliant. I hope for your sake that they're just out for the laptop and not the information in it.

OK- done with the lecture. Back to your regularly scheduled programming. :)

Risiblegirl
 

Lori, Thanks for the heads up I'll be at the BANK at 9:00 am tomorrow. No I don't think your being an alarmist at all identity thief can ruin your life for along time. This laptop was stolen 11.20.07 so the thief had had 10 days to extract bits and pieces off the hard drive. I really don't think there is that much personal information on this unit as I do most of my business in paper,but it is better to error on the side of caution.

Let's hope there are no identity thief issues related to this laptop thief.

Thank you very much for your insight into this matter. I would have been blind sided.

Sincerely Jeffn

Jeff and everyone else...
 

Egads, I love this forum!

So happy to help you- because you've given so much info to me.

OK- I'm signing off for the night (hubby is FINALLY done watching The Matrix for the umpteenth time!).

Have a great night everyone!

~Lori

agreed
 

I agree with the optimism. This stuff in one person's life is one too many, let alone many people's lives. We need this stuff beaten. I don't know about everybody else, but it destroys my ability to get or keep anything but very simple low-paying jobs. It completely halts my ability to pursue music, which is one of the few true joys in my life. It's directly or indirectly ruined many relationships with other people. It's robbed me of many wonderful memories. It's time for this stuff to go. I believe that we can all learn from having had to go through this stuff, but now, it's time to get better, to have our lives restored. Someone will find the right doctor, who will find the right med, or treatment of some other kind, and we will be on the road to improvement, and maybe total freedom from it. Let's not do ANY resigning ourselves to it. We're just waiting for the doctors to become more familiar with it. We will get to our better days. Best wishes to all, again.

P.S. Has anyone ever had their doctor tell them that "there is nothing wrong with your head, physically," and basically imply that you are making up the symptoms? I don't see this as being very professional.

I'm super lucky with the Neurologist the ER assigned me to for after care. She TOTALLY gets it. I'm also lucky(?) in that my brain injury shows on a MRI- so there is no doubt that it's there.

If you're not getting support from your current doctor- I suggest you go elsewhere and keep searching until you find one that will take care of you.

I'm one of the lucky ones that can still work and be productive. I'm not saying that it's always rainbows and unicorns, because it's not. I have days that I get lost on my own floor because I'm in such a confused state. Most of my job involves writing, which is a good thing because I don't have to think off the top of my head.

I must give a big shout out for spellcheck and thesaurus!

I'm also lucky in that I am able to do my job from home 3 days a week. I can't imagine what it would be like if I had to go into the office every day. I don't think I could do it.

Top of the head.
 

Hi RG,

I noticed that you mentioned something about having trouble thinking off the top of your head. I definitely have trouble with that, also. Given time, I can make good decisions, or look back and think "It didn't make sense for me to say that." But, if on the spot or rushed, the pressure really makes me screw up what I'm saying or doing. It's like I have trouble transferring my thoughts to and out of my mouth, or hands, or whatever. The thought is there, but I can't [I]do[I it. I also lose track of what I'm doing, right in the middle of it, often. And I'll reverse stuff, throwing the wrong thing in the garbage, and saving the wrong thing. It's pretty embarrassing.