NeuroTalk Support Groups - Long term personal update

Hi All!

I haven't posted here for a long time, mainly because I've been getting my life back together and living it! :) But that is not without some challenges that still linger on. My previous thread can be found here if you want to compare and anticipate your own healing. (I'm using it as my own records.) My condition is as follows...

Symptoms that still remain

Short term memory loss - putting names to faces take longer than usual. And when I haven't interacted with certain people in a long time, I forget their names and have to ask. I also have difficulty in remembering what I have done recently anywhere from a few days to several months or more. This could be more human nature, but it's important that I remember these things. Most of the time I have to refer to notes or calendars or some sort of aid in order to remember. I read an article that one man used Twitter to remember what he does. I use apps like Swarm and Facebook to do that.

Symptoms that have improved but have also regressed

Erratic and slow processing speed - The depth of my thinking (and working memory) has increased immensely, but there are times especially when I'm fatigued, tired or overwhelmed that I cannot even receive what is being said or read. There's some sort of disconnect and I'd have to ask again or go over the material again so I can process the information. And it's not like it's always caused by attention loss.

Fatigue - This has much to do with my new life of being busy all the time now. I'm being more social and meeting new people, making new friends, but can only handle the talking noise up to 2 hours. I'm also cycling, training or doing yoga, always something physical nearly every day and it has helped me recover from PCS more than anything else. But I still get tired and it might be because I'm overdoing it and my brain can't handle the load. My mental capacity has indeed decreased. And while I need more sleep, sometimes my schedule is so packed, I can only sleep for 6 to 7 hours instead of 8. Other times I don't even want to sleep. So maybe this is part of a new normalcy that I'm developing.

Irritability - Despite doing meditation and yoga which keeps my mind, body and soul in balance, I still get irritated from time to time. Sometimes even just being around people gets me irritated and I withdraw, wanting peace and quiet and being alone. Maybe my introvertedness is more pervasive than before.

Impulsiveness - This is one of the most difficult characteristics to cope with. To counter it, I usually give myself more time to process before I act. Doing so requires more energy. Other times, I don't cope and just act and deal with the consequences later.

Those that have faded but sometimes linger

Periodic word finding difficulty - Not much change but it does improve when I think about what I want to say way beforehand.

Those that no longer exist
- OCD.
- tinnitus.

New symptoms

Motivation (and depression) - This is a big one. My motivation to get things done are obviously situation and item specific. But there are even times when my lack of motivation can lead to depression. It's happened a few times and it seems that having PCS really accentuates any particular mood I'm having whether it's being happy or sad.

I hope this is helpful for some of you still having issues. Any tips or advice is always welcome!