July63,
Thanks for your reply. I would be grateful if you let us know what information you got from the sleep study.
I don't think that it's my sleep that is giving me the fatigue. I never had this problem before the accident.

July,

Dreaming, especially pleasant dreams are a good sign. This is when REM Sleep is occurring. This is also when the brain is doing its best recovery/restoration process. A lack of REM/dream sleep leaves the brain fatigued.

Also, lack of proper oxygenation of the brain leaves the brain fatigued. Chronic lack of oxygenation can become cumulative and leave the brain in a damaged/injured state.

Hi Shelley,

You are on a journey. One that you didn't wish to go on, but you are on it and that can't be helped now.

I don't think we who are, unfortunately, going on similar journeys can tell you where yours will end up. I think that it is too early to say whether you will get back to teaching or not, but I do think that what you do in the early stages of your unfortunately illness may make a difference to how it goes.

I don't think that you should get too hung up about not getting back to teaching at only 8 months after your injury. Finances could be an issue, but provided that you can somehow make ends meet, if I were you, I would concentrate on doing what you can to rebuild your health and getting through those horrible early stages after a traumatic brain injury.

I had a constant headache for at least a year after I had a similar injury. I was also very fatigued. Working was absolutely out of the question. Fortunately, I didn't try.

I read somewhere that such patients are not expected to improve after the first year. However, I did. I have made tediously slow but nevertheless continuous progress. Three years post-trauma, my headaches have dramatically lessened, I have much more energy and I am back to work 4 days a week. (Not at the same level, but still very much more than I could do for a long long time.)

I think that you have to think long-term here and don't go back to work and strain yourself before you feel that you are ready. You may see a lot of improvement yet and what you do could help the healing process along. Where you end up will ultimately be more important than how quickly you get back to doing certain things.

I liked the idea of teaching individuals to read, which someone else suggested. Perhaps you might eventually go back to teaching in a slightly different and less stressful capacity, like one-on-one or smaller classes.
What about a younger age group, like toddlers or under fives? I find at those younger ages children are more in need of quiet reassurance and don't necessarily need to have you running around energetically all the time. Just an idea. Plenty to think about.

Lots of luck.
CS

Concussed Scientist: Thank you for so eloquently describing your recovery. There are lots of examples on this site of people who continue to experience improvements a year, two years, or more after their injuries. It's so very important to the healing process to be paitent and kind to yourself, to celebrate every little improvement.

At approximately 15 months post injury (a "mild" concussion) my daughter has very few remaining issues. She gets overwhelemed a little faster with school work, she's more prone to migraines. She, too, had a constant headache for nearly a year so by comparison we are thrilled to be where we are. I kept reading that people in this category were not likely to see improvement. I tried to ignore that prediction and NEVER shared it with her.

Ditto on increasing the protein intake. My daughters migraines are prevented (usually) by increasing her protein and water intake in the 10 days pms.

Concussed Scientist:

Your comments were so helpful to read especially this week when I've had unrelenting headaches and horrible fatigue - again. I certainly could not go back to work in this condition, but it is frustrating that it takes so long to get better. I am sorry that you had to suffer in the same way. But I am happy to hear that you did get a lot better, even though it took a long time.

Hearing from someone else that they DID improve and were able eventually to get back to work is good news. I also have the headaches in addition to the fatigue and sometimes dizziness.

When you were able to go back to work, did you start out slowly and with half days?

Again, thank you for your insight. It really helps, especially when some doctors don't understand much about brain injury.

Wow. I've never got so much positive feedback!

I remember when I first started looking on the internet regarding my condition, one of the things that I was very keen to find was feedback from those who have gone before suffering with the condition. I wanted to know how long it would last and whether there was anything that other people had tried which worked.

Unfortunately perhaps people who recover are less likely to use the site and we don't hear much from those who have got better. That's one reason that I decided to leave feedback for others if I ever got better myself.

Well, I have got much better, if not completely better. So that's pretty good, consider that I doubted at many points that I would get as well as I am now ever again.

So, to answer Shelley's questions:
I started back to work when I thought that I was able. That could be very different for different people depending on their injuries. At the 1 year point, I inquired about teaching one evening class per week. I was offered the job, but by that stage I had looked over the material and my headaches had become so bad that it was clear that I wasn't up to it and I turned the job down.

Eventually, 1.5 years post-trauma, I got a 50% full-time position (2.5 days per week) as a laboratory technician. It didn't involve any stressful interations with people, just doing things by rote. It was a lower level job than I am trained for but the important thing was that I found that I was able to do it. It was quite hard to start with and I had to sometimes take a break during the day just to sit or lie with my eyes closed and do nothing. That didn't happen many times and now it doesn't happen at all.

I am still doing the same job but I have now increased my hours to 4 days per week and that four days is now easier than the 2.5 days were at the beginning. I increased my hours after doing the job for about 9 months and now I have been doing it for 1.5 years altogether. There is a fixed contract to run for another year and I think that by that time I will be ready to work full time.

The best of luck to everyone in trying to recover or trying to make the best of the situation that you are now in.

CS

Concussed Scientist:

You have no idea how helpful it is to hear from someone who has been through "this", and to hear that it is possible to heal even after one year. I was getting REALLY impatient with myself for not healing. How could that be possible? And if I wasn't healing by now, then maybe I never would heal.

I am really happy to hear that you are much better than you were and that you were able to go back to work, even if the work that you are doing now is different from what you were originally doing.

I am so grateful to you for letting us know about your improvements. When/if I am fortunate enough to heal, I will try to remember how comforting your post was for me (and I'm sure for others as well), and I will, hopefully, be able to help others in the same way that you are helping me now.
Thank you.

Hi Shelly.

My daughter received her concussion back in October 2009. My daughter is in a similar to place is PCSLearner's daughter - still more prone to headache, overwhelmed more easily and stress/anxiety levels are a little higher than preconcussion. She's back in school full time and doing well. (She didn't make it back full time last school year. She'd do afternoons 3 days a week and work with a tutor the other days.)

A friend of mine's son was at the same place a year out. He's now two years out and to handling stress/anxiety and basically being a normal senior in high school.

I don't think there is anything magical about the year mark. I do think people continue to improve. In the book "Brainslash" the author continued to experiences gains years after her injury. The same is true in the book "Over My Head". It's hard to be patient. Hang in there. I now mine as a caregiver was greatly challenged last year!

hi. I got some results back from my sleep study and was told I have severe sleep apnea, and they want me to go back for another study with some sort of nasal tubes in my nose. Since I don't see the pulmonry doctor till Dec 30, that means the 2nd sleep study will not happen till January, so basically now I know what is wrong with my sleeping and I have to suffer with it for a couple more months Ugh

July,

Some people with sleep apnea do better sleeping in a reclined position. Until you can get properly diagnosed for a CPAP or BiPAP, etc, You may want to try other sleeping positions.

I can get some great sleep in a recliner. My wife will see a look of total contentment on my face when she sees me sleeping in my easy chair. If I am not breathing properly in bed, I will sometimes have a grimace on my face.

A friend of mine got diagnosed and stopped seizing at night and his daytime world changed for the better.

My best to you.