[wtrpk]

I'm not sure I understand this -- does concentration bring on symptoms? If so, what symptoms.

For me...any form of thinking brings on weird feelings in my head --then the headache and unsteadiness...

I understand everything perfectly...I can read and not have to go back over stuff, etc...just get symptoms

[Margarite]

For me it means having trouble focusing and understanding what I am reading sometimes. It means worsening symptoms, low grades, and constant fatigue.

[Mark in Idaho]

For me, it means I need quiet to be able to truly focus on the task at hand. I used to be able to eat, listen to talk radio, drive and read a map at the same time with the air conditioning blowing full force. Now, if my wife is driving and needs directions, we need to turn of the radio, turn down the A/C, and usually pull to the side of the road so I can concentrate to read the map. I am not even driving but still need to stop the motion so I can read the map.

If I am trying to fill out a form with lots of blanks to fill out ( like today at Urgent Care as I was getting ready to have 9 stitches in my hand), I need to cover the bottom of the page so I cannot see the lines below the line that I am working on.

Or, ear phones/head set so i can hear the TV voices.

[Lucy]

During the first weeks I was unable to force my brain to focus and register words - unable to fill in forms - my brain felt like it wanted to scream and it actually seemed to hurt more. I can remember throwing the pen at my husband and saying I can't do this. "Can't " being a word that I would never have considered using previously. This gradually improved, but I no longer can read and watch television - no more doing more than one thing at a time.

Oh my goodness Mark - what happened to you?

[Mark in Idaho]

I was helping a young man change the oil pan gasket on a car I sold him. I was using a sharp chisel to scrape the gasket off. I was aware of the risk and repeatedly made sure my left hand was not where I could slip and cut it. But, my brain struggles to keep track of what both hands are doing.

Finally, I did get the left hand in the way and the chisel slipped and cut an inch and a half (4 cm) gash into the thumb palm pad. It was a very nasty cut. To make matters worse, my hands were black with oil and grease. It was quite a task getting my hands clean so the Physician's Assistant could stitch me up.

I just grabbed my hand to put pressure on the gash, went inside and told my wife I needed a ride to Urgent Care to get my hand stitched up. She knows the drill. Three years ago, I cut the tip of my little finger off. She was carting me off for stitches the first month we were married 31 years ago.

We have an Urgent Care medical clinic near our house. I was back home within an hour. It is kinda tender. A little tough to sleep last night. I think I have had about 80 stitches in my hands over the past 50 years. My first stitches event was when I was only 6 years old. My hands look like a battle zone.

[wtrpk]

OUCH!! Feel better!