Normal?

When I wake up...almost every morning...a few different things can happen. I'll either wake up feeling like im in a dream, wake up kind of delirious and have strange thoughts or I will wake up sort of confused or just weird. Sometimes I won't remember what I did the day before.

It takes me about 5-10 min to get my bearings....but it takes longer (2-3 hours) before I can actually talk to someone. I'm sure the injured brain takes awhile to boot up in the morning...just wondering if anyone experiences something similar.

Thanks!

Nick,

You are making your anxiety worse by being too critical of every odd feeling. The comparing does not help you. Have you tried having a glass of juice or some chocolate milk to get some sugar into your system. Some people wake up with low blood sugar. This can cause some of these strange feelings.

I haven't tried the glass of juice or chocolate milk thing. I'll try that.

I'm just getting tired of this crap, Mark...I really am. I wake up every morning feeling like I'm not even myself. I'm starting to have more responsibilities now. My head isn't even on right to take them on.... I just bought a car last night that needs a couple repairs done too it. I've gotta get my mechanic down here this weekend to get this taken care of so I can register the car on Monday. I can barely function enough to get him down here and explain to him what's going on.

I'm gonna be having either joint or full custody of my little buddy here soon....waking up with my head not on right isn't good for when he is here...you know? I question my ability to take care of him which kills me. It's kinda hard to not have anxiety when you can barely function enough to take care of your kid.

I know I need a stronger medicine to control it...but that doesn't fix PCS. That doesn't fix not knowing what's going on upon waking up. It doesn't fix not being able to function in a conversation....it just helps you not worry about it.

Glad to know I'm not the only one who feels weird in the mornings! Oddly enough, I have the opposite sort of thing going on. The pattern I've noticed is that I wake up and feel almost normal for a little while, but I'd say within an hour or two I start to notice that I'm still dealing with issues (like getting disoriented/confused when trying to focus on something mundane like taking a shower) and then I only have maybe a few hours at most after that before I really start crashing and drag through the rest of the day. For example, if I wake up at 9ish and don't take my time with getting all ready for the day (like if I have a doctor's appointment to get to), I'll probably be wanting to go back to bed by about 12.

What's really weird for me about waking up feeling pretty much normal at first is that I get this feeling of panic like "I've been over-reacting this whole time, nothing's wrong with me, I've let my life go into all this mess and chaos over nothing!" I kinda breath a sigh of relief when I start noticing symptoms again and can know that I'm not crazy and it's not all in my head... But then again, technically speaking...

Wow, finally someone I can relate to. Welcome to my world.

I have the same type of deal going on with me. My mornings are usually like this...I either wake up already disoriented and it takes a few hours to gain my composure....OR, I'll wake up feeling normal, have breakfast and start to get ready for the day and then slowly but surely my symptoms will start to become noticeable. I've been waking up a lot more refreshed lately...It started the morning after getting my NUCCA adjustment.

I've also had that feeling of panic in the morning like "Wow, it must be all in my head. Maybe I don't have any pr....oh never mind. I'm still broken."

Your morning routine sounds extremely similar to mine.

What kind of symptoms are you struggling with, if you don't mind me asking?

For me, it's been a whole bunch of different things. Various sorts of memory problems, issues with processing information and solving problems and concentrating, at times very challenged if not unable to put into words what's going on internally whether thought or emotion, fatigue (yet sometimes also problems with being able to fall asleep, despite being exhausted), quick temper at times, problems keeping emotions in check in general, personality changes, some crazy dreams, "dual" dizziness (sometimes I feel I'm dizzy, other times I feel the room is dizzy, sometimes both), a floating feeling like I'm not always fully in touch with reality, confusion, having to concentrate to put together sentences and keep a thought going when I talk, fighting at times to not slur my speech, sensitivity to light and certain noises (usually people noise like talking, etc), a slight claustrophobia/panicky feeling around lots of people as well as just with being indoors sometimes, switching back and forth between not caring about the cold much and my normal intolerance for cold (suspect I've also had a few hot flashes, crazy as it sounds), muscle tension (especially in my neck), pressure in my head, weird headaches (migraines?) that I seem to feel emotionally more than physically (usually I notice the "sense" of a headache for quite some time before I become aware I'm physically in pain), having "brain resets" where I forget what I'm doing and where I am for a split second (did this one time in the middle of trying to sign my name and had to really think for a moment to remember how the letters went), will sometimes try to do or say one thing but something else comes out, intolerance for stress (prolonged or overly intense stress makes me want to throw up), loss of appetite (don't always eat much even when I finally can force myself to), heightened sense of smell concerning certain things...

(eek, that list is longer than I realized)

Probably some more things in there, I don't ever seem to be able to remember it all in one sitting (did I mention memory issues?)

Wow, it sounds like we share a lot of the same struggles.

When it comes to PCS symptoms, you name it, I got it.

Well, except headaches and dizziness. I don't get that very often anymore.

I sent you a PM so we don't go off-topic on this thread, K? Hopefully it will let you respond. I think you have to have a certain amount of posts before you can use the PM feature. Oh well, see if it will let you respond...if not, just keep posting until you can.

Hi,

I'm new here. I read how some of your who have had TBI have been waking feeling weird etc for some time. I have a child who has been suffereing with a TBI for over 3 1/2 years. I have done a TON of research over the years on TBI and all of the symptoms/problems that my child has been dealing with as a result of her TBI.

The fact that she can't seem to make progress with the multitude of symptoms that she has had leads me to really take a real hard look at NED (Neuroendorcrine Dysfunction).


Sorry tried to post a link but it wouldn'y allow me. Look up Neuroendocrine Dysfunction. I recommend a link you will find from DCOE (Defence Center of Excellence)

Hope you all find this thought provoking and hopefully very useful.
I wish you all wellness.

Sincerely,
TBI Mom

TBI Mom,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear your daughter has been struggling so long. Please feel free to introduce yourself and tell us about your daughter's continuing struggles. What have you been doing to help her recover? What prognosis have doctors given you?

I'll start a new thread with the DCOE link.

My best to you.

I too have a very tough time in the mornings - in fact most symptoms you all have mentioned seem to hit me the worst between breakfast and lunch. Consequently, my anxiety shoots up and the vicious cycle begins. I also have 2 special needs children, which adds another layer to my challenging mornings.

What has helped me most is to just accept that this is how it is and that I need ALOT more time in the am to get my head on straight

You all aren't alone. I have been there, moved through it & now in the thick of it again. Sometimes all we can do is just breathe