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?)

That's how I feel most days. It usually becomes especially unbearable after lunch, but often eases up around 7 or 8 pm. Not tonight, though!

I'm feeling the same way about my responsibilities. I often feel bad for my son. When he was a baby (he is six now), before I started feeling terrible every day, I was such a good mother. Although I still make sure to play with him every night, my heart usually isn't in it anymore because I can't focus. Some days I have to just lay down when I get home because I just can't function anymore.

But, I always get through it! It's not always easy and not always fun, and I definitely feel guilty at times knowing that I am not the parent I used to be. On the other hand, I know that I love him to pieces, and he still has a great life. Even if it's difficult, I still spend time with him. It might just be some board games, puzzles, or something else where I can rest and interact simultaneously, but I do what I can.

I think the fact that you are so concerned says a lot. I have unfortunately known quite a few parents who wouldn't even care (and they have nothing wrong with them!) because it's all about them. You did not ask for this to happen to you. As long as you are well enough to keep your son safe, I think that he will be fine with what you are able to give him.

hey bra,

yea i experiecne odd symptoms in the morning. I used to get the shakes. really bad ones in the morning, followed with terrible thoughts and then a headache. If i didnt get the shakes I would just get the feeling of 'something being not right'. I do not get the shakes anymore, i just feel a little spacd out and have bad thoughts. This may be because most often anxiety is worse in the morning. I am 5 months post injury and 4 months into symptoms.

How are you doing mate>?

I just found this forum and am hoping someone has experienced what I am (and know that I'm not going crazy).

In November, 2013, while walking outside a hospital, I felt dizzy and as I was reaching for the shelter surrounding a bench, I passed out and hit the sidewalk with the back of my head. Not sure how long I was out, but awoke laying on the sidewalk with people surrounding me. I was admitted to the hospital and it was determined I had a 6 cm gash on the back of my head and had a concussion. I was later told by a witness that I hit the sidewalk so hard she cringed. I spent seven days in the hospital.

Immediately following my hospital stay, I experienced dizziness for about three months. Two months later, I had a mild stroke (TIA) and was again hospitalized for a week. It seems the two events were related. I was put on several medications, metropolol and lisinipril. After about a month, the metropolol dosage was increased. Just about coinciding with the increase, I began to have strange, disjointed, disconcerting thoughts AS I was falling asleep. It's hard to describe, but I will try. In the period of drifting off to sleep, my mind would have a thought, say, I need to go to the grocery store tomorrow. The thought would not complete and would morph into something totally unrelated, say something like the man across the street bought a new car. Then that thought would not complete and morph into another totally unrelated thought, e.g., I need to refill my Starbucks card. This was terrifying. It got so I was afraid to go to sleep and was literally sobbing when I felt sleep coming on. I read up on the side effects of the medications I was on and found rare side effects for both that "could" fit what I was experiencing. My gp told me to go back to the lower dose of metropolol. That didn't help and the cardiologist told me to stop it completely. I read that it took about 3 days for the metropolol to leave my body. It's now been more than three weeks and while it's not as bad, it still occurs.

I was so scared, I began to wonder if this was the early signs of dementia or Altsheimer's. I read up on that and that fear seems unfounded. I also regularly have headaches and occasional dizziness. In November, it will be a year since I fell and hit my head.