It has been over a year since my accident. I have made improvements along the way. I manage single tasks ok enough to get by. I still lose track of bills, keys, money etc... but am now doing more self checks( hope this doesn’t lead to OCD) because I will walk away from the register at a store and then go back and double check ( sometimes triple check) that I have everything I just purchased or the proper change etc… I never had to do this before (Is this a sign of depression\axiety????, I don’t cry over it but I sure get ****** when I lose money or leave the milk at the grocery store. I have pulled from the ATM and cannot retrace in my mind what became of it) but to some docs they say this is normal like “mommy brain” are you kidding me! No offense to those of you with kids. I am sure there is such a thing, but I don’t have kids so I wouldn’t know and it is not an analogy that makes sense to me.
Before the accident I was able to do several things at the same time and not lose focus. I do not believe the neuro evaluation exams test for this deficit (Mark, you can correct me if I am wrong, but I do not remember anything in particular that seemed like a multi-tasking type module.
The exams are geared to single task attention skills. So even though you make improvements along the way you may still have a long way to go but the tester declares you normal or average for your demographic. What can you do in this situation? Anyone have any ideas? I have described I am having memory problems but in fact I believe it has more to do with registering the process of the moment and some of the pieces are now getting lost along the way.
Also curious about word finding. I am accustomed to speaking to large audiences and using pretty elaborate wording at times. I feel have lost the use of my upper vocabulary if there is such a thing. I have notices when speaking and describing thing to other people. I get to a point and stumble trying to find the word I would use. I do know in the early months after the accident I would stop mid stream in conversation and had looong pauses but this has not happened in months

With these symptoms we could almost be twins - the only difference is that I am only 9 months in.

Were you a "high achiever/ flyer" for want of a better phrase?

The reason I ask - I can't put this easily (part of the injury), is that it seems to be difficult for medical professionals to understand the loss of capability for someone whom used to perform at a high rate. I am not talking about athletic or sport ability here.

I find difficulty in forming my words or speaking in public difficult or undertaking relatively simple maths. When you describe this to a medical professional you get the impression that they are saying "well most of my patients couldn't do that anyway, so whats the problem!"

And when we describe something like leaving items at the checkout you are just being absent minded or its your age. Rather than something that would never have happened before

You are not alone. i am over 2 years in from my car accident. Concussion. My boyfriend can't understand what overdoing it does to me. He thinks because I did this or did that one day that I can still be like I was before the accident (he did not know me before the accident though).

I was very high functioning and I do very well for someone with a head injury...BUT i always pay the price. i had to do remodeling on my house and I am a single mom so I had to do most of the work myself and I have not been the same since.

Can't get BF to understand that over worked, over stressed, and especially emotional distress make my brain shut down.

Anyway...I went off topic. Imagine that.

I am so over it. I just want to be normal again. i know that will never happen. i am worried about my future my retention is poop.

I am also sick of people saying "oh that happens to everybody"

Not like this it doesn't. i promise you...everybody doesn't get lost coming home from work when they have worked there over a year.

Andi

I am/was also a highly functioning person - patient care - and think I understand your feelings quite well.

I believe I found the link to this here on the board, and think it is quite appropriate to what goes on - at least in my mind.........

Especially the blackboard reference

I probably was at the same level I am now at 9 months. I had neuropsyc exams at about the 5 and 8 month intervals. Knowing what I know now I would encourage anyone without any injuries to their brain to seek a neuropsyc test and get results in the event that you suffer an injury, even if it means paying for it OOP. At least you would have something to compare, but who ever thinks this is going to happen to them.
Yes, I am in a technology career that demands a great deal and is constantly changing.
I want to stay positive but it is challenging.
I am hopefull that I will continue to improve, but I feel I am at an impasse in my recovery.

I am coming up on 8 months post fall. I can clearly see that I am eons ahead of where I was, yet I also feel the thin grasp I have on recovery very clearly. At the end of july I had a small slip and fall, not resulting in hitting my head, but the jolt itself set me back about two and a half months. I was devastated and frustrated... but slowly I've managed to get back to where I was pre july fall.... but I am now very tentative to add too much into my routine, and very cautious about over doing it.

Problem is that I used to be very active, both in the house and out of the house. I was working full time, taking care of my family, and fitting in workouts as well. Now I spend my days just staying quiet so I am not inciting a headache... I socialize, but it has to be "timed"... I cannot have too much activity in one week, otherwise I land up on the couch for an extended period of time.

The most frustrating thing - I had to delay my MAsters which wsa originally planned for September... I am now aiming for a January start, and while four months isn't a big deal... I wish I had been able to start in september... but given I couldn't even read at that point there was simply no way...

EDIT - Just tried to carry the laundry from the basement to the second story. It's now sitting in my livingroom because I simply cannot do it... I used to be one of those girls who could keep up with the boys... It's so frustrating now to not even be able to keep up with my 14 year old daughter... who is going to have to carry the laundry the rest of the way upstairs when she gets home because I just can't...

All that to say... I hear you. I understand your frustrations... but you need to look at the gains you've made. Focus on the positives, because if we simply focus on the negatives we would all drive ourselves nuts.