[Flightofbees]

Is there any relation between head injuries and feeling lost blurry and confused in the mornings? I suffered a head injury multiple surgeries and have been having these problems for many years it just seems lately it has gotten worse.
It is almost like a haze or fog like a curtain or blur of events when i arise to try and live life. Usually the worst of these days I get a really really bad headache and become useless and detach. Thanks for any advice help. I did just start taking lyrica which seems to help with the pain but also seems to mask these morning problems.

[Mark in Idaho]

flightofbees,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. There are many different thin gs that can cause your morning struggles. Please tell us more about your condition. What kind of medical diagnostics have you had ?

An example of conditions that can cause these symptoms:
sleep apnea
fasting hypoglycemia
upper neck injuries that cause neck inflammation

Please feel free to tell us anything you want.

My best to you.

[Flightofbees]

Hi Trigeminal Neuralgia, Severe Nerve Damage in frontalis region of head, Severe Depression and anxiety, and debris in injured area of head that cannot be removed

Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

flightofbees,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. There are many different thin gs that can cause your morning struggles. Please tell us more about your condition. What kind of medical diagnostics have you had ?

An example of conditions that can cause these symptoms:
sleep apnea
fasting hypoglycemia
upper neck injuries that cause neck inflammation

Please feel free to tell us anything you want.

My best to you.

[Mark in Idaho]

TN can be related to an upper neck or brain injury to the occiput area. Inflammation to this area can exacerbate these symptoms. Have you had any intense imaging of this area. An MRI of the upper cervical area with the head turned sharply to each side can show instability. This instability can cause inflammation during sleep. This inflammation can cause sleep apnea, poor brain blood flow and other issues.

It would be worth trying sleep positions to minimize odd neck positions or any neck flexing during sleep. I have to sleep on my back with minimal pillow height and with my pillow so that my head does not tip to the side. For me, it can be a problem if my head rolls to the left while I am sleeping.

This is not necessarily your solution but trying different sleeping disciplines can be worth the effort.

My best to you.

[Mokey]

I am also am a wreck in the mornings! Hope you get some relief! I had a doctor suggest a sleep study for MTBI victims to rule it out as a cause of fatigue.
Mark has good ideas.
Mark...what would instability look like on a MRI report? disc damage or something else?

[NormaW]

I have 2 different pillows, a water pillow which you can adjust the water levels and a gel/foam pillow.

I use a different pillow depending on how my head and neck feel, but general speaking I like a low pillow to minimize neck flexion. I have also slept with a neck pillow (the ones people use on airplanes).

The fog and confussion in the morning is pretty common, for me it usually is related to how much I did the day before or what I did. I keep a diary to see if I can find commonalities when things are really bad and I rate my pain and fatigue every day.

Take Care.....

[DFayesMom]

I feel like I've always had morning brain fog, because of my ADHD, but post concussion syndrome definitely made it worse for a while. Seems to have resolved at this point. I had instability in my upper vertebrae, and I have to say, my pillow has been a godsend. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but if you are long-necked like me, you might want to try a Carpenter Sleep Better Iso-Cool pillow. Also, sleeping on your back helps, though I don't do it anymore.