I was just wondering if any of you have to have a sleep during the day. For the past 5 years or so the only way I have been able to function to the max is by shutting my eyes at 11.30 am for a half hour and then by actually going to bed at 3 p.m and sleeping for an hour. If I don't keep to this routine I get that horrible foggy painful burning feeling and all the symptons become worse - headaches, dizziness - simply can't think and my memory deserts me. usuall stuff happens - forgetting what I am talking about mid sentence and words etc. I am fortunate in that I can shut my office door as I work 3 hour days and the 11.30 am snooze is at my desk - it is the only way I can last the 3 hours at work. Have wondered if I didn't work would it be any better - but if I don't work as the insurers specialists have decided I will not receive any compensation.

To Lucy, Yes I sleep during the day, 5 hours is usually the max for me. I'm usually up at 3 am till 5 am or so then up at 7 am until noon. Those 5 hours in the am are the most productive part of the day for me mentally. So I try to take care of all my people business during that time. I rest from noon until 3 pm and I take a nap at around 3 pm until 5 pm Then I'm good for another 5 hours or so. I tried to push it for 8 or 12 hour and end up not being able to do anything for the next 2 or 3 days.

I learned when I was in TBi rehab that balance is the key. So I try to push it until I'm tried and then rest, if I don't then everything shuts down and I'm unable to do anything for the next 2 or 3 days or longer.

I'm currently doing some research on chronic fatigue,chronic pain and sleep disorder as all of these factors have a negative effect on the natural healing process of the brain. I've come to the conclusion for me that since the whole body was traumatized during the accident that there is some nerve damage that needs to be healed and it is the nerve damage that is causing the fatigue. If I try to push it to hard I end up re injuring myself and the healing process starts over again.

Take Care Jeff

thanks Jeff. Would you mind keeping me up to date on what you discover with your research into chronic fatigue? I have tried all sorts of things to try and over come it - including walking for miles and miles - made me lose weight and that was about it. Have tried trying to extend times between sleeps and all that does is make me play catch up for a week. Any disruption also prevents me sleeping at night and then I can end up staying awake for days on end. It does all seem to be a very very fine balance. My psychologist actually had me admit the other day (I am always in denial of all this even after 6 years!) that it takes me all my energy to simply exist at times! Oops sorry if I sound like a misery think I am having one of those days! Groan!!!

TO Lucy, Thank you for your reply. You may want to check out a post in the Chronic Pain Section on this site. There's a post there 101 Ideals to empower persons in pain. At the end of the post there are about 10 websites that deal with this issue. I've only had time to read one, but the information is very good and this might help you come up with the questions you need to ask your Dr.

I'm currently in the process of writing up my own treatment plan to indentify the symptoms and the causes weather it be physical mental or spiritual and then I will go find the people to help me over come or heal the causes. In my case it looks like nerve damage to the body and brain is the cause.

It is my understanding that after 3 days the body will shut down the healing processes and go into a survival mold in order to function and that this is a natural process. We shut down until we can handle the pain and release the pain in order to heal the part of the body that was injured. Since my whole body was bruised internally including the brain the body and mind shut down because I was unable to deal with the pain or the trauma at that time. I'm starting to wake up after 4 years and it does hurt.

After I write up a treatment program I will set up a new master mind group to review this plan and set up a program progess and accountability report. I usually meet with those in my master mind group once a week, in person, phone or email to get feed back, insight and direction. Is the treatment plan working yes or no and if the answer is no I need to come up with a new plan.

I hope this information helps.

I'll send you a copy of the treatment program when it is finished if you like or any other information I run across that may be helpful in overcoming TBi/PCS

Take care and be well. Jeff

Thank you Jeff.

At times I believe that my total energy goes into working - like my 3 hour per day job, which I suppose with driving to work and attempting to look presentable - like covering up the black shadows from under the eyes etc anyway - usual girly stuff- this can all take up to 4-5 hours. The remainder of the day I have to drag myself around - when I am lucky I can feel like about 30% of what I imagine my old self was. Would you consider that if I gave up my job more energy might be available for healing or would you consider it would have a reverse effect - decline in motivation? Usually I don't have any trouble with motivation and tend to over do as have a problem with leaving tasks incomplete.

Can you also explain "resting" I am just wondering what others consider resting to be - sounds silly I know. Resting used to be for me reading a book or lying on the couch watching television or a combination. Now would you consider that resting is the one step before sleeping?

To LUCY. You may want to read a book by Robert Mauren One Small Step Can Change Your Life. The KIAZEN WAY. I use KAIZEN in my life it is basicly breaking problem down to small incermental parts and making positive changes in your life over a period of time. 1. Ask small question 2. Think small thoughts 3. Take small actions 4. Solve small probems. This has been very useful for me in the road to recovery from TBI/PCS as my brain gets overloaded with information and I am unable to process it. It's also a good tool to use so that I don't beat myself up because I'm unable to do the thing I was able to before I was injuried.

One thing I did learn in TBi rehab it that it is very important during the healing process to be consisdent. It is also important for me to stay engaged with people I set up a master mind group for this 4 men and 1 women this help me from getting blind sided and on track. I'm in the process of setting up another master mind group for the treatment and healing. I do try to work 2-3 hours per day I think this helps me and it also keeps me engaged with the world, but I'm also realilistic in my work activities as there are many thing I am unable to do.Taking care of myself and rebuilding my brain is my number one priority.

Healing from TBI/ PCS takes along time and as a good friend would tell me baby step will get you to the bus.

Hope this helps Lucy dont give up. Jeffn

thank you again. You would think that after 6 years I would appreciate all that you have said. I have tried to be patient, but you get to the point that your patience is wearing very thin - you could say thread bare! There is some saying about "so little time so much to do " - something like that. The psycholgist told me the other day that those with my personality type - the picky, fussy, perfectionists can find this the hardest to cope with. I am now developing further levels of tolerance she says with a grin on her face!!!!

What's your plan Lucy ?

I was hit by a Druck Driver on my motor cycle in Sept 2003. I've had 8 near death experiences in the last 4 years. I lost my health, my career, my identity my ability to make a living and the list goes on for pages. I've spent the last 4years recovering from these injuries. When I first started out on the recovery process I could not read, write, talk or tie my own shoes.

I'm very thankful to be alive today and everyday I wake up I ask myself what one small thing can I do to improve my health today.

When I'm having a bad day I think of my friend Joe, who was also in a motor cycle accident. Joe is in a wheel chair today and it takes Joe 4 hours to get out of bed and dress himself. I go down and visit Joe when he's in the hospital. Joe well not be getting out of his wheel chair. I love to see Joe smile when you come into his hospital room he so thankful to be alive. So I really don't have it that bad.

One of the walls I hit in this recover process was I have to accept the fact that I am not the same person I was before I was injured and this took about 3.5 years to admit to my inner most self that I am disabled and the person I was before may not be coming back. So I focus my energy on the new person I'M becoming today and try to work within the limitation I have with the TBI/PCS. I simplely have to do life differently today. I have to learn new ways to solve problems and issues and I have to go ask for help when I can not solve a problem on my own.

Have you set up a support group ? Working with others who have TBI/PCS. That's what I'm trying to do now

Have you written up a plan on the mental and emotional issues your dealing with? I'm in the process of writing up a treatment plan now and for me it needs to be in black and white on paper.

Thank you for your help Lucy you've help me see some of the blind spots that I need to address. Jeffn

WOW!! Jeffn, your work has taken you so far! You are inspirational!

Jeff, you have certainly done incredibly well with all that has happened to you! And you seem to be so proactive in you recovery. You are amazing. everybody that posts on here seems to be amazing in what they have researched and achieved. By comparison I feel quite in adequate. I think that in NZ there is far less in the way of resources. Most of the specialists that I have seen have been government ones. We have a compulsery system that all employees and employers pay a levy to Accident Compensation Corporation as you can not sue for personal injury. The ACC manage your recovery - so naturally the quicker you recover the sooner they can stop paying you compensation which is 80% of your previous income. When their specialists decide you can work either full or part time that is it. So if I quit my 3 hour a day job I would not have any income what so ever. Gosh I didn't intened to waffle on about that - but may as well.

In the six months following my 2 little bumps - like the neurologist said - for such trivial blows my symptons were excessive - something to that effect. In such a little country all 4 million of us -there is not a lot of choice for specialist treatment. I have seen a neuro physchiatrist privately who did explain cumulative injury - and filled me with drugs as I was that desperate I would have tried anything. And I have been to Australia and had a QEEG which finally showed my evidence of physical brain injury as the MRI and the CT I had had showed nothing.

I wonder if the problems that I had after the accidents in 2001 made my situation worse, a neurologist that I had been seeing privately died of a heart attack (before she had time to do her report - but she had believed me and said that I had PCS), then my husband - who I had been married to for 22 years left me, the family home was sold, and my best friend died of cancer. All I could think is I have to go to work. I had the ACC specialists telling me that as I was scoring well in their assessments that I was ok - I was trying to tell them about headaches, tiredness and all the rest and getting no where. I kept thinking that I wasn't explaining myself very well and all the rest .... long story that I won't bore the world with. I was that tired that I literaly fell over and was ko'd again then had an episode of my BP going crazy. Was told later that it was exhaustion. However I now know if you have faith in yourself and belief in yourself you know that underneath everything you are not crazy nor are you a hypercondriac - spelling can't spell that word. That kept me looking for help and evidence that I was not crazy.

I guess I too have lost a lot. One really stupid thing that I did was with my share of the matrimonial funds I bought a cute little 3 year old house which was meant to have been maintenance free etc - well it was monolithic cladding - don't know if anybody would have heard of it over there, apparently it is some kind of shonky cladding system which develops leaks - guess what it did and then I had to mortgage it to reclad it - that is another story.

My current problem is that when I make allowances for my self I think that I am being lazy and it is hard to get your head around the fact that if you force yourself to continue with some thing it is having the reverse effect - which is so hard for me to deal with. I also keep wondering if I am a wimp.

Do I have a plan - well I have a dream that one day I will wake up and feel normal. I just seem to plod along depending on how I feel after work. I have been to the local brain injury assn - they meet when I am at work - and like I was saying if I don't work no income. Doing anything out of those hours is really hard. I have tried asking the Assn if there is anybody else "like me". the 2 peole that I have met seem to be worse.

Tomorrow I have the day off work and I am going to a PCS seminar - an all day one - I shall have my sleeps in the car in the car park. The person taking the seminar is Barry Willer a professor from Canada - he apparently is meant to be one of the best in the world. I shall let you all know and hope I don't sleep through the best bits.

Excuse my ramblings I am really tired and I think that this may have gone all over the place, Lucy (and my name is Lynlee)