Concert was good - (we get some good performers out here) pity Neil Young still wasn't with them - of course after all that noise I couldn't go to sleep - I will probably be in for about 4 days of not being able to sleep. Thank goodness it is Friday and I can be lazy all weekend.

Giving yourself permission to take it easy with yourself is exactly what you have to do - except I seem to need permission from the world to do that. The pyschologist is has been saying to me that if it was somebody else what would you think - would you think that they were being lazy etc - of course I answer no - then she just says "well........"

Anyway off to work - put a smile on my face, act extremely cheerful, throw paper and files around, make lots of noise, drink coffee, charge fees, hope my settlements happen early and survive until 1.30pm without anybody knowing how grotty I feel.

Then I can come home fall onto the bed and hopefully manage to go to sleep.

Lynlee

Sleep problems has been one of the issues I've had since the head injury. My doctor prescribed a low dose of Seroquel (75mg) to help me sleep and it's been a God send.

You might ask your doctor to try that on you. The Seroquel also has an added benefit of leveling your emotions (not like a zombie- just less anxious) during the day because it has a half life of about 12 or so hours.

I now get at least 8 hours of sleep, and don't wake myself up whilst doing wacky things (sleepwalking, sleeptalking, other strange things). I only wake up my husband. tee hee.

Sadly, as you know, 8 hours isn't enough- but that's what naps are for.
~Lori

Hi, are you taking both the seroquel and the provigil?? I shall ask my GP about both this week. Do you need one because you are taking the other?

Are you working full time at the moment or have reduced hours??

Also are those that you are in contact with at work aware of what has happened to you?? I don't think my clients have realised - my standard thing if I have forgotten something is that I will research and come back about it. The amount of other people that just don't understand head injury has stopped me wasting my time attempting to explain.

Do you find it hard to cope with noise as well?? And how are you dealing with that? I find the hum sound that comes with a crowd really hard to handle.

Sorry about alll the questions!!

Lynlee

Yep, I'm taking both the Seroquel and Provigil. I'm also taking Klonopin.

RE: Seroquel
The Seroquel was prescribed because I was getting little to no productive sleep after I hit my head because I started sleep-walking, sleep 'watching tv' (I call it that because as I slept, I'd lay on my stomach, with my head propped in my hands trying to balance all night), LOTS of awful dreams, etc. every night.

My Neurologist explained that I was doing this because it was something I've always done when under stress (but not to this degree, of course). She said that with some people after hitting their head, their ability to handle stress diminished. She said that she couldn't prescribe me Ambien (I think that's the one) because that drug causes people to do weird things in their sleep even though they're not prone to it), so she gave me Seroquel, starting back in July.

RE Provigil
The Provigil is new to me and I've taken it twice now. She prescribed that because she asked me what was bothering me the most after I cried in her office last week. I told her that it was my inability to concentrate and I felt that it was affecting my work. She said that Provigil was mainly prescribed to narcoleptics, but it has an added benefit of giving clarity of mind and more focus. So, I said "sign me up!"

It really DOES work well for me. I thoroughly enjoyed working the day I took it, because I didn't feel 'stuck' so often. It is great stuff.

RE: Work
I started a new job in the same company two months after I hit my head. Thankfully, the hiring manager has known me for years and knew what I'm capable of, so when I was totally flubbing the interview (I couldn't even remember my job title and things like that), she was understanding. I told her about the head injury and what was going on. She hired me anyway.

As for the rest of the team, I've told one other person that works closely with me because he sees a lot of the head fog (hopefully no more, now with the Provigil). Since he didn't know the 'old' me, I wanted him to know that I was not usually like this. I also told my manager's manager because my manager is out on medical leave at this time. I gave her permission to tell anyone that might ask her why I'm acting like a loon. Seriously, I got lost on my floor the other day and someone caught me and chuckled at me. I also jerk around sometimes and I'm fairly certain that it's noticeable.

Yes, I'm working full time, and have been since I hit my head. I've taken two days off (the day I went to the ER with seizures and the day I had a bunch of tests all in the same day). I'm afraid that I'm hard-wired that way, but I do NOT push myself the way I used to. I couldn't if I wanted to.

I think of it this way, all of my previous managers have commented that having me is like having 3-5 employees because I was able to accomplish so much. Now? I think I'm like having one employee- and I'm OK with that. I've given 18 years to my company (times that by 3 to 5 if you want....). I plan to retire in January 2015- so they get one employee until then. The other 2-4 retired when I hit my head.

I'm fortunate in that I've always telecommuted 3 days a week (it's an ADA thing because of my liver condition), so I'm in the office for two days and home for three. I leave the house at 5:20 a.m. and am at home at 6:00 pm on those days. I sleep on the train going to work and coming home and pretty much zombie out the minute I get home. The days I'm at home, I work just as hard- I'm just a heck of a lot more comfortable in my sweats and I don't have the commute. Sometimes I'll even have a nap

Noise
Crowd noise doesn't bother me a bit, unless someone screams or something. Surprise noises (surprise anything- lights, touch, noise) are what set me off into myoclonic jerks. Hence the Klonopin.

Yay! End of the novel!

Honestly sounds like the perfect kind of job for you.

Donna