Question:
I dont know about other TBI'd folks, but the whole process of waking up for my husband, (everyday, still, even 4 yrs post-injury, although less severe as time goes on) seems to be like a mild version of the process of coming out of a coma...

My curious mind wants to know WHY... Piles of neurology textbooks have not solved these riddles, but I just keep wondering. My computer-knowledge makes the whole thing so much more intriguing, as I can see analogies to how the brain works, with circuits, memory-storage, processing units that specialize in various sub-areas... The brain is a mysterious thing, and watching someone else functioning so well with an injured brain is an amazing tragic experience, and I just can't stop trying to figure out what's what in case there might me something more to do to help.

Answer: I was coming out of layers of fog for the first three years. I relate it to the swelling of parts of my brain. I am still slower in getting going...but that has improved over time (6yrs post). Some days are a whole lot worse than others. I practice "gratefulness" sayings when I get bad days in a row...it helps my mind focus on "good" things instead of allowing myself to get stuck in my problems. Sometimes that helps. I lost some of the progress I made when I went off the tegretol and the daily ritalin. The taurine does help .Getting the hormone replacement therapy seems to have helped that area a lot more... less of a couch potatoe... almost like being on ritalin. Have to watch the aggressiveness again tho. May I suggest you try to some integration things? I know I am always bringing this stuff up... but it does help my brain/mind... and I think it is accumulative. Crossmarching activities, midline activities, self massaging feet and legs... hugging self, stretching exercises while in bed.

Although the period I was unconcious has been determined to be relatively short[less than 10 minutes]I was in a coma like state for over a year.I still can go for days in this state if my brain is overtaxed Through all the researching I have also come to the conclusion that there is an injury to the brainstem or the interior of the spinal cord.Nowhere are the deficets I have documented more prevelant than in these two areas. I have no concept of time,I can sleep for minutes and my brain thinks it has been days,or I can sleep for days and my brain only thinks it has been minutes. I truly believe this is recovery time for my brain,after months of being in this coma like state I have gained the use of a major muscle groupwhich I thought was lost forever.

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