Confessions of a Concussed Cyclist: a typical week living with a brain injury

December 2, 2018

Monday: even though you laid very low the day before, your “bad brain day” is still continuing (there is extra pressure in your head, everything is too loud, too bright, too fast, too much, you feel sick to your stomach, everything takes more energy than you have to give) so you must lay very low again (sleeping and couch time will fill the day).

Tuesday: things are still not feeling quite right with your rattled brain, but you’ve now rested for a couple of days straight and you desperately need to do laundry and get a few groceries.  So right after you wake up, you rest for a couple of hours in preparation, then you go to the store for some food (where you get very overstimulated by all the noise, lights, and people).  You get home and put the groceries away then rest a bit more before you begin your laundry. You also rest in between washing and drying loads.

Wednesday: you are feeling a bit better, and just in time because it’s time to work today!  You go to work for a couple of hours but there is a lot of noise and commotion going on and it quickly wears down your already tired brain and ramps up your ever present migraine.  As soon as you can leave, you go back home and sleep for 3-4 hours. You wake up, eat a bowl of cereal, take a shower and go back to bed for the night.

Thursday: you are able to lay low most of the morning so you exercise and then rest up before going to work for a few hours.  Overall, you actually feel “okay”.

Friday: your day starts off pretty well; you are feeling more like yourself and you think you’ve finally gotten over this latest “set-back”.  You work for a few hours, but then you get a call from your doctors office regarding an issue with your health insurance. After work, you spend 2 ½ hours on the phone trying to resolve said insurance issues.  You are pretty fired up after being on the phone but it quickly fades and you go to bed early because your brain is smoked.

Saturday: you wake up feeling okay but your daily post concussion migraine quickly begins to ramp up and your medication is not helping.  You run a few errands then go and get your Christmas tree, but by late afternoon you feel it starting to slip from your fingers again…your brain is giving out so you go to bed early.

Sunday: as soon as you wake up you realize it will be another full-blown “bad brain day” (there is extra pressure in your head, everything is too loud, too bright, too fast, too much, you feel sick to your stomach, everything takes more energy than you have to give) so you must lay very low again (sleeping and couch time will fill the day).

During this time you avoid family and cancel plans with friends.  You shed a few tears out of fatigue, frustration, and depression. You keep meals simple so your brain doesn’t have to work too hard and it helps to save your energy. You day-dream of your former life and wish you had it back.  You push through pain and a cognitive fog.

Just another week living with a brain injury.