Fatigue After Severe Brain Injury: Trouble Focusing

Fatigue After Severe Brain Injury: Zach Part Twenty- Eight 

Now, one of the other topics that I like to talk about with most people is fatigue after severe brain injury.  And I saw that you had a heading on your web page about fatigue.  (Click here for Zach’s brain injury fatigue tips.) http://supportforbraininjuries.wordpress.com/category/fighting-fatigue/

Yes.

Tell me about your problems with fatigue after severe brain injury.

Sometimes I feel like when I start feeling tired it’s hard to focus, hard to concentrate on what you’re doing.  I can still do those things, but it’s still, like, ten times harder.

Does it feel like you, like the difference between a jog and a race in terms of day‑to‑day life?

Well, I always feel like I have to like get things done.  I don’t know why, but I do. I do things fast and like things break and I’m like why did that happen? I’m like, oh yeah I’m going super fast, for no reason, you know?

Are you actually going super fast or does it just seem like it?

No, no I am.  I’m jump – whatever I’m doing, I can’t relax.

What about sleep?  Does sleep play into your fatigue after severe brain injury? Do you sleep a good solid eight, nine hours every night?

Yeah, usually.  Yeah, I do try to get that.

Do you wake up several times during the night?

No.  I never wake up.

Do you have difficulty getting to sleep?

I used to but then I started taking Trazadone and that helps me with the sleep.

When did you start taking the Trazadone?

I started taking it this last year’s fall.  Yeah, a year ago.

When you wake up, are you rested?

Yeah, but sometimes I feel like I’m too rested.  Like, I’m like, I don’t want to get up, you know.  If I have somewhere to go, you know, it’s  (hard).

Tell me about a typical sleep cycle for you.  What time would you typically go to bed?

It depends.  Because, it depends if I have to work in the morning.  So, it, it varies.  It really does.

Do you normally get eight-nine hours of sleep?

Yeah.  Yeah.

Most of the time you’re ready to get up and go?

Yes. I can usually roll out of bed and go wherever.

To view:

I have been addressing the issues of fatigue after severe brain injury for many years. Fatigue is one of the biggest common denominator’s after any level of brain injury. It can be one of the most disabling problems to overcome.  With so many survivors, especially those with diffuse axonal injury,  what seems like good cognitive recovery is quickly degraded as the concentration required to keep up, rapidly tires the brain. Perhaps my most thorough treatment of fatigue after brain injury,

click here:    http://www.subtlebraininjury.com/fatigue.php  

Next in Part Twenty Nine –

Good TBI Recovery to do Physical Jobs