{"id":24904,"date":"2023-08-07T09:07:32","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T09:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test11.f5test.in.ua\/personal-stories\/adapting-to-daily-life\/"},"modified":"2024-09-17T12:24:07","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T12:24:07","slug":"adapting-to-daily-life","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/adapting-to-daily-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Adapting to daily life with Post-Concussion Syndrome"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted: February 7, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wake up most days with a headache. Sometimes a cup of tea does it, but other times I need two Motrin and twenty minutes more sleep. \u00a0Sometimes I need two hours and miss classes. At school, I put a strong face on. I smile, I engage in class, I work hard, and I get good grades. However, sitting in class I often find the board blurring in front of me and I have to work so hard to keep all of the writing as just one of itself. The teacher\u2019s voice often goes in and out as I struggle to focus with a splitting headache.<\/p>\n

During free periods, I spend all of my time doing homework because it just takes me longer to do everything. \u00a0I have to carefully plan how I study. Prior to the injury, I had an excellent memory which was advantageous for school. After, I struggled with my memory and other symptoms. I could no longer just quickly review work the night before, so I began to have to plan more before any assessment, carefully making study guides, and using mnemonic devices to master vocabulary. I could no longer sit for four hours straight and complete all of my assignments. I had to set a timer for thirty minutes, get up, stretch, do some jumping jacks, drink water, and then return back to work. I still quickly understand material, and my performance and output are as strong as they were pre-concussion – I just have to work differently. Initially it was frustrating to have to drastically alter the way that I studied, but I have made it work.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I had to totally change the way that I exercise as well. \u00a0Rather than playing team sports, running, and doing workouts specific to my sports, I found myself having to work out just to work out. \u00a0No longer able to run, I had to switch to Pilates, yoga, and light weights, always careful not to hurt my neck or back more.<\/p>\n

It is hard to have to change so many routine things that you never imagined would have to change. Once a stress reliever and something I enjoyed, running even for just a few minutes leaves me extremely dizzy and nauseated with a blood-pounding headache.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019ve thrown up at school because of a headache, I had to just continue my day because I hate complaining and I didn\u2019t want to miss school.<\/p>\n

With a bad headache I often become very sensitive to smell. I feel bad when I turn down a meal that is usually one of my favorites and have to go to a dark room instead of eating with my family.<\/p>\n

I sometimes get really irritable. I was a very calm and \u2018go with the flow\u2019 person, and now, sometimes the littlest things just really annoy me.<\/p>\n

My confidence has taken a toll. When you no longer feel like yourself and struggle to remember things, you don\u2019t feel very confident about schoolwork. I was always a strong student and now I tentatively submit my answers to online quizzes. Though I still receive good grades, they come with more work and stress.<\/p>\n

I used to have 20\/10 vision in both eyes and my eye doctor told me that I should be an aviator with such crisp vision. Now, I squint to read and my vision blurs or doubles – I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be piloting any time soon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I used to put my hair in a ponytail almost every day. Now, ponytails worsen my headache so even when working out, I have to leave my hair down or in a braid.<\/p>\n

I sometimes wear sunglasses inside my house while doing work since sunlight and glare make me headachy. I wear sunglasses almost all of the time when I\u2019m outside.<\/p>\n

I randomly lose my balance and get dizzy. I guess I\u2019m glad that I can make people laugh as I topple over or near-miss a wall, but it is disconcerting to walk around when everything is blurry or have a conversation when the person is blurry and double.<\/p>\n

I always considered myself a quick wit, and now I laugh with a considerable delay or think of a great addition to a conversation that happened five minutes ago.<\/p>\n

All of these things show how pervasive Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS) is. It\u2019s not just your sport or just your academics. It\u2019s your whole life and each little loss and change adds up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted: February 7, 2017 I wake up most days with a headache. Sometimes a cup of tea does it, but other times I need two Motrin and twenty minutes more sleep. \u00a0Sometimes I need two hours and miss classes. At school, I put a strong face on. I smile, I engage in class, I work […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":24898,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"inspiring-stories":[11],"legacy-stories":[],"class_list":["post-24904","stories","type-stories","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","inspiring-stories-pcs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAdapting to daily life with Post-Concussion Syndrome - Concussion Legacy Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/en-ca\/personal-stories\/inspiring-stories\/esther-lovett-pcs-blog\/adapting-to-daily-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Adapting to daily life with Post-Concussion Syndrome - Concussion Legacy Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Posted: February 7, 2017 I wake up most days with a headache. 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