No concentration

[Exhaust]

9 months in from car accident . My daughter has no concentration she paces /walks all day long . We have tried games tv dvds bowling snooker . Any ideas of groups or activities that may help or any idea if this stage will improve ?

[randomphantoms]

This may not be what you want to hear but it sounds like your daughter is a long way from being able to concentrate.

Concentrate may just be one word but there are so many aspects to it (focus, comprehension, organisation, coordination and being able to achieve an objective).

Your daughter is still working on the big things like walking and talking. Please don't try to overload her.

Every one of us has a different journey and a different amount of recovery is possible for each of us.

It was from around the 9 month period and it lasted for a long and frustrating time that my husband followed me all the time. Just like your daughter I was putting all my energy into walking and talking but I was not able to be safe. I was leaving oven on , forgetting to lock doors etc etc etc. I simply didnt have the ability to do more than I was doing.

As I said I'm not sure that this is what you wanted to hear but I hope it helps.

[cat3]

Hi Exhaust. Can you tell us what your daughter's interests were before her accident ? And have you contacted the Headway helpline for advice and printed information, and perhaps to ask about a local Headway group ?

[Kavib]

How old is your daughter? I prefer walking it really helps me clear my mind , I can then concentrate better. I’m 3 years after my SAH and still suffer from concentration issues. It will take some time and it will build up slowly.

[Exhaust in reply to Kavib]

She is 23 . She had a car accident 9 moths ago had a GPS of 3 . She has recovered far more than first predicted but has s long way to go .

[Kavib in reply to Exhaust]

Please show her my website kavitabasi.com

I hope it helps x

[HavingAlook1]

I had a head on with a lorry 9 years ago, I had frontal lobe and parental lobe moderate damage along with other broken bones and scars.

I was also restless most of the time, but unfortunately if I do to much it tires me out mentally.

Does she get mentally tired ?

I found a new hobby of metal detecting in the country side which helps massively as I am away from all the hectic ness of the town and people.

Also relaxation techniques help calm me down and focus.

All about doing my daily tasks.

[StaceM8]

Hiya, I was 22 when I had a very serious accident - in and out of hospital & rehab centres for 7 years.

As it goes U can read about it in my profile, as well as a lot of tips. My concentration still isn't the best after 24 years but please don't put any pressure on her to acheive like she would have before the accident, trying, hitting brick walls & spiralling into depression made the first 10 years a bit of a nightmare for me.

In the end, at 35, I decided to retire, not put myself under any stress & merely enjoy life the best I now can.

Never give up though, I'm still making improvements even now (obviously nowhere near as noticeable as the first 10 years, but she will continue to improve.

Thing I would say is she is starting a new chapter of her life, something entirely different from her previous expectations, but can still be a happy one.

As I said before & I do feel it is important, just don't put her under any pressure.

Stace Xxx

[Exhaust in reply to StaceM8]

Thank you

[StaceM8]

Oh forgot t mention & this'll probably make Cat laugh, me forgetting to mention a power nap - mid afternoon makes the world of difference - 20 mins total relaxation, even if it's only closing your eyes for the 20 minutes, trying to shut yourself away from the outside world, makes a massive difference ;o)

I have regularly posted this cos I feel it is a bit of a life saver !!!

[steve55]

hi try setting out different tasks, so when she can go from one to another, arrange social events with her friends........with you in the shadows in case things start to go wrong, shopping trips etc and finally join your local monthly headway group where shell meet people with similar problems and youll meet the other darlings who put up with us when we go into one.

i had my abi 61/2 years ago which left me with similar problems as your daughter, noise intolerence, dislike of strangers, mood swings, epilepsy, adhd, diagnosed behaviour issues.

my wife is an absolute saint, i know she must get annoyed at me, but she is so patient with me, love her to pieces.

its early days yet, try and be patient. the next time i come to the computer, ill let you know the name of the tablets the psychiatrist gave me to help me with my concentration.

steve

[Exhaust in reply to steve55]

Thank you that would be great . Do you still take medication. My daughter is on carbomazine atm . She still has a lot more facial surgery to have hopefully in the next 6 months . Are the headway support groups good . I have had problems finding one .

[steve55]

i take cabamzapine for my behaviour, i take venlafaxine to help me concentrate.

i had a long chat with the psychiatrist because its used mainly as an anti depressant and ive always been against them. in the end i decided to give them a try and yes theyre working.

im not a dr so i cant give medical advice, but go and have a chat with your gp and try for a referral to a psychiatrist.

steve

[Exhaust in reply to steve55]

Thank you . What sort of behaviour do you take carbomazine for ?and what dosage ?we will see a psychologist soon I hope . Is all your therapy nhs .

[steve55 in reply to Exhaust]

ive been diagnosed with organic behavour disorder, im unpredictable, but the thing is my wife will tell me off, but i dont know what its for. thats why shes constantly looking around for possible flash points.

we recently went over to eire for my daughters wedding and id picked up on boris johnsons comments in the paper, so when we were at gatwick, that wouldve been a nightmare for my wife, sister in law and her wife trying to keep me distracted.

when my bi first became apparent, my wife had a melt down at work and managed to get an emergency appointment with the gp and broke down in the surgery, within a couple of weeks i had my first appointment with the psychiatrist.

i dint know him so my wife had to do all the talking, he wanted to put me on anti depressants, i told him what he could do with them and how far to put them!!!

we also found headway, ive been going now for 61/4 ish years, we both enjoy it and in that time ive only missed one because my wife was working.

all my treatment is on the nhs, the only one i had to wait a while for was the neuro psychologist.

steve

[Exhaust in reply to steve55]

I have tried to find your original posts as to what injuries you have or what /How these happened but can't seem to find them . I am interested to no more ?

[steve55]

i had a stroke 1/2 years ago. everything seemed fine for the first 6months or so, i travelled on my own to see my friend and came back in a packed noisey carriage ( it was super saturday 2012 during the london olympics ) .

gradually things seemed to change, my mood, my wife hated coming home not knowing whether id annoyed the neighbours or become physically aggresive.

my neurologist believes something happened, i may have had a tia which caused the changed and so is the reason i am the way i am today.

steve