Yesterday I had an appointment with her and we had a great talk. I had some questions and she helped me with the answers. Before this all happened I was already sensitive to light, sounds, smells and motion. Now they are all so much stronger. I've already found some things that help with each new sensitivity.
Light-I used to open every blind and door when it was sunny to let the light in. Now I have keep them closed. The sun is too bright and can give me headaches even inside. The ceiling fan lights are too bright for me so I need to use softer indirect lights now. I wear my sunglasses anytime I leave the house and I also wear hats to block the sun. Sometimes I even wear a hat in the house to block the direct lights from the ceiling lights. I think it's time to invest in some cute hats!
Hearing-I hear things so much better now. I can be in the front room and someone can be in the kitchen opening the cupboards and I can tell them which one they are opening and is it's the correct one to get what they're looking for. The kids normal everyday noises can send me into my room under pillows to get away from the sounds. I can't concentrate with more then one person talking or someone moving and talking. The kids are figuring out to talk slower and to give me more time to figure out what they are telling me.
Smell-I can smell things so much stronger. I had to give some trash bags away because the smell was making me sick. Maybe the kids are benefiting (or getting frustrated with me) from my super sensitive smelling and are getting asked to take more showers-lots more!
Motion sickness- I used to get motion sickness on spinning rides, or if the kids ran in circles around me, but now it's so much worse. Driving as passenger is making me horribly sick. If the kids are jumping or spinning I have to close my eyes. It's horrible. I'm still trying to figure this one out. Hopefully driving will be better then being the passenger.
My doctor told me these are all normal and common side effects from brain trauma. It could take up to a year before these side effects go away. I was encouraged to hear that they are normal and I'm not going crazy. It stinks to be so super sensitive right now. I'm going to need to find ways to live with my sensitivities until they lesson.
The other part of the appointment was talking about what I can do to help myself move forward. Or in other words my homework. I like that my doctor gives me concrete things to do. Right now I need that.
Homework assignments
1. Exercise 15 minutes a day for a week, then go up to 30 mins a day and then to 45 minutes. This will help with 2 things-boosting my energy level and helping me to drop some of the pounds I've put on the last 5 weeks.
2. Drive this weekend. Fear and hopefully not ability is holding me back. My vision is normal, my physical strength is there, so I just need to conquer myself. I told her I was afraid if I started driving that I'd have to jump back into everything I was doing before. I was told not to do that. I need to take it slowly. Next week Johann will drive his truck and leave the van at the house so I have the option to drive where as I haven't had that option since this all happened.
3. Look into Child Life Specialist degree. This is something I've wanted to do for a while but I didn't pursue it because I felt selfish taking all the time away from our family for my own personal desires. I also would love to volunteer at the hospital as a baby rocker. I met the volunteer coordinator last year and she wanted me to become one. So I'm suppose to look into these and see what it would take to do them. To do something that makes me happy.
4. Go to weekly therapy sessions with my new therapist.
2. Drive this weekend. Fear and hopefully not ability is holding me back. My vision is normal, my physical strength is there, so I just need to conquer myself. I told her I was afraid if I started driving that I'd have to jump back into everything I was doing before. I was told not to do that. I need to take it slowly. Next week Johann will drive his truck and leave the van at the house so I have the option to drive where as I haven't had that option since this all happened.
3. Look into Child Life Specialist degree. This is something I've wanted to do for a while but I didn't pursue it because I felt selfish taking all the time away from our family for my own personal desires. I also would love to volunteer at the hospital as a baby rocker. I met the volunteer coordinator last year and she wanted me to become one. So I'm suppose to look into these and see what it would take to do them. To do something that makes me happy.
4. Go to weekly therapy sessions with my new therapist.
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