Cognitive symptoms reappeared 6 months after TBI

I had a craniotomy in May 2014. Had abcess left temporal lobe from bacterial meningitis of my brain. I was critically ill. I was coded. I have made steady improvement. If I get stressed overwhelmed just too many expectations I get tired and need extra sleep. Sometimes I think aka process faster then I can verbalize so I might say dollar tree when I mean dollar general. I am a retired nurse so I relearned my lost medical knowledge and still learn something new in heslth care each day. I have a neuroligist. Do you? Do you have a primary health care provider? Had a checkup with blood work drawn? Have you had an MRI EEG ?

I hate to say this but recovery, and especially cognitive recovery, takes a long time, there is no just thing is a book of "what to expect". Enjoy what you are gaining, what you couldn't do yesterday but can now. You (we) do recover but at a snails pace. As long as we keep ourselves moving forward we do get better.

One of many good things that came out of my TBI- craniotomy - was the research I did on neuroplasticity. The brains ability to heal itself. It's ability to rewire and form new connections. Thus ability can go on indefinitely

Every situation is different. My experience after a stroke is different from somebody's TBI or even another stroke.

That being said, there are some similarities among patients.

Any brain injury can be quite serious in unexpected ways. In my case, the stroke seems to have permanently altered my ability to sleep. In the 6-1/2 years since, I have only slept more than 5 hours straight *once*. 4-5 hours, a few times. While there's no "typical" day, I'm lucky to get one 3-hour stretch, plus naps throughout the day.

I know my recovery would be further along if I could sleep better, but there you have it.
(And before you mention it, I have tried everything. Nothing helps.)

Luckily, my initial cognitive deficits are mostly back to normal. But it has taken years.

One example -- my reading comprehension was terrible. I could recognize words, but couldn't understand sentences. I resorted to reading children's books and Archie comics! I eventually restored my reading (though the adventures of Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica are still on my reading list when I need some light relief.)

The important thing is to stay determined to get better, be patient, have compassion for yourself, and stay determined.

You may find my YouTube channel, "From Recovery to Discovery", helpful. In 5-minute episodes, I talk about a lot of issues I've faced in the last 6-1/2 years.
https://www.youtube.com/@srlucado/videos
Good luck!

Hi Mysh
The short answer, is 6 months may just be the beginning of your recovery. I found alot if helpful answers in podcasts, books, videos on “post concussion headaches”. They explain the few things you can control in recovery and how significantly important they are. And how pushing yourself can slow recovery. Tm2t here….
Aside from brain tissue needing time right? …Cant control that.
Can control: sleeping, resting, reducing screen time, dimming screens, wearing glasses, eating, eating consistently (no powering thru like you used to- not yet), allowing yourself to rest/not exercise/ not finish what you started. Explaining to family its a process.
I thought I was ok for many months, in hindsight I wasnt resting enough. Or not over stretching myself at least. So after six months I had a terrible head pain flare that lasted for nearly 60 days straight. After one year I felt like I was feeling better. Ok. Finally, I could “look back”. That was 6 months ago. A few days ago I felt like I could mentally think about what I had to do before bed, and then I woke up and started working on it from memory! A milestone. I still have fluctuating fatigue to do it all.
If I could go back and tell this to myself, I would say, You think you’re doing it, but you’re not ready.
I know because I was treading water thinking its all good bcuz I was afloat. Thats not enough. Youll know when you are. Meantime, please take extra care!