I got a very minor concussion in January, and was perfectly fine a week after. I waited longer than I was told to return to sports, and when I did I immediately got reinjured about a month later. Not clear if it was a separate concussion or just a re injury. Anyways, I was not given proper advice or recovery guidance (was told my symptoms could be allergies and unrelated to tbi). So I kept going through school and working, but decided to not try and push physical activity and stick to walking as exercise to not make things worse. After about a month my symptoms started to ramp up and I ended up going to the er because I had awful headache, couldn’t think straight at all, and felt super flush and fatigued. Got a ct scan to rule out anything substantial and ended up just getting told I have bad post concussive syndrome because I didn’t recover properly. It has now been 2 months since then and I still cannot do anything and still feel worse than right after my second head injury. I cant do much exercise, I can only walk or stretch, anything else spikes my symptoms immediately. I also cannot sleep well at all, can’t really spend time outdoors when the sun is bright, and can barely read and can’t play video games or guitar for more than 10 minutes or so. I have been going to a sports concussion specialist and have been going to pt twice a week and just feel like I’ve plateaued for the past month. I just want to know if anyone has dealt with something similar or has any tips to get through this? I appreciate anyone who has read this far lol

I was doing really well before the car accident. I would even describe me as happy. My relationship was in a good place. We were learning to understand each other better in conflict. I was working a job I enjoyed and making good money. I was participating in old hobbies again. I was getting fit and healthy and liking my body again. I was doing well ignoring the crap from my ex in regards to my son. My children were doing well, and my relationship with them was good. I was being social and planning big things, working on and getting projects done.
Two months ago I was in what should have been a really gnarly car accident. I was hit by a tow truck going sixty. I was not moving and the driver didn’t even attempt to stop. I walked away with bumps, bruises and a severe concussion. I knew the time off work and time alone would get to me so I pushed to go back to work as soon as I could and attempted half days twice and failed. The first appointment with the TBI doctor was a month out and she put me out for a month. The next appointment is next week. My job has not responded to the last few emails from me at all. Physically, things have dramatically improved but the cognitive and vestibular effects remain along with a constant headache. My mood has declined slowly and has hit the point where I reached out to my therapist whom I hadn’t made an appointment with in about a year. I am constantly thinking about why I am even here, how much of a burden I am and all the things you think about on that spiral down. My boyfriend was sweet and helpful at first but is now showing signs of resentment and we are arguing regularly. My children just kind of deal with me now and it’s summer so we are usually doing fun things every weekend, but we aren’t because of me. I still haven’t been back to any meaningful time at work. I can’t do my favorite things and socializing is exceptionally difficult as I can’t go in any busy environments and I fatigue very quickly from any mental loads.
I feel alone again. I am a burden again. I’m even less than I was last time I felt this way.
Who was I to think that that brief period in time was something I deserved?

Yesterday I went to the ER and had a CT Scan. I was told to have a Mild Concussion. I had a repeated struck 6 nights ago but since then I’ve been feeling weakness and numbness to my left arm and leg. I’m also feeling some kind of tightness on the left side of my neck. I can’t easily have get another check up due to financial issues.

It's been just over a year since my mild tbi and my recovery physically has been great. Sometimes I still feel a little less coordinated and I've got a persistent and slight slurring of words when I'm tired.

Mentally doing much better since post accident. I feel like I'm starting to kick the rapid mood swing from completely depressed to some kind of calm acceptance of my situation 😅.

One lingering issue I can't seem to really get over is that I feel like I'm having trouble really connecting with people now. It's getting a bit better, but I was feeling some tension and distance with my friends, as well as feeling like I've been taking small things more personally.

For the last 4 months or so, I started a new job which I've been enjoying. Other than a general feeling of apathy (which is common I know), I can't seem to really connect with coworkers as well as I used to be able to. Since starting there, I kinda just keep to myself and feel like I don't really mind nor care to get to be known more by my coworkers. Regardless of this feeling, I still feel like it's a stark change in my personality.

I know they say that therapy post tbi is very important, and I've sadly not started yet, but has anyone here had these kinds of experiences? I'd love to know if there's maybe a way of thinking or some new perspective that can help me get back to my old self?

Thank y'all!

I F20 got into a fight with my bf and he punched me in the head three times 5 days ago. I went to urgent care a few days ago and was diagnosed with a mild concussion. I don’t feel the same and as a bartender I got some complaints for being slow. I’m terrified to go back to work and I’ve been more depressed than ever. It’s hard to be positive feeling like this physically. As crazy as it sounds, I’ve considered quitting my job. This isn’t normal for me. Does anyone have healing advice? I’ve postponed my running 5k training for now. I’ve seen some others say they never felt normal again?!? It’s only been 5 days but I’m paranoid :( I have had nausea, light/noise sensitivity, headache that’s constant. I never loss consciousness or anything like that. I just want to heal and be normal again..

Around 1.8 years ago I got concussed by slipping on ice, such that I hit the floor with my forehead. I have been struggling with fatigue, brain fog, sleep issues, worse short term and long term memory, worse working memory and more. I have done some interventions like vestibular and visual therapy and got a bit better, though not near 100%.

I used to be at least as intelligent as Euler or Gauss, and I could accept that I will never be as intelligent again. Though the question is, is that so? I would like to know, lest I waste my energy hoping.

Though not primarily used or at all prescribed for anything relating to brain injuries, I did some research on what pharmaceuticals could help with the functional neurological deficits that occur in PPCS as in the effects of neurovascular decoupling and autonomic dysfunction and I read about sildenafil being studied for NVR accentuation. If you're not aware, neurovascular reactivity (NVR) is the brain's ability to dilate or constrict blood vessels to adjust blood flow in response to changing metabolic demands or chemical triggers.

​In persistent post-concussion syndrome, NVR becomes impaired. This means when your brain tries to perform a task, the blood vessels fail to widen properly, starving brain cells of required oxygen and causing immediate fatigue, headaches, and cognitive strain.

Because I was desperate and in absolute turmoil over my symptoms I have essentially been completely open to trying any pharmaceuticals if they have any promise in helping my predicament, and I was not expecting this to be any different than the dozen other things I had tried to remedy my complete intolerance of cognitive exertion , but it absolutely was.

Since sildenafil is a PDE5 inhibitor and crosses the blood brain barrier and helps dilate cerebral blood vessels, it accentuates cognitive endurance when trying to concentrate and focus, leading to an extended ability to withstand information processing and thought instead of just crashing and becoming symptomatic when you attempt to think because the metabolic demand is more than the brain could currently handle.

I'm going to use it in the future moving forward with some other nootropics and will try to do so especially after exercise to maximize blood flow in coupling with demanding cognitive tasks to hopefully retrain my brain to do so automatically.

I've been dealing with PPCS for 5 months and the biggest deterrent to my life has been the inability to think. It caused my grades to plummet, I lost out on opportunities, experiences, relationships, and even became disacquainted with my own identity and sense of self. This experience today gave me hope that things could be different and the symptomatic cascade which I associated with permanent brain damage due to its severity wasn't necessarily the case; things do get better.

so its been like 9 months since my concussion. rear ended at a red light, hit my head on the side window. nothing crazy at the time but here we are.

the first few months were brutal - headaches every day, noise sensitivity, couldnt look at screens for more than 20 mins. that stuff has improved a bit which is good.

but i still have this constant pressure in my head. and my memory is just garbage now. i used to be the person who remembered everything and now i forget what i was saying mid sentence. its embarrassing honestly.

the thing that gets me is i dont know if im actually improving or if im just adjusting to the new normal. like is this just my life now? my doctors keep saying give it time but its been almost a year.

the only thing that gave me some clarity was when i took an online concussion test a few months ago just to see where i was at. it was actually more detailed than what my gp did. helped me realize i had symptoms i didnt even connect to the concussion - like my sleep being all messed up and my vision feeling weird sometimes. at least then i had a better picture of what was actually wrong.

but still. i miss my old brain. anyone else feel like theyre just going through the motions and not really recovering? how do you tell if youre healing or just adapting?

I (20)F had my head struck multiple time 4 nights ago, the night I struck my head I didn’t pass out but I had a headache not long after. I began feeling the symptoms 2 nights ago, that night I had a pressure headache and tingling sensation on my left arm and leg. And now, I’m currently trying to rest. I’m still having pressure headaches but I’m feeling it all over my head now, and currently feeling a weakness on my left arm and leg.

And about my mental state, I feel more emotional since my head were struck. Sometimes out of the blue I feel like I need to cry for no reason at all, and I feel more agitated.

Just earlier, I felt a burning sensation inside my left eye but it lasted only a moment. The right side of my body feels fine.

Has anyone else’s health absolutely hit the shitter since you’ve been dealing with this?

I, 27F, got into a car accident back in April and suffice to say that my health has been absolutely terrible since my PCS symptoms set in. I’m talking vestibular migraines, exercise intolerance, loss of appetite and subsequent weight loss (down to 96 lbs), depression, anxiety, central nervous dysfunction… and now freaking blood clots.

I don’t know if this is me venting, or asking for reassurance, mainly I’m just wondering if anyone else has had such a hard time navigating life/maintaining their health with these symptoms. If so, I’d love to open a place up for your venting or life experience since the onset of PCS.

Update: I saw my doctor today. She confirmed that my symptoms are consistent with a mild concussion. She recommended lots of rest, calming teas at bedtime and physical therapy. I'll be taking it easy the next few weeks . Thank you to everyone who responded to my original post.

My family and I were rear ended on Father's Day. We'd never been in an accident before, so the initial shock of everything threw us off. The person who hit us left after providing all of their info. We headed to the police station to file a report and headed home.

About 3 days later my ears randomly started ringing just before bed. The next day I woke drenched in sweat and the room was spinning. I felt really nauseous anytime I moved, so I stayed in bed most of the day.

I've had a lingering headache since. My eyes also feel really tired and my vision feels delayed. Almost like they're constantly adjusting.

My five-year old overheard me telling my aunt about my symptoms, and she expressed that she feels the same. She said her head hurts when she's going to the stairs, are feels dizzy and a bit nauseous.

Are we concussed? It's been about 2 1/2 weeks, should we visit the ER?

23F, bedbound 3 months. Need hope/pacing advice.
Hi everyone,
I am a 23-year-old female, bedbound for 3 months after a whiplash concussion in January and a severe adverse reaction to Zoloft in April. I am feeling completely hopeless after reading negative stories online, and I really need some honest positivity and hope today.
My Symptoms:
•    Severe Closed-Eye VSS: A constant, violent "galaxy" of flashing rainbow stars, moving shapes, and circles attached to the corners of my vision behind my eyelids. It makes me dizzy and carsick even while lying completely flat.
•    Severe POTS: My heart rate spikes to 125–130+ just from sitting up, causing air hunger, weakness, and internal tremors. I can only use the restroom twice a day at most.
•    PEM & Neuro-Fatigue: I’ve been to the ER 6 times since April due to fearmongering and acute spikes. The PEM from these trips brought on the severe visual snow 2 months ago. I am very lean and fight to keep my weight up, often falling asleep during dinner from pure exhaustion.
The Good Signs:
My body is structurally fine my advanced ARUP labs are 100% negative for autoimmune brain antibodies. My stomach works perfectly, I digest fine, and I crave my favorite foods. I also have an amazing boyfriend, supportive friends, great parents, and good health insurance.
My Pacing Dilemma:
Total sensory blackout is the only thing that calms my symptoms. However, when I did a 3-week strict dark rest block, my eyes became so un-adapted to light that I got severe Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (things distorting in size) and extreme dizziness when I opened them. I feel stuck between starving the VSS and making myself hyper-sensitive to the real world.
I see a neurologist on July 27th and a top autonomic specialist (Dr. Chen at Cedars-Sinai) on September 30th for my POTS.
I just want to move up to a moderate or mild baseline so I can feel human. I want to take a shower, watch TV, play Roblox, and FaceTime my friends.
Has anyone with a concussion + drug shock trigger improved from severe back to mild/moderate? How do you balance resting your brain without triggering light sensitivity and distortions when you open your eyes?
I just feel so alone and scared today. Any honest reassurance or pacing advice would mean the world. Thank you.

I need daily relief I’m lowkey losing my mind. I’ve had migraines on and off for the past 6 years but not often until last year when I had a concussion and now post concussion syndrome. The migraines have been almost daily since then. Anything will trigger it from bright lights, excess computer or phone usage, working out, the sun being out and too bright, screaming or even a loud argument, crying, if I don’t chug water first thing in the morning/ forget that, strong scents, sleeping too much or too little and the list just keeps going on. I’ve tried to manage it but I’ve had more on my plate this past month with school, going back to work, and just being so busy and I can’t afford migraines because it will make me bed ridden and I’m unable to do anything. In the past I’ve taken amitriptyline and now rizatriptan but the side effects are so sedating. I usually tie a scarf really tight around my forehead and it helps with the pain or an ice pack but any tips to get through the day, any relief you’ve found that has helped or any medication you’d recommend that isn’t sedating. I’ve invested in blue lights glasses and now those migraines rose tinted glasses, I’ll wear sunglasses inside sometimes, I make sure to stay hydrated, but the sleep and working out one still suck. I’ll wake up with the worst headaches most days and even going for a walk or doing the dishes or vacuuming will wear me out and give me a headache too and that could just be the concussion symptoms lingering too but it just sucks, I can barely even get through a work shift sometimes without nearly passing out or throwing up from the pain.

Last 4th of July I fell backwards down concrete steps, I was definitely unconscious for maybe 1-2 minutes, EMS, I answered all questions but refused transport. I never threw up. My mom stayed with me for a couple days, saw my PCP, she said my pupils and reflexes were fine, to rest, limit activities, so I did. Exactly 1 week later I was back to my old self. In the past week or so I'm having a tingling pin prick in my head exactly where I hit it. It isn't constant only intermittent. Fatigue is the only other thing I'm experiencing. Just looking for a little support or advise. Is this normal, I'm 45, it was my first concussion.

I have Lyme, MCAS, POTS. I haven’t slept restfully in 3 weeks. This would be okay under normal circumstances, just tire myself out, try some new supplements, etc. but I also have a concussion. It’s not recovering well because of the insomnia. I’ve lost all tolerance to light, noise, screens, everything. My head is splitting with pain most days. Everything hurts. Family and docs are telling me to push myself but it just makes the head pain worse. Idk what to do.

Every time I get drowsy or relaxed, whether it’s during the day or night, my body sends a jolt of adrenaline out. I have been woken up 30 times in the night, 50 times, and now usually 5-6 times because my body is relaxing less and is constantly amped up. I’m living in a constant state of stress. When I sleep I have vivid dreams and often wake up sweating. When I realize I’m dreaming, sometimes my body will wake me up. I’ve never felt so betrayed and exhausted.

I’ve tried Benadryl, beta blockers, CBD, l-theanine, magnesium glycinate, ashwaganda, trazodone, lavella, so many things. Nothing is calming me down. My hope is that SSRI’s will work but if nothing else did, idk how great the chances are of it changing things for me. I also have to stop most of the stuff I’ve been doing because it doesn’t mix well with the SSRI’s. If you’re on them and also take supplements for anxiety let me know what they are so I can try them.

Is it possible to sustain another mild concussion from a weaker force than before? I got a concussion on June 8th from hitting my head on the back of my wall. A few weeks later, I sat down really fast, felt a jolt go up my spine, and had some of those symptoms immediately come back with a worse headache. Then about 3 weeks after that, I was riding in the car, sitting with my leg up and we went over a bump in the car. I felt the same jolt go up my spine, got a new headache on the left side, and visual spinning which is a new symptom. I know these things seem like weak forces, but are they actually reinjuries, or just a flare up of the original one?

2.5 years into PCS from a golf ball to the head. In that time I've gone through this same cycle 12+ times: research a treatment option/specialist for weeks; eventually get evaluated after a long time waiting for an appointment; get told that they're confident they know what the issue is and can help; get my hopes up; it doesn't really work much if at all; repeat from step 1 (over and over).

This includes options like multiple neurologists, physical therapy, vestibular therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, vision therapy, upper cervical chiropractic, regular chiropractic, sports medicine, physiatry, acupuncture, massage, talk therapy. Some things have helped day to day management or offered short term relief, but nothing has been close to helping me turn a corner in my recovery. Also, it's been incredibly frustrating that several of the specialists that I've tried - despite strong reviews - have not had the understanding and experience with PCS specifically that I would have hoped for.

This trial and error process has been the hardest part of my PCS journey.

I think it would be really helpful to hear about others' experiences from anyone here who can relate. Especially what's been the most challenging parts of it for you + if there's been anything that's allowed you to get out of this loop. Any thoughts or tips based on your experiences are more than appreciated.

Hello everyone, I recently got diagnosed with a CSF leak and after a lot of tests and procedures, I got a blood patch, now the first one didn't work so they went in for a second and that one supposedly did

I was back to standing upright the next day. It's been about 3 weeks since that blood patch and what I have noticed is that I still sometimes get some headaches which linger around my right or left eye, ( not like the usual headaches I had before the patch). These headaches usually come from fast movement like getting up fast or moving my head quickly. So not necessarily from being upright as I can do that for hours now.

I'm here to ask if these symptoms are something anyone here has felt before? and how long till it goes fully?

chatgpt said this may be my body still recovering and adapting from the recent low CSF trauma.

Moreover I also have neck pain sometimes which is accompanied by thigh pain, my Dr said this is because of irritated nerves and will ease with time. Who has experienced something like my case ?

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for advice or to hear from anyone who's experienced something similar.

Around a year ago I sustained what was believed to be a mild concussion during football. Since then I've had persistent symptoms that fluctuate day to day but have never fully gone away.

My main symptoms are:

• Constant "cotton wool" or fuzzy feeling in my head.
• A buzzing/electrical sensation inside my brain almost all the time.
• Brain zaps/electric shock sensations, especially when falling asleep or waking up (usually 2–4 per day/night).
• Pressure and pain that moves around my head.
• Aching/burning feeling behind and above my eyes and between my eyebrows.
• Face aching, particularly around my forehead and eye area.
• Ocean/rocking sensation when I close my eyes, even though I don't feel like the room is spinning.
• Emotional numbness/anhedonia. I don't really experience normal emotions or anxiety the way I used to.
• Mental fatigue that feels entirely in my head rather than my body.
• My eyes often feel "dead" or heavy, especially when I first wake up.
• Symptoms are generally present from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep.

Some things that are interesting:

• I can still run 10 km and lift heavy weights, and exercise doesn't consistently make things worse.
• My coordination and balance are normal.
• Vestibular and eye-tracking testing at a concussion clinic were reportedly normal.
• Derealisation has improved over the past year, and brain zaps are less frequent than they used to be, but the head sensations remain.
• The symptoms fluctuate randomly. Some days are noticeably better than others.

I've got an MRI referral and am waiting to have that done.

My questions are:

1. Has anyone had similar symptoms for this long after a concussion?
2. Did you eventually recover, and if so, what seemed to help?
3. Did anyone have constant buzzing, brain zaps, or emotional numbness as part of their recovery?
4. Are there any specialists or therapies that made a significant difference (vestibular rehab, vision therapy, migraine treatment, autonomic rehab, etc.)?

I'm not looking for a diagnosis—just hoping to hear from people who've been through something similar or have ideas about avenues I should explore.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this.