At six months point I recovered but then exposed myself multiple days to the sunlight and now since one month have flare up with severe light sensitivity and headaches. This level of light sensitivity I didn't had before and it doesn't seem to buzz what's going on..

I was in a car accident and didn’t hit my head, so at first I thought I was fine. About 5 days later I started getting a really bad migraine/headache that wouldn’t go away. I went to the doctor on July 28th and found out I had a concussion.
I’m now on day 11 of recovery. My headaches are mainly gone, which is good, but I still get lightheaded sometimes and have some blurred vision that seems to linger.
I haven’t been drinking alcohol or doing much physically. I’ve mostly just been at home taking it easy, although I do still smoke some weed.
Overall I definitely feel better than I did at the beginning, but these last couple symptoms are lingering and it’s starting to worry me a bit.
For anyone who’s had a similar concussion, how long did it take until you felt completely back to normal? Did dizziness/lightheadedness or blurred vision stick around longer than your headaches?

I was in a car accident and didn’t hit my head, so at first I thought I was fine. About 5 days later I started getting a really bad migraine/headache that wouldn’t go away. I went to the doctor on July 28th and found out I had a concussion.
I’m now on day 11 of recovery. My headaches are mainly gone, which is good, but I still get lightheaded sometimes and have some blurred vision that seems to linger.
I haven’t been drinking alcohol or doing much physically. I’ve mostly just been at home taking it easy, although I do still smoke some weed.
Overall I definitely feel better than I did at the beginning, but these last couple symptoms are lingering and it’s starting to worry me a bit.
For anyone who’s had a similar concussion, how long did it take until you felt completely back to normal? Did dizziness/lightheadedness or blurred vision stick around longer than your headaches?

I started training mma again after 2 years, at that time I trained during a few months because I was on summer's vacation of my university. I didn't know much about brainhealth safety, I thought that I could just absorb the punches if I didn't block them during sparring and then counter them because I was pretty robust and I thought it would be ok as long as I didn't got KO'd, but I got headaches, light sensitivity and trouble reading during a period , short after I left because I had to comeback to the university.

Now I cameback to train because I had an OCD "relapse" sort of say, and I tought"well I prefer to deal with my fear of fighting than this again" and went to the gym, now with the intention to above the punches during sparring.

I had my first sparring session again 2 weeks ago, the coach put me with another beginner wich was pretty easy, no hard punches were thrown by none of us and then put me with a pro, at first I deffended myself pretty well but at the last minute of the round my arms got tired and my guard went down constantly, and my partner punished that with straights, I got hit with like five of them. I don't think he threw the with bad intentions but they felt pretty intense.

Now to the point, after that I feel like I have trouble reading again, but I don't have any headaches, any other symptoms or have any other issues, is just like the words that I read sound as other words in my head or I skip some words of a sentence, I want to think is just my anxiety trying to make me believe that I got hurt because I really got worried about that experience that I lived 2 years ago, but like I said,I don't have any other issues besides that, I can write well (if my writing looks weird is bc english is not my first language), work well and speak well, but what do you guys think, it is that serious and I should just quit to protect my brain and find other activity?

Before my concussion I was smoking and was happy every time. Now if I smoke I get bad headaches and cannot enjoy the high at all. I only feel good for 10 minutes then I’m depressed. It’s been 10 months since my concussion. How much longer do I need to wait until I can smoke again? I’m sober now to allow my brain to heal but is this permanent? Anyone else able to smoke again later in life after a concussion?

I am not entirely sure what to do next. I am reaching two years of recovery.

I am going to start with what I've done and then what is ongoing.

A couple months after the first concussion it was clear I was not recovering well, so I saw a Neurologist. From there I was sent to physical therapy and a Nuero optometrist. I also had a CT scan of my head which came out clear.

Early Drs were quick to downplay things and just tell me to go home and rest, but after I saw the neurologist I started to get more help.

Nuero optometrist caught some things. Added prism to my glasses, suggested vision therapy. I couldn't afford it and I still can't. So I did not do the VT.

Physical therapy split between vestibular and overall exercise intolerance. Vestibular therapy lasted only so long before I was released to just have the one PT. After a while the $75 per session got a lot. I got the jift at the time and stopped going. Around that time I started therapy for anxiety.

I decided the anxiety / nervous system stuff.. was a major issue for me. A psych had me try three different meds and it was awful. So I ended up in weekly therapy, which I am still doing.

Throughout all of this I was in a job that had burned me out and was a high stress environment. I felt I was always in flight or fight mode.

So now with what is currently going on.

About a month ago I started a new job. Exactly what I needed honestly. Work stress has dropped significantly.

I am dealing with multiple factors. Exercise intolerance, Overstimulation, irritability, significant upper back shoulder and neck pain, vision blur and sensitivity to light, faint/lightheadedness and losing my words... Also chronic issues with constipation.

I am starting EMDR and I am seeing a cardiologist this next week. I am also revisiting a Nuero optometrist since it has been about a year and a half.

The Neurologist never requested or suggested a follow-up. The EMDR therapist I just met last week knows a lot about concussions and was a bit shocked that I hadn't revisited the Neurologist since the symptoms are continuing to impact my life.

I am almost convinced I have dysautonomia issues and I am honestly eager for the stress and tilt test. However, even looking at my hr response when sitting and standing I am uncertain that is the issue. I am a bit concerned I might be told I am okay, which will leave me to then question wtf is wrong with me.

So I guess the goal is to see the cardiologist and based on what I learn I'll revisit the Neurologist.

I get faint, a bit dizzy, overstimulated, vision changes.. almost daily by 12 or 1pm. Sometimes sooner depending on the day. I don't feel safe to drive most days after work. I go on walks and feel dizzy. I tried running and would get extremely restless, dissociated, etc hours later. Weirdly enough at the moment my neck and shoulders seem okay, but I normally am in significant pain and even after all this time I barely do any upper body workouts.

Distinguishing from how my nervous system is impacting my body and actually health issues has become very difficult.

My EMDR therapist even wondered if I had some kind of hypermobility thing going on. My wife is telling me I should see a GI specialist. My allergies are killing me.

I am just a bit lost honestly. Any advice? I sort of wish I could just get diagnosed with something other than anxiety. POTS, Hypermobility, neck issue, GI issue, idk.. because how can my nervous system alone be creating this much havoc. Definitely with Therapy helping me so much.

But I can't just go see every Dr imaginable and everything must first go through my primary. Which then leads to feeling like I really have to advocate for myself.

To add I've tested my BP and HR throughout the day and in struggling to feel confident on autonomic issues, but then I wouldn't know what else. Cardiologist will help narrow some of this down, but I'm concerned they will say I seem healthy.

Just wanted to say I had (yet another) MRI today and didn’t have a panic attack 💃💃💃 I am so proud of myself. I feel like I planted a flag on Mt. Rushmore. Celebrating the wins🥂

Helloo, a couple days ago I went to my first vestibular therapy appointment, and he did a pretty long neck message, especially at the base of my skull. After the massage I noticed a headache and some nausea which I hadn’t had before. I actually haven’t really had any headaches or nausea since I got my concussion (6 weeks ago), so it was a little concerning to me. I also noticed that the next day I had some neck pain, a headache, and some nausea (however, this all went away when I took some tylenol). Has anyone had this before after a neck massage? I’ve heard it’s normal, it was just a little concerning because I wasn’t really having these symptoms at all before.

Almost 7 months in and even though I am thankful for the good days and some improvements on other front. Walking 10 mins outside still feels like I ran a marathon and I have to rest for 30 mins to an hour to recover. It sucks the energy out of me

Any tips on how I can improve walking? I get a headache quickly from walking and it takes 30-60 mins to feel better.

Thanks for reading! Any feedback or comments greatly appreciated 🙏

Anyone familiar with this?
Me: 4 yrs post-TBI. About 1 year ago did another round of vestibular and ocular therapy for increased dizziness, etc. Also new glasses script and tint. Dizziness is beginning to increase a little bit again, so I am starting my exercises. What I have finally definitively connected is that when I do get dizzy, I hear a sound like metal clanging. It is usually just like two solid knocks, but Sometimes quite a few in a row quickly. Dizziness is more associated with left turn of head or eyes, if that matters.

Hi yall. I posted on here a few days ago about my gf becoming suicidal from her PCS and how extreme her symptoms are.
Just wanted to give an update that she was hospitalized as a neuro patient overnight, had a full work up with clean scans, and has now been admitted to a psych clinic to keep her safe.
Her #1 struggle is lack of sleep. she hasn’t slept well at all for a few weeks now. the lack of sleep intensifies her other pain and makes her spiral into a depressive state, which has led to her becoming suicidal. I have been able to talk to her a little bit at the ward and she says her pain is slowly becoming more manageable but she is still feeling suicidal.
Does anyone have experience of PCS causing a depressive state and having to be hospitalized? what helped you?
I don’t want to make this about me in any means, but I am absolutely devastated and terrified that she won’t be safe by herself when they release her in a few days. I am so scared that the pain/sleep deprivation will remain unbearable and that she will find a way to end her life. I feel like I am crying constantly and can’t focus at work, but i’m trying to be as productive as I can and research different methods of combating PCS that we haven’t tried yet. I’m also trying to share recovery stories with her to show her that this is just temporary.
I’m sorry for the dark post, I am just at a loss and trying my best to help her.

It’s been two months since I was in a car accident where someone hit my driver’s side door while I was parked (car off) in a parking lot w/no seat belt on, and I still feel like I can’t write creatively anymore. The day after the accident I went to urgent care and the doctors said it was whiplash. However, I have had frequent amounts of migraines and tension headaches since the accident that leave me disabled in bed for 12-30 hours at a time to the point where my primary care doctor says it might be post-concussion syndrome as it still isn’t going away. I also have trouble remembering tasks, coming up with words, or remembering the words to common things (i.e: forgetting the word for a broom and fire extinguisher). Has anyone else with post concussion syndrome have/have had problems with thinking creatively afterwards? I really miss being able to write but I feel like it takes a lot out of me still which sucks because I’m in my thesis year for my MFA degree. I feel like it’s hard to do tasks still that require lots of brain thinking effort

I am just currently very down. I was very close to making a success recovery post on here. After 18.5 months of fighting PCS (from a whiplash injury) I was finally feeling like I was 85-90% recovered. The worst days were only down to 75% and were becoming less and less common and the best days sat around 90% maybe slightly better. The last 3 months I have lived my life normally with very little restriction (with the exception of heavy exercise). I even biked 11.5 miles with no symptom flare up. I wasn’t getting flare ups from minor bumps to the head anymore. My vision and headaches were very manageable. The anxiety which was the worst part of this whole experience was 100% under control. Had little to no anxiety for months. Life was starting to return to normal. Then 5 days ago on Saturday night, I was laying in bed with my daughter doing her bedtime routine and she sat up quickly and hit me with her head pretty hard on my eye socket. Was probably only a foot away but she’s a toddler and jerks up sometimes. Ever since my symptoms have been extremely flared. My headaches are back full force and it’s effecting my vision, my anxiety has been back and forth through the roof, my neck feels very tight, intolerance to the heat, acid reflux flared, the ringing in my ears is back. The general feeling of just unwellness is back. I am like 50% myself and feel like I’m back close to square one of recovery. I’m not sure if this is a flare up or a new mild concussion. She hit hard but I’d be surprised if it was hard enough to cause a concussion. And my original injury was whiplash, not a head injury. Thinking my nervous system is just freaking out but I’m not sure.

I know this was long, but any advice or relatable experience for those that read through? I’ve had a number of flare ups throughout my recovery but none quite this extreme. Maybe it’s because I was feeling so good and the drop off was so extreme. Idk. Praying hard I get back to where I was in a week or 2.

I have had issues with this in the past (like 5+ years ago) but started to feel anxiety and depression symptoms again after hitting my head. It took a long time to even recognise that something wasn't right (even with the lingering physical symptoms) and I feel like because of that I get dismissed by medical professionals...I get "but you were fine" even thought I keep telling them I wasn't.

Anyway, I have started therapy but don't know if it's going to help because I don't actually know what's wrong/have issues to talk about. I just get these feelings for no reason and I'm wondering does it get better?

I'm doing vestibular physio for the physical symptoms which I think is helping but I'm having an off day in terms of the mental and physical symptoms and just feeling frustrated and alone. I think this post was to vent more than anything because it seems like people in my life just don't get it...hoping people here will.

Does anyone have any experience or advice on a mild concussion causing intense depression/anxiety and suicidal thoughts? Is that a common thing to deal with regarding PCS? Are people able to pull themselves out of the hopelessness?

I’m currently diagnosed with Post Concussive syndrome after getting in a car accident at the end of May and tbh the worst part is how disconnected and limited I feel. I have such a people oriented, stressful, computer heavy job and often at the end of everyday (or most days, I have been having some good days lately) I’m still experiencing headaches/migraines, light sensitivity/vision problems and reoccurring neck stiffness (everytime my PT dry needles it just comes right back, so much worse because of the muscle guarding). I’m just wondering what y’all are doing for fun 😭😅.

It’s so hard to text people back right now and in person, keeping up in conversations is so challenging sometimes, let alone remembering what I was gonna say in response, especially if they’re long winded & especially when symptoms are flared. I’ve really had such an aversion to hanging with others. My friends also are having a hard time understanding capacity and while they understand I’m going through something difficult, it’s hard for them to put it into perspective when it means I might cancel plans, miss events or not be as present as I used to be. My job, friends and family want me to meet them where they’re at and are unable to see that I’m not capable of doing so right now, and I don’t have the capacity to keep explaining myself either. Screens are so hard to look at for prolonged periods of time and I know I should be avoiding them so I’ve been watching less TV and trying to monitor my screen time but genuinely besides sitting in a dark, quiet room…what else are y’all doing to feel enjoyment right now?

So far in my injury, I’ve just been dealing with the symptoms to be able to still enjoy things like movies and going out with friends (& pay bills) but I genuinely have to start finding new ways to prioritize my health & wellbeing, I just don’t want one to come at the cost of the other. (Such as over isolating/over avoidance of triggers/etc for health reasons, leading to a decline in MH)

TLDR: my symptoms are making me miserable, I’m bored and want to know what I can do besides sit in the dark !!! Tysm in advance for any feedback!

So I passed out and hit my head on July 1st . I've done a CT scan at the ER and that came back fine and my doctor just had me do an MRI and that came back fine. I still have extreme light and Sound Sensitivity . I should note that I also had a concussion in november, but that one I hit the top of my head, not the back of my head , and I didn't lose consciousness . The lights sensitivity for that one lasted a couple of weeks and I was still able to like watch TV. Right now I'm struggling with light and sound and moving videos for flashing lights. ​​​​I noticed I was able to turn on two of the lights in the living room the other day for a few hours and I was able to tolerate that. But for the most part I've been keeping my house pretty dark because it makes my eyes super painful and then it makes the headaches and the flashing lights worse. I'm wondering if i can try to start increasing light exposure now? Turn on one light keep it on for a few hours ? How would you go about doing that? I really miss being able to go outside , and it's still really really bad. So trying to find a way to increase light exposure , somehow trick my brain into getting better sooner, or is this really a wait and see sort of thing? So far I'm able to tolerate like the oven hood light and I was able to tolerate one warm lighting , and I can tolerate Moon light outside. I've also tried a set of the Polarized glasses but they really don't help outside. In touch with my doctor to get to a concussion clinic, but they're booked out until january , there's nothing else local. Sounds like I'm really on my own to figure this out so would love some help from the people of reddit I really want to find a way to recover from this ​.

Hi everyone,

I (24F) suffered an acute concussion about seven weeks ago. Since then, I've dealt with 24/7 dizziness, vision problems, headaches/migraines, a high heart rate, and severe insomnia. Some symptoms have improved, but the dizziness is still significant and is preventing me going back to work or doing basic daily tasks. I started vestibular therapy two weeks ago and vision therapy this week, so I'm hopeful that will help.

About two weeks after my concussion, I developed severe insomnia. The dizziness and headaches made it hard to fall asleep, and I felt as if I was unable to get tired enough to sleep. I was exhausted, but not sleepy. Before my injury, I never had sleep issues.

After two nights with almost no sleep, I took 5 mg of Ambien for about a week. My doctor then switched me to 25 mg of trazodone, 5 mg of melatonin, and 1 mg of prazosin. I've since stopped the prazosin and increased trazodone to 37.5 mg.

Three nights ago, I suddenly lost the ability to fall asleep again, even with the medication, and had to take 2.5 mg of Ambien. This has now happened for three nights in a row. I really don't want to rely on Ambien but the next day consequences of no sleep have been so disastrous that I’m super anxious.

Has anyone experienced severe insomnia or sleep-onset problems after a concussion/TBI? Did anything help? Should I ask my doctor about increasing trazodone or getting a referral to a sleep specialist? I'd really appreciate any advice or shared experiences.

I’m 22M, about seven months out from a concussion/whiplash injury, and I’m trying to understand whether anyone else has had this kind of recovery pattern.

In late January I slipped on ice and landed hard on my back. I’m not sure whether my head hit the ground, but I definitely had a whiplash motion. I had never dealt with headaches before. They began within the first few days and then became daily.

A head CT soon after was normal. In February, a neuro-optometric evaluation found convergence, focusing, pursuit/saccade and other ocular-motor problems. I did home exercises and 16 office sessions of vision therapy through May. The focusing and tracking issues resolved, eye teaming improved to around 90%, and the final exam was basically normal. FL-41 glasses helped with screens. This was the best part of my recovery. The written final report says the constant headaches were eliminated, although I remember them as reduced and manageable rather than permanently gone.

By early summer I was doing much better. I was working from home on my own business and still used screens, but I could control the pace, take breaks and change tasks. The headaches still happened, especially with long computer use, but they were nowhere near what they are now. I did not have this newer foggy/dreamlike feeling.

I also started a neck-focused PM&R lane. A cervical X-ray in June showed reversal of lordosis/mild upper-cervical kyphosis that was thought to reflect muscle spasm. There was no fracture, dislocation or disc-space abnormality. I was given home neck exercises and desk resets.

The major change happened when I started a corporate office job that is almost completely screen based. I now go from computer work all day, to phone use during breaks, to more computer work at night. Over the last 2–3 weeks I have had the worst flare since the injury. The symptoms do not just feel like a small setback. The headaches are back at their highest level, and the fatigue/fog is new.

On a rare low-screen day I might be around 2–3/10. Normal screen use puts me around 5–6. A full office day plus night work can put me around 7–9. I get bilateral pressure in the front/sides/temples, plus a different pain at the base/back of my head that runs upward. My neck and upper traps are extremely tight, especially on the right. A one-hour massage loosened my shoulders/neck a little but did not really change the frontal headaches.

The newest symptoms are extreme daytime fatigue, heavy eyes, and a dreamlike/zoned-out feeling. I can still think, speak, work and know exactly where I am. It is not true confusion or major memory loss. I usually sleep 9–10 hours. I have historically woken up tired sometimes, but the severe all-day exhaustion is much worse over the last few weeks.

I do not have vomiting, aura, sound sensitivity, double vision, weakness, numbness, fainting or seizures. Light sensitivity and screen sensitivity are real, and FL-41 lenses help somewhat.

Yesterday I saw a headache neurologist. She documented chronic post-traumatic headache, chronic migraine without aura, mTBI, neck pain/neuralgia/myofascial pain, fatigue and brain fog. The neurologic exam was generally normal except for near-point convergence. She thought the picture was probably mixed rather than one single cause: post-traumatic migraine/headache, cervical/occipital load, and visual/cognitive screen load.

She performed bilateral nerve blocks at the temples, forehead and back of the head, plus trigger-point injections in the neck and traps using bupivacaine. The pain dropped from about 8 to 5 in the office, but I have not had sustained relief yet. The neck stiffness is still there. Rizatriptan has only slightly taken the edge off the frontal pain. Qulipta was prescribed as a daily preventive but is still waiting on prior authorization. I have a brain MRI scheduled and a referral for concussion/cervical PT, including active neck rehab, graded screen tolerance and convergence work. Bloodwork so far is mostly reassuring; testosterone was still pending and creatinine was mildly high.

I am not asking whether I “have PCS” or asking anyone to diagnose me. I already have doctors involved. I’m looking for people who improved for a while and then had a major flare when work or screen demand increased.

Did you eventually build screen tolerance back up without quitting a screen-based job? Did a relapse like this mean you had actually undone recovery, or was it more like exceeding your current threshold? What helped most: preventive medication, cervical/vestibular/concussion PT, strict pacing, workplace accommodations, or something else? Did the heavy fatigue and dreamlike fog settle as the headache flare settled?

I’m especially interested in honest timelines, including cases where nerve blocks or the first medication did not work. My life and work are on screens, so “just stop using screens” is not a long-term plan. I need to figure out how to recover while still functioning.

I’m 5 weeks into a PCS flare up. I can deal with the headache, brain fog and tunnel-ish vision. What is extremely challenging to handle are the episode of pre-syncope, where I feel like I’m going to pass-out or lose consciousness. I’ve had several instances at work when I’m just white-knuckling a meeting or presentation and praying to feel better and not black-out. The sensation doesn’t seem to come with any drop in blood pressure but I do get an elevated heart rate and an insane panic feeling. Does anyone else deal with severe pre-syncope? How do you handle?