Hey there!

Have you been to a doctor specializing in brain injury? Not all doctors are created equal in this matter and I speak from 6 years of experience. While all of my tests were negative I still have problems hence diagnosed with PCS. Finding a neurologist, physiatrist and therapists that specialize in tbi has been invaluable.

Also, you say first-time concussion. At 38 I thought the same thing until my mom spoke up...about the time I was hit in the face playing right field in 6th grade, or when I fell out of the orange tree, the car accident at age 14 - they are cumulative and we often forget how many blows we've actually taken over the years as they seem inconsequential at the time.

Sleep - It took another tbi person to tell me about melatonin years after my car accident. I take 2.5 mg sublingual - dissolves under the tongue - 1/2 hour before bed. The key for me was the sublingual version and starting at the lowest dosage and bumping it up if that doesn't work. After 2 months sleeping is back to normal as long as I don't pass that point of no return - resisting feeling sleepy is my worst enemy and still results in insomnia. Learn your limits.

Dizzy - I used that term, but learned it meant something different than what I experience. The closest I can come to describing my issue now (experienced vertigo at 1st w/nausea - totally different sensation) is feeling like I'm on a boat and don't have my sea legs or feeling drunk- it's a feeling of being off balance. Is that close to what you're feeling? I haven't come up with a solution for this and my meds actually cause it - I simply cope with it and use humor to get through.

There are many reasons for experiencing this sensation from physical issues in the ear to your proprioception being off. Proprioceptors are found throughout the body and let us know where we are in space. I would trip walking up stairs, shut doors on myself while in the doorway and generally feel a bit floaty as if my conscience was located up and to the left of my head - ironically where my head 1st hit the steering wheel.

I was a massage student at the time and had the luxury of having my teachers work on me for free and my education tailor made for the brain injured - I suggest finding a massage school near you and asking if they have any experience with brain injury and see if they need volunteers for their classes where they work with special health concerns (MS, paraplegic, tbi, etc). Shiatsu helped the most and I felt grounded afterwards. NO or light head work - it's a contraindication, but footwork helps with the brain fog.

Brain fog - I was a webmaster by day, massage school student at night when in my car accident. I had to take a medical leave of absence from school before I could return and probably too soon - my loans came due - sooo....my neurologist stepped outside the box trying me on a few ADD medications at low doses until we found one that worked on my fatigue, brain fog, enhanced my cognitive functions & ability to focus. Know not all doctors agree with this treatment, but it works for me and am thankful my doc took a chance. A classmate suggested this and said I'd know when I no longer needed it when I felt like I had 12 pots of coffee.

Personally I didn't start experiencing my worst symptoms until a week after injury. Many of which are a different category than what you're experiencing, but I totally relate to the sensations you've described. I couldn't read, follow instructions to make brownies - always forgot something, felt detached from my body, zoned out all the time - most embarrassing was on the toilet of all places, when I would lay in bed it felt like the room was spinning, using my brain hurt - couldn't even look at magazines.

Sensory overload - Sounds like what you experience going outside. There are tools to get around this issue, but get a diagnosis. There are medications, but coping tools help best. My first experience at the grocery store was horrible. Between the fluorescent lights, noises, choices, colors, decisions - I became overwhelmed and went into what I call shut down mode - where it feels like someone flipped a switch shutting everything down aside from vital functions then I lost balance & other symptoms got worse. Took 4 hours of sleep to recuperate.

I still experience this, but not all the time. A Cake concert taught me strobe lights are a bad thing even after 6 years so be careful and expect changes to happen years later.

Tools by sense:

Hearing - sound canceling earbuds. Sometimes I actually plug them (normally just use to filter noise while still allowing me to hear what's going on around me) in and listen to low music to counteract whatever is causing a problem - doctor's office, restaurant, etc. Had a teacher with a voice that killed me - earplugs worked good.

If hearing is an issue have your ears tested by an audiologist. I was diagnosed with hyperacusis which is akin to super hearing - I hear everything and the brain can't filter out clutter. Custom fit musician ear filters are prescribed.

Visual - If lighting is the issue find a pair of sunglasses that work for you. Try different color lenses and darkness levels inside and outside if possible (go cheap for this reason)- I have a few for different occasions. Blue lenses work best for me outside, but need dark for fluorescent lights. Also helps my migraines - light not only triggers them, but am photo sensitive when they hit too.

I'm sure even though I wrote a novel I've forgotten important info, but hope this helps. Normally we're told "no pain, no gain" - not in this type of injury. If you push too hard, too fast you can go backwards. Find your limits, respect them and learn alternatives to get to where you want to be. It gets better. It takes time. Ask questions. Don't take "No" for an answer.

~Kristy