Hello,

I'm curious as to other peoples' experiences with alcohol after a mild TBI, particularly people who sustained the injury at a young age and were moderate drinkers before.

When I was released from the hospital, they told me that I should wait at least two months before drinking. Well, it's been two months today! I asked my TBI specialist about this, though, and she said that I should wait until I've gone a month without symptoms. While it seems like it might still be a little too soon now, a month without symptoms seems like a conservative recommendation to me. My biggest symptom at this point is anxiety, which I had before but has been worse since the accident. I don't imagine I'll go an entire month without feeling anxious for quite a while.

I'm mostly just concerned about alcohol's effects of inhibiting the brain's healing. A lot of the literature about alcohol and TBI seems to be focused on preventing re-injury and substance abuse, neither of which I am very worried about.

I plan on drinking again at some point, and taking it very slow when I resume. I plan on starting with a half a glass of wine and sipping it slowly over time.

So, what have been other peoples' experiences? How long after injury did you wait? Did you notice any substantial changes in alcohol's effect on you after the injury?