Thanks again for the replies. Part of my frustration (and everyone else's I'm sure) is that I'm 3.5 months in and just don't know the best course of action to get better. Immediately after my fall I rested well, doing nothing for 5 days and feeling better and better each day.

Then I ever so slightly nudged my head against a car visor (I really just kind of pushed my head into it trying to change my car registration because I was feeling good) and that caused pain (that I still feel sometimes), and a downward spiral of anxiety, depression and insomnia.

For the next week I probably wasn't resting that well because I was so anxious, but I still wasn't really doing anything. I then went home to MN for 2 weeks (I'm a grad student in Ithaca, NY) and rested well there, saw a concussion specialist at a sports medicine clinic who advised to start easing back into activity, and that's what I did, pretty slowly.

For the next month I gradually upped my activity, starting to do some mindless labwork, attending some talks. My headaches weren't getting worse, but they weren't getting better either, and I still felt dulled and down a lot.

I went back to MN for a wedding, and was lucky enough to get in to see the specialist again, where I saw a neuropsychologist, and did the exercise exertion test. The results of the neuropsych test were such that they didn't really worry the doc, and I passed the exertion test, running to exhaustion without making the headaches worse (I had a minor headache starting and throughout though).

I was cleared for starting to exercise more in the form of stationary biking (which made me really excited as I normally run 70 miles a week), and I continued to do more and more (although still nowhere near my normal schedule of work).

A month after this I was doing more, but the headaches were still mostly the same and I still felt dulled and "off" and depressed some of the time, I decided to go on a short backpacking trip with some friends, which the doctor cleared me for.

The 5 day trip itself went well, I had fun and tried new things (drank more coffee, had a little alcohol). When I got back I thought if I can do that without getting worse, I'm bound to get better soon, and I figured this was all just a bad dream that I was soon to wake from.

Then a few days after I got back I started feeling worse, getting a new kind of rubber band sensation on both sides of my head which I hadn't gotten before, and I had greater difficulty concentrating on doing work like writing and reading. This caused a further downward spiral of feeling depressed about not being myself.

The doctor in MN thinks this relapse of sorts isn't related to the concussion, but to tension headaches that might be due to carrying a pack around, and that I shouldn't back off on what I'm doing. I'm frustrated because a theme I see on this site is that backing off and resting is the most important thing, while my doctor is saying the opposite. It's also hard because I feel like he can't fully grasp the situation over the phone.

It's also difficult to pinpoint triggers, as sometimes I'll be fine working on the computer or reading/writing, or watching TV, while other times I'll get worsening headaches doing those things. Similarly since getting back from this trip sometimes it feels that with exercise the headaches get slightly worse, which is confusing given I passed the exertion test earlier.

Basically, I just don't know what to do. I've been eating exceedingly healthy, started on parts of the vitamin regimen, been seeing a counselor, massage therapist, physical therapist, and now a NUCCA chiro. I've considered trying accupuncture, neurofeedback (the active kind), craniosacral therapy.

I just don't know if I should back off and rest for a while (a scary thought as doing things keeps my mind occupied and off feeling depressed), or keep doing what I'm doing and hope the headaches go away and I feel sharper as time goes on.

Sorry for the long post, I hope I broke it up OK for people with tracking issues, and that I don't come off sounding whiny given my comparatively minor symptoms.