There is light at the end of the tunnel!

I had a concussion (probably my 5th or 6th but definitely the worst) in Oct of 2015 when I was chasing a cat across my lawn, bent down underneath a tree, and proceeded to bash my head against a large branch as I stood up. They are always the stupidest stories aren't they? I wish it had at least been something cool, like defending my wife from a burglar or headbutting my boss, but alas...

My symptoms started out with brain fog, vision issues, head sensitivity over bumps and potholes and fairly severe headaches. I had to choose between dealing with the issues or, due to the nature of my job possibly getting fired if I was properly diagnosed. I chose the former.

Fast forward two years and I'd say I'm 80-90% healed. I still have sensitivity over particularly rough roads, but I can now run to exhaustion (could barely get my heart rate above 100 bpm immediately after the concussion) and generally take part in anything I want to in life. I made some tough choices, like discontinuing martial arts (something I really enjoyed). It's just not worth hitting my head again, which will probably happen if I continue. I was an avid 5K runner, and I'm happy to say that I've gotten back into the kind of shape I was before my concussion. At one point I never thought I'd run to exhaustion again.

I'm not posting this to gloat, simply to say that I understand where you all are at and I wish everyone here the speediest recovery possible. Those weeks and months after my injury (which turned into years) were the darkest times I can remember. It took a toll on my marriage, my friendships and my enjoyment of life. I haven't had the severe symptoms some of you have had, but I think there is light at the end of the tunnel and I sincerely hope all of you here find that light.

HERE'S WHAT YOU ALL WANT TO KNOW: The main thing that helped me was just choking out the inflammation (as many others here have already revealed). Reduce alcohol consumption (I did not stop drinking, but I try to limit it to the weekends these days), stay away from dairy and corn products and grab some turmeric/curcumin. Vitamin B also seemed to help. Buffalo protocol exercise was also a big help, but I probably went too hard too fast at first. Had to really force myself to adhere to their recommendation on speed.

Another big note: although I never felt like I had much cognitive damage, I (perhaps as proof to myself that I hadn't "lost" any brain power) undertook a second bachelors in physics in addition to working full time. I LOVED it, am now 80% finished with a 4.0 currently, and am planning on pursuing at least a masters and potentially a PhD in the future. I think exercising my brain has helped me still feel "smart" and has given me a lot of positive reinforcement through my recovery. YMMV, but I think having an intellectual outlet helped me a lot.

If I can help anyone or give you any tips please send me a PM. Good luck!