Maybe try using those breaks away to just rest and recompose yourself. Try not to type out these long questions on NT when you should be resting because you may be wasting extra energy when you need it to focus on your class. Focusing on the small screen on your phone when you are already feeling foggy, may only make it worse.

Also, you may want to try to stop worrying about how everyone else is doing in comparison to you because everyone is suffering in their own way...and also, not everyone is as vocal as you are about your symptoms. I know when my fog came on, i became non-verbal, motioned with my hands to whoever was with me, to give me some time, and waited for it to pass, and just moved on afterwards. I didnt like to broadcast that i was having problems because i didnt want to be tended to like a patient (since im normally the one taking care of everyone else). So remember that some of those people in your class may be suffering as well, but doing the best they can to do whatever they can do.

In my professional and personal opinion, you do not need the "spinal tap" or lumbar puncture (LP) as it is called in the medical profession. It is a procedure that has its risks and those risks may very well outweigh the benefits. There is no evidence of increased ICP on your scans and you dont need to look for infectious causes to your current issue because we know you had a TBI.

With an LP, you are accessing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) through the spine and sometimes that incision they make does not always close completely and you can end up with a CSF leak and a spinal headache. You were very fortunate to not have headaches as part of your PCS.....a spinal headache is just as bad as the worst headache you can imagine combined with the worst photophobia you could ever imagine. So you DO NOT want to add that to your current problems.

I personally have had an LP when i had meningitis 9 years ago, and i had a CSF leak and the spinal headache. Its the worst pain and misery you could ever imagine. I also work in Radiology now and we do LPs all day long, and sometimes we have to repair the leaks on our patients that get a CSF leak and the women usually say its worse than giving birth without an epidural. So basically what i am trying to say, dont have an unnecessary, risky procedure just because you dont have an answer that satisfies you about your fogginess.

Do the best you can each day, and wake up in the morning thinking every day that you will make a small improvement in what you can handle each day and before you know it, you will start improving your days there. Good luck.