Dan,

The neck issue is just about the only thing you can get any worthwhile diagnostics and treatment for. The C-2, C-1, and occiput joints are often injured. It takes very specialized X-rays or MRI to see the injuries.

Sometimes, a neck brace is prescribed to help stabilize the joint. Upper cervical chiropractors also have been helpful. Generic chiro tends to be too aggressive for these injuries. You can tell if there is an injury usually by the tenderness to touch behind the ears. This is the muscle group to these vertebra. It helps me to ice what I get this same tenderness and the related head aches.

"My doctors don't take into account that I received multiple hits while having a concussion" This proves that your doctors do not understand concussion. Very few do. Even those who work at concussion clinics are usually serious limited in their knowledge.

The concussions you have suffered are just the tip of the iceberg. For each concussion, you probably suffered 30 to 50 sub-concussive impacts. They are worse because the player does not take any time off to recover so the cumulative effect can be devastating.

Your doctors sound completely ignorant of sub-concussive impacts. The average football player suffers 700 to 1100 subconcussive impacts during the fall season. Full contact spring training makes this much worse.

Regarding artificial sweeteners, aspartame, Equal, Nutrasweet, sucralose, and Splenda are the common bad ones. Stevia and Monk Fruit extract are not that bad. But, there is no reason anybody needs to be consuming foods or beverages with artificial sweeteners or no-calorie sweeteners, not even diabetics. There is a rebound effect where the body becomes more hungry when it realizes it got zero calories from a food that tasted like it contained calories.

Read my post about vitamin supplements. It will give your brain a better chance to heal. You also need quiet rest. More on that later. And, btw, I have been here for over 3 years with 3700 plus posts. The only days I do not reply is when I am at my mountain cabin or having a bad day myself. So, keep in touch. There are plenty of knowledgeable people here to help you.

My best to you.