NeuroTalk Support Groups - Just wanted to share my experiences + recovery

Hi All,

I've been a lurker here ever since I had my concussion and I found that the information here has been tremendously helpful. Since I'm feeling pretty much recovered I just wanted to chime in and provide some info where I can since the information here has helped me so much.

General info: My name is Vince. 26 y/o. Finance Manager. CPA candidate. Concussion on 2/2/2014. I was very healthy prior to the accident, exercised everyday, ate well, took vitamins and omega 3s. Typical busy, ambitious person with a lot of goals and hobbies. 4 cups of coffee a day kind of guy, maybe 3-4 drinks a week. I have seen a few posts on here about this lifestyle, and a concussion pretty much puts a hard stop on everything which could be such a huge mental blow...which makes it WORST! I found that stress and anxiety were the worst possible things to do during a concussion. Anyways...

What happened: Motorcycle accident on the race track @ 60 mph on a turn. I went off the side and fell on my side, blacked out for what I assume was no more than a minute. Helmet showed hard scuffs on ALL sides, but helmet did not crack so I don't think it was an extremely hard impact but a lot of rolling and "lesser" impacts. I also separated my shoulder (1st degree). This is probably my 2nd but worst "real" concussion ever where I actually thought, "oh **** that was bad". I have hit my head on hard floor from falling, probably 3 times that I can recall but they were years ago, and years apart.

Initial symptoms: sleepiness, dizziness, mental and physical fatigue, tinnitus, minor headaches, neck pain, brain fog, food intolerance and easily upset stomach, but no digestion problems. Fortunately, I had almost no cognitive or memory problems. (6 months in now, I feel the same as I always have in this area)

I didn't take a single day off - but I worked from home for the first week or so. I was extremely fatigued, a 30 minute meeting beat me up and I had to nap afterwards. I probably slept well over 10 hours each day for the first few days. I'm almost positive I would've recovered faster if I laid in bed and did nothing for a week straight, but not by much. I did have to put off my studies, exercise, and a lot of social/tv/reading time. I found that I just slept as much as I could (mostly because my body made me) and when I got up, I had some energy to use. So I used that energy, then slept, then used, then slept. Eventually I had more tolerance and mental endurance. If anything, it's more mental endurance than physical endurance.

Recovery: First two months I ate extremely well, took a ton of vitamins and fish oil, slept a lot, and took it easy. No caffeine or alcohol what so ever. I reduced stress and anxiety as much as possible. I also religiously followed the things Mark in Idaho suggested to others, that guy knows way too much.

2 months in I was practically 100% again (but as we all know, not really). I was working hard, working out, studying, and drinking both caffeine and alcohol here and there. I had quit smoking in late 2013 so that wasn't an issue now. I would feel myself get mentally and physically tired and then rest when that happened. I also had random bouts of dizziness. I never had vertigo where I couldn't stand or walk straight, but the dizziness was annoying.

Relapse: After a month of living my old lifestyle, I got a cold, then digestion problems, then went to a law firm's beer drinking event and got drunk because I had an empty stomach, because of my digestion problems. Next day my hangover brought back some old symptoms...I had a headache, dizziness, brain fog, minor depression, and fatigue.

Recovery: It wasn't a hard reset, but I went back to taking it easy and on my recovery routine. 3 weeks later I am feeling 90%, but I have positional vertigo which I'm probably just going to let it heal itself and do some vestibular exercises I found on the net.

Other things: I also started seeing a UCC, which has made a world of difference. My C1 - C3 were all misaligned, probably due to 10 years of break dancing and beating my body up, then that motorcycle accident. I also upped my vitamins to follow Mark's list after my relapse. It seems to be very helpful, I saw results early. I want to try some more physical therapies, maybe for blood flow and muscles around the nerves but I think for the most part I'm doing good enough with just the UPP. It's expensive too.

Oh yeah, I still have a ringing in my ears. Not sure if this will go away anytime soon...it's been the only real constant.

I realize that my concussion/PCS journey is no where near as grueling as others I've read on here...but I just wanted to contribute. Plus there are not enough motorcycle stories here (hah!). Overall, I feel that it was a blessing in disguise because it forced me to change my lifestyle in a good way. Now, I'm simply fascinated on how the brain works, heals, and how it affects every aspect of your body. I just want to keep learning more about it...especially from an injured brain POV. I am slowly become less active on the forum as I slowly slide back into my old lifestyle, but I will see any questions in email if they are asked!