New to the board, though I've been visiting for a couple of months. I respect everyone's struggles.

In the beginning of February, I went out during a snowstorm to get some food and to see the storm. It was an icy snow, and very heavy. Though I thought I was careful, my legs went out from under me, and I fell to the pavement, all 6' 3" of me. Luckily, my head did not hit the pavement (I came within three or four inches, and I am thankful to God every day the worst did not happen).

I never lost consciousness, though I was a little woozy, and though three or four days later, I had some problems understanding things that were said to me (mainly because of tiredness and too much stimuli), when I went to my MD a little bit after that, I passed all his tests, and there was no evidence of any gross brain injury. Same thing when I went to a neurologist in March, who did more exhaustive tests, including an EEG.

One of my best friends, a neurologist, has said that most mild TBI resolves fully within three months, but here I am at month four, and I am not fully healed. I am a medical editor. Luckily, I am still able to function quite highly at my job (though I did have have some cognitive issues and some short-term memory issues which seem to be resolving). But I cannot do a whole lot of thinking on the weekends because I am tired from the week.

I have been an avid reader my whole life, but reading has been at times more difficult than the past, and I have for the time being, given up my work as a volunteer writer/ editor for a kids' newspaper.

I have a mild headache about 70% of the time, and my upper spine and neck bone often has a dull pain, and some days the pain is fairly bad. I started taking B-12 and turmeric every day, per the recommendation of my neurologist. And I had some acupuncture, which definitely offered some relief, and maybe made me a tiny bit better than when I first started the treatments.

I went to a chiropractor this past week, who recommended I take fish oil every day, which I have started. She said that she has been able to help heal people with PCS fairly frequently, but, as I write this, my upper spine is still sore, and her manipulations didn't seem to do much.

I do have a history of concussion--by my count, maybe four or five in my life, with one as recent as January 2012 (before my current one). That one resolved in about three weeks, even though I had hit me head fairly hard. I do remember one concussion in the 1990s that took at least two months to heal. I just saw my GP yesterday, and he suspects the reason it is taking so long this time is because of my history.

The thing that is most puzzling to me, and the reason I write, is that I do not understand the course of my illness--I have no idea if I'm on the path to being "100%." and when that will happen. Nor do I know when I should just blow off a day doing *nothing.* Even though I have a girlfriend, I live by myself, and, regardless of how I feel, there are some things I have to do every day just to take care of myself and organizing tasks can be daunting. I have no sense of when I am doing too much, and even days when I thought I was taking it easy, I'll wake up the next morning feeling crappy.

So much of my self-worth has come from my intelligence, and, because I don't feel as mentally quick as before, there have been some days I've withdrawn a little bit from my girlfriend, because I feel like less of a person.

There have been at least five or six time periods (some lasting two or three days, some lasting as many as seven or eight days), where I have felt almost totally clear-headed and *healed* and even told people I thought I had gotten better. Now, if I have a good day, I don't get as excited about it! But I am still thankful when it happens!

If you have any ideas that could help me, I'd appreciate it. Monday I will be seeing a specialist in traumatic brain disease, and I have some hope, but not a lot. Not so much because I don't think I will get better, but mainly because my intuition is that one day symptoms will resolve on their own, and have nothing to do with what I've done or haven't done.

But here I am nonetheless.

Complaining about my health issues, especially in light of the people who have severe head injuries, makes me feel a little weird, but I am definitely not a malingerer...