I think some of us are ruffled by your statements because we live in a prison of sorts.

This is in my brain because it's damaged but not fabricated my emotional mind.

My life was full and active with family, friends, career, independence, and so much more before the accident. My family and I have lost so much.

There is no big payout, no benefit to me to stay this way nor a benefit to my family.

When someone experience a healing or success at kicking a habit they can have a righteous and degrading attitude towards others that can't do the same. The whole, "Well if I can do it anyone can do it!" mentality is detrimental to those not successful, and it's offensive. Healing from this is not a choice.

I'm sure a good attitude helps but if choosing to be healed worked, most would not be injured or sick in this world.

I am happy for you that you've healed, truly. After 18 months of this catastrophic life changing event I am happy for anyone that can escape the lasting damage of this type of injury.

I'm wondering if your comments come out of ignorance since you healed and are not living with this still. I don't mean that disrespectfully. Just that there may be things you don't know you don't know. We are all ignorant in some way or another. I hope you never know the deeper extend of what many of us go through here.

Jace

Thank you, Jace.

The medical evidence from C.T.E studies is overwhelming: Concussions cause PERMANENT brain damage. Experts, like Dr. Daniel P. Perl, the director of neuropathology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York agree.

Some people recover better than others after TBI - but nobody's brain will EVER be exactly like it was before the injury.

Ironically, I have found that some of the patients most compromised by brain injury are the ones most convinced that they are fine. Robbed on self-reflection, they are unaware of even the most outrageous aspects of their behaviour.

My neuro psychologist told me that she had a patient who, among other things, simply couldn't accept that his MVA had robbed him of sight in one eye. No objective evidence, including, covering the good eye, could convince him.

I had a gentleman in my rehab group who couldn't understand why he was at the hospital, because he was fine. The poor guy couldn't control his bodily function, swallow properly, focus his eyes, refrain from making sexually inappropriate comments or remember a conversation for more than a few minutes. It was just so sad.

With TBI patients, understatement of symptoms is a much bigger problem than overstatement.

Youre right hockey the brain cannot regenerate itself, therefore it will not be the same as before the injury. Our bodies themselves can heal (for the most part) because the body is programmed with stem cells to regenerate losses. The brain for whatever reason does not have stem cells to regenerate itself (Im a molecular, cell and developmental bio major). I can go on and on but the fact is everyone is different

But this forum has helped me a lot, raised my awareness and knowledge. I wish i found this place after concussion #1 and i would probably not be in my situation. But that is in the past. Also this forum has scared me too because some of the regulars and others have shown that this battle can be a long lengthy one. Severity of injury and age are probably major determinants of time for healing and chance of full recovery. Nonetheless, i will continue to battle and we all need to. Te truth is NO ONE knows much about the brain. It is complex and the best neurologist on this planet can say all they want but the brain remains a mystery.

This PCS is probably a combo of things, but they cannot observe the brain because if you touch it it will go into shock and bad things will happen. Looking into many research papers i can tell you all the brain;s main strength is not replacing the neurons but adapting to the situation. If neuron A and B are gone then C must take over. This obviously has its limits but if anything at least have comfort knowing that for viewing and typing on this forum, something "good" must be happening.

So does this mean that for the rest of my life when I overwork myself or my head I will get brain fog and with brain fog I can not drive... it is very scary.. I can not see or understand intersections...

There is noway to predict how much individual patients will recover.

From my own experience, I must say that I'm really amazed by the brain's capacity for neuroplasticity. I have regained things (like some sense of hot and cold in my hands), not because my brain healed, in the sense that a broken leg heals, but because less damaged areas of my brain have learned to perform this function.

No matter what anyone tells you about "windows of recovery," NEVER stop working at cognitive rehab. The brain in amazing.

Is what I can do now the same as before my MVA? No - but it's a heck of a lot more than I could do when I was pulled out of the wreck. I can even drive - nobody thought that would EVER happen.

Hope, believe, strive!

Thank you Hockey...

I think that I am just now, after 5 months realizing that I can not rush this... I have tried... I have done non-conventional therapies... I have done every drug on the market, I think ..

I just want this daily headache to go away... I wan to go back to work... I want to exercise... today is a horribly depressing day... realization stinks...

I think there are stages in TBI recovery. I tried the "ignore it and push through" phase. What a disaster.

You sound like me: the type of person who is proactive about finding SOLUTIONS. Sadly, TBI isn't that kind of problem.

TBI is hard on us chronic overachievers. Seven (gulp) years in, and I'm still wrestling to accept that I don't have to be "super cripple." (I also have a spinal cord injury.)

Like Hockey said everyone heals differently. No one knows but the Man above. All i was saying is adding to the fact we are not crazy and the reason why there is no wonder pill or really anything so far that we lean to say yes we will heal 100% like brand new, better than we were prior to injury is because of the reason i specified. Athletes get torn ligaments and whatnot but some can become "better than before." There is still plenty of research left to do and possibly what im saying now can be outdated sometime in the future, but for now this is a fact. You CAN heal, just dont set unrealistic goals and predictions. I do not want to scare you because i honestly am a bit afraid myself, and id be lying if i said otherwise.

This is/has been my biggest fault and i am trying my best to let it go and gain back control of things i actually can control. I can sit here an type on and on everything i know but no one wants to read that. Plus i need to have cognitive rest so after my final that is what i must do. I will try to relax and have some faith

The brain does have stem cells and it does regenerate. Yours is a long-outdated view. Google "neurogenesis". ;-)