[heatherr30]

I was just wondering whether anyone here has tried fasting or similar therapies (ketogenic diet, coconut oil, etc) to improve concussion symptoms/ heal brain trauma faster?

A year ago I suffered a concussion, whose symptoms lasted 5 months. After that I would experience the symptoms again for 1-3 weeks after even a slight bump to the head. Additionally, I would get emotional symptoms along with the concussions such as depression, anxiety, and exhaustion.

What I discovered after struggling for several months with these repetitive impacts is that a short water fast, 24-36 hours, gets rid of the emotional stress, depression and anxiety and many if not all of the other concussion symptoms too. Short term memory in particular has responded very well, dizziness and headache decrease and eventually disappear over the 24-36 hours, and tasks which would be difficult for me to perform, such as reading or jogging, are easier to do during the fast. All benefits which I gain during the fast, continue after breaking the fast. So a concussion which would take up to 3 weeks to heal under normal conditions, will heal in 36 hours provided I take only water during that time.

Even more interesting, I have noticed if I accidentally bump my head while I am in ketosis (having fasted at least 18 hours or so) there are no symptoms except maybe a slight headache.

I am curious whether anyone has had a similar experience to me and I also wanted to share my very successful experience. Keeping in mind, certain medical conditions can make fasting dangerous so please, make sure you have had a medical check up, and read up on fasting, before you try it!

[EsthersDoll]

I think everyone's tbi is going to affect them differently.

I know for myself, if I am hungry, then I experience an increase in symptoms - even on my best days.

I need to eat a lot of protein now in order to function as well as possible, much more than I ate before the TBI.

I would strongly caution against anyone trying to fast to help them to relieve symptoms - especially considering the desperation that most people feel to get better with PCS which may lead them to trying almost anything.

[Hamncheese]

When Joe was still able to listen to podcasts, he listened to Terry Wahls talk about the Wahls Protocol, which allowed her to beat her progressive MS. He was convinced following the Wahls diet would help his PCS. There are 3 options - Wahls Diet, Wahls Paleo, and Wahls Paleo Plus. The Paleo Plus one is ketogenic, and he tried it for about a month and at the end of the month he was worse. He did want to stay on the straight Paleo diet and I help him by cooking for him this way. I think even that is too extreme, limiting things like oatmeal, brown rice, and legumes to only 2 servings per week. But he is an adult, and I am supporting what he wants to do. BTW, NOTHING has helped his condition for months, so the fact the diets are not helping is just more of the same.

[MomWriterStudent]

Originally Posted by EsthersDoll

I think everyone's tbi is going to affect them differently.

I know for myself, if I am hungry, then I experience an increase in symptoms - even on my best days.

I need to eat a lot of protein now in order to function as well as possible, much more than I ate before the TBI.

Same here. I need lots of protein these days.

I have to eat several small meals a day. Otherwise I get dizzy and extremely fatigued. If I don't get enough protein, I feel like I can barely move. Hard to explain.

[JuliaBertha]

Yes, this is exactly where I'm at, too. Lots of small meals a day, high protein and nutritional content. Lotsa avocados, eggs, blueberries, and sardines. The eggs and sardines make me feel almost normal, I highly recommend it.

[Sitke]

I've got to eat, get so weak, get the worst headache and bad tempered.

Wish I could get used to blueberries...Ack..can't stand them, do eat a lot of protein.

[sciencetoy]

I eat a ketogenic diet under the supervision of my neuro, and at his suggestion. It's for the seizures, and it works fairly well. The seizure meds made me incredibly sick.

my keto is very specific amounts and ratios of protein and fats. No way could I do this on my own. I rely on my keto team.

It's one of the things that really works for a TBI issue I have.

[Concussed Scientist]

Thanks, Heather (and others), for bringing this to our attention. I have never heard that fasting be useful and I am interested in your experiences.

However, I would caution against the "What is there to lose?" attitude sometimes experienced when someone gets postconcussion symptoms. What there is to lose, of course, is gaining a more speedy recovery if nutrition is what your body needs to heal after a concussion.

I feel that after my concussion I probably should have eaten more than I actually did, particularly protein. Logically, as the brain tries to repair itself nutrition is needed in excess of what was taken in before. I maintained a "healthy diet" but in retrospect I wish that I had eaten more, particularly protein, just to make sure that my body had all that it needed. I believe that magnesium is lowered after a concussion so perhaps supplements would be beneficial. I think that this process is more important than just trying to deal with the symptoms of headache, even though they can be really terrible.

Would it be useful to consider two cases?

1 in the immediate aftermath of a concussion, where I would argue that nutrition for long-term healing should be the concern;

2 Years after the event when all the healing that is going to happen likely has happened and one is only concerned with managing day-to-day symptoms. In that case, it seems from what other have reported in this thread that there might be some benefit to some people and it would seem that there would be less risk of doing harm. Even then, I would think that it should be used as a tool to break a cycle of pain, if that seems to work.

I have not tried it but I am interested in the experiences of those who have - so thanks for sharing.

Concussed Scientist

[bachissimo]

while I was told food is like medication for me, by neuro, at some point I really lost appetite and was too dizzy to go shopping. I stayed about 4-5 days with low food intake, one day full water fast..

I enter my data every day, these are the only days in the last 60 days or so that my symptoms have only been around 1/10 (higher is worse).

But I decided to get back to eating since fasting sounded counterintuitive and I was afraid I might cause damage or slow healing.

just my short experience...

[Lucecaboose]

Hi Heather

I found this post while searching for fasting to do with concussion . I have lost concussion syndrome and have the same issue where even a tiny knock to the head brings back concussion symptoms .

I wondered did this ever go away for you I.e. Did your head become more resilient ? Did you continue to fast in the same way to stop the symptoms ?

Thanks

Lucy