There is light at the end of the tunnel!

I had a concussion (probably my 5th or 6th but definitely the worst) in Oct of 2015 when I was chasing a cat across my lawn, bent down underneath a tree, and proceeded to bash my head against a large branch as I stood up. They are always the stupidest stories aren't they? I wish it had at least been something cool, like defending my wife from a burglar or headbutting my boss, but alas...

My symptoms started out with brain fog, vision issues, head sensitivity over bumps and potholes and fairly severe headaches. I had to choose between dealing with the issues or, due to the nature of my job possibly getting fired if I was properly diagnosed. I chose the former.

Fast forward two years and I'd say I'm 80-90% healed. I still have sensitivity over particularly rough roads, but I can now run to exhaustion (could barely get my heart rate above 100 bpm immediately after the concussion) and generally take part in anything I want to in life. I made some tough choices, like discontinuing martial arts (something I really enjoyed). It's just not worth hitting my head again, which will probably happen if I continue. I was an avid 5K runner, and I'm happy to say that I've gotten back into the kind of shape I was before my concussion. At one point I never thought I'd run to exhaustion again.

I'm not posting this to gloat, simply to say that I understand where you all are at and I wish everyone here the speediest recovery possible. Those weeks and months after my injury (which turned into years) were the darkest times I can remember. It took a toll on my marriage, my friendships and my enjoyment of life. I haven't had the severe symptoms some of you have had, but I think there is light at the end of the tunnel and I sincerely hope all of you here find that light.

HERE'S WHAT YOU ALL WANT TO KNOW: The main thing that helped me was just choking out the inflammation (as many others here have already revealed). Reduce alcohol consumption (I did not stop drinking, but I try to limit it to the weekends these days), stay away from dairy and corn products and grab some turmeric/curcumin. Vitamin B also seemed to help. Buffalo protocol exercise was also a big help, but I probably went too hard too fast at first. Had to really force myself to adhere to their recommendation on speed.

Another big note: although I never felt like I had much cognitive damage, I (perhaps as proof to myself that I hadn't "lost" any brain power) undertook a second bachelors in physics in addition to working full time. I LOVED it, am now 80% finished with a 4.0 currently, and am planning on pursuing at least a masters and potentially a PhD in the future. I think exercising my brain has helped me still feel "smart" and has given me a lot of positive reinforcement through my recovery. YMMV, but I think having an intellectual outlet helped me a lot.

If I can help anyone or give you any tips please send me a PM. Good luck!

Amazing story! Thanks for sharing! Hope is all some of us need.

What positives have you gained from the hell you went through?

I think I learned how quickly life can change, and how one needs to be prepared to flex with these changes. People can very easily be killed by so-called "stupid" injuries, and I was lucky enough make it out of this relatively intact. I've lost many friends in my line of work, and try to consider myself lucky for being able to live my life the way I want to. I think the key to getting through these injuries is to focus on what you still have. Life is just a constant test of our ability to handle loss, and focusing on this loss can make you misanthropic. Things could be a lot worse, so why not enjoy what we can?