To answer your question about anyone else with similar issues, yes, I have.

My condition kept getting worse from multiple head bumps and overdoing it, to the point where getting out of bed or reading made me dizzy.

So I basically stopped doing the activities that triggered the dizziness, because getting dizzy made it worse. Unfortunately, that meant lying in bed in a dark room with my eyes closed for 9 months. Then I gradually built myself back up, gently increasing activity, resting 3 days, and repeating.

For example, during the worst of it, I couldn't read at all. Then I tried to read one paragraph of a book and had to rest 3 days to recover. Then another paragraph. Then a page. Then 5 minutes. Etc...

All while eating a healthy diet with fresh ingredients and no processed foods.

Today I'm mostly symptom free and can read all day and go on road trips and concerts.

My case and treatment approach was extreme, but it worked. I don't want to say whether or not you should do what I did, but I'm sharing what I did.

Do you have anyone who can help care for you? So you don't have to do the tasks that make it worse? I had caregivers that helped me.

It's tough right now as I'm still employed somehow. Made my sales number last 5 years so think they're probably worried about firing someone cause of disability.

I will say my mental health is really bad right now to where some days I'm suicidal. This has led to me staying with my mom instead of my two kids and wife who may now be leaving me.

I dont have a diagnosed concussion so my family thinks this is more a mental health problem. As opposed to rest they're trying to encourage me to get out and do more.

Testing has shown I have saccades to reveal vestibular issues and convergence insufficiency. Potential migraine or vestibular migraine. Really don't have what i would consider balance issues but just cant tolerate the motion on screens or lately the motion of me walking or being in a car. I did have a concussion a number of years ago and it resolved in a couple months. These symptoms have all felt similar.

Thank you for sharing your story and you're a jedi for your recovery man. I can tell you this, if i could make a deal and stay in a dark room for 9 months and guarantee i could recover as well as you Id sign up today.

I hear you on the antidepressants and I really struggle to tolerate them. I did one last year for a couple months and it was hell but in hindsight am wondering if they calmed my brain and reduced some symptoms a little so that's why I'm considering. Id much prefer 5-HTP but it makes me dizzy.

Last thing I'll mention is I am able to handle 20 minutes on a Peloton now. At the start of all this I got pressure in my head when exercising so couldn't but slowly built it up again. Sadly it doesn't reduce any of my symptoms but at least helps me a little mentally.

Let me know if you have any additional thoughts and thank you!

Just listened to his diet and inflammation one. I did an elimination course maybe 5 years ago. Found dairy was an issue so i cut that out. I've been off alcohol a year now. Don't do much sugar. Gluten didn't bother me when I reintroduced. I could cut that down a little and may just need to add more fish and anti inflammatory foods.

Sorry to hear about your situation snappydad.
I went through a similar journey. Minor tbi resulting in dizziness and nausea. Work related and workmens comp doctors told me to keep working, it will get better.
It got worse, not better. Denied disability. Took over a year to feel normal again. I was an IT engineer. Worse time of my life. That was 8 years ago. I'm very susceptible to reinjury to this day.
If I had to do it again I would NOT work through it. I would rest until better.
James

James,

Did you ever get a vestibular assessment?

Just as a going over a pothole with a bicycle is not a concussive event, most of the triggering events suffered by people with prior concussions/TBI are not concussive.

They can be and often are only whiplash events that only requires a 4.5 G movement. A concussion requires 60 to 90 Gs of movement.

They can also be vestibular events that require a vestibular therapist to help the crystals get properly positioned in the inner ear.

Never had a vestibular assessment. I doubt I need my crystals reset. My understanding is this is needed when vertigo is presented. I've never experienced a spinning sensation. Only dizziness.
I realize potholes do not cause concussions. What I was trying to say is if you are in recovery mode it may trigger symptoms. This is called second impact syndrome. Could be very mild or fatal.
I'm currently in the midst of a relapse. Two falls within 2 weeks. Both falls landed me on my right hip and right arm. No head hits. No symptoms after first event. Right after second event I walked into a museum and after a few moments I felt mentally overwhelmed. I've had mild symptoms for the last 12 days, dizziness mostly.
I'm a regular biker and have stopped. The trail I bike is very bumpy and seems to make symptoms worse afterward. Normally it doesn't bother me.
So yes, I would say that potholes may trigger symptoms, did for me.
And since I assume most readers are recovering from head injuries I advise caution.

That pothole IS NOT second impact syndrome.

Second impact syndrome is a potentially deadly condition where the brain has not yet recovered its ability to regulate fluid pressure within the skull after a previous severe concussion where fluid regulation was seriously affected. The prior concussion would have included prolonged serious headaches and other serious symptoms. The new concussion would cause a cascade of fluid pressure disregulation that can cause the brain to herniate into the brain stem or suffer other life threatening conditions.

Your issue sure sounds like neck instability and whiplash. Both whiplash and concussion cause the same or very similar symptoms.

Vestibular disturbances do not necessarily cause a spinning sensation but they can cause dizziness.

Biking a rough trail can easily disturb the crystals, especially with the head tipped forward and to the side. I have had multiple vestibular disturbances over the years, twice this past year. Both were in different parts of the crystal. One time, I was crawling under my motorhome and bumped my head as I was looking to the side. It was an instant dizziness.

First of all, thanks for your opinions. It's good to hear other perspectives.
I agree that my latest episodes were whiplash events. Both impacts were falls onto right side, no head impacts. The second fall happened two weeks after the first and was much milder than the first. The first was a hard impact with all my weight. I think damage was done on the first fall even though I had no symptoms. The second impact, although mild, triggered symptoms. I'm speculating because the first was still healing. Dizzy, disoriented and headaches. And a telltale feeling of pressure inside right temple which is the side I fell on. It's been over three weeks now without improvement.
Trying to be patient but it's worrisome. I had PCS in 2014 for 15 months of misery. Nothing worse than a brain injury!

"The first was a hard impact with all my weight. I think damage was done on the first fall even though I had no symptoms. "

This idea explains your biggest struggle.

Damage without symptoms.....