[turtle_]

Jan of 2021 I fell on a small wave ~2ft. I hit the water with the side of my face in a strange way that felt like a moderate slap but didn't think much of it. I kept surfing and caught plenty more waves. A couple days later I noticed I was very tired and couldn't focus. Finally I figured out I had a concussion, took a few days off work and got better within a week.

In Oct I fell again, in the same strange way, but this time from a much higher height. I didn't blackout but I immediately knew it was not good. My symptoms have still not fully resolved 2 months later. The skin on the left side of my head is at times extra sensitive and at times borderline numb. I frequently have trouble focusing and have ended up taking 50% sick time to recover. The good news is that overall the symptoms are getting better.

I've surfed for over 20 years and fallen on significantly larger, more critical waves with no injury. Losing the ability to focus and think clearly is terrible, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I also believe that because it's not a visible injury (ie I'm not walking around with crutches) it's harder for others to empathize with. Thankfully I feel supported by my employer, but I now believe that head injury severity likely goes undiagnosed and certainly under-appreciated in our society. The falls I took were very minor, if it can happen from that, my guess is it's more frequent that we realize.

[dharmatech]

See also:

https://www.reddit.com/r/surfing/comments/q34gv1/sterling_sp...

Tons of comments from surfers experiences there.

Check out the book:

The Concussion Repair Manual by Dr. Dan Engle

[turtle_]

thank you for the book reference, i will check it out. Sterling's case has been eye opening for the community for sure. thankfully he posted as recently as today that he seems to be doing better https://www.instagram.com/p/CXXW6zpjQT7/

[jevoten]

If I understood you correctly, you only hit water, nothing solid? That that was able to cause concussion-like symptoms makes me suspect you might have some other underlying condition that made you vulnerable. But I'm playing Dr. House without any medical training.

[turtle_]

that's the fear. worst case would be cte or some high sensitivity to concussions. i'm still in the evaluative stage, so fingers crossed it's not

[dharmatech]

Yup, head slaps on the water can cause that.

I experienced this summer of 2020 on the California central coast. Symptoms lasted for about a month. Happened again around December 2020.

I had been on a high-carb low fat diet for a few months before the first incident. I think that may have made me more vulnerable to inflammation issues. I've since switched back to a higher (healthy) fat diet. Fat is protective for the brain.

[turtle_]

i'm no doctor, but my current self help plan is to keep exercising cardio, low impact due to attributed anti-inflammatory effects, reduced carbs and sugar (i'm already low here but will probably fully go to zero). i've also started hyperbaric oxygen therapy which so far hasn't had immediate effects but does provide extremely deep sleeps which seem to help significantly.