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Nerve injury after lightning strike, recovery is hard
Brain & Nervous System | Last Active: Apr 3 12:22pm | Replies (13)Comment receiving replies
I was struck by lightning in July 2025 (in ICU/critical care for 10 days), and the nerve damage has been progressively getting worse. The pain has changed from a burning sensation and soft-tissue ache to mostly a soft-tissue ache and headaches. My muscles cramp, especially in my hands and feet. My body vibrates as though there is a cell phone vibrating from my waist down. I have gone to several doctors who don't know what to do, and am heading to Yale neurology in a few weeks, and am going to try hyperbaric oxygen treatments for at least 30 days. The stiffness in my body is making it very hard to move (I still make myself go for walks and stuff). For the cognitive issues - like short-term memory damage - I tried lithium, and it worked like magic! I am no longer taking it, though, because after a month and a half, I was experiencing hypothyroid symptoms. I will post again if there is any luck with the hyperbaric oxygen.
Replies to "I was struck by lightning in July 2025 (in ICU/critical care for 10 days), and the..."
Hi, @marenm and @yorkie01 - wow. I can hardly imagine being struck by lightning. I saw on the National Weather Service site that the odds of being struck by lightning over a lifetime are 1/15,300 https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-odds.
I recently listened to the Against the Odds podcast called "Lightning Strike on Half Dome," so this occurrence was fresh on my brain. I write for a trauma enewsletter, but this was not a trauma with which I'm familiar. It sounded as though if one is fortunate enough to live through this type of injury (and so happy both you/your son did that), much rehab is needed over time.
If we may back up just briefly, since I just joined the conversation, would you mind telling me how your son came to be struck by lightning, yorkie01, and how you came to be struck by lightning, marenm?
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@marenm How much is thy hyperbaric oxygen treatments and the reason i asked is i went through DIT many years ago and at that time my instructors said the oxygen under pressure we were lucky enough to experience said as a smoker at that time i added 3 years to my life. ( Divers Institute of Technology) to become a saturation diver for the oil fields. I had brain surgery in 2024 and still recovering. was curious about your message.