"Has anyone else ever had to deal with this nightmare? I'm freaking out - I think I lost my recovery seed for my Ethereum wallet and I don't know if I can restore it. Has anyone managed to successfully restore a wallet after losing the seed?"
Dude, sorry to hear that. If you've lost your recovery seed, you can try using a seed vault or a secure note-taking app to retrieve it, but keep in mind that's not a guarantee. Maybe we can chat in PMs to see if there's anything else you can do.
"Dude, sorry to hear that. If you didn't write down the seed anywhere (and I'm guessing you did), your only option is to contact the exchange/support team and see if they can help you recover your coins. Some exchanges have emergency recovery procedures, but it's unlikely."