[QUOTE=PCSLearner;679472]I caught bits and pieces of a show on TLC called "Mystery Diagnosis". The episode was about a girl who had a mild head injury. Some time later she had major symptoms of fatigue, etc. After something like 4 years her docs finally figured out her pituitary gland was damaged in the car accident.

I will post a link to the site here, although I don't think this episode is available for viewing yet. Keep checking back if interested...something to look out for for sure!


Yes, I read a case of a mild head injury ('Evolving Hypopituitarism as a consequence of traumatic brain injury in childhood - a call for attention' by Medic-Stojanoska) where a girl fell off a bed aged 7 without even losing consciousness, and as she grew up, one by one her pituitary hormones failed, causing her to fail to grow, to become fat, and cognitively impaired. I think it took till she was about 20 before she was diagnosed. Pituitary damage after head injury is very common and terribly under-diagnosed. There's a systematic review by Schneider (2007 JAMA) which finds that 27.5% of head injury survivors have this complication. It can cause loss of libido, infertility, weight gain (like the girl above), fatigue, depression - we think undiagnosed post-traumatic hypopituitarism lay behind our 31-year-old son's suicide three years ago. The good news is that pituitary damage can be treated with replacement hormones.