Hi everybody - maybe someone can help me with a related problem: my 16-year-old son had a grade 3 concussion three years ago, unconscious for 5+ minutes, delirious for two hours. He was fully checked out and very careful for six weeks afterwards and seemed to recover fully.

About six months after that, he started to complain of not being able to sleep. It was intermittent insomnia at first but has grown increasingly more severe over time. We've tried everything - scrupulous sleep hygiene, melatonin (up to 90 mg at a time), theanine, benadryl, warm milk, warm baths, etc... The problem gets worse during school, but it's still bad during vacations and summers. He now regularly stays up at least one night a week and usually doesn't fall asleep until 3 or 4 a.m. When he does sleep, it's chaotic and not restful.

There's no question he's suffering from clinical depression, although which came first is unclear. I have found only one reference online that suggests that there can be long-term (and seemingly unrelated) neurological effects from a concussion. The CDC site doesn't support this idea, but they're the same people who claim there's no such thing as chronic lyme disease, a position with which I violently disagree.

At the time of his concussion, and for about two years afterwards, my son was a vegetarian. I tried to make sure he got enough balanced protein, but he's a teenager and hard to keep track of. Now I wonder if he needs some B12, at the very least.

Any ideas or help you can give will be much appreciated. Thanks so much for listening.