Hello All,

After reading lots of post on this forum about hormonal dysfunction I sent following links to my neurologist at Kaiser but he thinks that these findings look very preliminary and don't see that any of this data has been published in mainstream peer-reviewed journals in US.

Links I sent:
1. http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2012/...njuries_01.htm
2. http://tbi-research.org/12hormone.pdf
3. http://www.tbi-research.org/neurotrauma09kreber.pdf

I have couple of questions if some one can help with would be greatly appreciated.

1. Are there any hospital/ doctors in US who are prescribing hormonal testing and replacement for head injury, which is also covered under insurance? I can send the list to my doctor.
2. How much would be the cost of the testing if my insurance does not cover?
3. How much approximate cost of hormone replacement therapy?
4. Is there any other affordable treatment for hormonal imbalance?
5. Is there any one with Kaiser insurance who got it done via Kaiser?

Thank you very much in advance!

If you want to pursue this with your HMO and Dr. stay away from Life Extension and other "anti-aging doctors" and articles. They can help YOU (and other laymen) to understand what's going on, but these are not well-respected in the medical community.

I have posted several reputable articles about this topic in a couple of the stickies at the top of the forum.

Probably the best place for you to get research right now is the Defense Center of Excellence, DCOE, because they are already testing and treating veterans with hormonal dysfunction caused by TBI.

It all depends on what kind of insurance you have.

I am being treated for hormonal dysfunction due to a concussion I sustained in an auto accident. My HMO (not Kaiser) is covering the treatments, and I receive patient assistance for some of the co-pays.

I paid to see a specialist out of pocket and my HMO is covering his treatment plan even though he is not in my network. I still pay out of pocket to see him. He is the 4th (or 5th) endo I saw and the only one who would order the testing to be conducted.

It seems as though many doctors don't even know that this condition exists or what the parameters of it are = they have no or little experience with it and it makes them reluctant to treat it and they are skeptical about it in general (that's MY perception of it).

There are hundreds of articles about this topic, maybe thousands - it's kind of new, but not really... more than 100 years ago it was discovered that hormone dysfunction could be caused by a head injury but it was considered to be very rare. Now they are beginning to realize that it's not as rare as previously believed.

You should google terms like:

hormone dysfunction
endocrine dysfunction
neuroendocrine dysfunction
hormone deficiency (you can also look up each of the hormones and the symptoms of what each hormone deficiency are)
hypopituitarism
pan hypopituitarism
post-traumatic hypopituitarism
and add to those terms, words like concussion, tbi and mild tbi

You can also start googling things like:
pituitary damage
pituitary dysfunction
pituitary stalk (by it self, then with damage and dysfunction)
hypothalamus (" " " ")

I paid $450 to see the specialist. It cost about $2000 for some of the testing that was conducted before the HMO was contacted with the results.

The results of the tests are what proved that I had a hormone deficiencies that needed to be treated.

The cost of the meds/hormone replacement therapy, HRT, depend on your results - and your results change over time.

I paid out of pocket for a 24 day supply of one hormone maybe around $1000 - but it was almost a year ago and I can't remember the specifics. At that time I was taking 2-3 hormones...

I am now taking 5 different hormones, 4 of them I take 1x/day, and one of them I take 2x/day...

So the monthly cost will depend on which hormones you need and how much of each one.

****I see that you just joined the forum in February. If you have a hormone deficiency caused by a concussion, most specialists, researchers and experts believe that MOST hormone deficiencies caused by tbi rectify themselves, that means that they completely GET BETTER all by themselves, within the first year after the head injury. If you start to take hormones before allowing your body time to heal itself it can be VERY BAD for several reasons.

****You need to give your body a year after the head injury to heal itself before pursuing this line of testing and treatment.

If you get the testing done and it proves that you need it, doctors probably won't treat it until after that one year mark anyway and all the testing will have to be re-conducted. Testing before the year is up will only add to a pool of stats and probably won't get you any treatments for the results.

I have read articles to indicate that some experts (very few, maybe only one or two publications) believe that all or most cases of PCS is a actually hormone dysfunction/deficiency caused by the injury but that MOST cases get better within that first year on their own and therefore do not require treatment.

I read a LOT about this and worked very hard to find the right doctor and because I did, I am doing significantly better than I was. It was well worth all the effort!

Also, you need to read your own Kaiser contract to see what their parameters are for treating hormone dysfunction to see how "peer-reviewed" it is. In my own HMO contract it clearly states what the testing levels have to be and what the causes have to be that caused hormone dysfunction in order to receive treatment - specifically look up each hormone, or hypopituitarism... so this condition is well beyond "peer review" to the point that it's already been indoctrinated into their administrative processes.

My own neurologist said that this sort of thing was "IMPOSSIBLE" until I brought her the research. This is not the area of a neurologist's education. This sort of thing falls under endocrinology, or the speciality of endocrinologists. (But like I said, many of them aren't familiar with it either, but you should at least ask your neuro for a referral...)

Some alternative medicine practitioners may want to give you some treatment for this sort of thing - I would suggest that if you think this is what is going on with you, then avoid that kind of treatment since it could effect the results of western medicine testing later on. They may have some kind of prohormone or prehormone substance for you to take, but it's not going to be as good as the "bio-identical" hormone that your HMO would give to you with a proper diagnosis.

My sister has fought the Kaiser system to get tested. Each Kaiser facility often has its own guideline. It will help to call different clinics, including endocrinologists and ask for help hormones related to brain injury. It will take some effort on your part unless you can find a patient advocate at kaiser who can help you. Patient Relations may be able to help you find an appropriate doctor but I would not hold my breath.

Thank you EsthersDoll and Mark for your detailed response. We are so fortunate to have this forum and folks like you to give the advice, your time and efforts are greatly appreciated.

1 year is very good point, its been 5 months for my injury. I will perceive it further if my issues do not gets resolved by new year. Is there any thing I can do at home to help hormones gets balance naturally till that time?

I don't think so. I think you just need time. But keep in mind that the body is able to heal itself best while sleeping - so keep a very regular schedule (if you can, because hormone imbalance also causes sleep interruption - it's a wicked cycle) wherein you go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time every day.

You might consider taking aids to help you fall asleep...

But I would caution against trying to mess with your endocrine system in any way - because all the hormones are interrelated - taking just one hormone could potentially disrupt the production of another or the healing process. (Please keep in mind that I'm a layman.)

I've posted another article in the sticky section somewhere that sleeping helps the brain to flush toxins out of it which I think aids the healing process.

And you might consider gathering up all the research you can to educate your Dr. so, just in case that one year mark hits, you'll be prepared.

I waited almost 3 years for the tests and diagnosis from the date of the MVA I was in that gave me the concussion. I've read horrific stories of people waiting 8-10 and even 18-20 years for this diagnosis while they agonized because they couldn't function well enough to have a modicum of "quality of life".

And trust me on this one, waiting one year hoping that your hormones kick back in is MUCH better than getting this diagnosis and treatment because it's lifelong and somewhat involved... and even though my HMO covers many of the costs, it's still expensive. But receiving the treatment is MUCH better than languishing in pain day in and day out, unable to think or move...!

Hang in there! I know it's very arduous.