My recovery wasn't typical, as I sustained pituitary gland damage from a whiplash sustained in a rear-end collision. As a result, I had hypopituitarism, along with a concussion. I produced very little growth hormone. I didn't know it at the time, nor was it diagnosed for two years post-accident, so the concussion only minimally healed for the first two years.

When I was placed on growth hormone therapy, I'd say it took about six months to a year for the depersonalization issues to go away. All said and done, I had depersonalization for I'd say 2.5-3 years. Without the hypopituitarism issue, it'd probably have been two years less.

Ive seen depersonalization resolve after testosterone replacement therapy. It can be caused by hormonal imbalances that are due to a concussions affect on the hypothalamus or pituitary. clearly, as identified in medical literature and studies, hormonal issues can cause psychiatric like symptoms.

The source of the depersonalisation (if it actually is that) could be one of a few things from what I have read:

1) hormonal imbalance
2) reduced blood flow to brain
3) temporary swelling due to concussion
4) brain damage

All of these, I assume, could cause a variation in the way in which particular brain waves are sent, travel, or read, which could be the source of this current feeling. I hope its the 3rd one and eventually subsides.

It's very difficult to get any clear answers as it's all done with external tests.

Upper cervical chiropractic or osteopathic therapy could be the way to go as a start and I'm currently looking into where to get this service locally.

I've started on B-12 supplements alongside omega-3 and multi-vitamins which will hopefully aid recovery. I will add additional supplements as necessary but am cautious about loading up in one go to ensure that there are no reactions.

The next stage would be to review the possibility of a hormonal imbalance as a result of the concussion - and how this could be assessed and treated if it was to be the source.

Entering month 5, my feeling is fairly consistent with the past month. The sense of “depersonalisation”, a distance from reality, still remains with no noticeable improvement. The feeling of a detachment from reality doesn’t appear to be effecting cognitive ability and overall I seem to be getting used to living with it.

I have had a couple of weeks of good amounts of energy throughout the day and evening which seem to correlate with reduced sleep despite me focusing on trying to increase sleep. My sleep posture, on my side, is a work in progress as I adjust pillow height with towels under a memory foam pillow to achieve the right height. Over the last week I have found that I’m waking up between sleep cycles and finding that I'm naturally waking before my alarm and needing less sleep than previously. This may be a cycle that I'm going through or it could be a sign that I am returning to my pre-concussion sleep requirement of around 7 to 7.5 hours per night.

My diet has been important to me, not just because of the concussion recovery but in general I recognise that when I’m outside of the home I can easily be let astray. I have been trying to improve my lunches with salads containing plenty of nuts, fish, vegetables, and peas. I find I can eat a lot without feeling lethargic afterwards and this provides me with energy for the rest of the day and is likely the link with my increased daily energy.

In conjunction with this diet improvement I am trying to drink 2 to 3 litres of water a day and have started carrying a water bottle with me as much as possible to provide a stimulus to drink. I’m probably about a month into it at the moment and have slackened off over the last week but am conscious of it and am picking it up again.

I’m trying to tie my supplements into my eating habits as well and have begun to string out the fish oil tablets over the day with my meals, totalling 1,000mg of DHA per day. I take a multi-vitamin with breakfast and try to ensure I don’t take it on an empty stomach because it makes a noticeable difference to my urine indicating I’m passing it relatively quickly when taken without food.

I’m about 3 weeks into taking vitamin B12 (1,000 mcgs) every morning on an empty stomach about 1 hour before breakfast. Initially there was a noticeable energy boost when taking this which would have been a placebo effect. I have noticed some increase in concentration ability over the day so I will continue with this into the future. Currently I’m taking 1,000mg of DHA (fish oil) and 1,000 mcgs B12 per day plus a multi-vitamin.

I very recently saw a chiropractor who has set me up with some exercise for posture overall and didn’t find anything concerning with my neck – my main concern had been C1-C2 following online research and forums. He will continue to work with me on my overall posture and this will also focus on my neck as part of this but at present there hasn’t been a specific issue found. I have no neck ache or pain.

I am now 15 months out and this aspect of the injury has not really improved much at all for me. I HATE it.

I completely understand what you guys are going through, and it is one of the most unsettling aspects of this whole thing. It reminds me of the old axiom "I think, therefor I am."

Well the sad fact now confronts me that because my thinker is diminished, my existence itself is diminished in that I feel less present, almost as though I exist less. The crispness of reality that I once took for granted seems gone for now. Reality is less sharp, less vivid, less convincing.

It is very similar to the effect of taking dissociative drugs. So I hypothesize that this aspect of the injury may be due to a reduction of glutamate neurotransmission, reflecting white matter damage in particular. This is based on my experience taking these drugs in the past where the same sort of feeling has occurred, but of course always resolving spontaneously. TBIs sadly do not.

I'm now 6 months after and don't feel any different to previous months in terms of depersonalisation.

My length of required sleep has returned to around 7-8 hours / night and I often wake up before my alarm and can carry out a full day at work without any major problems.

I found a stronger B-50 complex and have started on that with no negative side effects. My current supplement regime is:

• DHA (fish oil) – 2x360mg
• B50-Complex (Ultra B 150 Forte):
  • B1 - 150mg
  • B2 - 150mg
  • B3 - 150mg
  • B5 - 150mg
  • B6 - 150mg
  • B12 – 0.4mg
  • Folic Acid – 0.5mg
  • Biotin – 0.15mg
  • Choline Bitartrate – 75mg
  • Inositol – 75mg
• Activated Methyl B12 (mecobalamin) - 1mg
• Curcumin - 15,800mg with bioperine

I currently also take lecithin and a standard multi-vitamin which I plan on dropping back. I also hoped to drop back on the fish oil and replace it with an increase in oily fish in my diet but so far I haven't managed to increase it beyond about 2 meals per week so I'm sticking with the fish oil tablets.

I have begun to accept that my current feeling of depersonalisation is permanent brain damage. It doesn't get weaker or more intense, it doesn't alter based on what I've eaten or drunk. I hope that by accepting this that it will make it easier to accomodate it into my life long term, and if I turn out to be wrong and I recover totally then it's a bonus, rather than the other way around.

On the one hand, I think that's the right attitude. Recovery is never guaranteed. On the other hand, it's only been six months, and it's certainly very possible that you'll see ongoing improvement.

Where in Australia are you?
I'm in Brisbane. I've just suffered another concussion after having PCS for the last year. It's funny but I feel the depersonalisation you describe more with this latest concussion then the last. But I am hopeful because I got over it before so feel like I can again.
Find a good physio. A bit tough I know because there are so many of them but shop around a bit. If you don't have private health cover think about getting it. I was treated publicly for quite a while but didn't really improve until I started seeing a private physio. It was a bit tough financially but worth it.
Have you tried a psychologist? Another known symptom of PCS is depression and anxiety. I was referred to a neuropsychologist who specialises in people with chronic pain. I'm an engineer also so was sceptical at first, but it did help, especially when she explained that certain regions of the brain can become 'dormant' so to speak when we are in chronic pain such as those controlling emotions or those giving us our sense of being present.
Good luck.

I'm in Sydney at the moment.

I've started with a chiro due to reading through these forums and it's let me to go back about once a month just to work on overall posture and wellbeing. This was never something that was recommended by the hospital or neurologist.

I took the full energy of my body plus my bike into my head so I'm probably quite lucky I don't have any serious PCS. It's my assessment of the severity of that impact and the constant state of the depersonalisation which has let me to conclude that it's probably permanent damage, although obviously it turning out not to be would be absolutely fantastic. Until then though this acceptance has allowed me to be more positive about the situation.

I've always been an anxious person and this hasn't changed and haven't had any symptoms of depression or any of the other common PCS symptoms.

I've contemplated trying some meditation. Probably a good thing all round even without the concussion. Not trying to reach a higher plane or anything, just to clear my head and sit empty for a few minutes and gather my thoughts at the end of the day. Getting into a positive mindset about the situation and the future, regardless of how bad it could be, can only be a good thing.

Your depersonalization will go when you recover its not permanent.

You should be taking Vitamin D. There are two studies Im aware of that point to Vitamin D levels and improved sleep. They identify the range of 60 to 80 as the zone to strive for. According to the vitamin D council you can take up to 10,000 mg per day of vitamin d3. my son took 12,000 for a few weeks and then moved down to 8,000. Vitamin D is a hormone not a vitamin. Its very important in many aspects of human physiology and I believe can protect against concussions. There are studies out there on this you can google. also see this

A Concussion-Free Football Season: How one High School beat the odds - July 2�12 | Vitamin D Wiki

According to Dr Komer who helped my son recover from his concussion you should be taking 3,000 fish oil per day in addition to the Vitamin D.

Dr. Larry Komer, MD - Home | Facebook

I recommend you check him out on the web.