Miami Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Sometimes, people go to the doctor about nonspecific symptoms such as weight gain or lack of energy and find out that a hormonal imbalance is causing the problem. A common cause of these hormonal imbalances is a benign tumor on the pituitary gland; approximately one in six adults will develop a pituitary tumor between age 30 and age 50, although some of these cause few or no symptoms.
A less common cause of pituitary gland dysfunction is a traumatic injury to the head; in other words, a deficiency of pituitary hormones can be a complication of concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI). If you have received a diagnosis of hypopituitarism related to a head injury you sustained in a car accident, contact a Miami car accident lawyer.
Symptoms of Hypopituitarism Related to a Traumatic Injury
The pituitary gland is not part of the brain, but it is located directly below it inside the cranium. You probably have not thought about the pituitary gland since fourth grade, when you learned that it produces hormones that cause the body changes associated with puberty. Sex hormones are not the only hormones secreted by the pituitary gland. Its hormones also regulate sleep, appetite for food, and many other aspects of everyday health.
A traumatic injury to the head can cause pituitary gland dysfunction. Hypopituitarism is the medical term for a condition where the pituitary gland produces lower levels of hormones than normal. It can result if the impact that causes a concussion or TBI affects a part of the head close to the pituitary gland.
Hypopituitarism can cause a variety of symptoms, depending on which hormones are affected. These are some possible symptoms of hypopituitarism:
- Always feeling cold
- Weight gain not attributable to changes in diet or medication side effects
- Decrease in body hair
- Excessive urination
- Constipation
- Menstrual cycle changes in women who have not gone through menopause
- Infertility in men and women
It is not possible to make a diagnosis of traumatic injury-related hypopituitarism until several months after the acute injury. Hormonal disruption is normal in the first weeks after a concussion, but hormone production usually stabilizes on its own. The good news is that hypopituitarism is treatable. The treatment involves the replacement of the hormones that the pituitary gland has stopped producing, either through oral medications or injections.
Concussion-Related Hypopituitarism and Your Car Accident Claim
If you sustained a concussion in a car accident and you developed hypopituitarism as a result of the concussion, then the treatment of your hypopituitarism counts as an accident-related medical expense. The best way to ensure that you can get all of these expenses covered through your car accident claim is to start working with a lawyer as soon as possible after your accident.
Contact Gerson & Schwartz About Car Accident Cases
A car accident lawyer can help you get the money you need to cover your accident-related medical bills if you suffer a concussion in a car accident. Contact Gerson & Schwartz in Miami, Florida, to discuss your case.
