And It's About Time There Was Some Support For Cushing's!
I am the mother of a 16 year old. Until 18 months ago she was a muscular, athletic, happy, confident teen. She was a year-round swimmer and a seasonal Field Hockey and Lacrosse player. First, we noticed her swim times had become quite disappointing.
Then, she stopped getting her period and began gaining weight. A few pounds a month, despite some sometimes drastic dieting. She has an incredible amount of belly fat! Her face became much round and puffy and she looks unhealthy. Acne worsened. She was so tired, she was falling asleep in school and unable to stay up in the evening to do her homework. Her acid reflux got markedly worse. She was put on Prevacid. She also developed a sensitivity to soy. Her personality changed. She became quiet, sulky, depressed. She was diagnosed with hypothyroidism by the pediatrician and started synthroid. She also, because of the weight gain, began to crash diet and purge. We were sent to a psychologist and started on Zoloft.
Sports injuries were constant, back aches, shin splints, pulled groin. foot pain. She has a slight hump in her back that is not always noticable. Maybe from years of swimming, maybe beginnings of buffalo hump. Doctors are unimpressed. She has a Vitamin D deficiency, despite being outside year round for field sports and swimming. Now she is developing stress fractures in her shins. Every time she trys to hit the field she develops a new one. X-rays show old stress fractures we never knew about. She has had one normal period in 15 months, mostly she has a day of spotting every 30 days. We are on our third endocrinologist who says whatever is going on is "evolving". She has had many to the tests for PCOS and Cushings, but doesn't clearly fall into either catagory.
My daughter thinks she is going crazy. She sees so many doctors! Pediatrician, endo, gastro, orthopaedic, counselor, nutritionist, sometimes physical therapist. Each doc looks at her as a single system, but no one sees the big picture. She looks like many teens, 30 pounds overweight, acne, tired, moody. Only her family and the pediatrician know the "old" Camille. I feel like the answer is right under our noses, we just need the right doctor to put the pieces together.
This website scares me. How much worse will this get? She is very mild compared to most who have posted. We are glad there is a place to vent and share and learn!
