And It's About Time There Was Some Support For Cushing's!
I can't exactly remember the first time my symptoms came about, maybe 2 years ago is when it got bad enough to start noticing something. I was wearing size 16 at the time(I gained about 15-20 "college pounds", so I thought) then what seemed like overnight my pants got tight. I was at first in denial, thinking that my clothes were shrinking. I had always weighed about 165-170 all through high school. I was working at a movie theater at the time and the owner liked to have it super clean. I loved getting down on the floor and scrubbing. But about 2 years ago, I lost all my energy. I hurt all over, especially in my joints. I couldn't clean like I used to be able to. I had packed on 20 lbs in no time as well.
At the time I was in a long distance relationship with a guy I met online. That Dec 04 I felt pretty good. I was in love and looked pretty good. All that was about to change. 6 months later we decided to meet, it was June 05. I went shopping to get some clothes for the occasion and had to get size 18 for the first time. This was very saddening to me. I was also officially fatter than I had ever been. I was 21 at the time. I was so happy about meeting Clif, but at the same time I was gaining weight and was very insecure and upset about that.
In August 05, I went for a job interview and needed to buy some new clothes because nothing was fitting right. I got size 20 pants. At the time I felt awful. I remember thinking, " I have to fake smile because I feel so bad!"
I started my job and developed a poor relationship with my direct boss. It wasn't long before my health also brought a damper on my new job. I decided to go see a doctor and he was the first one to mention Cushing's because of the striae on my stomach and arm. I had just gotten the striae overnight in fact. I had always thought my problem was my thyroid and I had never even heard of Cushing's. I did research and realized that I had a lot of the symptoms. At the time of that appointment I weighed around 227 lbs. The doctor had blood work done and for my cortisol levels. I went back to him in Oct 05 and he decided that I didn't have cushing's because my levels came back normal. I was crushed. I also had gained 13 lbs. He then started talking about diet and exercise and I was mad. I had driven 40 miles and taken a day off of work only to have him give me diet tips I had already knew. He even suggest I go on a 500 calorie a day diet!!
I stopped going ot him needless to say. In Nov. 05 I started getting really sick. I developed a very painful swollen throat and had joint pains. I went to the ER on the day before Christmas eve. I was diagnosed with Mononucleosis. That took a couple of months to get over. By March 06 I was soo tired and feeling terrible. I decided that I needed to go to a doc again. For some reason I looked up Cushing's again. The symptoms I had in common with cushing's was astounding. I decided to go to a new doc that I heard good reviews on. I had prepared my symptoms and prayed that she would listen. May 06 I went to her and she listened to my symptoms for about 5 minutes and before I could even get out my Cushing's theory, she said she agreed. She ordered a blood work and an MRI and CT scan. That was about two weeks ago. She called and told me they came back negative. I was devastated. That was until others told me that they had to have multiple tests done before they found their tumors and were diagnosed with Cushing's. I have decided to search for a good Endo. I don't want to keep feeling like this and getting bigger and bigger. I miss my shape. I miss working out (I am so tired all the time) My diet is far from perfect, but I have also dieted hundreds of times and lost maybe two pounds in a couple of months.
I would love to talk and communicated about Cushing's with anyone.
