And It's About Time There Was Some Support For Cushing's!
Like most of you, this has been a long, tedious road for me. I've always struggled with my weight, but kept it under control (strict diet and exercise) most of my adult life.
Menopause hit me really hard. Terrible headaches, fatigue and weight gain. I got through it without medication or surgery. For a couple of years I felt really good. Better that I had in decades. Then I started to get fatigued again, and the weight started piling on no matter what I did. I developed a strange form of acne called hidradenitis, which is a bunch of really painful boils. It took a year to get a diagnosis, but once I got started on the right medicine, I started to feel better. I vowed to do anything I could to avoid more episodes. One risk factor was obesity. So I started exercising an hour a day 5 or 6 days a week and eating high protein, low fat diet.
After a year of this regime, I gained about 20 pounds, developed a beard and a hump on my back. I was really freaked out. I went to a new internest. My old internist just told me to exercise more.
Thank heaven for my new doc. He suspected Cushing's right away and sent me to a endocronologist. So far we have found high levels of ACTH and cortisol. I just had an ultrasound and a cat scan yesterday.
Tjrought this ordeal, this site has been a great help and comfort. This disease is so isolating. No one knows about it and it is rare to find someone else who has it. So, I appreciate the support and sharing done on this board. I will update as events unfold.
