And It's About Time There Was Some Support For Cushing's!
Earlier this year I was diagnosed with Cushing's disease caused by a pituitary tumor. I had transsphenoidal surgery on Oct.17, 2003. Not one, but two tumors were found and removed. The posterior lobe of the pituitary was damaged during surgery and I developed diabetes insipidous. My endo and I are controlling that condition.
Unfortunately as a result of the Cushing's, I've been left with osteoporosis at the age of 38. A year ago I had a broken foot that would not heal and had to undergo orthopedic surgery to repair it. The sad thing was, I didn't know how I broke it. Not knowing at the time I had Cushing's. Now I have a compression fracture in my thoracic spine. This was discovered during my preop chest x-ray. I don't know when or how it happened. I've just been in so much pain for so long I guess I've just learned to live with it.
It's been almost 5 weeks since my surgery and I'm undergoing more testing to see if the surgery was a success at curing my Cushing's.
I DID IT !! I climbed that mountain on December 20th! - all 500 meters of it - a two hour climb (taking it easy). I haven't yet reached the goal of loosing those 80 pounds, but I have lost 60! My endo wants to taper the hydrocortisone very slowly, so I'm still on 25 and 20 mgs. on alternate days. My blood pressure and thyroid have improved, and I'm on lower doses of those meds too. I was able to return to work six weeks after my surgery and continue to work full time. The Lord has truly blessed me, and I am so very thankful
Well, I promised to send a picture when I made it to the top of the mountain, so here it is. Sorry, it was taken with one of those disposable cameras, and it was drizzling, so it's not the greatest, but it's me making history! [Photographer: Jacqui's family]
