And It's About Time There Was Some Support For Cushing's!
I turned 40 October of 2003 and realized that I had gained about 10lbs a year for about 10 years. strangely, with all that working out and dieting, it just kept coming on.
I had all the classic symptoms of Cushings, though I didnt know I had it. Weight, stretch marks, easy bruising, anxiety, etc.
During the summer of 2004 I noticed that when I was driving, at times I would have these sensations in my head as if I was going to pass out. My GP did some tests and sent me to an Endo in Portland. Open MRIs did not show the tumor, but the closed MRI did. They had to confirm that the ademoma was an issue with the chemical testing that they did and thus it was.
Several weeks later I had the surgery. The months that followed were pure hell. I thought I was going through male menopause. I would cry histerically at times, and would just think that my body was shutting down and I was dying. I guess it was the weaning off of the high levels of cortisone I had in my system.
I started taking the petrossan stimulation testing and saw gradual increases that showed perhaps the adrenals were waking up. However, after I reached 15, I started to go back down.
The docs at OHSU in Portland changed me from Cortisone to Dexamethazone, which made me feel better. I then had an infection where they went into my nasal area for the surgery. I had to have another surgery, just recently, to remove the infection. I am now undergoing the Urine, blood and salavary tests to see if there is still a tumor in the Pituitary.
This has been very upsetting to me as I was told, and I thought, I was cured when I came out of the hospital the first time.
It has been such a long time that I am tired of what it is doing to me mentally, but I have to stay strong for my wife and 3 kids.
I am hopeful that I can beat this thing and get back my old body!
I would love to hear from anyone who can share similar stories.
