And It's About Time There Was Some Support For Cushing's!
I am a 21 year old female from Colorado Springs Colorado. My husband and I were married when I was 19 and we moved the day after the marriage to Frankfurt Germany where he was stationed with the military. It is uncertain when my problems from cushings began but it wasn't until I started birth control. I went through different types of birth control due to different reasons and even had the depo provera shot. I did not like how I felt on the shot so I changed back to the Ortho Evera patch.
During all this time I couldn't loose weight and I slowly kept gaining it. I just kept coming up with different excuses and felt like a hypochondriac because I physically felt like I was falling apart. I was constantly fighting headaches, intestinal problems, aches and abdominal pains. All of which the doctors kept telling me that there was nothing wrong with me and all the tests say that I am perfectly healthy. I went from 130lbs to 175lbs in a year and a half even with different diets and exercise. I got off of brith control to see if it would help. I finally got down to 160lbs when I suddenly gained 50lbs in 5 months with an aditional 20lbs in the next 3 months.
All of a sudden my symptoms went from bad to horrendous! Within a few months my stomach was covered with large purple stretch marks. They also began to show up on my under arms, my thighs, buttox, breast, and inner thighs and behind the knees. My breast size went from B to DD. I started loosing my hair, I was severely fatigued. I had aches and pains all the time and I bruised easily. I began to be depressed and have terrible anxiety. I couldn't sleep through the night. I was thirsty all the time and had frequent trips to the bathroom. I also had acne and many other symptoms. All of this happened within the 8 months that I suddenly gained weight. My periods every month became farther apart and less and less. The doctors kept dismissing me and litterally telling me that I am crazy and depressed because I was an American living in Germany and I couldn't handle that stress. The funny thing is that I had no stress in my life at all! Except of course my health.
So I began to do research on my own. I stumbled on websites about Cushing's and I had just about every symptom. I had my husband approach the doctor about it and when he said he knew about it we set up an appointment. He looked at me and believed that I had cushing's so he ordered the tests. I had a 1mg dex test and a 24hr urine the next day. Everything came out normal. (I found out later though that the tests were done incorrectly) The doctor than asked me if I was depressed and when I said yes he perscribed the psychologist. I went to see the psych because I figured it was better than nothing. She told me that I was causing all my problems myself and she kept dismissing all of my physical symptoms. Needless to say I haven't seen her again. I did see another psych though, he told me that it was obvious that my depression and anxiety were secondary to my physical problems and suggested that I fight to see a specialist.
I got a referal for an Endo at a military hospital, before he even saw me he told the other doctor that I did not have Cushing's and he would see me in a few months if he wasn't busy. I had to fight for the next few months to get an appointment with a different Endo, during this time though suprisingly I had began to feel better. My symptoms were slowly going away. I had my appointment with the Endo and he ordered all new tests because he agreed that I definitely looked as if I had Cushing's.
While waiting for all the test results my symptoms began to improve more and more. My stretch marks began to fade, I could finally sleep through the night and wasn't tired all the time. The aches and pains went away. I wasn't as thirsty and I didn't have to go to the bathroom as often. My acne also began to clear up along with my hair growing back.
I had my followup appointment with the Endo and he said that according to all my tests I do not have Cushing's. I asked him then what could have caused all my symptoms. He told me that he has seen one other case of "Spontaneous Cushing's". He said that for some unkown reason I could have had a bout of Cushing's that has spontaneously gone into remission. I mentioned to him that I had seen on a medication fact sheet that depo provera has caused Cushing's disease. He told me that it is definitely probable that my Cushing's could have been caused by birth control. That some women do have bad responses such as Cushing's when they take medication with hormones. So as of right now we are waiting a few months to have a follow up and see how I am then. I am being treated for PCOS and infertility. (I had to go home and search on the internet to find out that that is what I am being treated for. (There is a huge difference in our societies where Germans just trust their doctors and don't ask questions as to what their problem is, I had to drag all the other information out of him as well.) He is a good doctor though and didn't just dismiss me.
So for what ever reason I have had a "Spontaneous bout of Cushing's" I am just hopeful that I am not cyclical and that it will not come back. Needless to say, I am staying away from birth control to be on the safe side.
I hope this helps someone else. I know that everyone else's bios definitely helped me.
