Sunday, May 10, 2009

Angie (dermpat), undiagnosed bio

Hi to all

I've been lurking on the boards and Cushings-Help website for just over 12 months now and decided it was about time to introduce myself.

My hometown is Melbourne Australia, but currently I'm living in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea with my husband and two sons (8 and 11). It's a beautiful place to live, but the healthcare system is not so fantastic.

I became interested in cushings when, within the space of 2 days, 2 different doctors in Melbourne mentioned it to me as a possible cause of my health problems. My blood pressure, which had been well controlled, had gone haywire; as had my diabetes which I'd been able to well control with just diet and exercise. I managed to put on about 15kgs in 1 month without doing anything different and was having problems with concentration, mood, muscle aches, fatigue, bruising etc..... needless to say I look like the cushings images although that wasn't always the case.

In late May 2008 I was asked to do the 24 hour UFC, but wasn't told to refrigerate my sample - and I ran out of room in the container and had to put the last collection in a soda water bottle (as advised by the pathology lab at 5.30 in the morning). I was told that the test results were within normal limits - but now question the validity of the results.

In December 2008 I visited an endocrinologist who agreed to test for cyclic cushings, stating that the UFC wasn't a great diagnostic test. He changed my diabetes medication from metformin to glicazide (due to bowel problems) and ordered the 1mg overnight dexamethasone test (stating that this was the best test to indicate the presence of cushings). Apparently I suppressed, but once again, I'm not sure of my exact result. On my follow-up visit in March 2009, there was no further mention of cushings and he decided that the metformin had not been causing my bowel problems and switched my medication back again.

Naturally, I'm getting frustrated (as is my husband). I'm doing everything the doctors tell me to do and don't see or feel any improvement ... but I'm not going to give in!

Thanks to all those who have posted before me - without your stories I wouldn't have had the strength or confidence to post myself!

Email Angie

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