And It's About Time There Was Some Support For Cushing's!
Hello friends, my name is Patricia, I'm 22 years old and I was one of those 10 in a million with Cushing's disease. If I was that lucky, why didn't I win the lottery?
My story is similar to most stories in here (www.cushings-help.com). The weight gain, loss of hair, moon face, herutism and my swollen feet. I had every single symptom in the book but yet no Doctor could figure it out!
In the summer of 2004 I noticed a change in my body when I had an infection on the back of my left leg. It was a cyst that I had to have surgically removed. I stayed home for a week and after that i noticed a chubby face and a round belly that i never had. In that week i had gained ten pounds, i was in shock but i was determined to lose the pounds.
For the rest of the year i tried every diet i had thought of and i would manage to lose the weight but i would put them back like a metal trying to find its magnet. In five months i gained about thirty pounds, by that time i was getting very frustrated.
By the begining of 2005 my mood swings were terrible. I would get easily annoyed with everything and anything. I didnt go out anymore and stayed in my room all the time. I lost a couple of friends because they didnt understand me, i didn't even understand myself so there was nothing i could do. I had trouble sleeping and by the time i would try to close my eyes, it was time to get ready for work. I would go to work and have to come back early because my feet would be so swollen that my feet wouldnt fit my shoes. I went to three doctors and they all told me the same thing. That i just needed to rest my feet. Another year passed by, i couldnt take it any more.
January 2006 my new years resolution was to lose weight. I was going to the gym 24/7 and put myself on a strict diet. In one month i lost 25 pounds. I was happy and felt energized but i started losing my hair and noticed a thicker black eyebrow, dark hair in my face, arms, and back. I looked at my twin sister and knew something was really wrong because i'd no longer looked like her.
In March I stopped going to the gym because i could barely walk i had no energy at all. My blood pressure was always high and i was just getting worse everyday. I was very concerned about my hair loss so i went to my dermotologist. She then told me to see an Endocronologist a specialist in hormone diseases.
I called every single doctor who had the earliest appointment and luckily i found the right one. I saw Dr. Wong six weeks after in May of 2006, he tested for Polystic Ovary Syndrome and wanted to see me back in four weeks.
I went back to do some research on the disease i was being tested for. I got online and looked up the symptoms and i wasnt convinced that i had P.O.S. The website had other possible diseases and one of them was Cushing's Disease. I clicked on to Cushings Disease and saw a before and after picture of a women with the disease and saw my reflection in her. I had every single symptom of Cushings. At that moment i knew in my heart that, that was what i had and i was ready to fight the disease.
The four weeks that Dr Wong gave me, at that time felt like if i had to wait forever to see him. I was so anxious to tell him what i had. Finally four weeks went by and i saw Dr Wong early in the morning. He gave me good news for P.O.S it was negative which i was expecting it to be. I showed him a picture of me what i used to look like six months back and i asked him about Cushings. He decided to test me for it I did the 24 hour urine test and all that other good stuff. I went back to see him for the results and he confirmed that it was Cushings. By that time i looked like a full blown Cushings patient. They also found a tumor on my left adrenal gland the size of a lemon.
August 4, 2006 Dr Teng removed my tumor laposcopticly i'm glad he didnt have to cut me open! The worst happened after surgery. Dr Wong put me on 20 mlg of Prednizone and after two days of taking it i got very sick and he changed my medication to Hydrocortisone and he started me with 40 mlg.
Sept 13th 2006 was the happiest day of my life i finally got my menstrual cycle after 8 months of not having it at all. I was glad because i knew that my body was healing and that i would soon look like myself again. I started losing weight slowly and getting better everyday. In October i went back to work and i was doing much better.
By November 2006 all of my unwanted hair was gone and noticed that my hair on my head was growing back. I would see Dr Wong every month and he would lower 5 mlg off Hydrocortizone.
In April i stopped the medication. Its been a year after my surgery, I have lost 45 pounds so far without even trying and thats a great feeling.
I want to thank God, my doctors, my family, my friends, and this website that helped me discover my own disease. Thank you all for your love and support you guys helped me through it. For all the Cushings patient keep your head up and have faith because you will get back to normal just like i did. Think about it like if your living a nightmare which you'll soon wake up from and realize that it wasnt a dream but your glad to be back!
Love all you guys!
Sincerely Patricia.
