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October 28, 2025

MaryO Adrenal, Cyclic, Ectopic, Familial Cushing's, Food-Dependent Cushing's, GIP-Dependent Cushing's, Pituitary, Pseudo-Cushing's, Recurrence, Success Stories, Undiagnosed 128 Comments

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Kelly (Kelly Jo), Pituitary Bio

February 17, 2026

MaryO Pituitary, radiation, Recurrence, Treatments , , , , , Leave a comment

pituitary-location

 

My official journey with Cushing’s started in May 2007 when I broke my hip by stumping my toe.  Dr fixed me and sent me on my way.

About two weeks later I developed a PE and was in ICU for 5 days.  It was there that the drs took note of my appearance (I looked very Cushinoid at this time) and that I had broke a hip the way I did.  They sent me to their clinic and the dr there took about 10 minutes of looking at me and asking me questions and told me she thought I had Cushings – which I had never heard of.

So off for test I went and it was confirmed.  At this point I had probably already had Cushings for 10 years but my past dr never once really heard my complaints and just told me I was fat and how easy it is to lose weight.

I had to wait till Feb of 2008 to have my first surgery since I was on blood thinner due to the PE.  We all thought the surgery was a success but three years later back it came.  So another surgery in Jan 2011.  Then again three years go by and it’s back.

This time it was decided that surgery wasn’t an option so we went with Gamma Knife radiation.  I am now in wait mod to see if it that worked and let me tell you it’s no fun.  Not knowing and not going to know for sure for a year or two is really hard.

The meds I’m on (Korlym) really make me sick too.  I’ve sometimes wished I had chosen to have my adrenals removed (which if this doesn’t work I will) and just be done with it all.

Some days are easier than others – some days I just want to say the heck with it all but I know that’s not an option.  I will never be done with it, as none of us will.

I have great family (the best husband every!) and friends that are there for me but let’s be honest they don’t really know and can’t really understand what we are going thru or how we feel.  I say I just want to be normal and me again but honestly I don’t even know what that is.  So for me I enjoy the good days and deal with the rough / bad days knowing that God does have my back thru it all.

Good luck to us all!
Kelly Jo

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Dennis O, Pituitary Bio

February 17, 2026

MaryO Male, Pituitary, Treatments , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

pituitary-gland

 

In February 2013 I was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease.

Over the previous 6 years, I have suffered from a variety of problems including Deep Vein Thrombosis and a Pulmonary Embolism, compressed fracture of the spine, torn achilles (right leg), ruptured achilles (left leg), several ulcers in my left leg and one in my right, hypertension, high cholesterol and atrial fibrillation. Lesser injuries included a number of torn hamstrings and groins. Prior to that, I had no significant medical problems.

I also put on 14kg (30 pound) in weight. Up to 1997, I was a little overweight but very fit, taking part in distance running including a half marathon. My training routine lessened and I put on weight. The injuries I was having limited my ability to train.

My legs become very weak and have that ache that you get from working out – something which I have had to discontinue due to the weakness. Climbing stairs in particular was difficult. I have stenosis of the spine which causes sciatica which is very painful. I have lost strength in my arms as well as my legs.

When I was diagnosed with possible Cushings, I had never heard of the disease and of course got busy on the internet and read about the symptoms, causes and cures. I found myself hoping to have the disease which is bizarre given the seriousness of the condition and the havoc it causes on the body. The fact that it is not only curable but most of the problems are reversible offers me a quality of life that I thought I could never have again. (since then it has become apparent only some of the problems are likely to reverse)

I underwent testing to confirm I had Cushing’s syndrome and the particular form I had (turned out to be Cushing’s disease). I had extremely high levels of cortisol and a combination of the cortisol and dexamethasone used for testing sent me into a manic state. I had turns where I couldn’t speak. These lasted for about a minute and I had many of them.

I went by ambulance to hospital by ambulance and was admitted. I remained in hospital for 9 weeks, the first 5 of which I was in a manic state. I can’t remember much about that but from all reports I was a very difficult patient. The medical staff tried a variety of treatments until they finally found one which worked.

While was happening, I had several MRI scans on my pituitary gland which failed to find the tumour.

Since then I have had the MRI’s repeated on two occasional but to no avail. This is a common problem with the disease because the tumour is very small

My spell in hospital weakened me to the stage where I was in a wheelchair. I took on rehabilitation and am now walking unaided, albeit with a limp. The pace I can walk is slow but gradually improving. All in all my health has improved dramatically.’

My doctors have decided that they could not operate on me due to my poor health and the fact that they could not find the tumour. As a temporary measure I am taking ketoconozole to control my cortisol levels. That is working well and I am being to show signs that the symptoms of Cushing’s are reversing (loss of weight and, moon face going and strength returning).  However, my cortisol levels are at the high end of normal and this appears to be limiting the pace of my recovery.

Ketoconozole is not a drug which should be taken for long periods, and we are hoping that the tumour shows in future scans. An added complication is that the original manufacturer has ceased manufacture and I am reliant on a generic I am importing from India.

I have returned to playing golf generally twice a week. I have been attending a specialised gym which works on strengthening my back. The pain is becoming less frequent and less in intensity.

I do suffer from excessive swelling in my legs, particularly the left leg where I had the DVT. My vascular surgeon operated on this to improve blood flow. He believes that the current swelling is due to poor circulation and has prescribed full length stockings to be worn during waking hours. He also recommends a targeted exercise program to improve the blood flow in my leg.

I have recently started working with a physio and this seems to be helping.

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Brenda B (BeBop), PCOS Bio

February 15, 2026

MaryO Other Diagnosis, PCOS , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I recently read an article in the NY Times magazine about Cushings, and a light bulb went off. I have an appt with an endocrinologist in March, but I’ve been to a renowned large clinic near my home in the early 1990s and was diagnosed with PCOS yet had no cysts on ovaries. I had abdominal striae, rapid wt gain in belly only, facial hair. They also found I had hypertriglyceridema – 1000+ when fasting. They could not put me on estrogen for the PCOS because of the lipid disorder, which they figured was genetic tho I never had any tests to find out why. So I went on Lopid, went on to grad school, shaved and plucked, wondered when the period would come.

I’m 53 now, got married in the mid 90s and we tried for years to have children, finally got pregnant in late 1998 and had a son in 99. Then I got hit with a terrible insomnia, sweating and anxiety and was treated for post partum depression. I did not feel depressed, just could not sleep despite my 9.9 baby sleeping through the night almost immediately. Didn’t sleep the two nights I was in the hospital after delivery. I stopped breastfeeding at 3 weeks and began a tragi-comedy of errors of regular health/mental health treatment, finally Zoloft did the trick as well as Valerian root instead of Ambien (which never worked for me) for sleep. The toughest point was when I hadn’t slept at all for 3 days. But that is another story. Anyway to make this already bad story worse, at 4 months postpartum, my mom died of stage 4 leiomyosarcoma, which she’d had in 1995 in her leg and it had metasticized to her lungs. She was a tough old bird and I think maybe had Cushings come to think back. (And thinking of my family history there may be something there with genetics, ie., MEN, with a sister with uterine fibroids, and two brothers with neurofibroma on their foreheads that were removed). Anyway, she refused all medical treatment after the leg surgery and elected to only have radiation in the leg area and never went to get checked out after that.

My son is now 14 and I’m apparently in menopause. I’ve had the return of the awful insomnia and the rapid heart rate at night. So I’m  back on Zoloft and valerian root immediately and made this endo appt today after reading about cushings here for two weeks.  My other conditions are hypertriglyceridemia (never determined if primary or secondary) for which I take Lovaza and Niacin and it’s down to about 300-400, which is not good. I tried Pravastatin but makes my muscle aches and constantnback aches worse.

In 2005 I had a terrible loose cough that the renowned clinic diagnosed as GERD after being misdiagnosed as asthma for 2 years by the community clinic. I can’t tolerate steroids as they make me an angry insomniac but took them as prescribed when they thought it was asthma. The big clinic diagnosed that as GERD (aciphex immediately worked on the cough) and I was also found to have NAFL (fatty liver), an enlarged spleen, and stil the high triglycerides.

In 2011 I had an uterine polyp (removed) and endometrial hyperplasia for which I get checked every year because I don’t want to/can’t take the progesterone. I would really prefer a hysterectomy to end that but obgyn is reluctant.

This year I’ve had a number of new symptoms: lactose intolerance, all over tendinitis (phy ther prescribed), incontinence and needing to go alot, leg and feet cramps, horrible back aches (member at the massage place), super fatique and muscle weakness (couldn’t even snap down the buckle on my ski boots last weekend and only lasted a couple of hours on the hill, and I love to ski) and blurred vision, eipscleris and early cataracts. I also have suffered from what is diagnosed as vasomotor rhinitis for YEARS, I keep lotion tissue companies in business. It’s been so bad this winter that I went to the doctor this week and was prescribed a steroid. Then I didn’t sleep last night. Oh and if I drink alcohol I get the same rapid heart beat and insomnia too, to add insult to injury. I still have the facial hair despite oh maybe a dozen laser treatments.

Oh, and since my 20s when this all started I’ve always considered myself “round shouldered” which looks to be a buffalo hump. :0

In reading all these stories I am worried that I’ve had Cushings my *entire* life not unlike some other folks here. I don’t trust doctors all that much becuase I had so a horrible time with “postpartum depression” treatrment. I was so angry after that that I spent several years on the board of a women’s reproductive mental health organization fighting to get the Melanie Stokes Act passed. I am too old and tired to do advocacy again but thanks for doing it and being here. I am reading about all you folk fighting for a diagnosis and I fear that I’ll be in the same boat. God bless you and hugs for all. Hang in there. I have. Sometimes barely.

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Claire (helaana55555), Adrenal Bio

February 15, 2026

MaryO Adrenal, Adrenal Surgery, Treatments , Leave a comment

I am a 32 year old female that recently had (two weeks ago) my left adreanal gland removed

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Kelly Jo, Pituitary Bio

February 15, 2026

MaryO Pituitary, Pituitary Surgery, Recurrence, Treatments , , , , , , , 3 Comments

I was first diagnosed with Cushings Disease in the fall of 2007 after having broke my hip (just by stumping my toe – no fall) and then deleveloping a PE which landed me in the ICU for 5 days.  And I thank God that these things happend to me because I was rushed to Parkland / UTSW and it was there that the dr started questioning why a 39 year old woman would break her hip in the manner that I did.  No other dr questioned this (I had even broked 2 ribs and was told that I must have been laying on the couch funny – WHAT?!?!).

I had been told for years by my dr that I was just obese and needed to diet – IT WAS EASY, he said.  (This is the same dr after he found out was I was diagnosed with said – I could have treated you for that Endo is my speciality.  Again – WHAT?!?!?)

It took the drs at UTSW about 5 / 10 minutes to look at me and say “We think you have Cushings”.  I had never heard of this before and can remember just asking can it be cured?  And being told about 70 to 80% of the time.

They still had to test me and that took a few months.  They all came back with results that I had Cushings and they found a tumor on my pituitary.

I had to wait a few months before I could have surgery due to I was on blood thinner to treat my PE / blood clots.  I had my first surgery in February 2008.  Drs said it went well and I should start seeing things go back to normal and that I should also start feeling better.  Well I never really did and it came back and I had another surgery January 2011.

And now they think it’s back yet again!  I’m mentally and physically done with this disease!  I just want them to take everything out of me that would make this horrible disease stay away!  I’m very emotional right now and feel completely lost and alone.

I have a great husband (can’t tell you how great he has been) and family that has stood by me the entire time and will always be there for me but as I’m sure a lot of you know sometimes you just want to ‘not be’.

With this go around I’m really struggling.  The first time I was almost cheerful cause I finaly knew why I felt so bad and worthless (I had had this disease for probably 10 years before I was diagnosed).  The second time, I was a little more bummed about it and this time I’m more depressed than I’ve ever been.  I know I’ll get thru this (again) but I’m tired of having to deal with it.

And I know I’m rambling but I’m feeling the need to let this all out.  I could go on and on but I think most of you know how I feel.

Thanks for having this site and for allowing me a place to go to vent.

Good luck to us all!

Kelly Jo

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Ashley D, Possible Familial Cushing’s Bio

February 12, 2026

MaryO Familial Cushing's, Undiagnosed , , 1 Comment

Hi all, I am Ashley.

My mother has Cushing’s and I have just found out I have high cortisol levels. I am nervous about this but if my mother can make it through this so can I.

I am 30 years old and one of my biggest problems is my children are too young to understand what is going on.

I am glad that I have my mom who has already been through this before, so she will understand everything.

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Carlin, Recovered from Pituitary Tumor

February 12, 2026

MaryO Other Diagnosis, Pituitary, Pituitary Surgery, Success Stories, Thyroid, Treatments , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I’m 66 yo and have recovered from Cushings but now take hydrocortisone, thyroxine, ddavp and citalopram. It’s was a real fight to find a dr who believed me. (my GP said I was a morbidly obese hypochondriac).

It has been 16 years and I’ve lost 75 pounds. Sometimes life is still tough, but I can handle it.

My endocrinologist was Dr Katznelson at Stanford University Palo Alto CA and my surgeon was Edward Laws.

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Mika, Undiagnosed Bio

February 11, 2026

MaryO Undiagnosed , , , , , , 1 Comment

 

I’m 16, going on 17… and I think I’m close to being diagnosed with Cushings. Quite frankly its scaring me so I’ll just do my best to get my story out there.

I’ve always kind of been on the heavier side compared to other people my age, even when I was really little. However, my weight has shot up from 60 kg to about 110 kg in 2-4 years, and my already awful confidence is basically shattered.

When I got my growth spurt I got severe stretch marks, but I thought it was nothing, and my parents attributed it to me growing so quickly or something along those lines.

I’m in constant pain, I’ve barely been to school since September 2016. I can barely move half the time due to severe exhaustion and pain, I fear for my future.

We originally thought all the pain was from gluten intolerance, which I was diagnosed with, late 2015. We completely cut gluten out of my diet, but instead of getting better, my symptoms got worse. The exhaustion lead to a diagnosis of chronic fatigue in mid 2016.

On a whim I’m guessing, my doctor ordered tests for ACTH when he got told of my worsening symptoms. It was much higher than it should’ve been, and I got forwarded to an endocrinologist, more tests, ect… I need to go back in a few days for the results, I’m becoming more and more nervous the more I wait.

My already bad mental health has taken a hit, as well. I was never really mentally okay due to a horrible string of things happening to me in my childhood, but when this popped up my illnesses got 10x worse, to the point I’ve harmed myself and attempted suicide. Even when I feel okay enough physically, I can’t go outside without being scared something will happen to me or that everyone is judging me for how I look. I was on medication for depression, but I was able to function even less when I was on it, so I was taken off of it. I have depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other disorders which have been diagnosed and they’ve all worsened in some way.

My schooling has taken an even bigger hit, I can’t think right due to disturbed sleep, general tiredness and headaches. I used to be a fairly good student and before I left, my grades had dropped significantly, my teachers and peers were looking down on me for how far I had fallen.

I used to constantly blame myself for my weight, I’ve hated it since I was very little, so at least this gives me a small bit of relief that its not completely my fault.

I just want to get my life back, I have my whole life ahead of me, but my teenage years are basically being stolen from me like I had my childhood stolen. While everyone else my age worries about tests I worry on if I can ever move out of my house or even walk to the shops again. It feels wrong and cruel. My symptoms have suddenly gotten much worse and I’ve developed new ones, and I honestly get more scared by the day.

Everyone else’s posts give me a tiny bit of hope for the future, I just hope I can one day live like everyone else does and not be weighed down completely by illnesses. It will be a slow road, but I just hope I can get there in the end.

Thank you for reading this to the end if you have, sorry if its just a jumble of words. ^^;

 

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Elizabeth, Pituitary/Adrenal Bio

February 10, 2026

MaryO Adrenal, Golden Oldies, Pituitary, Undiagnosed , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

golden-oldie

 

Originally posted September 24, 2008

Hi my name is Elizabeth (Liz or Lisa). I am a 32 year old who has possible cushings. In October of 2005 I was diagnosised with an adrenal tumor on my left adrenal gland. At the time I contacted my PCP to get a referral to an Endo doc. I was then seen by an endo doc who had ran some tests to meassure my cortisol levels which, of course, came back normal.

I then continued to gain more and more weight and was getting more and more stretch marks as well as facial hair. I have suffered from headaches for years and had begun to suffer from extreme fatigue and body/limb weakness.

This time last year my mom was reading a Weight Watchers magazine and read a story from a lady that had the same signs. She thought that she was gaining weight and getting stretch marks due to a pregnancy but had a hard time believing thats all it was. So this lady went to a specialist and they tested her for cushings and ended up finding out that’s what she had and of course the tumor. They performed the surgery to remove her gland and she immediately lost 20 lbs and felt so much better. So my mom and I began to research this disease online and discovered that this sounded exactly what I have and was going through.

I then took this information to my endo who began testing me more and more. We had finally found an elevated reading of cortisol from my urine in December 2007. He then send me for a MRI to rule out the pituitary tumor in January 2008. With surprise to everyone, I ended up having a pituitary tumor as well.

At this time, my doc decided to send me to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to see a Cushings specialist. With a lot of time and money, the doc at the Mayo advised that he was unable to diagnosis cushings based off of one elevated reading. None of the tests that were performed at the mayo clinic came back elevated. I then went home in tears and disappointment. I have been continuing to go through 24 hour urine testing and pretty much everything else and no luck but just 1 more elevated reading.

This has been one of the hardest things that I have ever gone through in my life. I used to weigh 125-135 lbs and had a beautiful body and such confidence in myself. Now, I am almost 100 lbs more and have a body that is a cross between a zebra and railroad tracks with facial hair like a man. My mental health has gone completely down the drain and I am on the verge of tears everyday all day long. My dating life has gone from having someone in my life for years to nothing due to my moods and self confidence. There are times that I feel like I am going to loose it. Like I just can’t take this any more. I try my very best to watch my diet and exercise and I still gain the weight.

My endo doc here at home just this week consulted with the doc at the mayo and they just can’t figure out why the readings aren’t coming back elevated. They definately say that my physical appearance is cushings. So we just continue to test and test until, hopefully, that day comes to end this horrible disease.

It has been so great to know that they are other people out there feeling and going through the same things as I am. It does help to know that I’m not the only one going crazy over this. With luck and prayers, hopefully the next time i am writing is to say that I have to go ahead for surgery. For everyone out there, try to keep positive thoughts!

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Nicole S (NicoleS), Adrenal Bio

February 10, 2026

MaryO Adrenal, Adrenal Surgery, Treatments , , , 1 Comment

 

Hi, I’m Nicole. I’m 37 years old and was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease in May 2017 after suffering through a high risk pregnancy, early delivery and post partum pain.

I had a left adrenolectomy in August 2017 and have been recovering ever since. I take 27.5 mg of hydrocortisone daily and deal with steroid withdrawal symptoms each time I taper my medication. I have lost 40 lbs and am doing much better post surgery.

I’ve never met anyone else with Cushing’s and wouldn’t mind to connect with some others who understand the experience.

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