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Mary H (Marietta), Adrenal Bio

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In 1976, I was (finally) diagnosed with Cushing’s disease and after the up the nose surgery, which was ineffective, I had bilateral adrenalectomy.

It all started in late 1974, when I started having lots of illnesses and was depressed.  I was crying a lot and going back and forth to my doctor, who treated every illness and gave me anti-depressants.

Then the weight gain started, ( I was 185 at my highest, which was usually 115-120) actually I had been gaining weight, but by now it was rapid and uneven– only my trunk and face.

All through late ’74 and 1975, I was back and forth, even with a dx of pregnant,  (which made evryone happy, as I was married Feb 1974.  But the mental problems continued, I was under psychiatric care and had 2-3 in-patinet stays of about 2 weeks.  Each time, after the observation and evaluation, I was discharged with no dx. I would also fall asleep at the strangest places and times, all very suddenly.
In March of of 1976, I  had what was then called a “nervous breakdown,” so again I was hospitalized.  THAT probably saved my life, as it was my psychiatrist who finally dx Cushing’s and decided on treatment. He later told me that I had him very confused, as each time he thought he had the DSM dx (he knew I was in the mh field), I would change and thus, he could not fit me in any DSM DX.   Then, because of my appearence (moon face, foot-ball player shape, with skinny limbs, losing my hair and all the secondary dx (high blood pressure, insulin diabetes that could not be controlled– up, down, up down, losing hair, on my head but growing on my face and back), he said he remembered something from medical school.

He did a lot of research, ordered a lot of tests and VOILA– I had Cuhing’s disease.  It was very rare and at that time, he said there were no more 300-400 (known) cases in medical history; also, I was the youngest dx at 26, because most cases were in those age at least 50.

I had the nose surgery, very new at the time,  but it didn’t “work,” so I had to have my adrenal grand removed– they were 5x the normal size and producing 25x the normal amount of steroids. I had the surgery in Novemver 1976, which took from 7 am to 5 pm (I have the 2 long scars on my back).  I did not know at the time that there was an 85% chance of surviving that surgery.

Post surgery, all but 3 of my fingernails fell off, my hair was in tight curls (previoulsy straight) and I had cystic acne on my face, neck and back. I started taking cortisone and florinef and was told I had to take  it the rest of my like.  I was under close dr care for about a year, and by April 1977, the weight was gone (I was back to 115) and all secondary symptoms were gone.  I believe that the surgery was a real “cure” for my Cushing’s disease and after, it was/is maybe somewhat like diabetes, in that it is managed and controlled.  There are some things that I have to watch carefully, like a comprommised immune system (increase the prednisone if infection seems likely) and some depression (never hospitalized again).  I have had some adrenal crises, that landed me in the ER, maybe 5-6 over the years (how strange, no doctor ever told me or gave me a prescription for an injection for such occurences).
In 1990-1991, I had what ended up being appendicitis.  After 4x in the ER, I vomited blood and collapsed.  It turned out to be a (dead) grangrenous appendix, which should have been removed the first t ime.  Supposedly, the prednisone that I take “masked” the symptoms and since my blood showed no infection, I was sent home from the ER each time.  I spent 2 weeks in the hospital with 3 strong intravenous antibiotics to remove all the toxins in my body that almost killed me.

In 2000, I was dx with diabetes, which runs in my family, and at  64 years  old, the problems I have now are severe allergies/sinus problems (no one believes that I am sick when this makes me sick) and I seem to always be hotter or much colder than anybody (which the doctor warned me about right after the major surgery).

Also, I started out with cortisone; in 1990, a new doctor in NYC gave me hydrocortisone and I gained 10-20 lbs.  Another doctor quickly put me back on cortisone and said that the hydrocortisone was only for injections when I have adrenal crisis– it is quick actiing.  The cortisone was 25 mg daily and around 1993-94, I started gaining weight.  A new docotr in Chicago, switched it to prednisone 5mg., the equivalent of the 25 mg cortisone.  He said the prednisone did not cause weight gain– he was right.  I also take Florinef, now Fludrocortisone (the generic, Florinef is VERY expensive, as is the generic, but less).  I started out with this at .1 mg  once every other day and sometime in the 90s, the same dr who put me on prednisone, changed the Fl to one x daily.

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In Memory: Lori Holt

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in-memory

 

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Lori’s sister-in-law wrote: “I am Kimberly, sister-in-law to Lori from Monmouth IL.

During the first few days of September 2007, Lori had surgery to remove her adrenal gland.
She experienced extreme difficulty post surgery and never recovered.

I wish to inform all who might have known her on this board that she passed away on Sunday, January 6, 2008.

She was hopeful that the surgery would help her,
and loved and appreciated her many friends and others who supported her.

Thank you to everyone here who knew her and offered encouragement and hope.”


Lori’s sister-in-law wrote again : “I apologize for the time that has passed since you wrote the last e-mail. I have sent Lori’s obituary to you in an e-mail from a newspaper. (http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/obit_Holt_010808)

There is one error in the obituary. She obtained her graduate degree from Northeast Missouri State Univ., not Southwest as stated.

Lori was truly remarkable, and especially so in her fight with Cushing’s Syndrome (adrenal).

Lori lived in a small town in west-central Illinois, not far from the Mississippi River. As you know (because I learned it on your website!), most doctors never see a case of Cushing’s. At some point during the summer of 2007, Lori diagnosed herself by doing research online. This is evident by some written things she left behind in her home, and in letters she wrote to doctors as she went about putting together a medical team.

She worked to find doctors who would perform the specific diagnostic tests to find the Cushing’s. She clearly knew by that point what she was looking for. Remarkably, she found several doctors who worked with her on this. Sadly, it was too late. In the last few years, she’d begun to gain weight, which perplexed her a great deal. She would occasionally call me or write e-mails, and in addition to telling about things going on with her life and work, she would mention her frustration at not being able to quite sort out just what was causing her health problems.

Lori was a deeply kind and caring person. She was a gentle soul, and loved her preschool children so very much. She never missed sending my two sons a card not only for birthdays but on every single holiday you can imagine — Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day. She was a single woman and worked with great determination to be self-sufficient.

She really loved her brothers, and was so glad as they married so she could have some “sisters” around. Once we moved from the Chicago area to northern Michigan in 1998, we didn’t see her often, and I regret that so much.

Lori fought her disease intelligently and valiantly. She suffered a lot while in the hospital between Labor Day weekend and when she died on Sunday, 1/5/08. At different points, she suffered from MRSA, shingles, and extreme breathing distress. I am quite certain that her body was just too spent by the disease to recover itself.

I thank you and all who might have been in contact with Lori during the very brief time she may have spent on your message board. I wish you all the very best in your continued struggle with disease and your on-going work to educate the public.

–Kim Jones


From http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/obit_Holt_010808

Lori Holt

Lori A. Holt, 47, of Monmouth, Ill., died at 1:52 p.m. Jan. 6, 2008, at OSF St.Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Ill.

Born Oct. 7, 1960, in Galesburg, Ill., she was the daughter of Patrick M. and Patricia Noonan Holt.

Ms. Holt was a teacher at the Lutheran Preschool and Daycare Center in Monmouth for 11 years. She graduated from Galesburg High School and then graduated from Monmouth College with a bachelor’s degree. She also lettered all four years in volleyball, basketball and softball. She earned two master’s degrees in physical education and health from Western Illinois University and Southwest Missouri State. Ms. Holt played for the State of Illinois softball team at the national level for two years. She was head coach of women’s volleyball, basketball and softball at Spoon River College and was head coach of softball and basketball at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Ill. She was coach and athletic director at Costa Catholic High School in Galesburg for a number of years. Ms. Holt was a fan of the Green Bay Packers, the Boston Celtics and the St. Louis Cardinals. She was a member of Immaculate Conception Church in Monmouth.

Survivors include her parents of Knoxville, Ill.; five brothers, Frank Felz of Fort Worth, Texas, Michael Felz of Evanston, Ill., Paul Felz of Denver, Colo., Patrick Felz of Buffalo Grove, Ill., and Martin Holt of Grant Ranch, Colo.; nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents.

No visitation is planned. The body has been cremated. Turnbull Funeral Home in Monmouth is in charge of arrangements.

A memorial mass will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Immaculate Conception Church in Monmouth.

A memorial fund is being established for Lutheran Preschool and Daycare Center in Monmouth.

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Molly (Iloveparrots), Undiagnosed Bio

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I’m new to this board and am currently waiting to have tests done for Cushings. I live in WNY, have an African Grey Parrot (who I love dearly), am in my early 40’s, and have other diseases.

I’m seeing an Endocrinologist that I’m not that thrilled with and found one in a nearby city that specializes in Cushings, so I think I will go to her for a second opinion and possibly stay with her.

I’m very scared and have little to no support network.

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Patricia, Adrenal Bio

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My adrenal incidentaloma was discovered after an abdominal CT in 2011.  My doctor told me that it was insignificant, and no follow up was needed.

Late 2012 I began having symptoms which led me to believe that something hormonal was going on.  I was having extreme anxiety, headaches, insomnia, new onset hypertension, hair loss, blurred vision, memory problems, dizziness, and extremely heavy menses.  I went to the gynecologist because I thought it might be premenopausal symptoms.  The doctor started me on birth control pills to regulate the periods, which was the only symptom that improved.

My general practitioner sent me to a cardiologist for my blood pressure which was spiking as high as 194/110.  The cardiologist immediately suspected a pheo, and referred me back to the GP with a recommendation for a referral to endocrinology.  The initial round of labs were all within normal limits with the exception of plasma cortisol due to the estrogen pills.  The endocrinologist told me to follow up in one year.

A lot of people started telling me it I was just stressed out, and depressed.  I don’t buy it for a minute.  It feels like something chemically is wrong. It’s hard to explain….I just don’t feel right.  Yes, I have stressful things going on, but not anything that should make me feel like this.  Especially when things are fine, and I am going to meet a friend for coffee why on earth would I almost freak out on the way there? I started feeling better for a couple of months, then the symptoms came back.

I have had 3 near panic attacks in the last 6 months, social withdrawal, rapid abdominal weight gain, hospitalized with 24 hours of amnesia (transient global amnesia…which left lesions on my hippocampus), headaches, hypertension, amenorrhea for 8 months, increased facial hair.

My first lab test was the high dose dexamethasone which I did not supress.  Last week I did the 24 hour urine…a whopping 3650 liters!!  I will get the results on Thursday.  My endo said he will need to do an adrenal vein sampling as part of the diagnosis.

Has anyone else had to do this?  I am in Germany, so maybe it is just different protocol here, but I really don’t want to have to do it.

Thanks for any feedback!

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Sandi J, Undiagnosed Bio

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Recently I had a kidney stone. I went to the ER where they did a CT scan. The confirmed the stone and gave me pain pills to tough it out. A couple of weeks later I got a letter describing all of the CT findings. I had to look up all of them to figure out what they meant. One of them was adrenal adenoma. When I started reading about this one it was like reading my medical history. Weight gain in the belly, hump on my shoulders, high blood pressure, high sugar, high triglycerides, fatigue, depression, serious panic attacks, aching muscles…

I didn’t have a regular doctor because I just moved to Phoenix and was fed up with the VA. I’m a disabled vet due to a back injury in my first year of enlistment. So I got an internal doctor and showed her my CT findings, she wasn’t worried but upon insistence I got her to test more. She called me a few days later to tell me that it was a functioning adenoma. She is sending me to an endocrinologist because it might be part of a bigger autoimmune disease, I’m guessing Cushings.

I told her I knew exactly when it started, in 2003. That was shortly after finishing Hepatitic C treatment and when I had my first panic attack. I had no idea what was happening and called 911 and took an ambulance ride to the ER. They found nothing physical, so continued my life of being treated as a hypochondriac. Oh yes, prior to the Hep C diagnosis I was treated as a mental patient, depression got stamped on my forehead for over a year…

Now here I am 11 years later, 60 pounds over weight, can barely go up stairs without getting out of breath and starting a panic attack. Doctors have been riding me about my weight, and not exercising… Finally they hear me!

Now I have found this board and have lots of reading to do.

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