November 3, 2025
MaryO
Adrenal Insufficiency, Cancer, Golden Oldies, Growth Hormone Deficiency, MaryO, Other Diagnosis, Pituitary, Pituitary Surgery, Success Stories, Treatments, Update
Adrenal insufficiency, blackberries, cancer, circus, Cortef, cortisone, cortisone shot, Cushing's Help and Support boards, cushing's syndrome, Dr. Ed Oldfield, endocrinologist, Giving Thanks, growth hormone, Harvey Cushing, Kenalog, Kidney cancer, knee issues, knee replacement, lymph nodes, message board, MOHS surgery, National Institutes of Health, nephrectomy, neurosurgeon, NIH, pituitary, pituitary surgery, Prednisone, remission, Renal cell carcinoma, Ringling Brothers, squamous cell carcinoma, success, Thankful
Today is the 38th anniversary of my pituitary surgery at NIH – November 3, 1987.
I can now affirm that I have lived more than half my life post-op. That’s pretty amazing when I was sure that I was going to die before I had my surgery. And didn’t care if I did.
As one can imagine, it hasn’t been all happiness and light. Most of my journey has been documented in my original bio here and on the message boards – and elsewhere around the web.
My Cushing’s has been in remission for most of these 38 years. Due to scarring from my pituitary surgery, I developed adrenal insufficiency.
I took growth hormone for a while.
When I got kidney cancer, I had to stop the GH, even though no doctor would admit to any connection between the two.
A few years ago I went back on it (Omnitrope this time). I am posting some of how that’s going here.
During nephrectomy, doctors removed my left kidney, my adrenal gland, and some lymph nodes. Thankfully, the cancer was contained – but my adrenal insufficiency is even more severe than it was.
In the last several years, I’ve developed ongoing knee issues. Because of my cortisol use to keep the AI at bay, my endocrinologist doesn’t want me to get a cortisone injection in my knee. September 12, 2018 I did get that knee injection (Kenalog) and it’s been one of the best things I ever did. I didn’t look forward to telling my endo! I have had a couple more injections. I was approved for a new three-time gel injection over 3 weeks.
I also developed an allergy to blackberries last October and had to take Prednisone – and I had to tell my endo that, too!
A couple years ago I had squamous cell carcinoma on my nose and had Mohs Surgery.
March 9, 2023 , I finally had my left knee surgery. I’ve posted about that here: https://maryomedical.com/2023/03/09/bees-knees-tkr-finally/
January 6, 2025 , I’ll get my right knee done.
But, this is a post about Giving Thanks. The series will be continued on this blog unless I give thanks about something else Cushing’s related 🙂
I am so thankful that in 1987 the NIH existed and that my endo knew enough to send me there.
I am thankful for Dr. Ed Oldfield, my pituitary neurosurgeon at NIH. Unfortunately, Dr. Oldfield died.
I’m thankful for Dr. Harvey Cushing and all the work he did. Otherwise, I might be the fat lady in Ringling Brothers now.
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September 13, 2025
MaryO
Adrenal, Adrenal Insufficiency, BlogTalkRadio, Golden Oldies, Steroid-Induced
Adrenal, Adrenal insufficiency, Cortef, cortisol, interview, MaryO, podcast, steroids
Hello and Good Morning!! First i want to say that this is a great website..very informative and hopefully I can find some help here.
I was diagnosed with autoimmune adrenal insuffiency back in 2009 and put on 30mg of Cortef for the rest of my life. He said my cortisol levels were below normal of -1. Then in spring of 2010 this endocrinologist raised it to 60 mg cause i was having dizzy spells. I got suspious of this high dosage and told my primary dr and he sent me to an university hosp. and another endo. The new endo said that the cortiso levels were normal and that the first dr was wrong. Now since 2010 the new dr has been trying to wean me off the steroids with no success. I am now on only 15 mg a day.
Here are my lab results from the first dr. Hopefully someone here can tell me if they think they are normal or not.
This is a acth stim test:: july 2009
Cortisol am 10:45= 11.6
cortisol am 11:15= 25.0
cortisol am 11:45= 9.8
cortisol am 12:15= 26.9
acth 10:15 8
acth 10:45 6
acth 11:15 35
acth 11:45 28
hgh 10:15 15.6
hgh 10:45 4.9
hgh 11;15 3.2
hgh 11;45 2.3
hgh 12;15 4.9
somatomedin c was 117.
fsh 99.6
tsh 1.34
t4 free 1.10
As I said the second dr has been trying to wean me off the steroids. i did have a 3.9 andenoma on the right adrenal gland removed in Sept 2010 and waiting for the left adrenal gland to kick in which it has not according to the last acth test done last December 2011 with a cortisol level of .5 which is suboptimal i was told. This dr. also said if I went off the steroids now I would die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I dont know who to beleive.
I am extremely skinny and bony and eat around 3000 to 4000 calories a day. I was referred to Mary O a year ago thru Power-Surge forums and wrote her and never heard a reply. I lost 30 pounds without trying and went froma size 12 to a size 4, bmi is 15. tried to sue the first dr but was told it was over the statues of limitations and tried for an extension of this but no lawyer will touch it cause they said the judges would throw it out of court. My arms and legs are like twigs and bones are sticking out…trying to hang on. Please someone help. Thank you
Leiana was interviewed in our Podcast Series. Listen here
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November 3, 2019
MaryO
Adrenal Insufficiency, Growth Hormone Deficiency, MaryO, Other Diagnosis, Pituitary, Pituitary Surgery, Success Stories, Treatments, Update
Adrenal insufficiency, blackberries, circus, Cortef, cortisone, cortisone shot, Cushing's Help and Support boards, cushing's syndrome, Dr. Ed Oldfield, endocrinologist, Giving Thanks, growth hormone, Harvey Cushing, Kenalog, Kidney cancer, knee issues, lymph nodes, message board, National Institutes of Health, nephrectomy, neurosurgeon, NIH, pituitary, pituitary surgery, Prednisone, remission, Renal cell carcinoma, Ringling Brothers, success, Thankful
Today is the 32nd anniversary of my pituitary surgery at NIH.
As one can imagine, it hasn’t been all happiness and light. Most of my journey has been documented here and on the message boards – and elsewhere around the web.
My Cushing’s has been in remission for most of these 31 years. Due to scarring from my pituitary surgery, I developed adrenal insufficiency.
I took growth hormone for a while.
When I got kidney cancer, I had to stop the GH, even though no doctor would admit to any connection between the two.
Last year I went back on it (Omnitrope this time) in late June. Hooray! I still don’t know if it’s going to work but I have high hopes. I am posting some of how that’s going here.
During nephrectomy, doctors removed my left kidney, my adrenal gland, and some lymph nodes. Thankfully, the cancer was contained – but my adrenal insufficiency is even more severe than it was.
In the last couple years, I’ve developed ongoing knee issues. Because of my cortisol use to keep the AI at bay, my endocrinologist doesn’t want me to get a cortisone injection in my knee. September 12, 2018 I did get that knee injection (Kenalog) and it’s been one of the best things I ever did. I didn’t look forward to telling my endo! I have had a couple more injections.
I also developed an allergy to blackberries in October and had to take Prednisone – and I had to tell my endo that, too!
My mom has moved in with us, bring some challenges…
But, this is a post about Giving Thanks. The series will be continued on this blog unless I give thanks about something else Cushing’s related 🙂
I am so thankful that in 1987 the NIH existed and that my endo knew enough to send me there.
I am thankful for Dr. Ed Oldfield, my pituitary neurosurgeon at NIH. Unfortunately, Dr. Oldfield died.
I’m thankful for Dr. Harvey Cushing and all the work he did. Otherwise, I might be the fat lady in Ringling Brothers now.
To be continued in the following days here at http://www.maryo.co/
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November 3, 2018
MaryO
Adrenal Insufficiency, Growth Hormone Deficiency, MaryO, Other Diagnosis, Pituitary, Pituitary Surgery, Success Stories, Treatments, Update
Adrenal insufficiency, blackberries, circus, Cortef, cortisone, cortisone shot, Cushing's Help and Support boards, cushing's syndrome, Dr. Ed Oldfield, endocrinologist, Giving Thanks, growth hormone, Harvey Cushing, Kenalog, Kidney cancer, knee issues, lymph nodes, message board, National Institutes of Health, nephrectomy, neurosurgeon, NIH, pituitary, pituitary surgery, Prednisone, remission, Renal cell carcinoma, Ringling Brothers, success, Thankful
Today is the 31st anniversary of my pituitary surgery at NIH.
As one can imagine, it hasn’t been all happiness and light. Most of my journey has been documented here and on the message boards – and elsewhere around the web.
My Cushing’s has been in remission for most of these 31 years. Due to scarring from my pituitary surgery, I developed adrenal insufficiency.
I took growth hormone for a while.
When I got kidney cancer, I had to stop the GH, even though no doctor would admit to any connection between the two.
Last year I went back on it (Omnitrope this time) in late June. Hooray! I still don’t know if it’s going to work but I have high hopes. I am posting some of how that’s going here.
During nephrectomy, doctors removed my left kidney, my adrenal gland, and some lymph nodes. Thankfully, the cancer was contained – but my adrenal insufficiency is even more severe than it was.
In the last couple years, I’ve developed ongoing knee issues. Because of my cortisol use to keep the AI at bay, my endocrinologist doesn’t want me to get a cortisone injection in my knee. September 12, 2018 I did get that knee injection (Kenalog) and it’s been one of the best things I ever did. I’m not looking forward to telling my endo!
I also developed an allergy to blackberries in October and had to take Prednisone – and I’ll have to tell my endo that, too!
My mom has moved in with us, bring some challenges…
But, this is a post about Giving Thanks. The series will be continued on this blog unless I give thanks about something else Cushing’s related 🙂
I am so thankful that in 1987 the NIH existed and that my endo knew enough to send me there.
I am thankful for Dr. Ed Oldfield, my pituitary neurosurgeon at NIH. Unfortunately, Dr. Oldfield died in the last year.
I’m thankful for Dr. Harvey Cushing and all the work he did. Otherwise, I might be the fat lady in Ringling Brothers now.
To be continued in the following days here at http://www.maryo.co/
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November 3, 2017
MaryO
Adrenal Insufficiency, Growth Hormone Deficiency, MaryO, Other Diagnosis, Pituitary, Pituitary Surgery, Success Stories, Treatments
Adrenal insufficiency, circus, Cortef, cortisone, Cushing's Help and Support boards, cushing's syndrome, Dr. Ed Oldfield, endocrinologist, Giving Thanks, growth hormone, Harvey Cushing, Kidney cancer, knee issues, lymph nodes, message board, National Institutes of Health, neurosurgeon, NIH, pituitary, pituitary surgery, remission, Renal cell carcinoma, Ringling Brothers, success
Today is the 30th anniversary of my pituitary surgery at NIH.
As one can imagine, it hasn’t been all happiness and light. Most of my journey has been documented here and on the message boards – and elsewhere around the web.
My Cushing’s has been in remission for most of these 30 years. Due to scarring from my pituitary surgery, I developed adrenal insufficiency.
I took growth hormone for a while.
When I got kidney cancer, I had to stop the GH, even though no doctor would admit to any connection between the two. Even when I got to 10 years NED (no evidence of disease) from cancer, I couldn’t go back on the GH.
However, this year I went back on it (Omnitrope this time) in late June. Hooray! I still don’t know if it’s going to work but I have high hopes. I am posting some of how that’s going here.
During that surgery, doctors removed my left kidney, my adrenal gland, and some lymph nodes. Thankfully, the cancer was contained – but my adrenal insufficiency is even more severe than it was.
In the last couple years, I’ve developed ongoing knee issues. Because of my cortisol use to keep the AI at bay, my endocrinologist doesn’t want me to get a cortisone injection in my knee.
My mom has moved in with us, bring some challenges…
But, this is a post about Giving Thanks. The series will be continued on this blog unless I give thanks about something else Cushing’s related 🙂
I am so thankful that in 1987 the NIH existed and that my endo knew enough to send me there.
I am thankful for Dr. Ed Oldfield, my pituitary neurosurgeon at NIH. Unfortunately, Dr. Oldfield died a couple months ago.
I’m thankful for Dr. Harvey Cushing and all the work he did. Otherwise, I might be the fat lady in Ringling Brothers now.
To be continued in the following days here at http://www.maryo.co/
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November 3, 2016
MaryO
Adrenal Insufficiency, Cancer, MaryO, Other Diagnosis, Pituitary, Pituitary Surgery, Success Stories, Treatments
Adrenal insufficiency, circus, Cortef, cortisone, Cushing's Help and Support boards, cushing's syndrome, Dr. Ed Oldfield, endocrinologist, Giving Thanks, growth hormone, Harvey Cushing, Kidney cancer, knee issues, lymph nodes, message board, National Institutes of Health, neurosurgeon, NIH, pituitary, pituitary surgery, remission, Renal cell carcinoma, Ringling Brothers, success
Today is the 29th anniversary of my pituitary surgery at NIH.
As one can imagine, it hasn’t been all happiness and light. Most of my journey has been documented here and on the message boards – and elsewhere around the web.
My Cushing’s has been in remission for most of these 29 years. Due to scarring from my pituitary surgery, I developed adrenal insufficiency.
I took growth hormone for a while.
When I got kidney cancer, I had to stop the GH, even though no doctor would admit to any connection between the two. Even though I’m now 10 years NED (no evidence of disease) from cancer, I still can’t go back on the GH.
During that surgery, doctors removed my left kidney, my adrenal gland, and some lymph nodes. Thankfully, the cancer was contained – but my adrenal insufficiency is even more severe than it was.
In the last year, I’ve developed ongoing knee issues. Because of my Cortef use to keep the AI at bay, my endocrinologist doesn’t want me to get a cortisone injection in my knee.
My mom has moved in with us, bring some challenges…
But, this is a post about Giving Thanks. The series will be continued on another blog unless I give thanks about something else Cushing’s related 🙂
I am so thankful that in 1987 the NIH existed and that my endo knew enough to send me there.
I am thankful for Dr. Ed Oldfield, my pituitary neurosurgeon at NIH.
I’m thankful for Dr. Harvey Cushing and all the work he did. Otherwise, I might be the fat lady in Ringling Brothers now.
To be continued in the following days at http://www.maryo.co/
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