I am here because I believe my 26 year old daughter has cushings.
She went through puberty late, just as it started she had a strange episode where she couldn’t speak, walk and was confused. I took her to the ER, the ran different tests and sent us joke with b vitamins? Since that time (11 years ago) her behaviour has been bazaar, she had put on about 6 stone.
After the birth of her child 3 years ago she had gone a lot worse. Aggressive, numbness in both legs, depression, tingling in fingers, ties and around mouth, exhaustion, insomnia and the buffallo hump which she has had for years. I thought at first she had pernicious anemia but her b12 level is ok.
The haematologist is asking out gp to run tests he mentioned cortisol, I looked it up and couldn’t believe she has exactly the same symptoms, she has constant headaches and her legs are also covered in bruises because when she does eventually go to sleep she wakes up in another part of the house due to sleep walking.
She has just been given anti depressants and sleeping tablets which she does not take. I requested her medical records and went through them found out that she had lesions in her frontal lobe 11 years ago when they ran the tests. I also discovered that she had normal low TSH and very low t4 which points to the pituitary gland
Some days she feels ‘ok’ which is very rare. Most of the time she is suicidal and stressed. I’m waiting for her to be called for her cortisol tests, I just hope they are done at a time that she is going through her cycle.
Hi. I am a 40 year old female who has been feeling “not quite right” for almost 10 years. I have been tested on and off for many different things and have been diagnosed with Epstein Barr, Adrenal fatigue, and h.pylori during these years. I continually have vitamin D deficiency issues. I have a rash on my lower legs that never really heals even with the most powerful of steroid creams.
This year, I started feeling worse than usual. I have zero energy and my brain is in a perpetual fog. My muscles and body ache, my face is round, and I have gained 40+ lbs over the years. There are days that I physically cannot get out of bed. I have fainting spells and a racing heartbeat at times. I crave carbs and salt. There is not enough water in the world to drink and I have to run to the bathroom frequently. No matter how hard I try the weight will not come off. When I get massages my therapist tells me that my adrenal glands are swollen and I feel very nauseous every time she runs her hands over that spot.
I was an avid equestrian- 3 day eventer. I was riding and showing no less than 3 times a week. I was getting fit. Now I am just a useless blob that can’t do anything. I have been pushing to go to the barn to just groom and be with my horse as much as I can.
My doctor found that I have an unusually high blood cell count a couple of months ago. I was sent to a hematologist to find out why. We did so many tests I quit counting. The conclusion was that I am not sick enough to be sick. So many tests were coming back normal or high normal. No lupus, no leukemia, no answers. I finally asked about Cushing’s because I have a majority of the symptoms listed. My doctor was skeptical, but agreed to let me do a 24 hour urine test. It came back high. This has allowed me to move to an endocrinologist. I also have high levels of reverse T3.
So far I feel like a complete lab rat. I have now done 2 salivary Cortisol tests and have another urine test this week. One of the 2 saliva tests came back very high. My doctor said we have to do yet another saliva test to test the last results. After all of this we will do a dex suppression test.
At this point I am very depressed that I am unable to live my life. Riding is not an option because I just get “floppy” and risk falling off. I was studying to get my vet tech license, but the brain fog prevents me from remembering anything I read.
I am so lucky to have a doctor that believes my symptoms are real. She does not gloss over the fact that it may take a long to diagnose what is going on, but she wants answers as much as I do. For now, I am just a good lab rat.
I’m so tired I think about giving up on finding out why I’m so sick. I’m just so tired. But I won’t give up I believe these symptoms are at their beginning stages of cushings.. I want this taken care of before it becomes heart related… I have been seeing an oncologist/hemotolgist/internist..He said because I have the supraclavicular fat pads usually a sign of too much cortisol and a 1.5 cm adrenal adenoma that sometimes releases too much cortisol into the blood that he is scheduling me with an endocrinologist and a rhematologist… there are many test involved to diagnose cushings syndrome. .. I pretty much have them all except the heart problem thank goodness… and no red marks.
I guess my first step is to see if the adrenal tumor is releasing cortisol. .. then we will see what happens. ..I almost convinced myself that I was a hypochondriac, but I still kept getting sick. I have seen numerous doctors ..The main symptoms that bother me are the supraclavicular pads…the adrenal tumor, the b12 deficiency anemia, the fatty liver, weight gain mainly in my tummy, the unexplained flank pain, glucose reading of a 100 in my urine (when there should be none). My alkaline phosphatase reading of 126…and blah. .
Sometimes I am so sick I end up in the ER, but get no answers. This last visit was horrible; I waited in the lobby 5 hours and asked my husband to tell them the pain was getting really bad.
My last ER visit was at Saint Mary’s on 6/4/2015. (I had a severe migraine, right side abdominal pain, aching left arm and leg, and upper back squeezing pain). The test St. Mary’s did are online and after reading them I was thinking should I be checked for Cushing Syndrome?
I have a 1.5 cm left side adrenal adenoma.
Unexplained right abdominal pain.
Fatty liver
Fat above the collar bone that seems to increase and decrease in size.
(Pictures of this)
Severe Fatigue
The worst migraines headaches ever; headaches are so bad it feels like I’m being hit by a hammer on one side of my head.
At least twice a month I get very nauseated and vomit
Red cheeks (Dr. Black observed this and thought it may be Lupus; that test was normal)
I cry more than I ever have.
Weight gain (mainly in my abdomen), I walk a mile every other night (even though it hurts so badly, like my bones will break) I have been eating healthier, but the weight gain keeps going up.
I have insect bites that take forever to heal
I bruise easily and have muscle pain
Many times it feels like my legs are going to break in half when I walk
Upper back ache constantly
My left arm and leg have this severe ache deep into my bone
Weak muscles in my shoulders
Used to have Periods that were irregular. (had an uterine ablation)
I wake up many times during the night very very thirsty
I have a b12 deficiency
I have had tremors for at least 10 years and have been taking primidone for a very long time.
My Alkaline phosphatase has been high on my last 3 cbc’s
I have a spot on my liver that I never got rechecked
Two months before my 31st birthday, I was diagnosed with diabetes. I was really shocked considering no other family member (maternal or paternal) had this disease.
Well, as the months followed, so did other diseases such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. Each diagnosis brought more shock because I felt great and could keep up with any 20 year old out there. Within the next two years I had gain 70 pounds and looked like an apple with popsicle sticks for legs. I also seemed to have more symptoms which seemed to be dismissed by the doctors because it was also a symptom of one of my other diseases.
In the past 8 1/2 years, I’ve had 3 doctors, 3 endocrinologists, a hemotologist, a nuerologist, and 2 cardiologists that just keep attaching my symptoms to one of the labels that has already been given to me. Now, at the age of 40, I feel like I have the body of an 80 y/o. I can hardly walk because of the clots in my legs (have 2 stints), can’t stand for long and bending just kills my back because of the crack in my L5 S1 vertebrae, and among other things, can’t seem to do anything because of the extreme fatigue I have. I have no doubt that I have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, clotting problems with my arteries, and everything else they want to label me with, but it seems to me that after only 8 1/2 years, my health shouldn’t have gone down hill so fast. I also take 16 pills a day because each doctor wants to give me a medication for each symptom.
For a few years, I’ve been searching the internet for an answer. I would spend hours and seem to hit a brick wall each time. Still, I wasn’t going to give up. No one gets so sick that quickly from any of the diseases I’ve been diagnosed with. Just the other day, I was watching Mystery Diagnosis . I don’t even remember what it was about, but it did prompt me to start my internet search again. I did something different this time. I didn’t research all of my “diseases”. I simply typed in the search field: “Do any diseases mimic diabetes”. Guess what popped up all over my screen. Yep, Cushing’s Disease. I went to article after article and website after website. I was amazed to find that many of my symptoms were linked to Cushing’s Disease. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. My “diseases” could actually be a symptom of a bigger disease which would explain a lot to me. Now I have another endo which I’ve made an appointment with (a month away, yuk) and I’m going to ask to be tested specifically for Cushing’s Disease.
Below I’ll list my symptoms.
Round “Moon” Face, Fat Lump on Back of Neck, Low Potassium, High Cholesterol, High Blood Pressure, High Blood Sugar, Glucose Intolerance, Insulin Resistant, Muscle Weakness, Fatigue, Anxiety, Irritability, Depression, Decreased Fertility, Decreased Libido, Acne-like Rash, Backaches, Excess Facial or Chin Hair, Slow Healing Cuts or Scratches, Large Abdomen, Insomnia, Irregular Periods, Edema, Scalp Hair Loss, Excess Sweating, Memory Problems, Dizziness, Low Growth Hormone.
I also have a chronically high platelet and white blood cell count. The Hematologist couldn’t even figure it out (Yes, cancer has been ruled out with a bone marrow biopsy). I’m not sure if that has anything to do with Cushing’s or not, but unfortunately I have that as well.
Sometimes we tend to forget that many doctors only spend 7-10 minutes a visit speaking with us and forget about us about 7-10 minutes after leaving the room, and they certainly don’t lay awake at night thinking of us. It is much easier for them to treat a symptom that has already been issued a label rather than find a bigger cause for it, so we sometimes have to take matters into our own hands and help ourselves.
I’m thankful to have found this sight. If I find out that I do not have Cushing’s, I will continue my search, but it is nice to know that I will find an answer someday.
I was diagnosed with Cushings in Feb 2011 at the age of 30, after 6 months of inconclusive testing to find out what was going on with me. Bone marrow biopsy, CT scans, MRI’s, urinalysis, bloodwork, you name it, it was done. The first symptom I noticed was my left foot swelling (edema) after a workout injury. The swelling remained long after it should have, and I thought I damaged my lymphatic system. A trip to the endocrinologist and a CT scan proved that untrue, but he did notice I had an enlarged spleen and a high red blood cell count. He didn’t seem to think that was a concern, but around that time I also began to experience a constant pain in my right flank. So I went to a gastroentrologist. Then a hemotologist, then a cardiologist, etc. My final diagnosis came after my hemotologist ran a urine sample and noticed a highish level of cortisol. She sent me back to my endocrinologist. Before I went, I started a heavy Google search for what high levels of cortisol could mean, and came across Cushing’s. I knew that was what I had. I had been diagnosed with a prolactinoma 4 years prior (which I had told every doctor I had seen) and no one made the connection. I demanded my endo test me. He didn’t want to, telling me that I hadn’t gained weight and that people who had Cushing’s were really sick. I demanded, and he gave me a supression pill to take the night before I came in for bloodwork. He called me with the results a couple of days later, accusing me of not taking the pill. Of course I took the pill, I said. He said that the pill hadn’t suppressed my levels as it should have, but he didn’t believe it, and wanted me to then do a 24hr cortisol urinalysis. I agreed, but also scheduled an appt with a neurosurgeon. The neurosurgeon had the same hesistation, but also did the 24hr test. A week later, the tests came back in. My cortisol levels were 8 times what they should have been. I definitely had Cushing’s.
I had transsphenoidal surgery a month and a half later. I spent a week in the hospital that can only be described as hell. My body crashed hard and every part of me ached. The next four months proved equally as challenging, my energy being non-existent and my replacement dosage being difficult to keep correct. But a year and four months later I’m very close to being off the replacement dosage, and feeling back to normal. Thank goodness for Cedars Sinai pituitary center for their attentiveness and care.
The biggest lesson I learned was to trust yourself. I did not gain weight when I was sick. I did begin to develop a moon face and a small tummy, but my weight remained constant. I was waking up at 3 in the morning every day, my blood pressure spiked, my muscles weakened, I bruised easily, I lost hair on my head, my skin became mottled and thin. I don’t know if the weight gain would have happened eventually or not, but I truly believe I wouldn’t have stayed alive long enough for that to happen… the change from healthy to sick happened so rapidly in my case that if it kept up I doubt I would have lived much longer that a year or so. I worry about recurrence every day, and have had numerous visits to the ER since surgery due to adrenal crisis, but at least I know what to do when that happens and can take care immediately. And as I’m sure most of you would agree, I treasure every healthy day.
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