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P. Hyde, Undiagnosed Bio

March 14, 2021

MaryO Cyclic, Male, Other Diagnosis, Prolactinoma, Undiagnosed , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

48 years old. Male. Had prolactinoma pituitary tumor in 2000, it enfarked. 7x8mm. On testosterone replacement since as it destroyed my bodiea ability to produce testosorone.

Started what appeared to be a battle with Cushing’s symptoms fforin 2012. Shown all symptoms of episodic Cushings. Finally ain 2018 a new 4mm mass appeared on my pituitary midline and is growing.

However I have only been able to get just one positive saliva night time cortesol test so no one will look at Cushing’s. I am taking 1.5 mg of Klonkpan daily and think it may suppress the cortesone and squew the labs especially the suppression test. At this point I can feel the cortisol Jump in the evening. The only thing that stops the terrible sick feeling is my scheduled dose of Klonipan.

I started a seveir crash in March or 2020. Hematacrits started rising uncontrolably and made it to 62 percent by August of 2020. Blood pressure is not controllable when episodic. By August made it to 190 over 120. Had a cardiac Event in September 2020 from all the symptoms. And had Gained 26lbs in 4 months. Fatigue and foggy thinking so bad I can hardly function when episodic. Episodic now most of the time. Can hardly work and body is done by 3 PM every day.

Each time I have a dextramazone suppression test I get a 3 to 4 day respit like the ACTH is reset and I feel normal and symptom free. My blood pressure returns to 130/80 and my life seams to be ready to go back together. This all from 1 MG of Dextramathasone one evening then I get 3 or 4 days if life back. One half a pill. No one can tell me if the Klonipan will produce false negatives and have not asked me to adjust.

My sleep cycle is from 11 PM to wake at 4 AM sick as a dog most days. The Serum cortisol levels they will not take until 8.00 A M. I am always feeling better by 8 A M. They will not adjust the time they take the suppressed serum sample and my result is always .8. They say if not over 5.0 they won’t consider surgery or treatment I’d any kind. My ejection fraction rate from my heart is now at 30%.(should be at 75% for a regular person my age) two more points down and I qualify for a heart transplant.

This is crazy. No one can figure out what is causing any of this but every symptom points to cushing’s. ESPECIALLY the symptoms all becoming acute when the Tumor appeared on the MRI.  I have been tested for virtually every illness known to man. My endocrinologist still believes it could be episodal Cushing’s and is supporting the tests. But no treatment. I am dying. I will surely be dead within one more year as they won’t provide a heart transplant unless they know the cause of the reduced ejection rate. So they throw drugs as me over and over and all the beta blockers and channel blockers almost kill me because I go off episode and my BP drops to 90/40.

But Without 3 positive Cortisol tests they won’t consider Cushing’s as even a possibility. Have been to every specialist you can see. Had every part of my body scanned. I am dying. My boys have not had their father in years now. My business has been hobbled as I am the CEO. Hiding my illness from competitors and over zealous vendors is harder than anything. Now I am finally losing all my best people because the promises I will be back to my old selve again no longer seam real when I am just fighting to stay alive.

One doctor claims it’s all sleep apnea. The sleep studies show MILD sleep apnea.  And they only showed that after the most current wild events and weight gain. Help. Please help. People need me. I am not afraid to die. But people need me. I serve so many roles and what I do helps thousands of people . I can’t be done providing in this life. I want to be a real Dad again. I am a shell of a man and dying. All the doctors tell us “when you find out what is wrong with you comeback and tell us so we can shift our treatment.” They have all given up on me.

Please someone Help. . Klonipan question is the biggest one now. Money is no object. I will give up everything and anything to have these years with my family. Even just a month of being myself before I have to go. Mayo clinic won’t take me because I don’t have the positive Cortisol x3.

 

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LaDawn (NanaX3), Adrenal/Prolactinoma bio

June 10, 2016

MaryO Adrenal, Adrenal Insufficiency, Golden Oldies, Other Diagnosis, Pituitary, Prolactinoma , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

golden-oldie

 

I am a 54 old wife, mother and grandmother.

I have been terribly ill for 17 months with adrenal insufficiency and a prolactinoma. I do not know yet if it is a nonfunctioning tumor or not, but I suspect so since I do not have any of the Prolactin symptoms. I will be evalutated soon for that.

I have gone the whole nine yards at Vanderbilt University Medical Ctr in Nashville recently. This is after 17 months of hell and seeing doctor after doctor. No one would listen to me.

Last July I think I was actually dying and was probably in adrenal crisis. I had hypertension and hypotension epsisodes with two ER visits with extremely high blood pressure and stroke symptoms. I was seen by many doctors who were all headed in the wrong direction. I was basically told it was female problems, stress, menopausal, etc. etc….you know the routine..many have the same story.

However..mine has a twist. I was so desperate for help I went to see a Mennonite Naturopathic healer in Kentucky. His name was well known of helping so many people. He not only seen his Mennonite Clan but also saw many “English” as we are called. He does Iris Iridology. This is a very old time practice that is about faded away. It takes years to learn and I suggest if you go to one make sure they have done it for years.

He looked into my iris with a small eye magnifying glass. He told me all the problems that I have been diagnosed for years, Fibromyalgia, IBS, Sleep Apnea, Insomnia, hypertension, hypotension, digestive disorders, and early pancreatitis. Now this was different than the doctors as my sister told me NOT to tell him any symptoms at all, much unlike the conventional doctors who heard all my symptoms. Then he really shocked me when he told me I had adrenal problems and something wrong with my pituitiary!!!!! He gave me natural medicines that helped some but I knew it was not the final ending to this problem.

I went back to my FP at the time and told him my horrible symptoms of flushing, anxiousness, nausea, dizziness, digestive problems, inflammatory pain etc, etc. He finally checked my norepenephrine levels were 624! He then did a MRI of my adrenal glands…..negative.

But then he went back into the service and left me holding the bag…no referral no recommendations. I was ticked. I had to search for a new FP on my own. Finally I found a FP in my own county that everyone said loved a challenge. He thought I had a carcinoid tumor or an adrenal tumor.

After blood tests showed several things he sent me to Vanderbilt. After my first appt. they tought the same thing. However tests revealed that my cortisol was lower than a 1. Barely registering. No wonder I was so ill. They did a MRI of my pituitary and found a 6 mm tumor..suspected to be a Prolactinoma.

So the Mennonite man was batting100%, conventional doctors 0%. Well, I know I still need conventional doctors so I can’t beat them up too much.

However…why is it so hard to get doctors to listen…even my regular Endo missed all this last fall even though he suspected orthostatic hypotention? Men doctors are horrible, particularly for not listening to women and labeling them hysterical depressive menopausal ninnies!

Would love to hear from others please about their experiences too? Meds or surgery for Prolactinoma…what worked for you?

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Dee (DeeO), pituitary (prolactinoma) bio

May 9, 2016

MaryO Golden Oldies, Other Diagnosis, Pituitary, Prolactinoma , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

golden-oldie

 

My daughter is 19 years old.

about 4 years ago her periods stopped…looking for a possible cause blood work was taken and she had significant rise in prolactin levels.

An MRI was taken and a prolactinoma of 2mm was found on her pituritary gland.

A few months later she fell pregnant and had a beautiful healthy baby boy…..After the pregnancy prolactin levels were still high but an MRI showed that the tumor had gone ???

Since then (about 15 months) my daughter has gained about 30 kilos, tired all the time hump on her back (neck) a much more rounded face, and her periods have returned but they are never on time. She has also been treated for what they believe was postpartum depression.

Does anyone know if a tumor can just disappear? And what test would you ask for now?

After reading this web site I cant believve that her endo hasnt checked her for cushings.

Thankyou Dee

(MaryO note: Although Dee asks several questions, she didn’t give permission for a link to her email address to be added to her bio)

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Lisa (Lisa), Pituitary Bio

April 29, 2013

MaryO Pituitary, Pituitary Surgery, Prolactinoma, Treatments , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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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