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Vicky (Vicjy), Adrenal Bio

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Hi. For the last couple of years I have had different symptoms. I’m 45 and feel like I’m 70. I think it started about 3 years ago. I would break or fracture something and it would take forever to heal. I gained over 60 lbs. I’m always tired yet don’t sleep well. I look like I’m 9 months pregnant but skinny arms and legs. Stretch marks on body. Round red Face that constantly feels hot. My back has a hump and my neck has fat pads. Finally, prehypertension. I also have intense itching especially in a soecific area. Oh, let’s not forget anxiety and focus issues. .

I had enough. About 7 months ago I began going from doctor to doctor. Every test came back fine and they dismissed me. Finally, I went to an endo. She tested me for Cushings. I gad 5 tests and all came back positive. All this took time but I tried to be patient. I know this is horrible but I was actually happy to finally have an answer to my issues. I then had a CT scan and found an afonona in my left adrenal gland.

I had surgery a week ago today. I’ve heard so many different stories of figuring out if they have cushings but little about their recovery. I’m hoping to hear people’s recovery stories. I’m actually much better than I thought I’d be. I’m weak, still some pain at surgical sight, out of breath, and very emotional. Also, hard to do an intellectual activity before feeling overwhelmed.

Can you all share your journey? I’m taking 40 mg of hydrocortisone a day. I was wondering if anyone had itchiness as a symptom. Doctors have told me that they haven’t heard of that as a symptom of cushings. It is horrible with me and am hoping it will go away with this surgery. I feel like it has gotten better.

Looking forward to hearing about some recovery stories and feel free to ask me anything to help other understand what they are going through.

 

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Denise (Jeff’s Mom), Undiagnosed Bio

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My son is almost 16 years old and so sick he hardly gets out of bed anymore.  Although no Dr.s believes me I do believe he has Cushings and the Dr.s can not give me any other idea’s of what is wrong with him only that he needs to lose weight and exercise more.  My son is so tired of hearing this that at his last appointment with a specialist at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia he left in tears and wants to know why no one is helping him.  He is to the point where he doesn’t even want to go to the Dr.s anymore, he thinks it’s pointless.  He has only had one 24hr Urine test which came back normal and an cortisol & ACTH test taken at 5pm and these were also within range.  I am going to guess maybe things started at the age of 9 or 10 and progressively gotten worse.

His symptoms are as follows and the explained away answers from the Dr.s –

1. Headaches all day everyday – sometimes severe, sometimes just there and no amount of advil seems to take it away completely – Dr.s probably puberty and since he is a big kid take up to 4-advil every 4 hours.
2. Buffalo Hump – we brought him to the Dr. about 2-3yrs ago for this odd hump on the back of his neck – Dr.s it’s just a fat deposit – he just deposits fat in odd places
3. Red to purple stretch marks that fade and get brighter but never go away completely – they appear in masses on his sides, back, shoulders and stomach – Dr.s response although his stretch marks are quite impressive they are typical of what you would see in cushings they are not purple enough or wide enough.
4. Severe pain in back and knee (sometimes elbows) – he can’t even take a simple trip to the stores as it is to much for him to walk around – his is 15yrs old and is now asking me to get him a cane to help him get around.  Dr.s response to the pain – must be growing pains (my son is 6’1″ and I was just told he is pretty much done growing)
5. He does not sleep at night, says can’t fall to sleep no matter how hard he tries and when he finally does fall asleep in the morning early hours he will sleep most of the day, then wake up still feeling tired.  He told me it’s like his mind sleeps but his body doesn’t feel rested at all.  Dr.s said he needs to stop video games and t.v. to hours before bed – these types of things stimulate the mind thats why he can’t sleep.
When the Dr.s were told the rest, they really didn’t say anything at all – below are the rest of his symptoms:
6.  He is starving at night – he says he has to eat he is so hungry
7. Having a hard time remembering things and getting progressively worse
8. Losing his grip – he can barely right his name – when I ask him to squeeze my hand it hardly even hurts me now and he says when he tries to squeeze hard he gets this odd sensation up his arm and it feels really off .
9. Has a hard time sitting for an extended amount of time – this has caused him to miss the last 6 weeks of school – his says the pain in his back and sides are just to much to handle when trying to sit.
10. He has had numerous skin aliments, mouth sores
11. Always thirsty
12. Acanthosis Nigricans – back of neck, under arms, elbows
13. never a sick child until recently – strep throat, mono (which I was first told he didn’t have), normal colds now last for weeks with him where he never even got colds before.
14. slow healing of cuts and he scars horribly

I am sure there are other things but these are the first to come to the top of my head.  His biggest complaint is the memory loss, lack of sleep and pain.  I am scared for my son and do not understand how this is acceptable for anyone let alone a 15yr old.  I am watching him get worse and watching his precious teenage years just pass right by him.

Contact Denise here.

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Sarah’s 14-year-old Son

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Fourteen-year-old son, who increasingly exhibits more and more signs of Cushings:

has had frequent illnesses: viruses, strep, pneumonia (two times) , & mono  x’s 6+ years

has had progressively worsening difficulty with learning “fuzzy thinking” and huge memory deficits x’s 4+ years

has had progressively worsening difficulty with emotional control x’s 4+ years

has had progressively increased fatigue  x’s 4+ years

has had progressively increasing central weight gain x’s 4 years

has had puffy eyes x’s 4 years

has had progressively slowed healing of insect bites and wounds on skin x’s 4+ years

has had easily bruised skin and acne x’s 4+ years

has had progressively worsening feelings of depression x’s 3+ years

has had progressively worsening feelings of anxiety with daily activities of life x’s 3+ years

has had stretch marks that faded from purple to flesh colored for 2+ years

has precocious puberty

has advanced bone age

has high testosterone levels

has been labeled as pre-diabetic

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