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Vicki (Pugmom), Steroid-Induced Cushing’s

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steroids

 

I am a recent transplant to San Diego and I am looking for a Cushings support group. I acquired adrenal insufficiency and Cushings about 3 years ago. I was given large amounts of steroids for numerous sinus infections, pneumonia, and bronchitis. I am 61.

I am trying to find an on-line or actual support group for Cushings folks or adrenal insufficiency. The last 3 years have been full of illness, numerous hospital stays, and a lonely road. I am tired of living alone with this health issue and would be happy to share my story with a group or others who have walked in similar shoes.

I take 25mg of hydrocortisone daily to maintain my current health status. I will check the message board for others like me and hopefully I can connect either in person or on-line with a group, I find that living with this health issue to be frustrating and at times depressing. I am trying to overcome being the disease rather than just a person who has Cushings. At times I just feel crummy for no other reason than my system is out of whack. I hope that I can find a group to be a part of and to hear their issues and offer any help I can from my experience. I am in the process of getting a medical team of doctors and see an endocrinologist in December.

This disease has had me on a roller coaster for 3 years. I don’t plan a lot of things ahead of the event since I never know how I will feel the next day. I am hoping there is someone else who has dealth with Cushings and what medications they are taking to make the disease manageable.
Thank you for reading this and offering any advice on locating a group with like health issues.

Vicki added a second version of her bio:

I have been living with adrenal insufficiency with a diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome. I was diagnosed in 2012 and was told that I received this condition from having been given large amounts of prednisone for pneumonia, bronchitis, and sinus infections. I have no issues with my pituitary gland but I still demonstrate the same symptoms as someone with an official diagnosis of Cushing’s and live with taking steroids. I have the buffalo hump, the sweats, feel tired all the time, problems sleeping, moon face and weight gain as well as other symptoms. I have just moved to San Diego from Houston to be closer to our family. I am trying to find a group with the same type diagnosis or a group that I can be involved with to talk with. I realize that this condition is very rare and I am looking to be a part of a group where I can discuss the issues related with living with the diagnosis. I am very glad to have found this website where I am hopeful that there are others like me who also are looking for a group to discuss their issues.

It all started with a fainting episode in 2011. I broke my foot when I fell and saw a doctor the next day. I had been feeling so tired and sweating so much as well as having had the hump come up on my back a few years prior, which my doctor in Indiana didn’t think was anything but a dowager’s hump that could have been genetic.

I then became ill in 2012 with pneumonia and was hospitalized several times due to relapses of pneumonia and uti’s that put me in the hospital. I was having so much pneumonia and bronchitis on top of this other issues and was not getting any diagnosis other than adrenal insufficiency. in 2014 I had been hospitalized every month with one infection or another. My husband and I finally determined we were going to relocate to Houston, TX to see the doctors there. I was already on 40mg of hydrocortisone daily and still felt bad. I was almost gone on two different visits to the ER in Indiana and found myself on the floor unable to get up on one instance. I was on the floor unable to pull myself up for 7 hours in the dead of winter until my husband came home. I had renal failure and was not really expected to make it but I did. After a winter of these problems we decided that cutting off the hump on my back, as discussed by one doctor, was not the issue and we made plans to relocate to Houston in 2014.

I had a great team of doctors there and was diagnoised with Congestive Heart Failure, glaucoma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, GERD, fibromyalgia, connective tissue disease, osteoparsis, adrenal insufficiency, and cushing’s syndrome.

I was in the hosptial with one infection or another for 1.5 years due to pneumonia that was caused by aspiration into my lungs. I had surgery, Heiller Myotomy in July 2015 and from that point the pneumonia has stopped. Thank God.

Since that time, we relocated to California to be nearer to our daughter and her husband and I have not had to deal with the pneumonia but till deal with the adrenal insufficiency and the Cushing’s syndrome.

Maybe someone has been though some of these same issues and would like to talk about what they are experiencing. I am willing to share my experiences also.

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Maired (pogmohon), Undiagnosed Bio

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hello Iam so glad to have found this site

I am only starting out on my journey and now I wont feel so alone  I am 56 married for 39 years with 3 children and 4 grandchildren I have not being well for 15 years Iam being treated for arthritis at the moment but Iam not sure any more about this.

I have alot of the symtoms of cushings which I was putting down to arthritis and side effects of meds till i got hump and my doctor send me to endo  look forward to getting to know people and therestories thanks to mary o and evebody involved in  setting up the site

Desirae (Desirae805), Undiagnosed Bio

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I am a 24 year old newly graduated registered nurse (dec 2011). Who is currently undergoing testing to confirm or r/o cyclic cushings at UCLA.

I have always struggled with my weight and self esteem and I finally had enough in april when I went to see an endo to see what was going on I mean how could I not be losing weight netting 1100-1200 calories aday and doing spin class and 5k walks! I have done every diet known to man and ws even anorexic for a while.

I had elevated urine test at UFC of 69.7, not high enough to confirm cushing but is very suspect because of my s/s. I have round, face, abd obesity (most people think I am pregnant), stria, hair loss, fatigue, anxiety, tachycardia, muscle cramps (low potassium), buffalo hump, and so on and so on. I am so frustrated I just want to cry all the time, I just want to know what is wrong.

Curently I am to see my doctor in 6 weeks and have 10 24 urines and 12 salivary cortisols to do. I am a nurse and doing a 24 urine at work is hard. I am supposed to get married next year and I want to feel beautiful not sick, not tired, not neck pain, and not heavy.

I am tired of hearing you probably don’t have that it’s rare when obviously something is going on. AND I HATE hearing your YOUNG you can lose weight when ever you want.

Kristina, Undiagnosed Bio

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Hello everyone, My name is Kristina and i am 21 years old.I am so happy that i found this site because there are so little information about Cushing’s, especially real people stories. If not internet or tv i still wouldn’t know what is happening with me for a quite long time.

Hm i don’t know where to start, as a kid i always was very thin, and everything started changing when i was 11 or 12 years old i started to gain more and more weight, and after few years was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, i took medicine and lost my weight , but when i was 15 everything started changing again but much worse, i was always hyperactive, happy, enthusiastic, always got best grades and ect… i was always depressed, always asleep, feeling dizzy, everyday felt exhaustion, i even started missing schoool , didn’t even went where because i didn’t had energy to get up from bed and get dressed, and also with +66lbs i really didn’t wanted to show my face anywhere. And everyday everything get worse and worse, because of all this lack of energy and motivation i quit law studies, and then other studies, i don;t have energy to do simple house chores, my muscles always hurts, my head everyday hurts, i can’t sleep, i still get on weight every week almost, i have 800 kcal diet, and do some exercises, and weight still puts on… my hair is so ugly, my skin is very dry i got eczema that my skin doctor can’t cure, i broke my kneecap with very light impact i have many many other problems, and when i saw this on house md and mystery diagnosis i started my reseach on internet and library, i took very hard road that my endro would write prescriptions for all blood tests and MRT and now i am waiting for results and am very be anxious and have still many many questions.

I know that all cases are different but maybe someone could share, if after treatment or surgery, how hard is to loose weight, and not feel tired all the time? what to expect?