A Golden Oldie

Sylvia submitted two versions of her bio:

1)

Hi , my name is Sylvia. I’m a 36 years old mother of two.

I am not one to go to doctors. Usually I go about every 4 or 5 years. I last went to a doctor in 2008 and had a battery of test. To this day the only dx i got was anemia. I had lab,ct,mri,lumbar puncture, and other tests with no answers.

Recently I went to an urgent care due to feeling bad. Thought i had a kidney infection. Had trouble urinating, feet swelled up, and burning in my sides. They told me I had high blood pressure no kidney infection. Also my lab came back high whiteblood count. I’ve never had high bp but elevated white blood counts for several years. Every time I have lab its high. They had me repeat the lab 2 days later and it was higher. So then i did a 24 hr urine test and my creatine level was high.

So they sent me to a kidney specialist now he is  wanting to rule out cushings. I had never even heard of it before, I went today for a renal ultrasound and in 3 weeks i will do a 24 hr urine cortisol test. Then i will see him the next week.  so 1 month till I hear anything.

Let me just give you my history of symptoms:  elevated white blood counts when i have no cold or infection  recent high blood pressure  swelling in feet, legs, face, and hands gained 50lbs this year  have battled weight for years unable to lose more than 30lbs ever and that is with extreme diet and excerise  mood swings very irratable depressed extreme anxiety  sleep deprivation  can go for days without sleep never really noticed the hump on the back of my neck as abnormal thought i was just fat and that was part of it but reading about cushings makes me wonder if its a symptom.

I haven’t been dx with cushings yet but all signs point to it. I feel weird saying this because i don’t want this but for years i’ve not had an answer and in a weird way it would be a relief to know why i always feel bad, fatigued, no energy. I’ve always just said well its because of the weight. Obese people don’t have energy. But now It’s affecting my whole life.I can’t do things with my kids or be close with my husband who i love to peices. I just want an answer so i can be better.  sorry thisis so long but its a decade of issues and hard to get it all out .

thanks for reading my story.

~~

2)

My name is Sylvia i’m 36 married for 17 yrs with 2 great kids.

I’ve never been one to go to the doctor.I have to be about dead to go. I haven’t seen a dr. since 2008.

Last month i started having some kidney problems and decided to go to a urgent care clinic thinking it was probably a kidney infection. I had went on a trip over the labor day holiday and went about 8 hrs from where we live.

i have noticed when i ride for a long time or walk long distances my whole body would swell up. by the time we got home my feet were 3 times the size and i couldn’t pee. so the urgent care did test i didn’t have a kidney infection but my bp was high and whiteblood count high also.

i have had a high white count for years and nobody could ever figure it out other than anemia. two days later the dr called me to repeat the lab and the whitecount was even higher. i also had a 24hr urine test that came back abnormal high creatine level. so they referred me to a blood specialist and kidney dr. went to the blood dr. first which i had already seen in 2008 for the anemia, they said i was ok probably just a person who runs a high whitecount naturally. so that didn’t help me. but i did ask for them to order a mamogram and found a nodule so i go for a biopsy next week. so maybe it was a higher plan to go there. hoping for a good result.

then i went to the kidney specialist and he is the one who brought up cushings. i had never heard of it before. and at the time i was so overwhelmed that i didn’t even ask any questions went today for a renal ultrasound and in three weeks i redo the 24hr urine to check the cortisol levels. i didn’t know about cushings till i got on here.

i have just about all the symptoms. i’ve gained about 50lbs this year and have been under an extreme amount of stress. had a family tradgedy and figured all the anxiety and depression was from that but i’ve had bouts of depression in the past. i also have swelling in my hands feet legs and stomach. headaches, joint pain, recent high bp, mood swings, irriatability, no sex drive, panic attacks and severe fatigue. and i never noticed the hump on the back of my neck as abnormal till i read about it. i thought it was from the extra weight. i have gotten up to 315lbs. i can’t find clothes to fit anymore and my stomach makes me look pregnant. my self esteem is low and i’ve always been very social and now i don’t want to be around people at all.

i’m really hoping i can find out whats wrong with me. i just thought i was obese and fat people don’t have energy so they feel bad. i don’t want to have cushings but i’ve felt bad for so long it would almost be a relief to just get diagnosed so i wouldn’t feel like it’s all in my head.

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