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I am a 42-year-old white female, 5"4", 127lbs., married 21 years with one 17-yr. old son. After the birth of my son, I started noticing course hair growing on my stomach. When I started driving the bus, we were required to have a yearly physical. The first problem was blood in my urine. I was told this was normal for some people and it disappeared a few years later. In 1994 I was working a lot of hours and my periods started coming every two weeks. My blood pressure was getting higher and I was given birth control pills to regulate my periods. In 1995 my periods were less frequent, I broke out with shingles and had lots of yeast infections.
I served as Union President for the next two years. In November of 1995 I had sharp pains in my chest while driving the bus. My regular doctor checked me and sent me to an endocrinologist. He suspected early signs of Cushing's Syndrome even though the MRI, blood and urine tests came back inconclusive. I was given Provera to keep my periods regular. In February of 1998 a cyst was found on an ultrasound. Dr. Cavanaugh started the 24-hr urine collections, so many I lost count! A Cat Scan of adrenals in July of 1998 found a 6 cm tumor on the left adrenal.
I was experiencing muscle weakness, fatigue, thirst, thickening of my waist, and high blood pressure. My weight was at 135# and hard to maintain. Surgery was September 18, 1998. The tumor was too large for laser and had expanded to the kidneys. I was hospitalized for five days with lots of trouble adjusting to the prednisone. In October my cortisol was .4 (range is 3.0-23.0) November 1.9, December .5, March 1.4, July 9.1 and September, one year later 8.1. I am off all medications. I have noticed stiffness in my hips and legs, fingers and wrists. Allergies have also hit me hard.....a small price to pay for good health!! My periods are regular and started one month after surgery.
My family and husband have been very supportive. While being diagnosed, my family was frustrated by the rareness and not knowing much about it. I did have one disappointment in a friendship, but the rest of my friends made up for it. I feel very lucky to have had great doctors and nurses. I prefer to hear from others by letters or phone calls, but you can also use my son's email. |
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