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Five years after having recovered from Cushing's Syndrome, I have finally regained full confidence in my health. I was diagnosed with Cushing's at age 29 in April 1997, caused by an adrenal adenoma which I believe I had for about five years. I had surgery a month later and was put on hydrocortisone. After a difficult year of very gradually tapering off of the hydrocortisone (and battling depression, nausea, weakness, and needing a lot of sleep) my remaining adrenal gland was functioning at normal levels, and I went off the medication. I felt enormously grateful at being fully cured, but had concerns about the future - Would I always need this much sleep? Would I develop osteoporosis? Would I have any difficulty getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy? (I was married with no children.) At my final visit to my endocrinologist, when he affirmed that I was totally fine and doing great, he added, "And if you wanted to get pregnant, you shouldn't have any problems with a pregnancy." "Have you been talking to my mother?" I asked. "No," he said, "but you know that the older you get-" "I know, I know," I said. I was 32 at the time and was getting used to hearing that particular warning.
When my husband and I decided in 2001 that we were ready to have a child, I had a thorough checkup and everything was normal. It took us over a year to get pregnant, and I admit I had lingering doubts about my hormonal system. I just wasn't confident that having gone through such major hormonal upheaval for so long wouldn't have taken its toll, even though my periods had gone back to normal after my recovery and my progesterone levels were normal. I had an x-ray that revealed an abnormality in the uterine wall, so I decided to see a specialist. My husband and I were at our first visit with a fertility specialist when he pointed to small dot on the sonogram screen, announcing, "You're pregnant!"
Needless to say, we were thrilled. And despite a rough 10 weeks of morning -noon-and-night sickness (nausea again…ugh!), I had a completely easy and healthy pregnancy. I had a long labor (about 40 hours) but had the strength to get through-ultimately with help from pitocin. Our beautiful baby Grace was born on July 3rd, 2003-our ninth wedding anniversary! She was a healthy 7 lbs. and 10 oz. and continues to thrive and bring us great joy.
Somehow taking this huge life step of being pregnant and giving birth has restored my full confidence in my body and in my health. My recovery has also been very easy, and I have quickly learned that I can get by on much less sleep than I thought! I continue to thank God for a full recovery, and for the gift of new life.
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