![]() |
![]() |
![]()
I really don’t know just how long I had Cushing’s before I was officially diagnosed. I started taking blood pressure meds in mid 2004 at the suggestion of my internist; this is about the same time I started retaining water and gaining weight. My internist told me it was just a condition of aging.
My blood pressure meds were changed a number of times between 6/2004 and 3/2006 and my blood pressure was still high. In April of 2005 I really started showing signs of Cushing’s (but I didn’t know it and my doctor didn’t seem to know it either). He sent me to a cardiologist, everything checked out just fine. Since my BP didn’t improve, he then sent me to a Nephrologist who I worked with from August of 2005. We still couldn’t figure out what was making my BP so irregular.
In February of this year, I saw one of my cousins for the first time in about a year. She was shocked at my appearance but refrained from commenting so she wouldn’t hurt my feelings. A few weeks later she was looking something up in her medical book and ran across a sketch of a woman with Cushing’s. She called me and suggested I be tested.
I poked around on the internet and gathered some information and then I went to see the Nephrologist. I had to insist on the 24 hour urine capture (my doctor told me I couldn’t possibly have Cushing’s because my cortisol levels were high but not that high). I took the urine test and he called the next day suggesting that I did in fact appear to have Cushing’s.
He set me up with an endocrinologist and after further testing, she sent me off to a surgeon. My surgery was performed successfully on May 23 by Dr. Ivan Ciric. After a few days in the hospital, I started on Hydrocortisone (beginning with 60Mg and easing off to 5MG) and discontinued the meds on 7/5.
All of my doctors have been helpful and my endocrinologist has been especially open to information I have provided to her thanks to CSRF and the emails I have received from other Cushing’s patients.
I’m still suffering from all of the aches and pains that accompany recovery, plus palpitations and edema. But hopefully these will all go away soon. I’m glad I found CSRF and I just have one question for the Medical Advisory Board. It is: Is there any way to determine just how long I had Cushing’s? At this point, I am only guessing.
Thanks for being there!!
|
|
comment on this page
email this page
print friendly
