Cushing's Awareness Challenge - Day 3
How I found out that I had Cushing's Disease
When I was 18, a freshman at UVM, I realized how sick I could get so easily. The second week of school I was taken in an ambulance to the hospital with pneumonia, that year the weight starting to pile on, fast. The next year I had two kidney stones and waiting months for an incision to heal from a mole removal. This is when I started researching online. Why was I, a previously healthy and active 19 year old, dealing with these issues that usually plague much older people and with kidney stones, mostly men?
I found my answer on Cushings-help.com. I DEFINITELY had this rare disease. It described my life - depression, trouble focusing on school work, weight gain, kidney stones, poor healing, etc. I told my friends I knew what was wrong and I immediately made appointments with my primary care doctor as well as an endocrinologist.
After 2 years of getting "nothing is wrong, just continue to diet and exercise", my ob/gyn decided to order a brain MRI because of more health issues. Hello pituitary tumor! I decided I wanted to go to Mass General's Neuro-Endocrine department, the best of the best. Two long years later, endless tests and MRIs, I finally had my diagnosis from a doctor who never gave up on me. On November 9th, 2009, I finally had an official diagnosis of Cushing's Disease.
You might think it's crazy to search so long for such a devastating diagnosis, but I was ready to fix this and move on with my life. It took over more years, 3 surgeries, and a few risky decisions of my ownn to finally feel better.
How I found out that I had Cushing's Disease
When I was 18, a freshman at UVM, I realized how sick I could get so easily. The second week of school I was taken in an ambulance to the hospital with pneumonia, that year the weight starting to pile on, fast. The next year I had two kidney stones and waiting months for an incision to heal from a mole removal. This is when I started researching online. Why was I, a previously healthy and active 19 year old, dealing with these issues that usually plague much older people and with kidney stones, mostly men?
I found my answer on Cushings-help.com. I DEFINITELY had this rare disease. It described my life - depression, trouble focusing on school work, weight gain, kidney stones, poor healing, etc. I told my friends I knew what was wrong and I immediately made appointments with my primary care doctor as well as an endocrinologist.
After 2 years of getting "nothing is wrong, just continue to diet and exercise", my ob/gyn decided to order a brain MRI because of more health issues. Hello pituitary tumor! I decided I wanted to go to Mass General's Neuro-Endocrine department, the best of the best. Two long years later, endless tests and MRIs, I finally had my diagnosis from a doctor who never gave up on me. On November 9th, 2009, I finally had an official diagnosis of Cushing's Disease.
You might think it's crazy to search so long for such a devastating diagnosis, but I was ready to fix this and move on with my life. It took over more years, 3 surgeries, and a few risky decisions of my ownn to finally feel better.
I'm glad you finally got your diagnosis and that www.Cushings-help.com was able to help.
ReplyDeleteContinued good health!