Thursday, February 3, 2011

Spinning Out of Control

I am pleased to see more and more articles about Cushing's on the internet. I repost them here, hoping that someone will see themselves in one of these articles.  If I can help someone put a name to what ails them, then I have done my small part.

However, I do want everyone to realize that not all cases of Cushing's are resolved with one surgery. I know many people who go on to have more than one pituitary surgery, and maybe even a bilateral adrenalectomy in an effort to stop cortisol production at the source. Some even go on to have gamma knife radiation to zap remaining ACTH-producing cells on their pituitary.

Patients with cyclical/ periodic/ episodic/ persistent Cushing's will struggle much more with diagnosis, treatment, and cure.  Please just keep this in mind.

~Moxie Melissa

* * * * * * * * * *

Spinning Out of Control

Unexplained symptoms left Shana Leslie feeling like an old woman trapped in a 30-year-old’s body.

Throughout 2007, Shana Leslie* developed acne, experienced increasingly shorter menstrual periods and gained more than 20 pounds, mostly in her midsection. Her friends were not surprised. “I had just turned 30, was in the middle of a divorce and had recently been promoted at work,” says Ms. Leslie. “So everybody told me it was related to stress.”

Spinning Out of Control: Cleveland Clinic's Diagnosis Challenge, Summer 2010