What Doctors Will Claim You Have Instead of Cushing's, because Cushing's is too rare
- Obesity (lose weight, lose symptoms)
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
- Fibromyalgia (no lab tests can prove this; diagnosis given when they don't know what else is wrong with you)
- Back and muscle pain
- Diabetes
- Blurred vision, visual field loss, double vision
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Dry, oily, or sweaty skin
- Impotence or infertility
- Joint pain, joint/bone abnormalities
- Migraines
- Muscle weakness, carpal tunnel syndrome
- Temporomandibular joint/TMJ/jaw joint pain
- Thyroid imbalance or "slow metabolism"
What your symptoms really mean if doctors put them all together - CUSHING'S
- Facial redness
- Rounding of the face (moon face)
- Unexplained weight gain around belly
- Buffalo hump, or hump on back of neck
- Pink or purple stretch marks
- Thicker or more visible body and facial hair
- Acne
- Muscle weakness (difficulty standing or climbing stair)
- Extreme fatigue (no amount of sleep is enough)
- Depression, anxiety and irritability
- Pink, red or purple stretch marks along your abdomen, arms, or thighs
- Thin and fragile skin that bruises easily
- Slow healing of cuts, insect bites and infections
- Bone thinning (osteopenia, osteoporosis), easily broken bones
- Recurrent infections
- Sleep disturbances, night sweats, awake at midnight or 4 am
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes mellitus
- Irregular or absent menstrual periods in females
- Clotting disorder
And whatever you do, be careful not to be labeled as a DIFFICULT PATIENT, because your likelihood of being misdiagnosed goes up to 42%!
Read: Doctors 'more likely to misdiagnose patients' if they are 'difficult' (March 2016)
So you say, How can I approach this "delicate genius' and expect to get help? Well, my best advice is to write down all your symptoms in a laundry list like the one above. Highlight the ones that your online research has linked to cortisol imbalance. Present the list of the doctor and simply say, "With the multitude of symptoms I face, I'd like your help in testing me for cortisol and other hormone-related imbalances. If they argue or ridicule you, that is a clear sign, a cue... Find a new doctor.
