TWO DAYS. . .

Two days have passed and i was in high spirits. My family and i went to the mall and tried to check the items on sale. I never got tired and my bones and leg muscles did not ache. I was really wondering why i had so much energy on those past two days. But not until today..... We went to the cemetary to commemorate All Saint's Day (by the way, here in the Philippines, we Filipinos gave our respects to the dearly departed on two days, Nov. 1 and 2.) But before we could visit the tomb of our loved ones, i was already feeling tired, weak and again my muscles are aching and a bit short of breath. Is this how it really feels to have cushing's? Its really a tiresome and unpredictable illness. By the way, a few days back, some blisters grew in my palms. I thought it was chicken pox. But after a week, it was gone. I have no idea what it was and whether it was connected with cushing's or not.

TODAY. . .

I wake up feeling a bit good today. Somehow I had enough sleep after watching the movie Goodbye, Children compared to the past nights. But i didnt have the appetite to eat breakfast but I tried to eat even a little so that my body wont be too weak for today's work in the office. Lately, I have been wondering why I feel that something is in my throat, a kind of lump which usually disappears after a few minutes. Is this also one of the symptoms of Cushing's? Next week I'll be having my test again for serum cortisol, sgpt and fbs. But right now, I'm enjoying my work and i'll be going to the mall later  ( while I can and while my legs doesnt hurt that much today....)

A DAY WITH MR. CUSHING. . .

After my diagnosis with cushing's syndrome, I felt that all the other symptoms are one by one coming over me. There were times that I have a headache the whole day or I suddenly wake up one morning having lower backaches. But most of all, there was never a day that i have a normal blood pressure. My blood pressure would change from 150/110 to 130/110 or 130/100. My doctor advised me to go on diet and to eat less salty foods but sometimes i cant help it. But I tried to check the labels of the food i buy from the grocery store for their sodium content and avoid those with high levels of sodium.

THE DAY I MET MR. CUSHING

After my work in the office, I tried to research on the web about this Mr. Cushing (cushing's syndrome). I found out that I have almost all of the symptoms such as moonfaced, buffalo hump, hypertension, water retention, central obesity ( i weighed 94 kg); purplish straie on the abdomen and legs and unintentional weight gain. The next day, I went to see Doctor No. 3, an endocrinologist. He said that from what he had seen in me, he diagnosed my condition as cushing'syndrome. He advised me again to do some test and to confirm whether my cortisol level is high. Based on the test, indeed my cortisol level is far too high from the normal level. That was it. Confirmed. I've been suffering from cushing's syndrome.

HOW I MET MR. CUSHING...?

In the 3rd week of August, I first met Mr. Cushing. But he was in diguise as Mr. Nephrotic (nephrotic syndrome). My doctor thought that it was nephrotic syndrome because I was already having water retention and edema. My feet was swollen and i couldnt even wore my shoes. So my doctor (Doctor No. 1) advised me to undergo a series of test such as urinalysis, blood test for sugar, cholesterol, SGOT, Na, K, etc. and he gave me Furosemide and metropolol for medication (for my hypertension). My blood pressure is always 150/110. After a month, I decided to seek for a second opinion realizing that after taking those tests and medicines, nothing has changed. So I decided to see Doctor No. 2 but upon seeing me, he immediately refused and told me that he'll recommend me to another doctor, an endocrinologist because, by only looking at me he can tell that what ive been suffering is not nephrotic syndrome but cushing's syndrome.

HOW DOES MR. CUSHING LOOKS LIKE (Symptoms). . . ?

• Moon face (round, red, and full)
• Buffalo hump (a collection of fat between the shoulders)
• Central obesity with protruding abdomen and thin extremities
• Weight gain (unintentional)
• Weakness
• Backache
• Headache
• Acne or superficial skin infections
• Thin skin with easy bruising
• Purple striations on the skin of the abdomen, thighs, and breasts
• Mental changes
• Impotence or cessation of menses
• Facial hair growth

WHO IS MR. CUSHING (Cushing's Syndrome)

Cushing syndrome is a disease that occurs when your body produces too much of the hormone cortisol. It may also occur if you use take too much cortisol or other steroid hormones. It is characterized by upper body OBESITY; OSTEOPOROSIS; HYPERTENSION; DIABETES MELLITUS; HIRSUTISM; AMENORRHEA; and excess body fluid. Endogenous Cushing syndrome or spontaneous hypercortisolism is divided into two groups, those due to an excess of ADRENOCORTICOTROPIN and those that are ACTH-independent. Cushing's syndrome is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Cushing's syndrome, or a subtype of Cushing's syndrome, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.