A couple of months into the marriage I suddenly gained 20 pounds. Then I developed high blood pressure, darkening of the skin, a puffy face, muscle weakness, bruising, nervousness, uncontrollable emotions, back pain and headaches. Over the next seven years I saw six different doctors. All of them gave me a diet sheet, treated my blood pressure and told me to lose weight. They didn’t seem to care about the other symptoms and didn’t understand that I couldn’t lose weight. (I had been trying.)

I started seeing a chiropractor for treatments but that didn’t help. In fact, it made things worse. I didn’t even want to live anymore. Then one day I had such a bad attack of back pain, I was rushed to the ER where I was given a shot of something that put me to sleep for eight hours. When I woke up the pain had dulled and was bearable.

I returned to my chiropractor and described the situation. He said judging by my skin color and the description of the pain, it was a deep inward pain and he made me an appointment with a doctor. This new doctor ordered some tests. When they came back he told me that my adrenal glands were putting out too much hormone. For a woman my level should have been 17 but mine was 37. He gave me the diagnosis of Cushing’s disease.

Some how the University of California Hospital in San Francisco heard about me and wanted me to go to them because I had every symptom of the disease. They were persistent and at that time I was ready to try anything that might help. I agreed to go and become a research patient. I had both of my adrenal glands removed in 1964. I was told I didn’t have Cushing anymore because the offending glands were gone, but now I had Addison’s disease.

Now I take two pills to replace the hormones that my adrenal glands produced. Also, in 1974, I had a pituitary tumor removed.

I live a relatively normal life. I have to be careful to limit my stress but I am happy to be alive. I was told that if I had not had surgery and went untreated, I would have only lived another five years at the most.

My primary reason for writing is to share my story but also to tell anyone out there not to be afraid to be a guinea pig. It was hard for me, but in the end, it was worth it. I had my life back.

DEAR READER:
Cushing’s disease (now known as Cushing’s syndrome) is a condition in which the body is exposed to too much cortisol. This can occur because of abnormalities of the adrenal or pituitary glands, certain tumors that make and release the hormone adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), and more.

Common symptoms include high blood pressure, upper body obesity, severe muscle weakness and fatigue, easy bruising, backaches, high blood sugar, and more. In women it may also be accompanied by excess facial and body hair growth and irregular and absent menstrual periods.

Treatment depends on the cause. Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, not much was known about this disorder (as you know). I believe you were incredibly lucky to have been diagnosed. Your “experimental” surgery to remove the adrenal glands saved your life but made you rely on medication to do what your body is unable to do. Today, removal of the adrenal glands is a last resort used for persistent cases or those that are the result of tumors.

Addison’s disease is the exact opposite of Cushing’s. It is the result of too little cortisol. Like its antithesis, it can be caused by abnormalities of the adrenal or pituitary glands, certain disorders, chronic infection, cancer, and removal of the adrenal glands.

Symptoms generally include chronic and worsening fatigue, weight loss, muscle weakness, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure, and more.

Treatment is simply replacing or substituting the hormones that are not being produced.

In both conditions, if there is an underlying cause, it must be treated. Both also require monitoring by an endocrinologist, a physician who specializes in glandular conditions, such as Cushing’s, Addison’s, diabetes and more.

Thank you for writing to share your experience.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Medical Specialists”. Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

About 30 years ago I became hyperthyroid and lost a tremendous amount of weight. I then became hypothyroid and my menses stopped abruptly, never to reappear. I was told my thyroid condition was responsible for both.

I’ve developed a very large stomach, although my arms and legs are thinner. I’ve been tested several times for uterine cancer with consistent negative results. My face is also puffy and more rounded.

I’ve had periodic back aches that are so severe I can hardly walk. I’ve become diabetic and two years ago was put on insulin. This year my high blood pressure became permanent, even though my stress and anxiety levels are low, and lately I am always tired. It seems some of my symptoms are escalating while others — the backaches, depression and anxiety — have disappeared. I would think the insulin is responsible for my sleepiness and exhaustion after slight exertion, but I’ve had most of these symptoms for 10 to 30 years.

Until I read about Cushing’s, I felt hopeless, alone, and resigned to the fact that these were side effects of my medical conditions. Can the tests be wrong and if not, do you have any idea what could be occurring? I’d like to have some energy so I can at least function the way I did two years ago.

DEAR READER:
The common signs and symptoms of Cushing’s include abdominal weight gain, fatigue, a rounded face, depression, anxiety, and high blood pressure. The most common cause is the use of oral corticosteroid medication. The main issue here is that Cushing’s is difficult to diagnose since it shares many symptoms with other conditions.

Symptoms of hypothyroidism include weakness, a cessation of menstruation, fatigue, an extended abdomen, facial puffiness, and more. Symptoms of diabetes include fatigue, weight loss, blurred vision, poorly healing wounds, and more. Sound familiar?

I feel I am removing any hope you might have of putting a diagnosis to your symptoms, but I do not feel you have Cushing’s. Rather, the laboratory work you included with your letter indicates you do have diabetes and hypothyroidism, exactly as you pointed out. The problem is that neither condition is under complete control, despite the insulin and Glucophage for your diabetes and the Levothyroxin for your hypothyroidism.

Return to your primary care physician for referral to an endocrinologist, if you aren’t already seeing one. Sit down with your list of questions to determine together what can be done to bring both conditions under control. Once that happens, your blood pressure should drop, your fatigue should disappear, your energy should return, and life should be back to a more normal state. It’s often difficult to hit upon the right dose for a particular condition, but through the process of trial and error, it can be done.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report: Living with Diabetes Mellitus”. Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped, number 10 envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

When the patent on Prilosec was about to expire the formula was “tweaked” just enough to receive a new patent which was then marketed as Nexium. This “tweaking” caused the Nexium to have some side effects that the Prilosec did not.

I would like to be off the medication but diet, exercise and over-the-counter antacids don’t work. Do you have any suggestions?

DEAR READER:
First, let’s address your concerns about Nexium and Prilosec. I am not a pharmacist and was unaware that Nexium and Prilosec (while it was still a prescription) were even made by the same manufacturer let alone were practically the same drug. After reading your letter, I went to my trusty Physician’s Desk Reference and looked up both medications. It turns out, you are at least partially correct in your assessment. From my limited knowledge of drug chemistry, it appears to me that Nexium and Prilosec are practically the same formula with only minor alterations. However, your statement that because of this “tweaking” one drug has side effects the other doesn’t is incorrect. Both medications have distended stomach, fatigue, back pain, and leg pain listed as known, but rare (occurring in less than one percent of users) side effects.

Why you are affected so severely by one and not the other is a mystery but I must congratulate you on discovering the cause of your symptoms.

Proton pump inhibitors, such as Nexium, Prilosec and others, work to block some of the stomach’s acid producers. They are prescribed for those with gastro-esophageal reflux disease, hiatal hernia and ulcers. Before medication is prescribed, physicians should recommend the patient change his or her diet, lose weight if necessary, get regular exercise and use over-the-counter medications as needed. If symptoms are still a problem, then prescription medications should be used. In some cases of hiatal hernia, symptoms still persist and surgery may be necessary to tighten the opening between the stomach and throat. Unfortunately, this only works about 50% of the time and may not be permanent.

I often recommend that acid reflux sufferers make drastic changes in their diets by avoiding all trigger foods such as fat (fried foods, greasy bacon, etc.), citrus/acidic (tomatoes, oranges, lemons, etc.) and some spices. Spicy foods are not the main culprit as many believe. In fact, I have heard many sufferers say that they don’t have a problem with spices, but rather it is milk and lettuce that are the major sources of discomfort.

If you are continuing to have difficulties, speak with your gastroenterologist about alternatives to prescription medications.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Hiatal Hernia, Acid Reflux and Indigestion”. Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped number 10 envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.