Thursday, April 30, 2015

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, MN Saliva

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, MN Saliva: Oh my goodness!  I just realized I forgot salivary cortisol levels in my previous posts about cortisol testing for Cushing's Disease!!! ...

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, Finale

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, Finale: DIAGNOSIS!  Or so we hope.  I know it sounds weird to hope for a diagnosis, tumor, and surgery (often neuro-surgery!), but that's realit...

Monday, April 27, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, Imaging

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, Imaging: Imaging such as MRI's, CT's, Octreotide Scans, and Gadolinium Scans (newer) will and may be used in the search for the source of y...

Less of Me: Doctors in and around Columbus

Less of Me: Doctors in and around Columbus: As many of you know, I am seeing an endocrinologist who is continuing to test me, but if I feel at any time that I have hit a wall with her,...

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, IPSS

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, IPSS: Inferior Petrosal Sinus Sampling (IPSS) is another interesting test, sometimes ordered by endocrinologists, sometimes ordered by neurosurge...

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, Dex

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, Dex: There are actually two types of Dexamethasone Suppression Tests (Dex) used in diagnosing Cushing's, a high dose and a low dose test. Th...

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: Advise from my 12 year old daughter

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: Advise from my 12 year old daughter: So, I have been having some bad episodes lately. My blood sugars have been going extremely low. This has caused me to pass out a few times. ...

Friday, April 24, 2015

Less of Me: ...and I am a material girl

Less of Me: ...and I am a material girl: There are a number of health reasons why I want to lose about 75-80 lbs. but I'm tired of complaining and having negative vibes hanging ...

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, CBG

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, CBG: Serum Cortisol Binding Globulin (CBG) is another simple blood draw.  This one you don't do often, but just so your endocrinologist can g...

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, ACTH

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, ACTH: Serum Adrenal Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (ACTH)  is a hormone produced by your pituitary.  This hormone signals the adrenals to produce...

Less of Me: Cyclical Testing

Less of Me: Cyclical Testing: Well the response I received from the physicians assistant wasn't quite what I expected. As I told you the other day , my results were l...

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Less of Me: More testing, more results

Less of Me: More testing, more results: Hi All. As I told you last week I had to go back for another cortisol test, another TSH and whatever else the doctor saw fit. So I was not...

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, MN Serum Cort

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, MN Serum Cort: Midnight Serum Cortisol is a simple blood test that can be a good diagnostic tool for Cushing's Disease or Syndrome.  You see, cortisol ...

Less of Me: My mimi

Less of Me: My mimi: Last Wednesday morning I woke up from a very vivid dream, in which my grandmother visited me. When I say she visited me, I mean her spirit, ...

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

4/22/15 ~ Interview with Stephanie (Steph), PCOS/Possible Cushing's Patient

interview
The next interview on BlogTalk Radio will be Wednesday, April 22 at 6:00 PM eastern.  The Call-In number for questions or comments is (657) 383-0416.


The archived interview will be available after 7:00 PM Eastern through iTunes Podcasts (Cushie Chats) or BlogTalkRadio.  While you're waiting, there are currently 82 other past interviews to listen to!

In her bio, Steph writes:
Hi. My name Steph, and this has been a long journey for me so far, and I see a long road ahead. Hopefully their will be a rainbow once all these clouds have melted away.

I just turned 33 years old (this month) and have been dealing with symptoms of Cushing’s since I was a pre-teen without even knowing it. I was diagnosed (or possibly mis-diagnosed) with PCOS when I was about 11. That’s when the irregular (to almost non-existent) menstrual cycles, hirutism (chin, upper lip, upper and lower thighs, fingers, toes, basically everywhere) and weight problems began. I was immediately put on birth control to regulate my periods, which only made my life a living nightmare. They forced on a fake (non-ovulating) period and made my moods a disaster. I went on to be on birth control until from the age of 11 until about 3 years ago when I just couldn’t take it anymore, and took myself off. I’ve been using herbal supplements for menstrual regulalation since then, and feel MUCH better.

Over the years I’ve always felt like there was something “more than PCOS” wrong with me. From the extreme inability to lose weight normally, and the ease to gain it, to the weak legs, vitamen d insuffeciency, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, extreme irritability, now non-existent cycle, shortness of breath (just from walking up 1 flight of stairs), slow healing, hoarse voice, high testosterone, male pattern baldness, blurry vision, EXTREME brain fog etc….. It has been very, very, very tough and emotional over the years. It has taken a toll on my personality, emotions, and those around me….

The way that I found out about cushing’s is rather unique. I was on a popular PCOS message board site called “soul cysters”, and I have always been EXTREMELY self conscience of my round puffy face, and was wondering if it could be a side effect of PCOS. So I searched Puffy face on the message board to see if others on the board had experienced it, and sure enough Cushing’s came up, and a suprising number of women either had both (cushing’s and PCOS) or had been mis-diagnosed, which apparently is very common with cushing’s. it was like a gigantic light bulb went off in my head when I started googling cushings symptoms. All these things that I have been experiencing almost my entire life started coming together. I’m really not crazy!! Everything is possibly related. Im almost 100% sure that this is it!!! I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing, as I see that cushing’s is curable in most cases, but it is also scary, and diagnosing it seems like hell!!

I have began my -already slow- journey to diagnosis. And, the the Dr.’s don’t seem to be all that well informed. However, I am DETERMINED. I am excited at the thought of possibly being able to get my life back through surgery or meds. I went to a well respected Endo in my area, and she is gonna test all of my hormones, including my cortisol level. Though she didn’t seem to be too informed on Cushing’s when I brought it up, along with my “dead ringer” symptoms. I’m going to a pulmonologist on the 29th as suggested by my GP (who also thinks I have cushings, but admits he’s not well informed enough or equipped to diagnose). I’m also going to an OBGYN soon (tried going to one today, and had to walk out because it was such a bad experience). But I am determined to get 2nd, 3rd, and however many opinions are needed until I am satisfied.

Also, on a side note, possibly having cushing’s, along with having PCOS, has made me look at the doctors and the medical profession as a whole in a different light. I feel like if you find a genuinely good doctor who listens, cares, takes you seriously, and is willing to test you without question, and work with you, your levels, and your symptoms, you are blessed!! I have had so many doctors try to push meds down my throat (for their own pockets/greed obviously) when it wasn’t needed or necessary without hesitation or question. And, then when I tell them that the medicine is affecting me adversely, they just tell me to keep taking it! It’s sad and ridiculous. I’ve had to learn to do my own research, know my own body well, and trust my own judgement…..

I will be praying for myself and everyone on this message board who has had to deal with this horrific symptoms over the years.

Updates coming…..

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, 24 hour UFCs

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, 24 hour UFCs: 24 hour urinary free cortisol (UFC) is considered a gold standard by most doctors.  Basically, you are given a urine collection jug, voi...

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, Introduction

Muskeg Farm : Testing for Cushing's, Introduction: I started this blog post during last year's Cushing's Awareness Blogger's Challenge in April, and never finished it because it f...

Less of Me: Now what??

Less of Me: Now what??: Well.... I went in today for the repeat TSH and morning cortisol tests. I'm not sure what to do now because like 18 months ago I told ...

Friday, April 17, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Growth Hormone Deficiency in Adulthood and the Eff...

Muskeg Farm : Growth Hormone Deficiency in Adulthood and the Eff...: This isn't Cushing's-specific, but MANY of us have Cushing's Disease which is caused by pituitary tumors...and tumors are appare...

Less of Me: Now what??

Less of Me: Now what??: Well.... I went in today for the repeat TSH and morning cortisol tests. I'm not sure what to do now because like 18 months ago I told ...

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: Testing

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: Testing: What I want to do today is outline basic tests that most endocrinologists use for the diagnosis of Cushing's. The following chart may he...

Muskeg Farm : Nerdy Zebras

Muskeg Farm : Nerdy Zebras: We spent the last night of our trip with one of my sisters-in-law, and she pulled out this absolute beauty: I never was a dedicated fa...

Less of Me: 24hr UFC's

Less of Me: 24hr UFC's: are no fun. I actually did my 24 hour urine collection a few weeks ago, in March but I wanted to share with you what it was like, and how...

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: Pituitary hormones and disor...

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: Pituitary hormones and disor...: Endocrine disorders usually involve a lot of testing, I thought I would spend some time the next few days talking about some of those tests....

Muskeg Farm : Adrenal Insufficiency and Adrenal Crisis

Muskeg Farm : Adrenal Insufficiency and Adrenal Crisis: Today I want to share a link to a fact-sheet about Adrenal Insufficiency, Addison's Disease, and Adrenal Crisis.   I'll give you a l...

Less of Me: My Appointment with Dr R. and Devon

Less of Me: My Appointment with Dr R. and Devon: Because I was diagnosed last May with PCOS I see my endocrinologist pretty regualarly. I see Jacki, the lab tech every 3 months for blood wo...

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: What Cushing's Syndrome is to me...

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: What Cushing's Syndrome is to me...: What is Cushing’s Disease/Syndrome? (Personal variation, i.e. adrenal or pituitary or ectopic, etc.) Cushing's Syndrome and Disease is...

Muskeg Farm : Cushie Friends

Muskeg Farm : Cushie Friends: On the first night of our trip, we were able to meet up with some fellow Cushie's for dinner ON Cushing's Awareness Day -- Dr. Har...

Less of Me: All things pituitary

Less of Me: All things pituitary: It is my personal, non-doctor opinion that I have a pituitary tumor. If you remember, Cushing's Syndrome occurs when your body makes too...

Monday, April 13, 2015

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: Heritable Cushing's

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: Heritable Cushing's: There are several forms of known heritable Cushing's.    The most well-known is MEN1. Carney Complex is also fairly well understood.  Th...

Less of Me: Movie Monday!

Less of Me: Movie Monday!: Well not so much of a movie, but a segment on The Balancing Act I found on Youtube. This short video has a patient and a doctor who discuss ...

Muskeg Farm : Pushing yourself

Muskeg Farm : Pushing yourself: I've missed a few days, SORRY!  We were out of town on a crazy-busy trip where I didn't even see a computer (even though we brought ...

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: My thoughts for the day....

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: My thoughts for the day....: I've been thinking a lot about my first round with Cushing's a lot lately. My endocrinologist has me tapering off of hydrocortisone ...

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: Types of Tumors

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: Types of Tumors: Just how many kinds of tumors are there associated with Cushing's? Wait, are we talking about pituitary tumors? Or adrenal tumors? How ...

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Less of Me: Confidence

Less of Me: Confidence: Im about to get really real wit chu. Yes I just said witchu instead of with you. Also I hope none of my clients are reading this installment...

Saturday, April 11, 2015

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: Subclinical Cushing's

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: Subclinical Cushing's: Subclinical Cushing's Disease/Syndrome has be a controversial diagnosis.  Only in the past decade has the term been used.  According to ...

Muskeg Farm : Sphygmomanometer (SFIG-moh-mə-NOM-i-tər)

Muskeg Farm : Sphygmomanometer (SFIG-moh-mə-NOM-i-tər): If you are working on getting your Cushing's diagnosis (cause all that testing IS work), if you are post-op and in recovery, or if you h...

Friday, April 10, 2015

Less of Me: Pleased to meet ya

Less of Me: Pleased to meet ya: So, I started this blog soooo long ago (2012) about my weight loss journey, that I assumed everyone knew who I am. But, I realize that as pa...

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: My life in chaos

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: My life in chaos: Stress is bad for Cushing's patients. It can literally make you sick. I have had so much stress this week that it has affected my health...

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Word Search (Why not?)

Muskeg Farm : Word Search (Why not?): Cushings E E H L H F Q T D K S V H G F O S O H G W T Y S V V Z H P I A M O N E D A N J O A V I L A S I U I P I M D V L I W X Y U H...

Less of Me: The ugly truth: my skin

Less of Me: The ugly truth: my skin: CAUTION-- this is gross I have hated my skin for as long as I can remember.... and that is sad. I have had acne since I was 12 years old ...

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: When the Gold Standard Becom...

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: When the Gold Standard Becom...: The following is a repeat of an old post, but it still has such relevance, especially when talking about "mild" or subclinical Cus...

Muskeg Farm : Happy Birthday Dr Harvey Cushing

Muskeg Farm : Happy Birthday Dr Harvey Cushing

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: I blog about my health because

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: I blog about my health because: This is going to be a short post. My daughter is in the hospital, so I am staying with her. I blog about my health because I want to educate...

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Less of Me: Cushing's Awareness Day!

Less of Me: Cushing's Awareness Day!: Hi All-- I hope we're reaching people who need to hear our message about the prevalence of Cushing's Syndrome! I thought I would...

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: Cushing's Awareness Day

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness: Cushing's Awareness Day: Today is Cushing's Awareness Day.  Dr. Harvey Cushing was instrumental in the discovery and diagnosis of the disease.  According to the...

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Pituitary MRI -Review

Muskeg Farm : Pituitary MRI -Review: I was PM'd today on Facebook by someone asking questions about the MRI's.  So, I figured I'd revisit some pituitary MRI info in ...

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: Challenges & Victories

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: Challenges & Victories: 5 Challenges & 5 Small Victories. What would life be without challenges and victories along the way? It would be dull and we never wou...

Less of Me: My medical history

Less of Me: My medical history: I wrote in an earlier post about the beginnings of my health problems. By age 14 I was put on BCP to regulate my menstrual cycles and help w...

2 cushie girls: Day 6.....5 things every Person living with rare d...

2 cushie girls: Day 6.....5 things every Person living with rare d...: I wanted to share this article with you. Rachel and I were interviewed and this article came out. We weren't paid in any way just wantin...

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: Medication Information

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: Medication Information: The role my medication plays in my life. When I was diagnosed with Cushing's and the many things thereafter, I went from taking no med...

Monday, April 6, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Cushing's Jeopardy:

Muskeg Farm : Cushing's Jeopardy:: Cushing's Disease for 600, Alex! What is the worst disease you've never heard of? Which illness is diagnosed through serial 24 h...

Less of Me: Weight GAIN progression

Less of Me: Weight GAIN progression: Well... this is really hard for me. It's one thing to know how much weight I've put on...it's another to see it. I mean I face m...

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: My Children's perspective....

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: My Children's perspective....: The following blog is the result of collaborations with two of my wonderful children, Alyssa and Jimmy... How Cushing’s affects children a...

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Sleep

Muskeg Farm : Sleep: Did I tell you about my changes in sleep yet?  Well, this change was almost more surprising than my change in appetite. The high cortisol fr...

Less of Me: Parents Just Don't' Understand

Less of Me: Parents Just Don't' Understand: It is hard for people around me (us- if you are a cushie too) to understand what I am going through, and why I am hoping for something to be...

2 cushie girls: Getting Diagnosed....My Tips

2 cushie girls: Getting Diagnosed....My Tips: As some of you know getting Diagnosed with Cushing's isn't always the easiest thing. A lot of people struggle with that because Do...

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: Advise for those waiting

Life, Cushing's, Diabetes and Me: Advise for those waiting: What would I tell others trying to be diagnosed? Yes. The BIG question... What to tell someone else who is trying to be diagnosed? That is...

Less of Me: A mental patient

Less of Me: A mental patient: You guys. I feel like a crazy person. a psycho. completely obsessive. depressive. manic. in a panic. Ok now I feel like Will Smith circa 1...

Friday, April 3, 2015

Muskeg Farm : Appetite

Muskeg Farm : Appetite: Well, there are some things that have changed since my high cortisol appears to have gone away that are almost hard to fathom for me.  I did...

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness Month: Cyclical Cushing's

survive the journey: Cushing's Awareness Month: Cyclical Cushing's: Cyclical Cushing's syndrome: an update  the full text article says, "Cyclical Cushing's syndrome is a pattern of hypercortiso...

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Past Cushing’s Awareness Challenge Bloggers

This page  is starting to load pretty slowly and I’m guessing that it’s maybe because of all the blog posts it has to load.  So, I’m going to take all the Cushing’s Awareness Challenge Bloggers from 2012-2014 and post them here so I can delete the blog rolls that they’re in now.
Eventually, when I have time, I’ll add the blogs to the general “All Cushie Blogs” list.  Hopefully, that will speed the page up!  I don’t know if there was a problem last year because I’m sure we had more than 2 of us participating!


Cushing’s Awareness Challenge 2013

Cushing’s Awareness Challenge 2012