Cushing’s FAQ
Filed under: adrenal, adrenal crisis, Cushings, FAQ, growth hormone, pituitary, Rare Diseases
A FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Directions are in each category for adding your own question.
IMPORTANT: The information and material posted on this Web site is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of materials and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation.
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This is a different website than the message boards and requires a different log-in, although you may use the same log-in name and password.
Adrenal Insufficiency
Adrenal insufficiency is a life threatening chronic illness. An active and vigorous lifestyle with normal life expectancy is possible as long as the prescribed medications are taken regularly and adjusted when indicated. As with most chronic diseases, adrenal insufficiency demands that the patients take responsibility and develop self-management skills and techniques.
Read an article on Adrenal insufficiency
Cushing’s Types
Cushing’s Disease/ Cushing’s Syndrome: Cushing’s is a hormonal disorder caused by prolonged exposure of the body’s tissues to high levels of the hormone cortisol. Your adrenal glands, which are right above your kidneys, release cortisol when they receive a chemical message from your pituitary gland. The message comes in the form of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), which travels through the bloodstream.
Cushing’s Disease Is the result of a pituitary tumor which causesthe emergence of secondary male characteristics (like hair growth, acne, etc.), and ovarian failure. Other symptoms usually include high blood pressure and water retention.
Cushing’s Syndrome: Causes the same symptoms, but is a disorder marked by overproduction of adrenal hormones, which can cause a drop in LH and FSH.
An estimated 10 to 15 of every million people are affected each year. Cushing’s is an increased concentration of glucocorticoid hormone (ACTH) in the bloodstream that is being produced by an adrenal gland tumor (adenoma). Ectopic Cushing syndrome refers to the production of ACTH in a location other than the pituitary gland or adrenalgland. Examples of ectopic sites include thymoma, medullary carcinoma of the thyroid, pheochromocytoma, islet cell tumors of the pancreas, and oat cell carcinoma of the lung.Symptoms include weight gain, central obesity, moon face, weakness, fatigue, backache, headache, increased thirst, increased urination, impotence, mental status changes, and muscle atrophy.
Treatment varies with cause. If an ACTH secreting tumor is involved then it must be removed surgically.
Growth Hormone
Human Growth Hormone (hGH) is produced in the pituitary gland of humans, and the hormone is secreted throughout a person’s lifetime. It promotes growth in children and plays an important role in adult metabolism.
More about HgH
Other Diseases
Where Can I Find…?
Elvis, steriod-induced Cushing’s
This is an interesting article…
..The doctor’s first thought was that Elvis had had a seizure and he injected him with a stimulant to improve his breathing. Then he and Elvis’s manager dragged him into the ensuite bathroom and managed to get him into the bath, which they filled with cold water. Soon they were dressing him in his stage clothes.
Incredibly Elvis managed to perform that night, leaving Dr Nick determined to find out what had caused the handsome man he first met to degenerate into the bloated figure he had become.
Elvis himself refused to give him any clues. Finally, one of his problems was revealed – he and Priscilla were getting divorced. Three days after the final decree was issued in California, the singer, in worse condition than he had ever been, chartered a plane back to Graceland and called for Dr Nick.
This time the doctor arrived to find his patient’s face puffy, pink and almost transparent, and his stomach distended. He suspected either an allergic reaction or heart failure, especially since heart disease ran in the family.
Hospital tests established that Elvis had hepatitis, an enlarged liver ( possibly from painkillers) and Cushing’s syndrome. The last was a hormonal disease that caused bloating, and was down to the many steroids he had been taking to combat the asthma that ran in the family and his ongoing colon problems.
When Dr Nick asked him why he was also covered in bruises, Elvis tried to tell him the marks were from acupuncture needles. Finally he confessed that a couple of Beverly Hills physicians had prescribed the narcotic Demerol to cure back and neck pain, and Novocaine to reduce the pain at the injection sites…
What do you think?
Celebrities with Cushing’s?
Over the years we have talked about how “nice” (nice doesn’t really apply to Cushing’s so maybe that should be “helpful to the cause”) it would be to have a celebrity spokesperson, someone famous who has Cushing’s.
I’ve always thought that Jerry Lewis looked like he had steroid-induced Cushing’s, Liz Taylor has looked Cushie at various times. There’s new evidence that King Henry VIII might have had Cushing’s.
Today, for the first time, I have read of a person (unknown to me, but he seems to be “someone”) who has admitted that he has Cushing’s.
Travis Michael Holder writes at http://www.entertainmenttoday.net/content/view/892/28/:
During the rehearsals for Besarab, I went through two cataract surgeries, lost another major chunk of chunk, and grabbed a cane to combat the last steroid-induced indignity to my body, a severe muscle and joint syndrome called Cushing’s disease.
What do you think? Any other celebrities that you’ve heard of with Cushing’s? We need a spokesperson already!
Interview with MaryO
The Call-In number for questions or comments is (646) 200-0162.
Cushing’s Help Founder, MaryO
“MaryO”, Mary O’Connor is the founder and webmaster for Cushings-Help.com and related sites. She is also a Piano Teacher and web designer in northern Virginia. She started having Cushing’s symptoms in early 1983 and finally had pituitary surgery at the NIH in November, 1987, Mary is a 25+ year survivor of Cushing’s Disease.
Due to her Cushing’s experiences and the lack of websites for people with Cushing’s, Mary founded the Cushings-Help website in 2000 to help others who were dealing with the rigors of testing and surgery.
MaryO, as she is fondly called by the members of the support board she runs in conjunction with the website, has been instrumental in educating thousands of people about Cushing’s. Through the use of her website and support boards, these same folks have been able to garner support and information invaluable to their diagnosis and treatment.
Mary is a survivor. Not only has she survived, but she has enabled so many others of us to survive, also.
She has been recognized in Forbes Magazine, many newspaper and journal articles, and is a speaker at Cushing’s Awareness events. She is married to Tom and has a grown son, Michael.
Intro: Hello, I have with us today Mary O’Connor, founder of the cushings dash help dot com website. Mary is a 20 plus year survivor of Cushing’s Disease. For those who do not know what Cushing’s Disease is, you may want to peruse the Cushings-help website. Briefly, it is an endocrine-related disease caused by a pituitary tumor (also called an adenoma) which causes life-threatening symptoms. Cushing’s Syndrome is a similar disease caused by an adrenal or other tumor.
MaryO, as she is fondly called by the members of the support board she runs in conjunction with the website, has been instrumental in educating thousands of people about Cushing’s. Through the use of her website and support boards, these same folks have been able to garner support and information invaluable to their diagnosis and treatment. She has been recognized in Forbes Magazine, many newspaper and journal articles, and is a speaker at Cushing’s Awareness events. She is married to Tom and has a grown son, Michael.
Mary, I know the listeners would love to hear your story. What can you tell us about your symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment with Cushing’s?
Other Topics Discussed:
- Why did you decide to start the cushings-help website?
- What are some of the things that can be found on the site?
- What are the message boards?
- How many members are there on the boards?
- How much work is involved in keeping up the site and the boards?
- How are you doing now? What has happened since your surgery for Cushing’s?
Closing: As you can see, Mary is a survivor. Not only has she survived, but she has enabled so many others of us to survive, also. Please stay tuned for more stories from these survivors! For more information, visit the cushings-help website.
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Read Mary’s bio.
Listen to MaryO’s Archived Interview from January 3, 2008
