You wanted to know....

So here it is...

Back in October I went for my annual exam with my ob/gyn and he did a blood work up on me. He was alarmed that several of my levels were abnormally low or extremely high. So he referred me to a reproductive endocrinologist in Round Rock. I set an appoint and went. She ordered a long list of labs and required me to do a 24 hour urine collection. (yes its as fun as it sounds!) After she got the labs in, she called me back into her office in mid November to go over the results. She was concerned about a possible pituitary tumor so she ordered an immediate MRI to rule that out. I went for my MRI and got the results days later that it was negative for any leisons or tumors or growth. Good news #1! So after that, I never went back to my endocrinologist. I was frustrated that we couldn't get an answer as to what was wrong with me. It wasn't until January 2011 that my loving husband pushed me to make an appointment with my ob/gyn and find out where we needed to go from here. So I saw him this past Monday. He basically got after me for not going back to my endocrinologist because it's only prolonging the diagnosis and possible treatment. So after being scolded, I left and headed straight over to my endocrinologist's office to make that appointment. Yesterday was "that" appointment and Dr. Shaw and I had a long heart to heart talk. She said after reviewing my MRI and last bloodwork, she wants me to do another 24 hour urine collection, take a single pill of Dexamethesone the night before my fasting bloodwork, get the results back and find out if I have Cushing's Disease. Here is the best description I could find on what Cushing's is.


CUSHING'S SYNDROME OR DISEASE (from Wikipedia)
Cushing's syndrome is a hormone disorder caused by high levels of cortisol in the blood. This can be caused by taking glucocorticoid drugs, or by tumors that produce cortisol or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) or CRH. (in my case it would be a possible tumor because my cotisol levels are SKY HIGH!)

Signs and Symptoms
Symptoms include rapid weight gain, particularly of the trunk and face with sparing of the limbs (central obesity). A common sign is the growth of fat pads along the collar bone and on the back of the neck (buffalo hump) and a round face often referred to as a "moon face". Other symptoms include hyperhidrosis (excess sweating), telangiectasia (dilation of capillaries), thinning of the skin (which causes easy bruising and dryness, particularly the hands) and other mucous membranes, purple or red striae (the weight gain in Cushing's syndrome stretches the skin, which is thin and weakened, causing it to hemorrhage) on the trunk, buttocks, arms, legs or breasts, proximal muscle weakness (hips, shoulders), and hirsutism (facial male-pattern hair growth), baldness and/or cause hair to become extremely dry and brittle. In rare cases, Cushing's can cause hypercalcemia, which can lead to skin necrosis. The excess cortisol may also affect other endocrine systems and cause, for example, insomnia, inhibited aromatase, reduced libido, impotence, amenorrhoea/oligomenorrhea and infertility due to elevations in androgens. Patients frequently suffer various psychological disturbances, ranging from euphoria to psychosis. Depression and anxiety are also common.[5]

Other striking and distressing skin changes that may appear in Cushing's syndrome include facial acne, susceptibility to superficial dermatophyte and malassezia infections, and the characteristic purplish, atrophic striae on the abdomen.[6]:500

Other signs include polyuria (and accompanying polydipsia), persistent hypertension (due to cortisol's enhancement of epinephrine's vasoconstrictive effect) and insulin resistance (especially common in ectopic ACTH production), leading to hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and insulin resistance which can lead to diabetes mellitus. Insulin resistance is accompanied by skin changes such as acanthosis nigricans in the axilla and around the neck, as well as skin tags in the axilla. Untreated Cushing's syndrome can lead to heart disease and increased mortality. Cushing's syndrome due to excess ACTH may also result in hyperpigmentation,This is due to Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone production as a byproduct of ACTH synthesis from Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC). Cortisol can also exhibit mineralcorticoid activity in high concentrations, worsening the hypertension and leading to hypokalemia (common in ectopic ACTH secretion). Furthermore, gastrointestinal disturbances, opportunistic infections and impaired wound healing (cortisol is a stress hormone, so it depresses the immune and inflammatory responses). Osteoporosis is also an issue in Cushing's syndrome since, as mentioned before, cortisol evokes a stress-like response. Consequently, the body's maintenance of bone (and other tissues) becomes secondary to maintenance of the false stress response. Additionally, Cushing's may cause sore and aching joints, particularly in the hip, shoulders, and lower back.
(more info can be found here if you want to read more into it... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cushing%27s_syndrome)

So that's what Cushing's is. With this last series of labs that my endocrinologist is requiring. She will either rule out or diagnose me with Cushing's. If I do NOT have Cushing's, she will then officially diagnose me with PCOS and start a plan of treatment. Jon and I's longterm goal is to get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby #2. Right now, these medical setbacks are preventing us from having #2 successfully. I am hopeful and very optomistic that the end is in sight and we can get this under control whatever it is. My endocrinologist is very hopeful we very well may have an answer.

If you are reading this, I ask you, please keep me and Jon in your prayers and pray that we find the answer we've been so desperately searching for. Please and thank you!

X's & O's!