Cushing's Awareness Blog Challenge 2013 - Day 10

Cushing's Awareness Blog Challenge 2013 - Day 9

Understanding the Battle...

 

The battle has got to be the hardest part about having Cushing's Disease. Everyone around you thinks its just that easy, the tumor is gone and now everything should go right back to normal. Well NO!!! Absolutely not.. I almost feel worse ever since the tumor has been removed. I know that its going to be a long road and eventually everything will go back to normal but in time. Everything takes time and its not just going to happen over night. I'm still healing and I'm still trying to balance steroids, and when the times comes to make a change its going to take A LOT of work. A lot of determination! I am determined to make a change, to make a difference and get my life back but I just think its important for me to tell everyone that its just not that simple.

I guess this is just me letting out frustration, its frustrating when people look at me different. I don't want to look the way I do, but I got blessed with this "ugly" disease and its just something that I'm going to have to deal with.
Try, just try for one second to walk a mile in my shoes and experience everything I've been through and then tell me its easy!

I will get through this, I'm determined!!

I will beat Cushing's Disease but it will forever be a part of "me" and who I am.

I will show the world that just because a disease made me "ugly" doesn't mean I'm not beautiful on the inside, we're all beautiful on the inside. You just cant see it.

And trust me.. I will also show this "ugly" disease just exactly what UGLY is.

 

Bring it!

 

 



Cushing's Awareness Blog Challenge 2013 - Day 8

 

 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY  DR. HARVEY CUSHING!!!

 

Today is Cushing's Awareness Day!! Wear your ribbons, cushing's colors (Blue and Yellow) and t-shirts to spread awareness about this rare disease. Get talking to anyone who will listen!

Today is not just the only day to raise awareness, everyday is a good day!

 

Dr. Harvey Cushing was an American neurosurgeon. A pioneer of brain surgery, he was the first person to describe Cushing's syndrome. He is often called the "father of modern neurosurgery".

 

To read more about Dr. Harvey Cushing please visit:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Williams_Cushing

 

From one Cushie to another... Happy Cushing's Awareness Day!!



Cushing's Awareness Blog Challenge 2013 - Day 7

Why I'm Thankful?!

 

 

There are so many reasons why I'm Thankful for this whole experience. It is something that is going to be part of my life forever.

It's not that I'm thankful for having a disease, I am Thankful for what it has taught me. It has been about 5 months since my diagnoses and I have been on a rocky road ever since, but I have learned so much along the way. I have learned not to judge others, you never know what's happening to them underneath everything. You don't know why they look the way they do, or walk the way they walk. I have learned who truly is there and who is not. I have learned the meaning of LIFE!!!

 

Life is something that I think we all take for granted at some point in our lives. Its something we are so lucky to have. Everyday I am so Thankful to wake up and I am so Thankful for everything life has given me.

 

I'm Thankful for friends.

I'm Thankful for family.

I'm Thankful for LOVE.

I'm Thankful for life.

 

There is so much to be Thankful for!!

 

Thank You!

Cushing's Awareness Blog Challenge 2013 - Day 6

Yikes!! Due to the weekend, I'm a couple blogs behind!

MRI

 

An MRI played a large role in my diagnoses of Cushing's Disease, it was an MRI machine which found the tumor growing on my pituitary gland.

 

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize internal structures of the body in detail. MRI makes use of the property of nuclear magnetic resonance to image nuclei of atoms inside the body.

 

An MRI scanner is a device in which the patient lies within a large, powerful magnet where the magnetic field is used to align the magnetization of some atomic nuclei in the body, and radio frequency magnetic fields are applied to systematically alter the alignment of this magnetization. This causes the nuclei to produce a rotating magnetic field detectable by the scanner, and this information is recorded to construct an image of the scanned area of the body. Magnetic field gradients cause nuclei at different locations to process at different speeds, which allows spatial information to be recovered using fourier analysis of the measured signal. By using gradients in different directions, 2D images or 3D volumes can be obtained in any arbitrary orientation.

 

MRI provides good contrast between the different soft tissues of the body, which makes it especially useful in imaging the brain, muscles, the heart, and cancers compared with other medical imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) or X-rays. Unlike CT scans or traditional X-rays, MRI does not use ionizing radiation.

 

 

 



 

 

 

 



Cushing's Awareness Blog Challenge 2013 - Day 5

Pituitary Gland

 

 

The pituitary gland is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea, weighing about 5 grams. It is located at the base of the brain and rests in a small bony cavity covered by a dural fold. The pituitary gland secretes 9 hormones that regulate homeostasis. The pituitary gland is made up of three lobes: anterior, intermediate and posterior.

 

The anterior pituitary synthesizes and secretes the following important endocrine hormones:

Growth hormone

Thyroid-stimulating hormone

Adrenocorticotropic hormone

Beta-endorphin

Prolactin

Luteinizing hormone

Follice-stimulating hormone

Melanocyte-stimulating hormone
These hormones are released from the anterior pituitary under the influence of hypothalamus. Hypothalamus hormones are secreted to the anterior lobe by way of a special capillary system.

The posterior lobe develops as an extension of the hypothalamus. The posterior pituitary stores and secretes the following important endocrine hormones:
Oxytocin
Antidiuretic hormone

Hormones secreted from the pituitary gland help control the following body processes:
Growth
Blood Pressure
Some parts of pregnancy and childbirth
Breast milk production
Sex organ function
Thyroid gland function
Metabolism
Water regulation
Water balance
Temperature regulation
Pain relief

Cushing's Awareness Blog Challenge 2013 - Day 4

How I found out I have Cushing's...

 

WEIGHT! It's pretty much that simple.

 

I started dating my boyfriend in November 2009, I never really thought much of my weight as I weighed 135 pounds and have always been around that weight. I was always active but never really worked out and could pretty much eat whatever I wanted.

This was one of my more serious relationships and we pretty much started living together right from the beginning. About a year later I started putting weight on but I mean I just blamed this on being in a "comfortable" relationship. You always hear about people starting relationships and putting on a little bit of weight and well I guess I just thought this was normal. I did start to get a little concerned so I started working out and then over the next two years I was on and off with personal trainers and even diet coaches. I would lose motivation at times but I would get right back on track. It was 2012 where I noticed the most weight gain and the summer of that year I started training for a half marathon where I figured if I ate right I would lose the weight for sure. This was complete oposite and I knew there was something wrong. Despite all the training, I was still gaining weight.

Meeting with my Endocrinologist changed my life forever. I originally met up with her so she could properly teach me about portion sizes but she knew there was something up. She started doing all kinds of blood work and urine test and sure enough in December 2012 is when I was officially diagnosed with Cushing's Disease. My cortisol levels were through the roof and an MRI confirmed a tumor was growing on my pituitary gland. I also have a lot more side effects (most of the ones that come with Cushing's), but weight is the one that really stood out for me.