A couple of months ago I was talking with a gal from our church. We have off & on discussed Justin's and Jess' Cushing's symptoms. While we were talking she started mentioning some things going on with her daughter. They started soon after she'd hit her head during a game a few years ago. Their whole family is pretty small. While her daughter doesn't look like she has Cushing's she has gained a lot of weight the last year or so. She is probably around 14 or so and still has a very good figure, her weight gain was all proportional. Still, she is much bigger than her sisters. And quite a bit bigger than she was a couple of years ago. I actually remember noticing that she was getting bigger. I had quit thinking about it because it's now normal.
As we talked, it also came out that she has a lot of stretch marks. Her mood swings are terrible. And since she has four older sisters, her mother knows that her moods are different than a typical teenage girl. Jess said that could explain why sometimes it seems like this girl likes her and sometimes it seems like she hates her.
She also has a hard time sleeping. I think I also remember her mother saying that she is "sore" a lot. There is probably more that I can't remember right now.
I know that when she first started having problems they took her to several different doctors. She had a MRI and, drum roll please........., she has a pituitary tumor. She was referred to an endocrinologist recently.
I know her appointment was in Denver the same day that the kids had their MRIs. I hadn't had a chance to talk to her until last night after Christmas Eve services. It was sort of a frustrating conversation. While I don't think she disbelieves me (with my talk of her daughter having Cushing's) for the moment she's choosing to go with the doctors as her daughter's symptoms aren't bad at the moment. Her stretch marks are faded, she's been feeling better, etc. And of course the doctor ran some tests and everything came back fine. Including her cortisol. Of course it was done at noon and it was only one test. Obviously this endo doesn't understand Cushing's especially cyclic.
I won't bug her about this, in fact I won't bring it up with her, as she'd probably start to think I was a little off my rocker and I'd hate to alienate her. But I will be very surprised if her daughter doesn't have a dx of Cushing's at some point in the future.
It's just so frustrating that someone has once again run into a doctor that will be hampering their health.
But I remember it took me awhile after discovering Cushing's to get serious about getting a dx for Justin. And then Jess. And then Bill. I guess as long as you're not desperate, it's not time yet.