tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648585121189426482011-11-10T22:03:13.587-05:00Thoughts on Cushing's and Lifemertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.comBlogger411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-15353211190628180462011-11-09T21:24:00.000-05:002011-11-09T21:47:22.867-05:00

An obese model lying seductively in a red bra and black lace panties has become the poster child for why a husband should cheat on his wife in ads slapped across the Internet this week. "Does your wife scare you at night?" asks an ad for Ashley Madison, the dating site that promotes affairs outside marriage. As a woman who has to fight her weight constantly, and who generally is losing the

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-25680485577491262842011-10-17T20:02:00.004-04:002011-10-17T20:07:56.352-04:00

I'm in Scarlett O'Hara mode. I had a serum cortisol test last week at 4 pm. It was 16. That's too high, but nothing is definitive at 4:00. The good news is the doctor who ordered the test knew it wouldn't prove or disprove Cushing's, but said if it was really high or low we'd know to check further. Honestly, I doubt that 16 will concern her. I wish it didn't concern me. But the stress I am

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-1659206587777094192009-06-27T00:25:00.008-04:002009-06-27T13:18:51.961-04:00

This post is a tribute to a woman who is well known in the Cushing's community, our own Mary O'Connor, affectionately known as MaryO to those whose lives she has touched. Mary had Cushing's Disease rear it's ugly head in her life in 1983, long before the internet. She diagnosed herself after reading an article in a woman's magazine, then spent a couple of years trying to get a doctor to listen to

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-56360215738113171282009-05-03T23:32:00.004-04:002009-05-04T00:39:53.739-04:00

Recently I made a new friend through a meetup group online. He's a 40 something man who is post-op pituitary surgery. He was on hydrocortisone for 4 months and then his doctor took him off the hydro as well as his Synthroid because in the doctor's words: "You are cured. You no longer need these medications." The poor man has been in terrible pain ever since. He is on pain killers for all the

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-9751080379644777652009-04-22T23:31:00.002-04:002009-04-22T23:48:30.505-04:00

Thought I'd let everyone know how life is going for me these days. Let's see, I'm working part time, and I'm enjoying it. I work in a department store and stand on my feet 5 hours a stretch....and I can DO it! No way I could have done this 3 yrs ago, and probably not even 1 yr ago. So I am still getting better! It has been a long road, but for the most part I have my life back. I love interacting

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-60102083604298344192009-04-17T00:43:00.002-04:002009-04-17T00:44:22.715-04:00

I think Spring has finally sprung. Funny how my body, mind, and spirit also seem to experience rebirth as the days get longer. To be continued...

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-53247897337396745442009-02-22T00:23:00.004-05:002009-02-23T11:39:23.387-05:00

I start every post by apologizing for not keeping up with my writing...so again, I apologize. I think part of the problem is that I am just turning inward so much lately. I am avoiding people and just keeping to myself (and family). I don't feel like sharing much, and am just holding it all in as much as possible. I really feel like I'm in hibernation. Waiting for winter to be over, waiting for

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-66739247319153151112009-02-03T01:51:00.000-05:002009-02-03T01:55:34.616-05:00

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-43485303262943160412009-01-07T01:06:00.002-05:002009-01-07T01:31:12.250-05:00

I wish I could write here consistently, but life seems to get in the way. Or maybe I just let it get in the way!This is still a really difficult time for us. We miss Bill and we miss the family that we'd come to depend on. What I mean is, we just sort of took for granted that they would always be, and now that family is fragmented. Our daughter is not reacting to this death the way that we

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-84978123891390218952008-12-27T23:16:00.004-05:002008-12-27T23:54:46.967-05:00

We got through Christmas. It was pretty rough, but we got through. We thought that would be the hard part, but a therapist tells us that the hard part is still ahead of us...after the letdown from the holidays. At least we are prepared for it now. On Christmas morning, imagine the surprise the girls got when they saw this:They were all excited to see those bootprints on the hearth. We have a

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-33898956915208787632008-12-17T00:27:00.004-05:002008-12-17T00:38:29.043-05:00

Today was better. I was busy every minute. We went shopping with friends for the better part of the day, then rushed home so DH and the other guy could go to work and I could meet S and go eat with her and the girls before their Christmas program at school. They looked so pretty in their new velvet and satin dresses. On the way there, Gabby said "I have a surprise for you at the program, Mom!"

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-39035093473114689142008-12-16T00:50:00.002-05:002008-12-16T01:03:19.156-05:00

Today was just blah. I got up early, in anticipation of a shopping trip with a girlfriend, but we scrapped that idea around 7:00 AM when it was light enough outside to see what all the noise was about. The wind was howling and the temperature dropped from 49 degrees last night to 16 this morning. Everything was a sheet of glare ice, and we decided shopping could wait. We will try it again

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-9921067949381975132008-12-15T00:02:00.004-05:002008-12-15T00:18:05.629-05:00

My DH and I are walking around like zombies, trying to do all the things that need to be done, but we are both aching and sometimes when we are alone we look at each other and just start crying and saying "I can't believe he did this" to each other. My husband is taking this really hard, I worry about him. What we are going through is called heartache for a good reason. It really hurts our hearts

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-31180544319870685512008-12-12T12:05:00.004-05:002008-12-12T22:05:15.351-05:00

Ok, time to lighten things up a little bit. Maybe it will lighten up my mood!Christy and Jess tagged me, and the instructions are to write 8 random things about myself and then to tag 8 other bloggers. So here goes:1. I grew up in New Harmony, IN, a town that was the site of a utopian experiment. It's a beautiful little town with a very rich history, and it was THE perfect place to grow up. Think

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-83086154682397237822008-12-10T14:44:00.005-05:002008-12-10T18:30:01.352-05:00

I'm writing this blog today to tell you about our son-in-law, Bill. Bill died last Monday by his own hand. We are coming out of the shock and going into grief, which includes sadness, guilt, and anger. Bill was married to my older bonus daughter, and they have been extremely happy together for about 10 years. They have 2 little girls that everyone adores. The girls are 5 and 8 years old, but will

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-76952411383422360862008-11-12T17:00:00.003-05:002008-11-12T17:09:46.948-05:00

Today I walked past a mirror and thought "Ugh". I usually think that when I see myself, but today it brought up memories of the day a doctor finally thought there might be something to my suspicions that my health problems were endocrine. I'd taken in a picture of me and my husband that was taken 5 years earlier, at our 2nd daughter's high school prom. The doctor, who hadn't known me for 5 years,

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-937375596905416122008-10-30T02:23:00.002-04:002008-10-30T02:25:46.282-04:00

Hallelujah gentle readers! DH got a job! After 10 months, we'd just about given up hope. Now maybe life can get back to normal, and I can work on getting healthy again.

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-67906330149096421932008-10-18T22:39:00.003-04:002008-10-18T22:57:09.760-04:00

I found this article and thought it would be of interest to the Cushing's community, since so many suffer from fatty liver and diabetes. My new diet is in response to the way I've been feeling lately, as well as the 225 blood sugar reading I got 2 hours after dinner one day last week. I'm not diagnosed diabetic, but it runs rampant on my maternal side of the family. I figure I need to try to head

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-49804592871642144732008-10-18T00:19:00.008-04:002008-10-18T00:54:46.426-04:00

I've been away for awhile again. I lost my internet connection for 2 weeks and that was interesting - I lived through it with very little withdrawal, which was a surprise for me. But I did miss all my online friends. I'm on my 4th or 5th data card. Everytime Windows does a service pack, my connection bites the dust.I'm struggling lately with weight loss. At first, right after my pituitary surgery

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-8235700007474742532008-09-22T01:21:00.005-04:002008-09-22T01:44:26.942-04:00

I haven't been around much lately, mainly because I am working on a project and just haven't had time. I hate writing here so sporadically, but it's that or nothing for me these days!Many of you know that I live in a beautiful woodland. This is our dream location, we both love everything about the woods. (Except I am not fond of snakes!)If you notice the photo on my homepage, you can see what I

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-44167403743518355562008-09-12T23:15:00.002-04:002008-09-12T23:29:56.484-04:00

This study caught my attention. It is, in itself, quite interesting. But the thing that got me was that they did this and measured these subjects' cortisol levels several times throughout the course of the interview, once beforehand, and then at 30 minute intervals. And it occurred to me: Why do sick people have to beg to get cortisol tests to check for Cushing's?!COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Researchers

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-78940976148000175632008-09-11T21:14:00.002-04:002008-09-11T21:25:18.566-04:00

We went to Applebee's for dinner last night while on a trek to the "city" for my meds at Walmart. (BTW, I was able to get 3 months worth of generic Synthroid for $10!!! What a deal!)Anyway, we were sitting there waiting for our meals, and an older lady was walking with 2 little boys holding her hands past our table. I looked at the little one, who was maybe 2 yrs old and at first I thought he was

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-87750028299481566482008-09-07T22:32:00.002-04:002008-09-07T22:41:07.706-04:00

I found this article today and it cracked me up. I mean, how many of us Cushing's patients can say our doctors never told us we were eating too much and not exercising enough? I wish they'd do a study on Cushing's patients and see how many got an endocrine work-up right away when they told their doctors they couldn't lose weight. But instead, we get this!Doctors skimp on diet, exercise adviceBy

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-44340702674702314592008-09-01T22:37:00.005-04:002008-09-02T00:56:01.358-04:00

I am over a year and a half post-op pituitary surgery for Cushing's. I had to take Cortef to replace my cortisol for nearly a year after surgery. I could not WAIT to get off the stuff. After all, patients like me have been suffering with an excess of cortisol for some time. It's the stuff that made us fat, depressed, achey, and red-faced, among other things. So it's probably understandable that

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-41475968132844703162008-08-28T15:05:00.003-04:002008-08-28T15:18:18.176-04:00

I've been away from home all week, visiting my kids. A girlfriend and I drove down to the Detroit area to see our daughters, and then my daughter and I drove down to Indiana to visit my son and his family. It has been a good visit, I've enjoyed seeing my kids and grandkids, but I am about ready to get back home. Tomorrow my friend will meet me back here at my daughter's, and we will head north.

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-31244655220094808362008-08-23T23:11:00.005-04:002008-08-24T06:23:16.199-04:00

I have to admit, the past few months I have not been a very good advocate for my fellow Cushing's sufferers. I don't have any excuse except that I am sick to death of Cushing's. I want it eradicated. I don't want people hurting and suffering, and for awhile I just couldn't stand to watch others going through it. It is a terrible, heartbreaking disease that destroys lives and relationships, as

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-12624729963576384632008-08-23T15:42:00.005-04:002008-08-23T15:58:24.100-04:00

Lightning struck our house this morning. I was getting ready to step outside to go to the bank and turned to look for the umbrella since it was pouring down rain. Then BOOM and a ball of fire and holy crapola!We have 3 pines growing up through our deck and 2 were hit. Hub was on the laptop and got a little shock, but is ok, thank God. We looked outside when the rain slowed. There are 2 holes

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-41922568405748090692008-08-22T12:29:00.018-04:002008-08-22T19:51:07.535-04:00

It has been a long time since I've done an update on my health after my pituitary surgery in January of 2007, and today just seemed like a good day to do it. I want to preface this by saying that it took about 12 years before a doctor actually listened to me and noticed the changes that I'd been pointing out to them all along. I had doubts thrown at me all the way through my Cushing's journey,

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-80373491105212673192008-08-19T21:25:00.004-04:002008-08-19T21:38:43.319-04:00

I babysat all day today for the baby of a young woman who used to practically live at our house when she and my daughter were little kids. She calls me "Mom" so I am thinking it's ok if I am her baby's gramma.So I was up early, not knowing what to expect from this new little person. She is 3 months old and her name is Emma. She was amazing, interacting with us, looking across the room and smiling

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-34342860944602149992008-08-18T23:19:00.003-04:002008-08-18T23:56:55.048-04:00

I've been missing for several days and I apologize. My laptop had to go into the shop again, and my pc is painfully slow, so I just didn't feel like dealing with it. So, in the meantime, I've been living my life and trying to pretend I've never heard of Cushing's, that I don't have limitations, and that so many people that I care about are not sick. It felt really good, I can't lie. I needed a

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-68569114686177596752008-08-06T00:10:00.008-04:002008-08-07T01:23:19.009-04:00

Recently I was talking to a friend from the Cushing's boards (http://www.cushings-help.com/) and we were discussing how people without Cushing's don't understand what we are going through. Even the wonderful (but rare) doctors who help us don't seem to understand that we need to feel better as quickly as possible. Cushing's messes with your body, and everyone can see that. But more than that,

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-40522016592875067242008-08-04T00:56:00.002-04:002008-08-04T02:00:18.902-04:00

Beauty has meant different things to different people through the ages. The plump Rubinesque models of the olden days were considered gorgeous in their day. Women who look like that today are met with looks of scorn and possible ridicule. That bitch Twiggy came along in the 60's and ruined it for all of us women who have curves. Now if we don't look like we are on Death's Door, we do not meet the

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-32836691958793849542008-08-01T08:08:00.007-04:002008-08-01T19:25:29.697-04:00

My mother gave birth to me when she was 44 years old. When I was about 5 years old, she became sick and was in and out of the hospital all the time. When I was nine, on a very hot day in July, she died. She had esophageal cancer, that metastasized to her lungs. She was in the hospital when it happened. They operated on her, believing that her cancer had been reduced by radiation therapy, and

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-26298566416805350292008-07-30T22:31:00.003-04:002008-07-30T23:34:25.597-04:00

I want to take a trip. I'd hoped to go home to Indiana earlier this summer, but we couldn't make that happen. I would love a trip to the UP, but what will we do with our bratty little dog, Lacey? If we take her, she probably won't behave. If we take her to a kennel, she also probably won't behave, and I hate to just leave her with strangers. Oh, and we really can't afford it just now. So I'm

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-62406542874173974142008-07-29T09:44:00.005-04:002008-07-29T17:54:56.853-04:00

A blogging friend posted an old thread about something she was going through a few years back from the www.cushings-help.com message boards, and it made me curious about my first post there. I revisit that scary time here with my very first post. Thank God for those message boards, the wonderful and very supportive people who frequent them, and Mary O'Connor who created and maintains them! They

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-53104936364331426302008-07-28T23:57:00.009-04:002008-07-29T01:22:37.345-04:00

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how we perceive a situation and how it can be totally different from how another sees it. Or maybe our perception changes with time. I especially have been thinking about this in relation to how my husband and I lost our jobs. DH worked at the same place for 34 years. He loved manufacturing and had done every job in the place. When the old company was sold

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-52155755562627878872008-07-25T22:48:00.008-04:002008-07-25T23:13:41.209-04:00

I saw this article and was struck by how it can relate to Cushing's patients, and post-op patients who are going through the pain of steroid withdrawal. Taken from Livescience.com, written by Robert Roy Britt, LiveScience Managing EditorFirst off, let's set the record straight: Pain is normal. About 75 million U.S. residents endure chronic or recurrent pain. Migraines plague 25 million of us. One

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-91789316332497669872008-07-24T00:26:00.003-04:002008-07-24T00:30:29.824-04:00

I threw a party at my house tonight. I cooked for hours, and did a thorough cleaning on my house. Had the DH helping me a bit, but I did most of it myself. I had a wonderful time with my guests. Later in the evening, the people who stayed awhile sat out on the deck with me and we drank wine and chatted. I could not have dreamed of doing this last year, or the year before, or even the one before

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-28039216094643012372008-07-22T22:14:00.005-04:002008-07-22T23:37:23.111-04:00

Borrowed from a new friend on myspace, whose site is a "ME-CFIDS-PVFS-FMS-MS-RA-Lyme-Lupus and related diseases support page". She goes by the name "ME, my bed, and I". I asked her if I could borrow this since so many of us Cushing's and post-op Cushing's patients are Vitamin D deficient. She graciously agreed:Vitamin D metabolism and Th1 inflammation1,25-D is manufactured in the cytoplasm of Th1

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-42506851649068705762008-07-21T01:55:00.000-04:002008-07-21T02:23:57.587-04:00

I had surgery 18 months ago to remove a small tumor from my pituitary gland. I'd been sick for about 12 years, and very sick for the last 4. I went into the surgery thinking that I would go back to "normal" afterwards. Well, people tried to warn me it wasn't quite that simple, but I am sometimes optimistic to the point of being dense. So I found out the hard way (which really is the way I

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664858512118942648.post-33351501771631356302008-07-19T01:22:00.000-04:002008-07-19T02:09:08.307-04:00

I'm writing this blog in the hope that it will help me move on. I've survived Cushing's Disease, and now my husband and I are trying to survive another attack on our peaceful existence.Recently we have had life-altering experiences. We moved out in the boonies where some of our friends have told us they wouldn't live if their lives depended on it. We've also both lost our jobs due to corporate

mertoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07125090424173564541noreply@blogger.com0