SYMPTOMS OF CUSHING'S

GENERAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS OF A CUSHIE

Can you keep up with the grandmas in your life? 

I can, I've got most if not all their symptoms of becoming older, and it's not cause I'm lazy or plain fat

If you have a number of these symptoms: GET TO A DOCTOR AND DEMAND ENDOCRINE TESTING ... 

Cyclical Cushing's gives us "old people ailments" not normally seen in younger patients, such as :

• high blood pressure

• type 2 diabetes, high blood sugars or hypoglycemia, glucose intolerance

• osteoporosis or frequent bone breaks from little impact

• narrowing social life

• suppressed or weakened immune system, 
• reoccurring infections

• kidney stones

• acid reflux

• blood clots that cause stroke, pulmonary embolism, or deep vein thrombosis

• urinating in the middle of the night

• loss of balance, frequent falls

• extreme fatigue

• poor memory

• slow word recall
• cataracts or glaucoma
• shingles
• bursitis 

( another symptom of mine is the addition of being able to paint!!!! That's the best symptom !!!!! ) 

MUSCULOSKELETAL CHANGES: 

Excess cortisol causes the muscles of the upper arms and legs/hips to become weaker.

• muscle wasting; heavy arms and pain in legs
     • difficulty holding up blow dryer, washing up, 

     • getting out of chair
     • climbing upstairs
     • standing

     • failed squat test (squat, can't get back up without assistance)

• loss of balance, frequent falls

• pain in the feet upon waking, difficulty walking; docs call this plantar fasciitis
• dropping things from the hands when you think you are grabbing on tightly
• bone loss that leads to 
     • "bad teeth" that crack easily
     • broken bones
     • osteopenia or osteoporosis (especially at a young age) 
• growth retardation/ stunted growth in children

KiDNEY ISSUES/ ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCE
• nocturia (urinating during the night)

• polyuria (volume of urine is high)

• excessive sweating for no reason

• temperature control issues (hot when cool out; cold when hot out)
• pitting edema (swelling) in legs, feet, ankles

SKIN CHANGES

• progressive weight gain of ___ in ___ months despite careful exercise and nutrition control with food diary

• weight gain
     • skin that hangs down below your belly button called pannum
     • moon facies (roundness of the face); can’t see the ears of a Cushing’s patient
     • supraclavicular fat pads (collar bones aren’t visible; compare to Hollywood actresses on red carpet)

     • buffalo hump at base of neck; hump can be hard or soft; painful when hard; sometimes difficult to turn our necks; place four fingers sideways on the back of your neck with pinkie touching hair line...your forefinger will be touching the top of buffalo hump   

• thin and fragile skin
     • facial plethora (red cheeks look like rosacea)
     • skin tears easily (bandage removal)
     • skin or injuries slow to heal   
     • bruise easily
     • infections 
     • red/ purple striae/ stretch marks (small to very wide makes on abdomen and breasts but can also affect thighs and armpits) (only 50% of patients will have this, NIH 2017); striae rubra (red) can fade to striae alba (lighter than skin) in cyclical Cushing's patients 

• acanthosis nigricans (darkening of skin from insulin resistance) typically seen on elbows, knees, knuckles, arm pits, back of neck

• brittle nails

• acne 

• pimples, boils (furuncles) or hidradenitis suppurativa in skin folds in arm pits, groin, buttocks or under breasts, stomach flab or 'pannum'

• skin tags

• psoriasis

SLEEP TROUBLE/ FATIGUE
• exhaustion/ extreme fatigue plus insomnia; want to sleep but can’t

• extreme daytime fatigue

• extreme fatigue in afternoon, then second wind that keeps you up all night, crash at 4-6 am, wake 10a-12p
• if asleep at night, then waking up at 4 am for “no reason”

• insomnia, wired at night

• inability to fall asleep or inability to stay asleep

• night sweats, sometimes drenching clothes

MENTAL HEALTH
• personality changes
• anxiety 

• irritability

• hostile/ short fuse

• emotional volatility
• crying

• rage
• overwhelmed
• medication-resistant depression = depression that fails to respond to medications
• social anxiety/ limited socializing
• suicidal thoughts

• don't want to commit suicide but wouldn’t mind not waking up

• loss of hope, can’t see light at the end of the tunnel

• loss of interest in hobbies

• difficulty focusing

• loss of motivation; incomplete projects

COGNITIVE CHANGES
• brain fog
• confusion
• sluggish brain
• delayed word recall
• poor memory
• running into door jams/ scraping arms as you pass through
• blurry vision/ double vision

HEART ISSUES:  Excess cortisol raises blood pressure and puts stress on the heart and vascular system.

• high blood pressure

• cardiovascular disease 

• heart arrhythmia

• tachycardia

• blood clots 

     • need for blood thinners 

     • could lead to deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, stroke

VISION CHANGES

• headaches

• loss of peripheral vision

• tripping and clumsiness

• eye pain

• ptosis (eye drooping)

• cataracts

• glaucoma
• keratoconus (steepening of the cornea)

HAIR CHANGES
• hirsutism or unwanted, male-pattern hair growth in women
     • dark, coarse hair on body areas such as face (lip, chin), chest and back

     • balding that causes thinning hair at temples or hair loss in clumps
• texture of hair changes: curly hair goes straight, straight hair turns curly 

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

• infertility

• loss of libido

• inability to orgasm
• sexual dysfunction

     • men: erectile dysfunction
     • women: irregular menstruation or lack of menses (amennorhea)

ISSUES WITH OTHER ORGANS

• peptic ulcers
• pancreatitis

• fatty liver

• high calcium (get tested for MEN-1)