and opinions am I nuts am I sick....

*I posted this on a Cushing's Disease support forum in hopes someone would answer-no one did so I thought I'd post here. If no one knows what Cushing's disease is it's when your body produces too much steriods usually from a benign tumor on your andrenal glands or pituitary gland. It causes many symptoms. I've been diagnosed with it's "cousin" PCOS but have not been getting normal periods still and have so many other symptoms.


I keep wanting to think this is all just in my head but I don't know what to do anymore. I've been diagnosed with PCOS and have gained 100 pounds within the last year. Things go really bad after I had my son 7 years ago. I have almost a full on beard, my hair is falling out, I've fractured my tailbone and now am having chronic yeast infections. They tested my 8 a.m morning cortisol and it was at a 5 which was somewhat low so they said I didn't have cushing's. Testosterone was high and DHEA was on the lower side....I asked if it's possible I had cushing's and my Dr said no but another Dr I spoke with said there are only specific ways to test for cushing's not one simple 8 a.m cortisol can tell me. I'm frustrated. I have my third yeast infection on my stomach and it's traveled to my genitals and my feet. I feel so gross, I look like I'm 12 months pregnant and my stomach is HARD on the top...my ankles hurt so badly I have no energy and feel sick to my stomach all the time. I've almost been hospitilized with near psychosis and have had a myriad of different psych diagnosis but no medications work for me...I don't know what to do anymore. Has anyone hear any advice? Had anyone here been Dx'd with Cushing's but had a low a.m cortisol but a wacky 24 hour cortisol? I really need help.

*Please anyone here let me know if I seem like I'm looking for other things other than the real culprit to my mental health problems. Cushings can cause psychosis from too much steriods being produced but no doctor will test me for it and my family looks at me like they feel sorry for me but I'm convinced at times I am sick with this. I don't know what to do. Just when I'm ready to accept my dissociative disorder I have to get another yeast infection or not have another period or SOMETHING! Why am I being so ambivalent? Any opinions would be so appreciated right now I'm really depressed, feeling somewhat desperate and not trusting how I'm feeling right now and I'm scared.

brandomsmom,
All I can say is that I'm so sorry you have all those problems! [Hugs if wanted!]

Just some of my thoughts... It might be possible that dissociative could cause your problems. What I've learned about it, it COULD be that way. But also possible that not...

Luckily I myself don't have much somatoform dissociative symptoms. But I've seen nasty stomach problems in my mother. And my daughter, having many problems, pains, and so on...

brandonsmom!

This all sounds so devastating. The amount you are dealing with right now is remarkable.

It kinda sounds like a catch-22. You could accept it's medical, and get treated solely for that, or accept it's dissociative. If you ask me, it's probably a mixture of both. Dissociation has an effect on everything...mind, body, central nervous system...it could be medical, but worsened as a result of the dissociation.

I believe in your ability to heal, both mentally and physically. But you may need to just kind of accept things as they are right now, until you learn more. Worrying about what the cause is isn't going to help you at all. In fact, it could make things worse.

Please continue to do everything you can to take care of your body and your mind. What psych meds are you on right now? What kind of treatment are you undergoing for the PCOS? Have they determined that your body is indeed resisting insulin?

Thanks everyone for the replies. Divided..I'm not on any meds right now but have been prescribed birth control to make my periods more regular. Sometimes I wonder if the physical symptoms are worsened also by dissociaton in the sense that I don't always take care of myself as well as I should because I don't notice certain things about my body. I am going to the doctor and wil demand to be tested for Cushing's, if it's negative then great, one less thing to worry about...but in all honesty I don't think I'm being rash considering my symptoms it's actually irresponsible of my doctors to NOT test me considering the symptoms for PCOS are so much like Cushing's. They should rule it out regardless. I do tend to have a lot of black and white thinking in that I think if it's Cushing's I don't have DDNOS and vise versa and I know that's not how I should think. Thanks everyone.