Category — Photos of My Journey

It’s been three months since I had surgery to rid my body of Cushing’s syndrome. A lot has changed since my last post about my recovery progress. My body is slowly starting to gain muscle strength and my energy levels are about 75%. I started teaching my cycle class again about 5 weeks ago - that was a scary accomplishment. I try to work out 3-4 times a week - I look at it as physical therapy. I so badly want to go to the gym 5 or 6 days a week and hit the weights hard, but I have to remind myself that I have to take things slowly. This isn’t something I can just power thru because my body can’t rebound like it used too.

The biggest changes I’ve seen so far have been the weight loss in my face. Big difference - lost the jowels & no more red checks.

with Cushing's syndrome

without Cushings syndrome

The rest of my body is slow to shed the weight. I’m still on steroids (a small dose) and my body is having trouble finding balance. Speaking of steroids… After surgery I decided a change was in order - I cut my hair super short & went platinum blonde. Apparently bleach & steroids don’t mix very well because a couple of days after I become a blondie, my hair started coming out by the handful. My hair was breaking off about 1 inch from root, mostly in the back. @#$!!!! I had two choices. I could crawl in a hole & cry until my hair grew back or I could go with the flow…I still had hair on top, right? Screw it, I want a mohawk! And you know, I actually really like it. Now many women can say they’ve sported a mohawk

The muscle & joint aches are getting better - slowly. The move I move, the better I feel. I look forward to the day I can get out of bed without hearing pop crack pop crack and feeling like I’m about 90 years old. Patience is a virtue, right?

The part I’m enjoying the most is the ability to sit still & relax and for the first time in more than 4 years I can sleep. Before surgery, my body felt like it was constantly zinging - you could almost see the electricity. Now I can sit comfortably & watch a movie from start to finish. And sleep - ah sleep! No more waking up at 2am and getting 3 or4 hours of sleep every night. Now I can sleep thru the night…just like a baby.

I’m still struggling with how to move forward and put all of this in perspective. For now, it’s just one day at a time and the journey continues.

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This is me early on, before I developed Cushing’s syndrome. I was about 25 years old.

Before Cushing's syndrome

With Cushing's syndrome

During my research of Cushing’s syndrome, I found a helpful Cushing’s resource that explain the symptoms, diagnosis & treatment options for both Cushing’s syndrome & Cushing’s disease. I hope this information is helpful to others who are stricken with this debilitating disease & you can find your way to living a normal life again. You can view more pictures of me with Cushing’s in a later post Recovery Update: Month 11.

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