Cushing’s Recovery Update: On this day last year…

On this day last year at this very moment I was preparing myself to go the hospital to have an adrenalectomy to remove my right adrenal glad. I had developed a 3cm benign tumor that turned into Cushing’s syndrome.

I felt like shit - hot sweats, shakes, racing heart, my eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head, my skin hurt and I had little strength. Most of all, I was scared. Hell, I was going into surgery. I don’t think anyone looks forward to having their body cut open with a scalpel.

When I arrived at the hospital, I was told they had moved up the time of my surgery and had to prep me ASAP. OK, now I was starting to freak out. I hadn’t eaten in more than 12 hours and I felt like I was going to pass out. The last thing I remember was being rolled into a small, sterile surgical room. The room felt unusually cold. All I wanted was a blanket to keep me warm. Now the drugs were starting to take over. Huh, you want me to move my body from this gurney to the one sitting next to me? You’re kidding right? Then I woke up in the recovery room. I was so groggy and wanted to wake up so I could look at the new me. I was cured from Cushing’s syndrome.

The past 12 months have been more difficult than I was prepared for. There were times when recovery was harder than being sick. There were times when I wondered if I would ever recover.

I’m glad those days are long behind me and I’ve reclaimed my body & my life. I think one of the things that made my recovery easier was creating a support network with others who were going through the same thing I was. The friends I’ve made in my recovery have helped to ease the pain and loneliness of the disease. And it’s these people who truly understand the struggles of recovering from Cushing’s.

I can assure those of you in recovery from Cushing’s that it does get better. Each day you make a little progress. Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint.

• No more weight gain, started the process of loosing weight
• started regaining muscle strength, started an exercise program again
• skin is no longer paper thin
• no more bruising
• no more hair in unwanted places
• no more hot sweats
• no more excessive hunger, normal appetite
• normal face, no longer moon shaped and puffy
• normal blood pressure
• normal blood sugar
• normal cholesterol
• very little insomnia
• no more aches and pains in my joints
• no more skin rashes
• stopped developing stretch marks and the stretch marks I do have are starting to fade
• stable moods
• ability to sit and relax without fidgeting

I have a lot to be grateful for and milestones to be proud of. I hope this time next year I’ll be in a place where my body or health isn’t inhibited in any way.

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