First I want to introduce you to Cushing's syndrome. Cushing's syndrome is an autoimmune disorder just like diabetes. This disorder effects the endocrine system. View picture to see what your endocrine system includes.
Inside your endocine system are glands that produce hormones. Your Adrenal glad which is the small gland that sits on top on your kidneys produces a number of hormones including cortisol. Cortisol helps regulate your blood pressure and keeps your cardiovascular system in order. It also helps your body respond to stress and it helps the way your body metabolizes protein, carbohydrates and fats in your diet. When your body has to much cortisol is typically develops Cushing's syndrome.
Your body can be over producing cortisol. If it is, it is usually due to one of these three things:
1. A pituitary gland tumor
2.An ectopic ACTH-secreting tumor
3.A primary adrenal glad disease
Symptoms include:
Excess weight gain usually around the mid section and back
Fatigue
Muscle weakness
Rounding of the face
Facial flushing
Pink or purple stretch marks
Darkening on the skin in certain areas like the knees and elbows
Thin and fragile skin
Bruising and cuts that take a really long time to heal
Headache
Bone loss
The list goes on and on...
Now I'm not saying if you have a headache you have Cushing's syndrom but I would say that if you have two or three of these symptoms you may want to be tested.
Next I want to tell you about Addison's disease. Addison's disease develops when the adrenal glands can no longer produce cortisol and aldosterone. The hormone aldosterone helps your body hold on to the salt that it needs, and keeps your blood pressure steady. Your brain believe it or not plays a very important role with Addison's disease. The brain’s hypothalamus and the pituitary gland control the adrenal glands, which in turn make cortisol. The hypothalamus tells your pituitary gland to make a hormone called ACTH. This hormone then goes and tells your adrenal glands to make cortisol. When your adrenal gland can not make enough cortisol, you then have Addison's disease. Sounds complicated right? I mean if your body would just work together and be one happy family we wouldn't have these kind of problems in the world!
So what causes Addison's disease? Addison's disease usually occurs when your body's immune system starts to attack your adrenal glands and kills off the part of the gland that makes the hormones. It can also be caused from trauma to the glands from childbirth, tumors, or cancer.
People can get Addison's disease at any age. When it is caused by the immune system killing off the glands the disease is more common in women. Not fair right?
Like Cushing's syndrom Addison's disease has a list of symptoms. They include:
Fatigue
Weakness
Losing weight without trying
Loss of appetite
Feeling lightheaded
Feeling sick to your stomach and sometimes vomiting
Craving salt
And if you have diabetes, you may have low blood sugar more often then normal and it may be more severe than normal
The thing with Addison's disease is that your body can actually go into an Addison's disease crisis. When your body experiences this it is usually accompanied by severe vomiting, sudden pain in the belly, lower back and sometimes legs, a high fever, feeling restless, confused, or fearful, and having trouble staying awake.
Call your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms because you will need medical attention immediately. You can actually die from shock because your body can not produce cortisol and in return your blood pressure goes way too low.
Both Addison's disease and Cushing's syndrom is a life long disease that will need life long treatment. Luckily though with proper medication and special care from your doctor you can live a long life. This is just a little bit of information on both diseases and if you have any questions please email me and I can go into more detail about the two. There is also a lot of useful information on the web but you have to be careful with some of the stuff you read because a lot of it can be misleading.
These two diseases are pretty rare and you may or may not know someone with one of them. Either way it's good to know how to spot the two in case you are ever in a situation where you can save yourself or someone else. Like always, thank you for letting me share this information with you. I will keep you all updated on my results and I pray that I will hear something back on Monday. I know I am in God's hands and I lay all my fears upon him tonight as I write this.
Happy weekend everyone!
Kimberlee
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