I have been overweight most of my adult life.  I was diagnosed with PCOS in July of 1999 and have had problems with my health on and off.  Looking back now, the flags that should have went up first started in 2008 after my dad passed away.  He had been sick for a couple of years and losing him was extremely hard.  After he died, I started having bad insomonia and vomiting a lot.  I chalked it up to grief.  I threw myself into work and tried keeping busy to keep my mind off of my loss.  In July 2009, my husband Jimmy was diagnosed with Stage 4 Kidney Cancer. The next two and a half months were filled with doctors visits, treatment, stress, and confusion.  September 11, 2009 Jimmy was put in the hospital for pain managment.  He never left the hospital. After many complications he lost his battle with cancer on October 17, 2009.  This left me a single mom to our 3 wonderful children.  The insomonia got worse and so did the vomiting.  I was vomiting after every meal, but not losing weight.  My weight stayed the same.  This seemed kind of strange to me, but I figured it was all part of the grief.  I also started having migraines on a regular basis.  It was more common for me to have a migraine than to not have one.  I existed and did what I had to do to raise my kids and live my life from day to day.

In January 2011 I did something I didn't think was possible.  I met and fell in love with a wonderful man.  Joe came into my life when I really needed him to.  He was a blessing to both me and my kids.  I got pregnant and we were both overjoyed to think of bringing a new life into the world.  That joy didn't last long.  I suffered a miscarriage February 24, 2011.  It devastated both of us, but we picked up the pieces and moved forward.  I ask my doctor why the miscarriage happened and was told "it just wasn't meant to be." 

I started gaining weight rapidly after my miscarriage.  I weighed 244 pounds and had for several years.  My weight would fluctuated as I tried to get healthier, but mostly stayed at 244.  My weight started going up by at least 5 pounds a month.  I started eating healthier, walking more, and trying to be more active but the weight kept gaining on me.  I also started noticing blurred vision, lightheadedness, nausea, muscle stiffness, loss of strength, dizziness, and many other symptoms that didn't seem right.  I chalked them up to my PCOS and went on with life.

I was happy and in a loving relationship again.  Joe and I got engaged and I started planning our wedding.  We set the date for August 6, 2011 and so I was busy getting everything ready.  The most exciting part was going to buy a wedding dress.  I made my dress the first time around because I was so embarrassed by my size.  I decided to love my body and myself for who I was and went and bought a dress.  I loved my dress and it made me feel like a princess.  I bought it about a month before the wedding.  I tried my dress on a couple of weeks before the wedding and it wouldn't fit anymore.  I had gained so much weight it would not zip.  I panicked because I certainly didn't have enough money to buy another dress.  I ended up customizing the dress myself by ripping out the zipper and putting in a corsette back on the dress.  My weight kept going up.  By this point I had gained around 50 pounds without explanation why.  Our wedding day was beautiful and hot.  Joe and I were married with our children by our side and family and friends gathered around us with record breaking temperatures outside.

During the next several months I gained more weight, continued having symptoms of other medical problems and in September was pregnant again.  I was excited but apprehensive this time.  I didn't want anything to go wrong.  I set up my doctors appointment and went for my ob visit on October 5 I made my journey to the doctor.  They did a urine test and then bloodwork and confirmed to me that I had suffered another miscarriage.  I ask why my body was doing this and why was I gaining so much weight.  By this point I looked like I was pregnant with twins and had gained over 80 pounds.  The doctor had no explanation for me.  She said I would need to ask that question to my regular physician.  So, I looked and found a family physician and went to see what my medical problems were.  After several times of going to her, having bloodwork done and then having her tell me to "wait and see" what happened I quit going.  She had no new explanations and thought I should be happy that my weight had went to only gaining 1 pound a week.

In January 2012, while on a trip to Jefferson City with Joe and the kids I started experiencing chest pains.  We immediately returned home.  The pains did not subside so I went to the ER.  They kept me overnight for observation of a possible heart attack.  I kept having this crushing feeling in my chest and neck.  My heart stress tests showed my heart was in wonderful condition.  The only thing they were worried about was the fact that my heart rate was very fast, even at rest.  The attending doctor told me I was just a fat girl and needed to lose weight.  If I would just do that I would be fine.

I was finally able to get in to see the doctor who had taken care of my dad the last couple years of his life.  This is a doctor I knew and trust.  I know that when there is a problem he will take care of it or refer you to someone who can.  My first visit with him was in March 2012.  He came into the room and ask me what he could do for me.  I told him honestly "I want my health back."  My doctor listened to me and all of my symptoms and then he examined me.  He observed my legs were still relatively skinny and that my weight was mostly contained in the upper part of my body.  He also observed the hump on my back and skin discoloration that I had not noticed.  He ask me if I had ever heard of Cushing's.  I had because my oldest daughter had been tested for it in December 2011.  Luckily, her tests had come out negative.  I had high blood pressure which I was immediately put on medication for and I had bloodwork done to check and see what was going on with me.  The next week the doctors office called and said I needed to be referred to an endocrinologist for further testing.

It took a couple of weeks to get into the endocrinologist.  There was more bloodwork and a 24 hour urine test.  The first of the bloodwork was suspicious, but because I was on medicine for PCOS it may not be correct. So I stopped taking those medications.  Within 2 weeks of not taking those meds I was diagnosed as diabetic and my labs were looking like I did have Cushing's.  Back on medication now for diabetes and high blood pressure I had two 24 hour urine tests to do now.  A week or two later the results were back and it was confirmed I had Cushing's.  I had a CT scan of my adrenal glands and they were able to find a 4.6 cm tumor on my right adrenal gland.  The scan was not able to deteremine if the tumor is cancerous or not.  I was referred to a surgeon for the removal of the gland and tumor.  My surgery is scheduled for July 2, 2012.

My name is Tammy and I am 39 years old.  I was recently diagnosed with Cushing's Syndrome as a result of an adrenal gland tumor.  This blog is going to follow my journey through surgery and recovery.  I am trying to educate people about the real battle with a rare disorder.