Yeah. I gained 110 pounds in less than 60 days. Five male doctors told me I was healthy and should eat less. I was referred to a psychiatrist. The 6th doctor was a female. She was a former OGBYN , took one look at me and called Hospital emergency room down the street, to ready a bed: My thyroid had stopped working: Hashimoto’s Disease & Deep depression. Lost sense of taste & smell & touch. Hair loss. After treatment I had been so swollen and bloated that I lost 25 pounds in one week. This wonderful female doctor who had a genuine desire to really help women had saved my life.
I made a rare visit to a local clinic last year and was asked if I had a preference. I hadn't been had medical care for about a decade so I was surprised by this...
It's a problem that she wasn't sent to an endocrinologist by her GP years before. Weight gain is still treated like an issues of life choices and will power - that just needs to stop.
What is unfortunate is that for most, it is an issue of choice and willpower, which revolves around a mental health issue, depression, eating one’s feelings, ED, a self medication which can lead to gaining weight. Unfortunately, many issues, hormonal and otherwise, have strong evidence to suggest that being obese makes them worse and harder to control (think Type II diabetes).
@@TheBaumcm It could also be symptomatic of food insecurity. If you can't afford to eat well or live in a food desert, or don't have adequate access to transportation to get to better food, it's damn impossible to have the choice to eat well. Lower income neighborhoods sometimes only have 'convenience' stores as a place to get groceries - meaning what they eat is completely dependent upon what is available: high calorie, high sugar, highly processed foods and beverages. The medical issues that come about are direct results of what's available to them. In the US, money is often the deciding factor between eating well or not and sometimes not eating at all. Mental health and willpower can be factors, but not always and to the exclusion of all else.
@@TheBaumcmI think you’re missing a key point. Physicians and society at large continue to make characterological judgments about patients struggling with obesity and view it as a failing. Because of this, they are dismissive of symptoms, as happened with this person, and attribute everything to their obesity without adequate consideration of possible underlying conditions that should be investigated. Of course, emotional/behavioural/social factors play a role…but the way physicians and society treat you only compounds the problem and fuels the process. More importantly, physician attitudes often lead to poor standard of care because of complex bidirectional influences. I am a perfect case example with many factors interacting from childhood sexual abuse, early weight gain, weight loss as I dealt with with the issues, horrible sexual assault in early adulthood with neck injury and associated migraines, weight gain and a number of complex systemic issues that got missed for years because I was not investigated appropriately including thyroid!, severe anemia, then ETC, osteomalacia, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, CAH, being on steroids for years, and on and on. I spent 8 months wth undiagnosed spinal fractures after a car accident having my repeated complaints of pain dismissed and it was only because the rheumatologist I saw patients for at the hospital where I worked did a consult and simple X-rays…then identified scoliosis, compression fractures and started unravelling everything including osteomalacia, radiculopathy and psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis. You honestly have no idea how you get treated by most physicians when you are obese, even when you work in health care. You are judged and shamed and it makes you avoidant and negligent since the whole experience is always so aversive. I eventually found a great FD with a Ph.D. in medical anthropology who was key in helping sort so many of my underlying conditions because she (a) treated me with dignity and (b) did proper differential diagnosis and investigations. A rare gem! And the very premise of your comment is to attribute blame on the individual as a personal choice without recognizing that there are predisposing genetics, family environmental influences, mitigating circumstances etc Everyone is happy to call alcoholism and drug abuse a ‘disease’ and dichotomizes when, really, there are similar complex webs of causality and it’s a matter of how can health care best support someone struggling with this issue overcome it. I could go on and on about the biological markers for depression, anxiety etc independent of obesity and, again, the judgmental undertone that comes from someone who simply sees these problems as one of choice and willpower without understanding the complex psychosocial and biological factors that all come into play.
For most people, diet is 100% the problem. The most common global medical issues are easily dealt with preventative health care, and especially diet. The 3rd world needs to eat more, and the 1st world needs to eat less meat or none at all, and less processed food. That's just a summary, and not an invitation to a debate.
My mother was gaining weight hand over fist shortly after my dad passed. She had her thyroid removed many years ago. I asked her if she had it checked lately and she said her levels were fine and didn't know why she was gaining weight. I found out after visiting her for a while that she was eating sweets of all kinds 24/7. My father was a Diabetic and they didn't keep sweets in the house because he would eat it. When he passed, she ate her grief with sweets and was in the beginning stages of dementia. She is in a retirement home now, she doesn't know me anymore, and I miss her so much❤
I can totally relate to your loss even the candy over consumption. Anything sweet they prefer. It robs them & you of their essence that was themselves. They just become a physically functioning being until that goes too. Sugar is most likely the driver as there is evidence of it tangling & hardening the neurol cords in the brain of Alzheimer's sufferer's
I was an LPN for 40 years. My weight steadily increased over the years to 196 lbs. After I retired, my weight dropped to 154 lbs without trying. I attribute this to cortisol. Wish that I had switched careers many years ago.
Also, strangely enough there are always sugary and highly processed snacks (chips, cookies, candy, chocolate, etc) made available in the staff breakrooms at every hospital I've worked at.
every patient cured is money lost to the pharma companies who have bought most medicine prescribers. I refuse to call them doctors. The last doctor I went to was in 2012 and she was amazing. She listened, considered vitamin deficiency, holistic approaches. Unfortunately I had to move and lost her.
Doctors don't spend a lot of time advising patients about a healthy lifestyle. They know that most people won't listen to them, so they just treat the symptoms.
Some form of cushings can cause weight loss, or just fat deposition in diff places - he prob saw she didnt have that hump at the back of her neck/spine, and if she had a pear shaped body - that too flies in thhe face of text book diagnoosis. Another type of cushings is the type that comes and goes. This DOES happen. I have had periods in my life where I have had cortisol insufficiency -- one am fasting cortisol read a total of zero cortisol, which prompted the bloods to be personally ran again by the professor in charge of tthe lab, only to confirm it. They believed this to be an impossibility. It prob wasnt absolute zero - just too low too be detectible. And yes, I was barely conscious, and my husband had carried me into the clinic for the 8 am blood test. Which then lead to the ACTH challenge test, and was a borderline fail. Recently, years later now my cortisol is too high....and has been for sometime, but i can feel it beginning to drop again. 😞
See what you're doing there! Good one. Cortisol can't make you fat if you don't eat.😂. Cortisol actually metabolises fat and carbs quicker, leading to a burst of energy. So then your appetite increases to get you to eat more to make up for the loss. Your mom beat that by ignoring her appetite I guess, or restricting her eating, or by being a highly disciplined person who sticks to certain meals etc. let us know her secret to beating it. Ps. Why did she go to the doctor, meaning what high cortisol symptoms did she have. Maybe it can help overweight people to list their issues and not let doctors see "fat" and make up their own diagnosis without tests. Thanks
It's so easy for people to discount people with obesity. We still consider it a moral failing even when we understand that it's a physical disorder or a symptom.
Yup, I read people arguing a real doctor would tell people like Leslie to lose weight and she'll feel better. I have learned often in the cases when people eat a lot of food, there's a psychological reason for that. It's coping with something. Then there's conditions where weight gain just happens like Cushing's or PCOS.
It is usually a mental problem caused by trauma etc. Rarely is it physical. But it is unfortunately still a stigma and thought of as a moral failing. EDITED to say *thought of as a moral failure" sorry
This is why I get annoyed when people comment "calories in vs calories out" regarding weight loss. It's not so simple and makes people sound lazy. Hormones play more of a role than I think we even realize.
@@joeiborowski9763- wrong. Obesity is an hormonal issue. It is most often due to insulin resistance. If there is too much insulin in the body, it becomes literally impossible to let go of body fat, regardless of how few calories you take in. Also, fat loss is mostly food, not calories, but the type of food you’re eating.
In terms of obesity, Cushing’s continues to account for a very low percentage. Most obesity is related to excess calories. Not understanding that is the real problem
@tedreid1035 and @joeiborowski9763 - you’re wrong, @LauraB.335 is correct. I don’t know if you have medical training, I do. But, Dr Jason Fung who has a UA-cam channel, is a nephrologist, and has helped thousands reverse diabetes and lose weight will tell you it is metabolic disease. Obesity and diabetes are metabolic diseases.
This is textbook Cushing's. Any doctor should have the knowledge to suspect it and ask for a endocrinology consult. It's honestly worrying that they didn't 😢
Unfortunately doctors' _modus operandi_ was historically, and is concurrently, one of expert generalisation, and in general, nearly always the first line for obesity is adjustment of lifestyle with treatment of underlying mental health factors such as ADHD, BPD, PTSD, OCD or anxiety/depression, GLP-1 agonists notwithstanding. This tunnel vision (discrimination) leads to oversight in checking for comparatively rare organic factors.
Exactly, i mentioned that myself above. Its just incompetance and medical laziness. As i said, just froom the thumbnail I knew it was a cushings case. How do doctors get such basic metabolic bio chemistry SO wrong.
@@mikerope5785 Yeah - go to a doctor because oof uncontrollable weight gain, only to reccommend lifestyle changes...coz no one ever thought of that before or tried everything. Interestingly, doctors never say to a patient complaining of weightloss "maybe you should eat more - here, have some hot chips...". urgh
I can imagine how this was missed. Medical students are often more likely to think of less common problems because they are learning about long lists of differential diagnoses. In medical school, doctors are taught that common symptoms are usually due to common causes. The average family doctor may never see a patient with Cushing’s disease in 30 years of practice, but will see thousands of patients with obesity. Gradually, the lists of differential diagnoses learned in medical school become dim memories for the family doctor. An endocrinologist, on the other hand, specializes in gland disorders and should recognize those symptoms.
Endocrinologist here: in our clinic we screen every obesity patient for Cushing‘s. And in many cases we don’t find it even in very suspicious cases. The screening is simple and not very expensive - no excuse for not doing it. Especially in cases with rapid weight gain and the typical adipose tissue distribution. I also question the neurosurgeons a bit due to the complications but it is a difficult tumor to remove.
It really depends on the surgeon, Dr.Daniel Kelly at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute, is one of the best in his field and he would have taken care of this woman without any complications. I was tested for Cushing's and thankfully I didn't have it. What caused all my symptoms and weight gain was/is adult onset growth hormone deficiency. So that's something you can test your patients for as well, sounds like you're a good Doctor so I'm sure you already know this.
My weight has trippled in the past 3 years. I'm sure there's something going on because I've made significant lifestyle changes trying to get it under control. The weight keeps piling on. I have a square face now. :(
@@warrioroflight3813 there are potentials for complications with any surgery. Dr Kelly may be one of the best, but there can still be complications when he performs surgery. Thinking a surgeon won't have any complications because they are one of the best is naive.
I developed Hashimoto at 38 and started gaining a pound a day even though I was doing cardio kick boxing 2 times a week and ballroom dancing 3 days a week and I was 115 lbs. I went from a size4/6 to a 10 in a week. It took years before doctors agreed that I had hypothyroidism even though I was telling them from the beginning that I had it. I had all the symptoms and it was in the blood tests but they refused to acknowledge it. One female doctor had the nerve to tell me that I needed to change my lifestyle, as if I caused it when my lifestyle could have not been any healthier; no alcohol, no drugs, ate very healthy, exercise… I gained about 135 pounds. Never in a million years I thought I would be that big. I wasn’t even that big the day before I gave birth to my son. I was about 80+ pounds bigger that at 40 weeks pregnant. In last 3 years, I lost 50 pounds, but gained 25 back. It is so super hard even if you do exercise and super healthy, no sugar, no gluten, no fast food, no dairy, no alcohol, no bread, no pasta, no rice… I feel like I wear a fat suit 24/7.
I noticed all the things that you don't do and by no means in my passing judgment on anyone my heart truly goes out to you I'm a survivor of breast and lung cancer so I've had my own trials and tribulations The one thing that isn't in that list of I don't Is consuming animals Why is that so important? Because even though people really feel that they are doing the best by themselves we always have room for improvement and it could actually be the drugs that are used on the animals that people are consuming I know it's not the first thing people to consider there is an awareness building around this issue and these things can create a lot of health consequences There is also a dog fluoride for the last 40 years and I wish I could tell you his name but I think if you do a search on UA-cam it'll probably come up under suggestions He has found that there is a direct link between cancer and fluoride most people don't consider that fluoride is in water it is in the bottled water that is really nothing more than tapwater that people purchased feeling they're making a healthier choice as well as consuming it through cooking and drinking with their own tapwater and then all the things that people purchase like milk which is 80% tapwater though you say you don't drink milk you could be drinking a substitute that is also primarily tapwater People don't consider that their skin absorbs as well so having a really good shower filter is important because if you're taking hot showers you'll also be inhaling the vapors of those chemicals and it will go directly from the lungs to the blood and then the organs I know that's a lot for people to take but these are things I've learned over last 20 years The animals are raised for human consumption are eating unnaturally and they're eating contaminated foods that aren't actually meant for them which is creating a health crisis and that's being passed onto the consumer who was consuming the animal Along with all the other things including drinking water Can be found in other places and we don't often consider that when someone else is making or preparing our food they're using bad ingredients And I know is a huge responsibility to consider all of these things on a constant day-to-day basis but it really is important So the reason my fluoride is being brought up it's because too much fluoride and even any fluoride will block the uptake of iodine which is extremely important for the thyroid and it is an intimate relations with the adrenals which we've already heard about the cortisol So for me a lot of her symptoms were relative to thyroid malfunction So where can you find fluoride Which is what you want to eliminate As we discussed bottled water and tapwater including showers Under deodorant Toothpaste White table salt as an anti-agent Cheese as a smoothing agent Process foods because they almost always use tapwater and white table salt to include eating out at a restaurant and it doesn't matter if it's a five star restaurant or not And all the chemicals can be contributing factors and also mostly contain fluoride as well as other heavy metals any prepared drinks whether bought from the grocery store or from a place like let's say Starbucks or sodas or any of those things they're all using contaminated poisoned ingredients that no one should be consuming and it is a huge task to eliminate all of these things but the good news is as we make our own substitutes at home and that normally saves us money but it actually benefits our health Our society is dehydrated malnutritioned toxic and deficient Stress levels what you do who you do it with the thoughts that you have the time and energy you spend and what you spend it on your ability to get a good sleep And also unplugging every night before I go to sleep even though I know I'm still getting berated with 5G from people around me not directly receiving it from my apartment so I unplugged all of my Internet stuff like my modem my router even my television because that also releases radiation and I completely turn off my phone in airplane however I turn off Wi-Fi and Internet data That helps a lot It took me many months after moving in here to feeling like I'm actually being able to rest because your immune system will do what it can to protect you even if you're unaware that your body is in danger or being exposed to things that are harmful and disrupting your sleep It will do its best to defend you even from your poor lifestyle practices A lot of people are simply unaware Grounding is very helpful when it comes to having physical pain and it does lower your cortisol levels if I'm not mistaken but there are some really powerful herbs out there that also do the same I also forgot to mention that I was diagnosed with hyper thyroidism which became paradoxical after 17 years of refusing all treatments which included radiation removal of thyroid and being put on synthetic thyroid hormone I wasn't really sure why I kept saying no than it just didn't feel right and I listen to that feeling Many many years later I would be woken up and my life would start to changes more for spiritual reasons and evolved on its own but as I change my lifestyle I found that a lot of my health concerns started to dissipate and then when I went for physical my doctor required and I was completely online with that She was running through the list that she had done and one of those was on my thyroid and she said Elizabeth your thyroid is normal and I made her repeat that to me And I was so excited I couldn't contain myself because I hadn't heard that in over 17 years So it just goes to show that everything you do for your highest good will have side effects but in this case they'll all be good At the age of 48 I had dropped 55 pounds I didn't do any exercise I did nothing special I simply change the way I ate what I drank and how I lived my life The only regret is that I didn't do it sooner But in hindsight I realized that there is such thing as divine timing Every challenge we face is truly a hidden opportunity
@@elnosworld9893that’s why is so important to listen to RFKjr about how the government is making us sick to fatten the wallets of big pharma companies that financially benefit the elites in the gvt
This is exactly what is going on with me. I have been so scared to go back to see a doctor to get a diagnosis and start treatment because most doctors always see the weight and cannot go further to actually treat your real symptoms. I am so glad she was able to share her story because now I know what to do. Thank you so much for giving me this motivation and hopefully I can get better soon
Keep switching doctors until you find one who is doing their job and complain about the other ones to the medical board. If they are ignoring you they deserve to have their license is revoked. People like that should not be practicing medicine!! They clearly aren't competent if they don't know that there could be medical causes to sudden weight gain it's literally a question on so many screening questionnaires I can't believe these animals aren't looking closer at your situation. Please keep switching. Everyone deserves competent medical Care. I would definitely report these doctors to the medical board and any other oversight board that deals with medicine.
And best of luck to you ma'am. I started to gain weight in my early thirties too... I think it's mostly hormonal, not Cushing's, I don't have the other symptoms, but I'm still working on normalizing my weight at 44. Best of luck to yourself and your daughter.
Hey siobhan! This story is really similar to what my mother went through. She had a pituitary adenoma for nearly 13 years. Was told by so many doctors that she was just fat. Eventually she had many episodes of extreme high blood pressure (the top number was around 210, a record for our local hospital). Finally someone decided to scan her head. Very large tumor wrapped around her carotid artery. She went through almost identical symptoms to this woman. Such a misunderstood disease, both Cushing’s disease and syndrome. Happy ending by the way for my mom! She apparently had a very high chance of dying during her surgery but amazingly made it through. There’s so much care that happens post-op though. She went through so much.
They should but it’s awful how they limit access to this kind of specialist, at least in my experience. I have textbook cyclical Cushing’s symptoms and my doctor refuses to refer me. She’s only done one overnight dexamethasone text and basically acts like that’s the final say and I don’t have Cushing’s and no additional testing is necessary. It’s awful.
@@hayze_ablaze unfortunately, in my experience interacting with medical professionals in real life and on instagram and threads, it seems like the profession seems to attract and/or seems to *create* people who DOGGEDLY don’t want to believe that people, and especially women, (helloooo sexism,) aren’t just choosing to be overweight for shits and giggles. And if we are trying to look for medical answers to explain why we suddenly went from metabolically “normal” individuals to people who have these mysterious disorders, (that could be lipedema or Cushing’s disease or Dercum disease or even familial partial lipodystrophy if we weren’t always typical our whole lives, etc.,) they spit insults at us like, “stop grasping at straws, just take in less calories than you burn, it’s that simple, it’s pure math!” Okay gymbro, I’m 45, my IQ is probably higher than yours, I’ve tried that once or twice, spare me the sarcasm, you know? And the general physician would rather take the easy way out and give you a pamphlet on “healthy eating” or put you on a GLP-1 injection (when overeating and strong appetite isn’t my problem at all!) or refer you to a dietician instead of doing the hard thing and actually going through a long process of test after test for a rare disorder that they’re unfamiliar with and would have to actually spend some time doing research on to figure out the correct protocol for tests… …Assuming they won’t just refer to an endo, which is the case for my doctor, who swears that our local endos are so backed up that they won’t see anyone who doesn’t have positive results for “something”… even though I already have diabetes and hypothyroidism? But she says my issues are too well controlled so I have to have something new! 🥴 Whatever dude.
Side note, I say this coming from a family with 3 generations of doctors-as a kid I got my yearly flu shot from my OB/GYN grandfather, who I also remember being gone for Christmas Eve one year because he was delivering my mom’s cousin’s baby. I respect doctors a lot, but I also know that they are hard to deal with. In hindsight I probably should have become one, because I think I would have been good at it, but I grew up with chronic illness… I spent my whole childhood fainting, vomiting, dizzy, and having migraines. I also was never particularly ambitious and my parents weren’t pushy (or rich) so it’s really miraculous I even graduated college. 🤣
After a friend was diagnosed with PCOS, she finally got her weight under control. She suffered for years before she was accurately diagnosed. It's a good thing we have youtube to confirm that there is indeed something wrong with us!!
what did your friend do? i have pcos, and i don’t know what to try to manage my weight. i gained 115 lbs in 3 years. those 3 years were the time i was trying my hardest to lose weight, which is crazy
@@anniestumpy9918 This is going back some 20 years. It was treatment of PCOS. I know she had surgery, probably to remove cysts but I'm not 100% sure. My point was that it's treatable but your doctor needs to be aware of it!
@@ejc139Hi, from personal experience I would say it's important not to diet too strictly. For me, what helped was eating more protein, healthy fats and fiber with most meals to balance blood sugar. Doing low-mid intensity exersize like incline walking and weight lifting. And using supplements like inositol, berberine and L-glutamate to manage cravings and balance blood sugar. Also you can try to regulate your cycle, according to a few small studies acetyl l-carnitine as well as cyclic use of vitex or progesterone may help with this. If you want to use supplements please be very carefull and check the interactions as well as the side effects and consult with your doctor. Obviously not medical advice, just my experience.
@Violin MD The sudden appearance of cystic acne/hirsutism in someone who never had this issue in the past along with the weight gain immediately told me it was a hormonal /endocrinological problem related to the adrenal glands and pituitary gland .This is an excellent and fascinating presentation of a mystery with a complication and twists. I am so happy to hear that she is doing so well.
Cushings and Addisons disease was engraved in my brain since nursing school. It’s interesting to see a real case and happy that she was able to finally get an answer and her life back 🖤
In Belgium, Addison disease is seen as quackery. You get send directly to the psychiatrist at best or worst! If a doctor has the nerve to test you for Addison, he will have problems with the medical bord. There was a doctor testing this in patients and so on and the board got him sued, licence..., a big fine of 1000's of euros many times. Cushing the same. Nobody will test you for this. I think it has to do with $$$ and nobody wants to pay for it and diagnosing means you have it AND THE RIGHT for insurance claim. They do this 'tricks' here with many issues! Clever how they con people. They are clever.
Omg, I’m on severe hormone blockers and my oncologist literally rolled her eyes when I told her I gained 40 pounds in a calorie deficit. She doesn’t believe me. I have a freaking chart of all my food and drink. It’s so frustrating. I’m in severe pain from the drugs and excess weight. And I live in a remote area which makes things twice as hard. I can’t just drive to another area. (Hawaii) my insurance will not help with flights and hotel stays. It’s thousands of dollars to go to the mainland and stay in a hotel, not to mention that my husband has dementia and I don’t even know if he can handle a flight at this point.
We can only pray to the Almighty God in your situation. Please God help this lady in this dire straights situation. I trust upon your Almighty power to resolve this seemingly impossible case. In Jesus name I send you1000 angels from God's kingdom. Amen. All my love to you .
Find a different oncologist. Get your charts and see if you can find a doctor who can do Telemedicine visits to at least narrow things down and maybe they beat your regular oncologist into submission. It is up to you to advocate for yourself.
The hardest thing you will ever do in your life is the carnivore diet, it’s meat, eggs, LIGHT dairy like some cheese, and salt and water but many people are curing cancer and every other autoimmune disease, and losing weight, and if carnivore too hard fry keto, god bless
Look up Dr berg video, the cancer interview. You can look for a Hawaiian traditional healer also. One of the things that can help anyone is to swim in salt water. Blessings🌺
@@daiseymae6263 you have a point. I did keto years before and mostly liked it and did well. I’m going to look into this and give it another try with carnivore. Thanks for the reminder. I’ve been overwhelmed. 🌸
The problem comes down to doctors not listening to women, blaming everything on weight instead of thinking about weight as a symptom. I know FAR too many women who had to fight for years to get diagnosed with different conditions because doctors kept brushing them off. It took me 10 years of fighting to finally get diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. When I did get the diagnosis, it explained my mystery illnesses from my whole life! My life would be so different if I had been diagnosed sooner and if doctors were better educated on EDS.
Cortisol levels can mess with your metabolism outside of Cushing's disease too. Lately I was in a DV situation, and it took over two years before I could find a place to escape to; during that time I would eat nothing for 7 to 9 days at a time and there would be no visible difference; a body in survival mode will stretch calories something crazy.
@@prolifemama Yes I am, thank you; I'm now living in a much safer place, away from that person. I work and go to school, and I now see people like him coming from a mile away. Some things I now watch out for: people who are "too perfect", especially if they're very socally adept; people who come off as too good to be true, and people who make a lot of "identity statements" (they'll tell you a lot about how great they are, often in indirect ways, like telling you all the good things they do and how other people also think they're so great). May we all live free, and be able to choose the life we lead 💜🌞
@@everydaytwiceonsundays4498 No kidding! And then once I got into a woman's shelter, we had Lockdown and I got Covid twice ... Thenk goodness for my friends and family.
@@aeray3581 Yeah, a lot of those around, aren't there? Anyway, now it's been a year and I'm starting to get back to normal. I expected recovery to be faster, but well, glad to be out!
When I was 19 I gained over 100 lbs…for no apparent reason…I ate 2 regular meals a day, no take out or junk…I was too broke to eat out. I didn’t get diagnosed with hypothyroidism until age 43, but was only given Synthroid which didn’t help. When I was in my 50s I was finally allowed to use natural porcine thyroid (in Canada there is an extreme prejudiced against this). The first months or so I dropped 80lbs easily. The weight loss stopped when the doctor got worried and stopped titrating the dose upward, so I never reached the optimum dose. I have lived a life of eating much less than those around me, but judged for being out of control because of my weight.
I'm the same! I have hypothyroidism and Lipedema and find it impossible to lose weight. I eat carnivore for the last 2 years, but eat much less than most people do and yet now weight loss. I can fast for days with no weightloss too.
@@MEF7stop undereating on carni! Let urself gain wgt on it so u heal ur organs, ur bones n ur muscles! Esp to heal ur hormones! In a few mos, ur hyperinsulinemia will be resolved and the fat loss will start AND continue Low carb Life (Kelly Hogan) Dr Elizabeth Bright Steak & Butter Gal Judy Cho Dr Boz All great YT channels
This is the saddest video you have presented. I can't even imagine what she went through. I am glad she is part of a support group and was willing to share her story with your viewers to get awareness out there. My brother in law suffered from amyloidosis and it took two years before they figured it out and he was on deaths door. This was after going to see several top cardiologist in the Los Angeles area who kept telling him it was a virus and there was nothing they could do. After a visit to the Mayo clinic he got a referral to an oncologist and with chemo and a heart and kidney transplant he is still alive 10 years later. I am looking forward to when AI is also used in medicine to help diagnose these more rare conditions.
Horrible to hear how she suffered. Bless her for turning that suffering into a reason to help others rather than just feel bad for her own experience. That's a nice outcome to an awful situation.
...this is really interesting. I also had a moment in my late 20s when i gained over 100 pounds over just about a year and thought it was bizarre because my diet did not change and i was actually more active because of my job. I still haven't lost the weight and I've been getting other issues slowly since then, this might be something to look at with my doctor next week!
That poor woman! She looked miserable before her diagnosis. Too many times doctors dismiss women’s concerns. When I was pregnant with my second child I was absolutely exhausted and hair was falling out in chunks. I told my OBGYN and he actually said I was lazy. I gave blood and my cholesterol level was over 1000. He finally checked my thyroid and my TSH was 114.
I'm so sorry you were treated that way I would have been outraged. Trash human being can just discount what a patient is telling them with that out at least trying to verify it through an objective method? Clearly these people have unresolved mother issues because they have a deep-seated misogyny these people are sick and should NOT be practicing!! They are a curse on their profession and a disgraceful example of a human being. I hope you left that doctor shortly thereafter. That is actually verbal abuse and a betrayal of their oath to first do no harm- by refusing to treat patients they are being derelict of duty. There are SO many doctors that need to have their licenses revoked and sadly a lot of them just end up retiring with full benefits. These people are a disgrace and do NOT deserve to practice. I have zero tolerance and zero patience for these things who think they can go into the medical profession being the worthless people that they are and bring their vile prejudices and total and shameful lack of professionality with them. Just more proof that being smart doesn't make you a good person.
leslie you rock, go girl!! you turned all the suffering and the time you "lost" into pure gold and you multiplied it million times. you are a ray of sunshine, hope and help to so many people!! ❤❤🎉
As a woman in my late 30s, I have known that on my mom’s side of the family we have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, PCOS amongst a number of different arthritis. It took me three years before learning that I also have Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis that is not common in either side of the family. Granted, that is what makes things a bit harder, but losing 50 pounds feels great and I am glad Leslie got help for Cushing disease. Sometimes we have to be our own advocates
As a person who used to be morbidly obese even on a restricted diet given to me by my doctor which I followed to the letter. I can say something on this topic. I lost the weight. Once i did my research at the library. Many people like myself have a survival set of genetics that we inherited from our ancestors who faced famine again and again. The ones who survived were these ancestors. If you eat a restricted diet, then you do not no matter what you eat get all of the nutrients and micro nutrients that your body needs. You have to supply all of them. That means to lose weight you got to eat and eat a lot. You got to eat like its spring time on the farm and produce and some animal protein is abundant. Do cut fats and sugars. Moderate amounts of meat protein and make it lean. Pig out on fresh veggies and cooked ones and whole grain breads and have fruit for your sweet tooth. Aim to eat the healthiest food you can. Snack foods and take out limit the quantities to a reasonable portion. Not the whole bag or box and not the supersize and try to choose the healthier options. When your body is flooded with nutrient dense foods, caloric or not, it takes the nutrition and turns OFF the survival genes and turns on the fat burning ones. The food you consume and the fat on your butt will all be burned as energy. It snowballs so if it starts coming off too fast you can slow it down by having some unhealthy fat and sugary foods. You don't want it to melt away too fast as then your skin has no chance to tone up and shrink to fit. Folks in this category with this set of genetics MUST pig out on food from the produce section of the store and some whole grains and beans and some moderate animal protein that is lean and try not to fry it. Unless you need the fat. I would fry meat one day a week only. If the Biggest Loser was on TV at the time I would have been a prime candidate. One big fat blonde lady from the south. I made up my mind I was going to be the healthiest big fat blonde lady there ever was. Even if I stayed fat. Guess what it came off. I ain't no skinny Minnie now and after. But I ain't fat neither. Believe me I pigged out on healthy food. I still lost the weight. The human body if given the nutrition to do so, will balance itself out to the weight and shape that fits your own body type and ancestry. Some folks naturally carry more weight and others are slim athletic types. Others are in between. Stout but not fat. Squash and greens and other foods in the produce section are tasty and good for you. They have nutrients that you need. Salads with a huge variety of veggies and some meat and even fruit. Use your imagination and variety is the key and moderation. Science only knows of a limited variety of nutrients and vitamins and minerals. You want some of it all. So, healthy foods and the more variety the better is your key and should be the majority of what passes your lips. Prepared junk food, easy fix stuff is full of garbage mostly and low on the nutrient dial. Crank that thing up on high and see what happens. Convince your body that food and good food is plentiful and it does not need to store fat for later. It needs to burn it as you got things to do. It will obey.
Knew what it was from the video title as I've been struggling with worries about Cushing's for years. I have PCOS, which causes some similar symptoms, and for me that + health anxiety = a fixation with Cushing's. I actually emailed with Leslie last year about my concerns, and she encouraged me to reach out directly to some of the CSRF's recommended endocrinologists. I did, and he was kind enough to accept me as a patient. So far testing hasn't shown that I have Cushing's, and actually my symptoms are improving since losing weight, so we're leaning on it really being PCOS, but I'm very thankful for Leslie's guidance and the endo is continuing to follow me and will test again later this year, so I feel good to have found someone who didn't just pat me on the head like another endo I saw years ago did. Cortisol is a really interesting hormone that we don't know enough about yet; they're now finding that mild autonomous cortisol secretion is probably quite common. (My endo did a study in the 2000s finding that probably a quarter of all people have a pituitary tumour and just never find out because it's subclinical, it's a fascinating area.) It will be up to science to figure out better treatments for that!
That is the difficulty, that many endocrine disorders can both cause and be the symptom of weight gain. I was going through some pretty bad issues due to perimenopause but once I increased my activity, gradually, my brain started to “push” for better foods, which means I feel better overall both due to better nutritions and having lost weight as a by product.
If I may ask, how did you finally manage to get your weight down? I have PCOS as well, don't lead a sedentary lifestyle and have done intermittent fasting multiple times without much success - it just doesn't work as well for me as it seems to for other people. If I could lose just 2 pounds a month I would be absolutely thrilled.
@@user-kpkxgtjI didn’t have too difficult of a time thankfully. Just portion control, I did fully cut out added sugar other than once or twice a week. I’ve heard some others with PCOS do have a really hard time losing weight though, going on metformin (or the newer trendy weight loss drugs) seems to help those people.
WOW. That first surgeon screwed up and started the cascade. Didn't get all the tumor in the 1st place, then after the second surgery to fully remove leftover tumor tissue left behind, removed the *entire* pituitary. THEN she wasn’t closed up properly after the 2nd procedure AND spinal fluid was pouring out!? OMG... So much went wrong here. It's SO vital to research your physicians and skill level. Don't let some hack with a scalpel operate! I know - my husband went through something similar and nearly died. Suffers to this day from an unskilled surgeon. Sounds like a strong case for malpractice. Poor woman!
I don't think "practice", specifically related to medicine, means guess work. It means "the act of to engage, with or without compensation, in medical diagnosis, healing, treatment, or surgery". True, every body is different, that doesn't mean physicians should just shrug and give vague diagnoses. It's good she advocated for herself and kept looking for the answers.
As someone who graduated pre-med with honors but whose muscle tone disorder meant med school wasn't an ethical option, I love stories where it's the emergency department doctor who is the first medical professional the patient encounters who realizes that the condition is as serious as the patient knows it is.
Thanks. My mom was recently diagnosed with Cushing syndrome. She retired from her stressful job and is trying not to stress about anything. It was so helpful for her to know what was going on with her hormones & adrenaline when she was getting worked up into hysterics. It made such a huge difference. Hopefully, she won't need the surgery. She has a spot on her pituitary gland, but the doc said it's not big enough to cause problems. Right now, I'm glad she's doing so much better. We'll have the docs continue to monitor adrenaline & cortisol levels.
This sounded exactly the same as my experience with a DNET brain tumor. Praise God I’m tumor free now! ❤️🙌🏼❤️ It’s incredible how a tumor can affect every area of our bodies and like her, everyone just thought I was being fat and lazy because they couldn’t see what was truly going on.
I had this same disease, so many symptoms I had I didn't even think to report to a doctor. The only things that I initially noted was a loss of my menstrual cycle for 3 months and weight gain, around 80 pounds in a little over a year. My family doctor thought I had PCOS, but eventually sent me to and endocrinologist when she couldn't find any cysts on ultrasound and nothing improved within a few months. It was only because the endocrinologist decided to rule virtually everything out "just in case" that they found my tumor. Trust me, this disease sucks, and because it's so rare it can be hard to find someone even willing to consider it in the first place, which can make for prolonged suffering and potentially worse outcomes. I got extremely lucky that it was caught before I developed any irreversible long term issues, but sadly most aren't that lucky.
Everything sounds the same for me. Ive given up. Why are we telling doctors what to look for. I know my end will be at my own choice. Im done with doctors that tell me nothing.
I love these videos that search and explain a specific condition and then work through treatment afterwards. This was a terrible thing for Leslie and I’m sorry she went through this but am very glad she recovered and is now doing great work to help others in her situation. Thanks to both ladies for this story.
I love the way you tell people's story, it feels like you genuinely care 💖 Your videos are the easiest for me to watch for medical stuff because your tone is very vibrant and energetic but in the most pleasant way. Thank you for touching on this very important matter, I feel like most doctors tend to forget about cortisol or hormone levels in general and as women they won't take us seriously and assume we are overreacting or just anxious.
Appreciate the courage it takes to discuss this personal story. The medical "industry" is full of psychopaths, sociopaths, narcissists, and just plain old bullies. Today, i feel sorry for patients, but also, there are many good and decent doctors, nurses, etc, who must work for those arrogant _____.
My long suffering health trouble was FINALLY diagnosed as DIFUSE TYPE DERCUMS DESEASE! FOR 4 DECADES, I WAS GOING FROM ONE DOC TO THE NEXT. Dercums causes specific type of fat to grow in the skin, blocking flow of blodod, nerve and lymph, causing lymphedema. Symptoms include pain everywhere, head to toe. Pain, lesions, swwelling,, weight gain that cannot diet off. When I finally could get a lymphedema pump and used it, I lost 35 lbs in lymphedema fluid!!! So painful. Need a pain doc, lymphedema pump, compression garments, med to sleep and NO STRESS IN YOUR LIFE.
after my stroke they left the bone flap out so long that when they went to put it back in and send me home my body rejected it I remember my discharge date vividly I had the surgery to put it back in I couldn't fall asleep my last night probably nerves to go back home but I tawned and popped a stitch they threw one back in, in the morning before sending me on my way home. we left hamilton general, as we were going up the mountain to upper james I felt something running down my neck so I wiped it away then looked at my mom and said I'm leaking I think we should go back we went back they just bandaged me up and sent me home again because I had a racing banquet that night. so I showed up with my head looking like how head injuries in movies look with a gauze bandage wrapped all around. that was really my first introduction to society after 4 months in the hospital. 2 weeks later I sprung a leak again and my head swelled so I went back they draind a urin sample cup full of fluid from my head to test they took the bone back out I stayed 2 weeks for the swelling to go down got out December 22nd was out for two weeks and the same thing happened it was two weeks home with my bone 2 weeks in without for 3 months before a nurse suggested just using a prosthetic piece
Boy do I have a story for medical journals...while I am hooked up on IV there times a day for the past six weeks and fighting to keep my leg from amputation, watching other peoples vudeos, thinking about being disabled since 16 years old, surgeries, tumors removals, radiation...and on end, just when I thought surgery went good, maybe I will be able to wear shoes, I am fighting for my life because of bacteria. Well, life is unpredictable but it is worth fighting.
Thank you for sharing your story, Leslie. I've been saying that I have high cortisol and query Cushing's for years, but they're too busy treating me for all the same dxs you shared. But they will NOT test for Cushings or cortisol. So tired of them telling me to just eat steamed vegetables.
Dammit... I was so excited when I saw this video because I thought maybe there was finally an answer for what's wrong with me, but nope. Already been tested for that and no Cushings for me, just thirty years of misery and counting. I feel like I'm never going to know what's wrong with me or find a way to fix it. It's really... really hard. I am glad that Leslie found a solution and got better, though. No one deserves to feel this way. Stay strong, Leslie!
You can try to heal yourself without a diagnosis. The carnivore diet or lion diet heals a lot of health problems. Watch Dr chaffee and Dr ken Berry videos
Life turned around for me after i realised that doctors had never tested my D levels. I insisted snd it was 12. They wanted me on 2000 a day but, i had read up so much by then that i asked for s megadose once a week. So they prescribed 8000 once a week. Tired of fighting, i went home and i took 16,000 once a week and took a 180 K2 with it and then daily i took another “D3 plus K2” pill of 1000. I took them mid meal or shortly after a meal. The huge improvement started after 6 weeks. None had even mentioned K2 or how vital the K2 role was . They said i have to wait 6 months before another D blood test. I will have it done privately at the 3 month mark. Am so over the eye rolling etc that i doubt i will mention anything to them. Checking back over a decade, my D levels were 100. So that’s my goal. I stopped bruising, started sleeping better and am dropping 2.4 lbs a week. My energy return has me slowly doing very gentle slow stretch snd strength and balance exercises for 2-20 mins every day now too. May not be the fix, but its helping me.
So happy to hear Leslie found her cure. For others, it could be carbohydrate poisoning. In fact, starting there would be a lot less traumatic than first going thru all those doctors, tests, and surgeries.
Thank you for covering this. I'm going through testing for suspected cushings. I have consistent high cortisol. Unfortunately all the doctors I've seen are gaslighting me and telling me to just go on a diet and have a lifestyle change. That lifestyle change would be to quit my job and make sure someone else takes care of all my bills. Its just not possible. My job is not stressful. I am wide awake at 2AM and ready to sleep again at 8AM despite being on stimulants and sleep meds. My muscles are disappearing on my arms and legs and I keep gaining more fat at my middle.
I am so happy Leslie finally got the help she needed. I had never been sick until 2023. Then it all hit at once. DCIS, lumpectomy, radiation, kidney stone, thyroid and parathyroid nodule, thyroidectomy, and then shingles, like icing on the cake, then depression and weight gain with synthroid. People, You are not alone when all hell breaks loose. God was with me. We all suffer at points in life, but dont give up.
Cortisol problems. I had some of Leslie's symptoms, for about 13 years. The worst, for me, was standing in the mirror, watching myself as I felt my heart pound so hard it really felt like it was trying to kill me. Then, the symptoms faded until one day, I could not stand for more than 5 minutes without going numb from the waist down. I had spinal stenosis at L5-my spinal chord had been sending desperate pain messages intermittently directly to my adrenal glands, causing surges of cortisol. The pain was not referred to my brain, which is why this condition was never considered until the numbness episodes. The spinal-chord passage (foramen) at L5 had narrowed to c. 1/8" instead of the normal 1". An 8-hour, $500k+ surgery later, all symptoms were gone.
So...multiple doctors misdiagnosed her,then surgeons didn't do 2 surgeries properly, resulting in yet another surgery...which failed. And, in the end, only the radiation worked. So basically they didn't have to remove the pituitary...if they had used radiation in the first place. The medical field these days is absolutely terrifying.
I have dealt with obesity on and of all my life and diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2013 after symptoms had started 12 years prior, I searched so long for what was wrong with me I started to think that I was crazy and my weight ballooned: After my 4th child I was 338 lbs and suffering with edema of the feet and legs. My feet and legs would look like balloons and it was so painful, I am happy to say i have lost 91 lbs in the last year and the edema is no longer in my feet and only minor swelling in my legs, Obesity and your body malfunctioning can make you feel like you are losing you mind especially when you have doctors telling you nothing is wrong. Stay stong!
@@MEF7 Calories counting not going above 2,000 calories per day unless on a Friday (cheat day) and intermittent fasting, which I am now training my body for prolonged fasting.. Since I wrote this comment I have now lost a total on 120 lbs.
I had a chairy malformation misdiagnosed for years got told i was a junkie trying to abuse pain meds until a neuro surgeon really listen to me and literally saved my life i was losing mobility and didnt know why qll these other symptoms
@@basantidevi2305 i got the surgery seven months pregnant headaches went away immediately got my hand and feet working but if i didn’t get that surgery i was going to be in a wheelchair
I remember being concerned I might have Cushing's when I was early 30s. I had also gained about 100 lbs over a few years, had bad headaches, hypertension, new T2 Diabetes diagnosis. However, the cortisol test was normal. CT revealed a sphenoid polyp. The Ear, Nose, Throat specialist rinsed out my sinuses with saline irrigation and I felt better and didn't need any more treatment. I slowly lost the weight. Now, I'm sort of worried again. I've felt fatigued with joint and peri-articular pain, muscle aches and brain fog ever since I had Covid. Rheumatology says it's Fibromyalgia (RH factor is negative and most of the painful joints are mobile). However, later blood tests by my PCP show low TSH despite normal T3 and T3 and unchanged thyroid ultrasound, which might point at a pituitary problem. (As well as anemia and possible high potassium and low body temperature.) I've seen some studies link Sars-CoV-2 to pituitary infection. But I also had brain injury from cardiac arrest a few years ago and wonder if that might be part of it. So, I'm taking blood tests every few months to keep track. I should get a draw next week, but I'm thinking I should wait until a flareup to make sure any changes get caught.
I’ve been struggling with a lot of these symptoms and didn’t realize they could be related… will have to bring this up to my PCP. Thanks for this informative video as always!!
My cortisol is through the roof, I have all the signs but got diagnosed with thyroid cancer and the concerns about my cortisol were dismissed “we have to deal with the thyroid cancer first”. Since then, they haven’t been willing to look into it and I keep gaining weight.
I hope you figure it out. Thomas Seyfried MD and his simple, safe and effective approach to cancer doesn't involve nausea, vomiting or going bald. It is also excellent for improving all manner of health issues. It is being used with success by a Hungarian clinic and by different doctors around the United States. My husband was a happy beneficiary of that was done with his cancer. he has also improved his health in many ways.… Just continuing on a modified eating plan. His practitioner has successfully treated others for cancer In the same natural way. As for me, I've watched people heal from many different kinds of diseases including different cancers, using various modalities. you will want to correct your light environment as a foundation. Black out your bedroom, pray if you wake up in the middle of the night, and don't look at your phone or other lighted clock. if you have to take a bathroom break at night, have a lap with an orange bulb at very low wattage if you need to see, to prevent triggering a cortisol release. You can use that quiet time to pray, forgive anyone that you might hold anything against, which is another stress reducer, and cortisol reducer. If you can do it without looking at a screen at night, listening to something soothing might help you get back to sleep. go outdoors first thing in the morning, rain or shine, to have your eyes exposed to morning daylight. Doesn't matter if it is sunny or cloudy. Go for a walk outside every day. Go to bed when it is dark, and only use an orange lightbulb after sunset. I think you'll be surprised and how this can help you calm down inflammation and cortisol. Follow your cancer markers periodically. It's ideal if you find a practitioner who understands both natural and allopathic cancer treatment, and who can understand you personally well enough to direct you toward allopathic, natural, or a combination of the two. For example, I recommended a supplement called mega hydrate to a friend who was doing traditional cancer therapy, but it kept being delayed because her blood count was terrible. The supplement really helped her renew her reserves so she could finish her treatment. And then she switched to doing a lot of raw juices as part of her lifestyle and has been free of cancer for at least a decade now. Gerson therapy protocols, more or less. But at the same time, people on a carnivore diet with intermittent fasting are finding that they do better with their chemo if they fast before and afterwards. Much less damaging. But people are getting rid of their cancer without doing chemotherapy at all. Or they do only a drug that slows the development of blood vessels that are specifically supportive to cancer growth. So much less stressful, traumatic, expensive. I wish you the best in your healing journey!
I really don't understand why GPs don't just automatically refer obese women to another doctor to rule these possibilities out. SO many of us suffer with underlying conditions that are contributing to weight gain (even if its not the entire cause). I feel like they really are just discriminating and judging us to be terrible people with horrible life habits. I've many times got the DISTINCT impression that certain doctors didn't like me/hated even having to deal with me because of my size. it's a stigma thing that just needs to stop.
I agree entirely. At this point in my life, I truly believe there is a physical root cause for the vast majority of conditions, even so-called psychological conditions.
I'm a PCOS/thyroid cancer survivor. Lesson: keep going to different doctors until you get answers that make sense! The endocrinologist dismissed my symptoms; it was my primary care doctor who knew that I wasn't 'right' and scheduled the ultra sound that saved my life.
48 GP's, 2 dermatologists, 3 physicians, 1 oncologist all didn't see I had diabetes, over a period of forty years. I had 12 strokes; when you get pain in the back of your head and neck, get to your doctor right away. High blood pressure can lead to stroke.
I had a pituitary tumor removed about a year and a half ago. I had gained about 30 lbs and before the surgery the doctor put me on a really strict diet cutting out all processed foods and was able to shrink the tumor prior to removal. Fortunately I was able to stick to a strict enough diet that I didn’t gain as much weight or lose my hair. I was exhausted all the time, couldn’t sleep and just generally felt horrible all the time. So glad she got a diagnosis. I have a friend I’m pretty sure is dealing with the same problem right now and I’m hoping she eventually feels comfortable enough to discuss her weigh so she can get in to see a doctor and get hormone testing done before it’s too late.
my first thought was PCOS definitely but was surprised it was actually Cushing's! That lady went through a lot. I sympathize with her 🙁I'm glad they were finally able to help her and that she's an advocate for others going through the same!
I was diagnosed with Cushings Disease in 2007 after only about 4 months of testing; I was lucky that my medical team found a small tumor on my pituitary gland quite quickly. My cortisol levels were sky high and they said that surgery for me was the only option at this point. I had all the symptoms (weight gain even while dieting/exercising, diabetes etc.) so surgery was scheduled for early December of that same year. They did exactly the same surgery, going through my nose but only removing half of my pituitary gland and even before I was out of recovery, they tested the cortisol levels and it was already in the high side of the normal range. Recovery was brutal with major headaches and loss of taste/smell (which returned a few months later), but they were pleased with the result as they said that it was rare that is surgery was successful, as with happened with Leslie. Unfortunately, it was discovered that this was not causing my weight gain, diabetes etc. and I still suffer from those issues, but the cortisol remains normal to this day.
Why didn't they just remove the tumor instead of half your pituitary? That's what my doc did and said he'll remove it if the tumor comes back or do radiation. I don't like either option. Do you take meds because they removed half of the pituitary?
@@drinabooboo They did remove half of my pituitary because there we several, non-malignant tumors on just one side, so this was the best option to ensure they got it all. And apparently they did because thankfully, my body is working fine with no meds for it I was lucky.
@@lauracollins7067 Yes, that amazing that you don't need meds. Good to know that's a possibility. I couldn't find anyone without or half a pituitary to know of possible outcomes so thank you and Leslie for sharing.
what a heart breaking story- what this poor woman had to endure!! She is an absolute warrior. No human should have to endure what she did at the hand of poor diagnostics and poor treatments. Kudos to her to hang in there and continue to pursue getting to the root cause of her devastating and crippling health problems. She must have had a phenomenal support system of family and friends, and an iron will to fight for her health. What an amazing woman to now advocate for others suffering similar health challenges via the Cushing awareness organization. All the best for a healthy, happy, and amazing future doing all the things she missed out on because of the effects of her illness. May her life and happiness increase one hundred fold.
Thank you for bringing attention to this. A lot of people, especially women, blame themselves when they start gaining weight, and they go on fad diets and work out too much to try and mitigate that. It can lead to even more problems and they need to realize that it has more to do with their hormones
Pharmacist here, I would have suggested seeing an endocrinologist after seeing her put on diabetic meds for the first time! I can't believe she wasn't immediately referred.
Had a family member that had this, she ended up at the Mayo Clinic for her surgery after she almost died in a car accident from falling asleep at the wheel. Woke up her doctors to her issues! Edited to add for my entire teen years I lived with high cortisol levels but they could never find a tumor, I have lived most of my life taking prednisone.
Thank you for sharing this. My gf was told for over a decade that "cals in vs cals out" crap and it turns out she has lipedema. Diet and exercise do not work for someone with this hereditary condition. Wish that Leslie's doctors had taken her more seriously. She's one tough lady.
My issue like this is Lipedema, a connective tissue disease. Canada doesn't recognize it so myself and many other women recieve 0 help and support, having to pay thousands of $ out of pocket for treatments. And on top of that we get to have doctors ignore our requests for help.
Great episode. Poor woman. Since you live in your own body it seems counter intuitive that you would know what is going on with you. But sadly we're often the very last to know. I'm glad she got her answer and is now healthy. Bless you.
This was an excellent video that will help many people. Thank you both for making it and kudos to Leslie for sharing her story and advocating for people with Cushing’s disease.
Thank you all for putting this video together. May it give hope for those who battle misunderstood and undiagosned conditions. Obesity is a curse for those afflicted because it is deemed unacceptable by our society.
That poor woman! What an ordeal! That is wonderful that she is now giving support to those going through similar trials! Thanks for sharing this medical mystery! It is very helpful. May it make me more empathetic to others going through challenging medical situations when there isn’t an end in sight.
Wow!!! I had every symptom she had except diabetes over 10 years suffering. I saw 10 different docs and finally went to Roswell Cancer Center and had the same surgery in 2022. My tumor was 10mm and bleeding. Now I cut out sugar and am trying to continue to heal from the metabolic damage. It's taking long but I'm blessed to be on the road to progress after so many years of hell.
Good heavens! This poor woman! She suffered so much. When I was at my heaviest, I really felt like doctors wouldn't listen to me. I felt like they just judged me because I was fat. I'm so glad she finally found help. But the surgery complications were scary! I hope she continues to heal and thrive.
Yeah. I gained 110 pounds in less than 60 days. Five male doctors told me I was healthy and should eat less. I was referred to a psychiatrist. The 6th doctor was a female. She was a former OGBYN , took one look at me and called Hospital emergency room down the street, to ready a bed: My thyroid had stopped working: Hashimoto’s Disease & Deep depression. Lost sense of taste & smell & touch. Hair loss. After treatment I had been so swollen and bloated that I lost 25 pounds in one week. This wonderful female doctor who had a genuine desire to really help women had saved my life.
As a male I don't think females doctors should treat males they seem to think everything is a joke.
@@cyclone8974that's your takeaway?
I made a rare visit to a local clinic last year and was asked if I had a preference. I hadn't been had medical care for about a decade so I was surprised by this...
@@cyclone8974 I feel like that's just your experience. I've never had that experience with female doctors.
@@takumi2023 Good for you.
It's a problem that she wasn't sent to an endocrinologist by her GP years before. Weight gain is still treated like an issues of life choices and will power - that just needs to stop.
What is unfortunate is that for most, it is an issue of choice and willpower, which revolves around a mental health issue, depression, eating one’s feelings, ED, a self medication which can lead to gaining weight. Unfortunately, many issues, hormonal and otherwise, have strong evidence to suggest that being obese makes them worse and harder to control (think Type II diabetes).
That has nothing to do with this 😒
@@TheBaumcm It could also be symptomatic of food insecurity. If you can't afford to eat well or live in a food desert, or don't have adequate access to transportation to get to better food, it's damn impossible to have the choice to eat well. Lower income neighborhoods sometimes only have 'convenience' stores as a place to get groceries - meaning what they eat is completely dependent upon what is available: high calorie, high sugar, highly processed foods and beverages. The medical issues that come about are direct results of what's available to them. In the US, money is often the deciding factor between eating well or not and sometimes not eating at all.
Mental health and willpower can be factors, but not always and to the exclusion of all else.
@@TheBaumcmI think you’re missing a key point. Physicians and society at large continue to make characterological judgments about patients struggling with obesity and view it as a failing. Because of this, they are dismissive of symptoms, as happened with this person, and attribute everything to their obesity without adequate consideration of possible underlying conditions that should be investigated. Of course, emotional/behavioural/social factors play a role…but the way physicians and society treat you only compounds the problem and fuels the process. More importantly, physician attitudes often lead to poor standard of care because of complex bidirectional influences. I am a perfect case example with many factors interacting from childhood sexual abuse, early weight gain, weight loss as I dealt with with the issues, horrible sexual assault in early adulthood with neck injury and associated migraines, weight gain and a number of complex systemic issues that got missed for years because I was not investigated appropriately including thyroid!, severe anemia, then ETC, osteomalacia, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, CAH, being on steroids for years, and on and on. I spent 8 months wth undiagnosed spinal fractures after a car accident having my repeated complaints of pain dismissed and it was only because the rheumatologist I saw patients for at the hospital where I worked did a consult and simple X-rays…then identified scoliosis, compression fractures and started unravelling everything including osteomalacia, radiculopathy and psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis. You honestly have no idea how you get treated by most physicians when you are obese, even when you work in health care. You are judged and shamed and it makes you avoidant and negligent since the whole experience is always so aversive. I eventually found a great FD with a Ph.D. in medical anthropology who was key in helping sort so many of my underlying conditions because she (a) treated me with dignity and (b) did proper differential diagnosis and investigations. A rare gem! And the very premise of your comment is to attribute blame on the individual as a personal choice without recognizing that there are predisposing genetics, family environmental influences, mitigating circumstances etc Everyone is happy to call alcoholism and drug abuse a ‘disease’ and dichotomizes when, really, there are similar complex webs of causality and it’s a matter of how can health care best support someone struggling with this issue overcome it. I could go on and on about the biological markers for depression, anxiety etc independent of obesity and, again, the judgmental undertone that comes from someone who simply sees these problems as one of choice and willpower without understanding the complex psychosocial and biological factors that all come into play.
For most people, diet is 100% the problem. The most common global medical issues are easily dealt with preventative health care, and especially diet. The 3rd world needs to eat more, and the 1st world needs to eat less meat or none at all, and less processed food. That's just a summary, and not an invitation to a debate.
My mother was gaining weight hand over fist shortly after my dad passed. She had her thyroid removed many years ago. I asked her if she had it checked lately and she said her levels were fine and didn't know why she was gaining weight. I found out after visiting her for a while that she was eating sweets of all kinds 24/7. My father was a Diabetic and they didn't keep sweets in the house because he would eat it. When he passed, she ate her grief with sweets and was in the beginning stages of dementia. She is in a retirement home now, she doesn't know me anymore, and I miss her so much❤
❤
Could the retirement home put her on a Ketogenic diet with lots of coconut/MCT oil or is it too late? Namaste 🙏💜🙏
My friend’s dog had Cushing Disease and was cured by homoeopathy!! Namaste 🙏
So sorry ❤🙏❤️
I can totally relate to your loss even the candy over consumption. Anything sweet they prefer. It robs them & you of their essence that was themselves.
They just become a physically functioning being until that goes too.
Sugar is most likely the driver as there is evidence of it tangling & hardening the neurol cords in the brain of Alzheimer's sufferer's
I was an LPN for 40 years. My weight steadily increased over the years to 196 lbs. After I retired, my weight dropped to 154 lbs without trying. I attribute this to cortisol. Wish that I had switched careers many years ago.
Yup, and some of us produce more than others. I've got PTSD, which drives up my cortisol levels.
Also, strangely enough there are always sugary and highly processed snacks (chips, cookies, candy, chocolate, etc) made available in the staff breakrooms at every hospital I've worked at.
What's an LPN?
@@alibenkahn5092 in Canada, it’s a licensed practical nurse.
@@alibenkahn5092 A nurse, a license practicing nurse maybe, not sure the exact words for the abbreviations, but a nurse for sure. ~~~Peace~~~
Doctors treat diabetes and hypertension but rarely investigate underlying causes.
🤑🤑
every patient cured is money lost to the pharma companies who have bought most medicine prescribers. I refuse to call them doctors.
The last doctor I went to was in 2012 and she was amazing. She listened, considered vitamin deficiency, holistic approaches. Unfortunately I had to move and lost her.
Doctors don't spend a lot of time advising patients about a healthy lifestyle. They know that most people won't listen to them, so they just treat the symptoms.
@@VernCrisler Treating symptoms is profitable.
@@sparklemotion8377 True...
My mom was told by doctors "you are too thin to have cushings". The high cortisol and tumor on her pituitary gland proved them wrong.
Some form of cushings can cause weight loss, or just fat deposition in diff places - he prob saw she didnt have that hump at the back of her neck/spine, and if she had a pear shaped body - that too flies in thhe face of text book diagnoosis. Another type of cushings is the type that comes and goes. This DOES happen. I have had periods in my life where I have had cortisol insufficiency -- one am fasting cortisol read a total of zero cortisol, which prompted the bloods to be personally ran again by the professor in charge of tthe lab, only to confirm it. They believed this to be an impossibility. It prob wasnt absolute zero - just too low too be detectible. And yes, I was barely conscious, and my husband had carried me into the clinic for the 8 am blood test. Which then lead to the ACTH challenge test, and was a borderline fail. Recently, years later now my cortisol is too high....and has been for sometime, but i can feel it beginning to drop again. 😞
But they did the tests to get a diagnosis.
Dopo much dogma in medicine. They forget that each individual body is different and reacts differently.
So then what test and doing it when helped with diagnosis of Cushing if the Cushing comes abd goes?
See what you're doing there! Good one. Cortisol can't make you fat if you don't eat.😂. Cortisol actually metabolises fat and carbs quicker, leading to a burst of energy. So then your appetite increases to get you to eat more to make up for the loss. Your mom beat that by ignoring her appetite I guess, or restricting her eating, or by being a highly disciplined person who sticks to certain meals etc. let us know her secret to beating it. Ps. Why did she go to the doctor, meaning what high cortisol symptoms did she have. Maybe it can help overweight people to list their issues and not let doctors see "fat" and make up their own diagnosis without tests. Thanks
It's so easy for people to discount people with obesity. We still consider it a moral failing even when we understand that it's a physical disorder or a symptom.
💯
A classmate who was athletic in highschool got huge because of Lyme Disease.
Yup, I read people arguing a real doctor would tell people like Leslie to lose weight and she'll feel better. I have learned often in the cases when people eat a lot of food, there's a psychological reason for that. It's coping with something. Then there's conditions where weight gain just happens like Cushing's or PCOS.
It is usually a mental problem caused by trauma etc. Rarely is it physical. But it is unfortunately still a stigma and thought of as a moral failing.
EDITED to say *thought of as a moral failure" sorry
@@dalhousieDream yeah, it's disgusting.
That's amazing. Most doctors would just dismiss you as fat, fat shame you and then tell you to eat less. No blood tests, nothing.
That poor woman. She suffered way too long. God Bless her
Way too much
This is why I get annoyed when people comment "calories in vs calories out" regarding weight loss. It's not so simple and makes people sound lazy. Hormones play more of a role than I think we even realize.
I agree.
@@joeiborowski9763- wrong. Obesity is an hormonal issue. It is most often due to insulin resistance. If there is too much insulin in the body, it becomes literally impossible to let go of body fat, regardless of how few calories you take in. Also, fat loss is mostly food, not calories, but the type of food you’re eating.
@@LauraB.335not quite.
In terms of obesity, Cushing’s continues to account for a very low percentage. Most obesity is related to excess calories. Not understanding that is the real problem
@tedreid1035 and @joeiborowski9763 - you’re wrong, @LauraB.335 is correct. I don’t know if you have medical training, I do. But, Dr Jason Fung who has a UA-cam channel, is a nephrologist, and has helped thousands reverse diabetes and lose weight will tell you it is metabolic disease. Obesity and diabetes are metabolic diseases.
This is textbook Cushing's. Any doctor should have the knowledge to suspect it and ask for a endocrinology consult. It's honestly worrying that they didn't 😢
Unfortunately doctors' _modus operandi_ was historically, and is concurrently, one of expert generalisation, and in general, nearly always the first line for obesity is adjustment of lifestyle with treatment of underlying mental health factors such as ADHD, BPD, PTSD, OCD or anxiety/depression, GLP-1 agonists notwithstanding. This tunnel vision (discrimination) leads to oversight in checking for comparatively rare organic factors.
It is easier to blame the patient, I guess. 🙄
Exactly, i mentioned that myself above. Its just incompetance and medical laziness. As i said, just froom the thumbnail I knew it was a cushings case. How do doctors get such basic metabolic bio chemistry SO wrong.
@@mikerope5785 Yeah - go to a doctor because oof uncontrollable weight gain, only to reccommend lifestyle changes...coz no one ever thought of that before or tried everything. Interestingly, doctors never say to a patient complaining of weightloss "maybe you should eat more - here, have some hot chips...". urgh
I can imagine how this was missed. Medical students are often more likely to think of less common problems because they are learning about long lists of differential diagnoses. In medical school, doctors are taught that common symptoms are usually due to common causes. The average family doctor may never see a patient with Cushing’s disease in 30 years of practice, but will see thousands of patients with obesity. Gradually, the lists of differential diagnoses learned in medical school become dim memories for the family doctor. An endocrinologist, on the other hand, specializes in gland disorders and should recognize those symptoms.
After I heard "After 10 years" I cried. Well done, Leslie! You stood your ground against a horrid life! And won!
Endocrinologist here: in our clinic we screen every obesity patient for Cushing‘s. And in many cases we don’t find it even in very suspicious cases. The screening is simple and not very expensive - no excuse for not doing it. Especially in cases with rapid weight gain and the typical adipose tissue distribution.
I also question the neurosurgeons a bit due to the complications but it is a difficult tumor to remove.
It really depends on the surgeon, Dr.Daniel Kelly at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute, is one of the best in his field and he would have taken care of this woman without any complications. I was tested for Cushing's and thankfully I didn't have it. What caused all my symptoms and weight gain was/is adult onset growth hormone deficiency. So that's something you can test your patients for as well, sounds like you're a good Doctor so I'm sure you already know this.
My weight has trippled in the past 3 years. I'm sure there's something going on because I've made significant lifestyle changes trying to get it under control. The weight keeps piling on. I have a square face now. :(
@@warrioroflight3813 there are potentials for complications with any surgery. Dr Kelly may be one of the best, but there can still be complications when he performs surgery. Thinking a surgeon won't have any complications because they are one of the best is naive.
Bless you. Wish you were my dr
how exhausting for this poor woman. really makes you realize how much we take for granted. glad she's feeling great today ☺️
Thank you 🥰
Rjght
I developed Hashimoto at 38 and started gaining a pound a day even though I was doing cardio kick boxing 2 times a week and ballroom dancing 3 days a week and I was 115 lbs. I went from a size4/6 to a 10 in a week. It took years before doctors agreed that I had hypothyroidism even though I was telling them from the beginning that I had it. I had all the symptoms and it was in the blood tests but they refused to acknowledge it. One female doctor had the nerve to tell me that I needed to change my lifestyle, as if I caused it when my lifestyle could have not been any healthier; no alcohol, no drugs, ate very healthy, exercise… I gained about 135 pounds. Never in a million years I thought I would be that big. I wasn’t even that big the day before I gave birth to my son. I was about 80+ pounds bigger that at 40 weeks pregnant. In last 3 years, I lost 50 pounds, but gained 25 back. It is so super hard even if you do exercise and super healthy, no sugar, no gluten, no fast food, no dairy, no alcohol, no bread, no pasta, no rice… I feel like I wear a fat suit 24/7.
So sorry..
I noticed all the things that you don't do and by no means in my passing judgment on anyone my heart truly goes out to you
I'm a survivor of breast and lung cancer so I've had my own trials and tribulations
The one thing that isn't in that list of I don't
Is consuming animals
Why is that so important? Because even though people really feel that they are doing the best by themselves we always have room for improvement and it could actually be the drugs that are used on the animals that people are consuming
I know it's not the first thing people to consider there is an awareness building around this issue and these things can create a lot of health consequences
There is also a dog fluoride for the last 40 years and I wish I could tell you his name but I think if you do a search on UA-cam it'll probably come up under suggestions
He has found that there is a direct link between cancer and fluoride
most people don't consider that fluoride is in water it is in the bottled water that is really nothing more than tapwater that people purchased feeling they're making a healthier choice as well as consuming it through cooking and drinking with their own tapwater and then all the things that people purchase like milk which is 80% tapwater though you say you don't drink milk you could be drinking a substitute that is also primarily tapwater
People don't consider that their skin absorbs as well so having a really good shower filter is important because if you're taking hot showers you'll also be inhaling the vapors of those chemicals and it will go directly from the lungs to the blood and then the organs
I know that's a lot for people to take but these are things I've learned over last 20 years
The animals are raised for human consumption are eating unnaturally and they're eating contaminated foods that aren't actually meant for them which is creating a health crisis and that's being passed onto the consumer who was consuming the animal
Along with all the other things including drinking water
Can be found in other places and we don't often consider that when someone else is making or preparing our food they're using bad ingredients
And I know is a huge responsibility to consider all of these things on a constant day-to-day basis but it really is important
So the reason my fluoride is being brought up
it's because too much fluoride and even any fluoride will block the uptake of iodine which is extremely important for the thyroid and it is an intimate relations with the adrenals which we've already heard about the cortisol
So for me a lot of her symptoms were relative to thyroid malfunction
So where can you find fluoride
Which is what you want to eliminate
As we discussed bottled water and tapwater including showers
Under deodorant
Toothpaste
White table salt as an anti-agent
Cheese as a smoothing agent
Process foods because they almost always use tapwater and white table salt to include eating out at a restaurant and it doesn't matter if it's a five star restaurant or not
And all the chemicals can be contributing factors and also mostly contain fluoride as well as other heavy metals
any prepared drinks whether bought from the grocery store or from a place like let's say Starbucks or sodas or any of those things they're all using contaminated poisoned ingredients that no one should be consuming and it is a huge task to eliminate all of these things but the good news is as we make our own substitutes at home and that normally saves us money but it actually benefits our health
Our society is dehydrated malnutritioned toxic and deficient
Stress levels what you do who you do it with the thoughts that you have the time and energy you spend and what you spend it on your ability to get a good sleep
And also unplugging
every night before I go to sleep even though I know I'm still getting berated with 5G from people around me not directly receiving it from my apartment so I unplugged all of my Internet stuff like my modem my router even my television because that also releases radiation and I completely turn off my phone in airplane however I turn off Wi-Fi and Internet data
That helps a lot
It took me many months after moving in here to feeling like I'm actually being able to rest because your immune system will do what it can to protect you even if you're unaware that your body is in danger or being exposed to things that are harmful and disrupting your sleep
It will do its best to defend you even from your poor lifestyle practices
A lot of people are simply unaware
Grounding is very helpful when it comes to having physical pain and it does lower your cortisol levels if I'm not mistaken but there are some really powerful herbs out there that also do the same
I also forgot to mention that I was diagnosed with hyper thyroidism which became paradoxical after 17 years of refusing all treatments which included radiation removal of thyroid and being put on synthetic thyroid hormone
I wasn't really sure why I kept saying no than it just didn't feel right and I listen to that feeling
Many many years later I would be woken up and my life would start to changes more for spiritual reasons and evolved on its own but as I change my lifestyle I found that a lot of my health concerns started to dissipate and then when I went for physical my doctor required and I was completely online with that
She was running through the list that she had done and one of those was on my thyroid and she said Elizabeth your thyroid is normal and I made her repeat that to me
And I was so excited I couldn't contain myself because I hadn't heard that in over 17 years
So it just goes to show that everything you do for your highest good will have side effects but in this case they'll all be good
At the age of 48 I had dropped 55 pounds I didn't do any exercise I did nothing special I simply change the way I ate what I drank and how I lived my life
The only regret is that I didn't do it sooner
But in hindsight I realized that there is such thing as divine timing
Every challenge we face is truly a hidden opportunity
@@elnosworld9893that’s why is so important to listen to RFKjr about how the government is making us sick to fatten the wallets of big pharma companies that financially benefit the elites in the gvt
Parasite cleanse maybe?
@@DaiseyStone-n2w I don’t have parasites. Thanks
OMG that first full night's sleep after having chronically high cortisol levels must be so energising.
This is exactly what is going on with me. I have been so scared to go back to see a doctor to get a diagnosis and start treatment because most doctors always see the weight and cannot go further to actually treat your real symptoms. I am so glad she was able to share her story because now I know what to do. Thank you so much for giving me this motivation and hopefully I can get better soon
I hope you do get treatment and feel better soon!
I hope you find a compassionate endocrinologist that looks at every possibility. God Bless you.
Sending you love and strength. Tell /show your doctor about this podcast.. hopefully he/she is open minded enough to listen and help you. 🙏🏼🫶🏽
Can you give an update
This has happened to my daughter. She’s 28 and has gained 100 lbs! Drs won’t LISTEN!
Keep switching doctors until you find one who is doing their job and complain about the other ones to the medical board. If they are ignoring you they deserve to have their license is revoked. People like that should not be practicing medicine!! They clearly aren't competent if they don't know that there could be medical causes to sudden weight gain it's literally a question on so many screening questionnaires I can't believe these animals aren't looking closer at your situation. Please keep switching. Everyone deserves competent medical Care.
I would definitely report these doctors to the medical board and any other oversight board that deals with medicine.
1 word explains it all- PRACTICING
And best of luck to you ma'am. I started to gain weight in my early thirties too... I think it's mostly hormonal, not Cushing's, I don't have the other symptoms, but I'm still working on normalizing my weight at 44.
Best of luck to yourself and your daughter.
Try an endocrinologist. They'll listen and do the tests.
Go on a carnivore diet. We lack so many nutrients that we don't get in factory made food.
Hey siobhan! This story is really similar to what my mother went through. She had a pituitary adenoma for nearly 13 years. Was told by so many doctors that she was just fat. Eventually she had many episodes of extreme high blood pressure (the top number was around 210, a record for our local hospital). Finally someone decided to scan her head. Very large tumor wrapped around her carotid artery. She went through almost identical symptoms to this woman. Such a misunderstood disease, both Cushing’s disease and syndrome.
Happy ending by the way for my mom! She apparently had a very high chance of dying during her surgery but amazingly made it through. There’s so much care that happens post-op though. She went through so much.
Happy she made it through the surgery. It’s extremely sad that she had to go through so much before that. God Bless!
Happy your mom is okay. Obviously very loved 💙
Everyone should be given the opportunity to see an endocrinologist with rapid weight gain, moderate to severe overweight, and obesity.
They should but it’s awful how they limit access to this kind of specialist, at least in my experience. I have textbook cyclical Cushing’s symptoms and my doctor refuses to refer me. She’s only done one overnight dexamethasone text and basically acts like that’s the final say and I don’t have Cushing’s and no additional testing is necessary. It’s awful.
And they should have an endocrinologist that’s sympathetic and understanding
@@hayze_ablaze unfortunately, in my experience interacting with medical professionals in real life and on instagram and threads, it seems like the profession seems to attract and/or seems to *create* people who DOGGEDLY don’t want to believe that people, and especially women, (helloooo sexism,) aren’t just choosing to be overweight for shits and giggles.
And if we are trying to look for medical answers to explain why we suddenly went from metabolically “normal” individuals to people who have these mysterious disorders, (that could be lipedema or Cushing’s disease or Dercum disease or even familial partial lipodystrophy if we weren’t always typical our whole lives, etc.,) they spit insults at us like, “stop grasping at straws, just take in less calories than you burn, it’s that simple, it’s pure math!” Okay gymbro, I’m 45, my IQ is probably higher than yours, I’ve tried that once or twice, spare me the sarcasm, you know?
And the general physician would rather take the easy way out and give you a pamphlet on “healthy eating” or put you on a GLP-1 injection (when overeating and strong appetite isn’t my problem at all!) or refer you to a dietician instead of doing the hard thing and actually going through a long process of test after test for a rare disorder that they’re unfamiliar with and would have to actually spend some time doing research on to figure out the correct protocol for tests…
…Assuming they won’t just refer to an endo, which is the case for my doctor, who swears that our local endos are so backed up that they won’t see anyone who doesn’t have positive results for “something”… even though I already have diabetes and hypothyroidism? But she says my issues are too well controlled so I have to have something new! 🥴 Whatever dude.
Side note, I say this coming from a family with 3 generations of doctors-as a kid I got my yearly flu shot from my OB/GYN grandfather, who I also remember being gone for Christmas Eve one year because he was delivering my mom’s cousin’s baby. I respect doctors a lot, but I also know that they are hard to deal with.
In hindsight I probably should have become one, because I think I would have been good at it, but I grew up with chronic illness… I spent my whole childhood fainting, vomiting, dizzy, and having migraines. I also was never particularly ambitious and my parents weren’t pushy (or rich) so it’s really miraculous I even graduated college. 🤣
@@StephanieDefinitely Call up insurance company and complain and report Doctor to medical board while looking for better doctor.
Many thanks to Leslie for opening up about her medical journey. I wish only the best for her in the future!
After a friend was diagnosed with PCOS, she finally got her weight under control. She suffered for years before she was accurately diagnosed. It's a good thing we have youtube to confirm that there is indeed something wrong with us!!
what did your friend do? i have pcos, and i don’t know what to try to manage my weight. i gained 115 lbs in 3 years. those 3 years were the time i was trying my hardest to lose weight, which is crazy
what was the treatment?
@@anniestumpy9918 This is going back some 20 years. It was treatment of PCOS. I know she had surgery, probably to remove cysts but I'm not 100% sure. My point was that it's treatable but your doctor needs to be aware of it!
@@ejc139Hi, from personal experience I would say it's important not to diet too strictly. For me, what helped was eating more protein, healthy fats and fiber with most meals to balance blood sugar. Doing low-mid intensity exersize like incline walking and weight lifting. And using supplements like inositol, berberine and L-glutamate to manage cravings and balance blood sugar. Also you can try to regulate your cycle, according to a few small studies acetyl l-carnitine as well as cyclic use of vitex or progesterone may help with this. If you want to use supplements please be very carefull and check the interactions as well as the side effects and consult with your doctor. Obviously not medical advice, just my experience.
I've had PCOS for decades. Doctors don't listen.
@Violin MD The sudden appearance of cystic acne/hirsutism in someone who never had this issue in the past along with the weight gain immediately told me it was a hormonal /endocrinological problem related to the adrenal glands and pituitary gland .This is an excellent and fascinating presentation of a mystery with a complication and twists. I am so happy to hear that she is doing so well.
Me too, and I’m not even a doctor! A first year medical student could diagnose that. 🤦♀️
Cushings and Addisons disease was engraved in my brain since nursing school. It’s interesting to see a real case and happy that she was able to finally get an answer and her life back 🖤
One of my close friends has Addison's disease and it's been brutal for him. He just got diagnosed a week ago.
In Belgium, Addison disease is seen as quackery. You get send directly to the psychiatrist at best or worst! If a doctor has the nerve to test you for Addison, he will have problems with the medical bord.
There was a doctor testing this in patients and so on and the board got him sued, licence..., a big fine of 1000's of euros many times.
Cushing the same.
Nobody will test you for this.
I think it has to do with $$$ and nobody wants to pay for it and diagnosing means you have it AND THE RIGHT for insurance claim.
They do this 'tricks' here with many issues! Clever how they con people.
They are clever.
It’s actually not as rare as people think.
@@ValC-vn5vl absolutely
Omg, I’m on severe hormone blockers and my oncologist literally rolled her eyes when I told her I gained 40 pounds in a calorie deficit. She doesn’t believe me. I have a freaking chart of all my food and drink. It’s so frustrating. I’m in severe pain from the drugs and excess weight. And I live in a remote area which makes things twice as hard. I can’t just drive to another area. (Hawaii) my insurance will not help with flights and hotel stays. It’s thousands of dollars to go to the mainland and stay in a hotel, not to mention that my husband has dementia and I don’t even know if he can handle a flight at this point.
We can only pray to the Almighty God in your situation. Please God help this lady in this dire straights situation. I trust upon your Almighty power to resolve this seemingly impossible case. In Jesus name I send you1000 angels from God's kingdom. Amen. All my love to you .
Find a different oncologist. Get your charts and see if you can find a doctor who can do Telemedicine visits to at least narrow things down and maybe they beat your regular oncologist into submission. It is up to you to advocate for yourself.
The hardest thing you will ever do in your life is the carnivore diet, it’s meat, eggs, LIGHT dairy like some cheese, and salt and water but many people are curing cancer and every other autoimmune disease, and losing weight, and if carnivore too hard fry keto, god bless
Look up Dr berg video, the cancer interview.
You can look for a Hawaiian traditional healer also. One of the things that can help anyone is to swim in salt water.
Blessings🌺
@@daiseymae6263 you have a point. I did keto years before and mostly liked it and did well. I’m going to look into this and give it another try with carnivore. Thanks for the reminder. I’ve been overwhelmed. 🌸
The problem comes down to doctors not listening to women, blaming everything on weight instead of thinking about weight as a symptom. I know FAR too many women who had to fight for years to get diagnosed with different conditions because doctors kept brushing them off. It took me 10 years of fighting to finally get diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. When I did get the diagnosis, it explained my mystery illnesses from my whole life! My life would be so different if I had been diagnosed sooner and if doctors were better educated on EDS.
Cortisol levels can mess with your metabolism outside of Cushing's disease too. Lately I was in a DV situation, and it took over two years before I could find a place to escape to; during that time I would eat nothing for 7 to 9 days at a time and there would be no visible difference; a body in survival mode will stretch calories something crazy.
I hope you're in a safe and stable place now 🙏🏼❤️
@@prolifemama Yes I am, thank you; I'm now living in a much safer place, away from that person. I work and go to school, and I now see people like him coming from a mile away.
Some things I now watch out for: people who are "too perfect", especially if they're very socally adept; people who come off as too good to be true, and people who make a lot of "identity statements" (they'll tell you a lot about how great they are, often in indirect ways, like telling you all the good things they do and how other people also think they're so great).
May we all live free, and be able to choose the life we lead 💜🌞
@@everydaytwiceonsundays4498
Oh you had an abusive narcissist too? Were they also alcoholic? (eyeroll/
@@everydaytwiceonsundays4498
No kidding! And then once I got into a woman's shelter, we had Lockdown and I got Covid twice ... Thenk goodness for my friends and family.
@@aeray3581 Yeah, a lot of those around, aren't there?
Anyway, now it's been a year and I'm starting to get back to normal. I expected recovery to be faster, but well, glad to be out!
When I was 19 I gained over 100 lbs…for no apparent reason…I ate 2 regular meals a day, no take out or junk…I was too broke to eat out. I didn’t get diagnosed with hypothyroidism until age 43, but was only given Synthroid which didn’t help. When I was in my 50s I was finally allowed to use natural porcine thyroid (in Canada there is an extreme prejudiced against this). The first months or so I dropped 80lbs easily. The weight loss stopped when the doctor got worried and stopped titrating the dose upward, so I never reached the optimum dose. I have lived a life of eating much less than those around me, but judged for being out of control because of my weight.
I'm the same! I have hypothyroidism and Lipedema and find it impossible to lose weight. I eat carnivore for the last 2 years, but eat much less than most people do and yet now weight loss. I can fast for days with no weightloss too.
@@MEF7stop undereating on carni! Let urself gain wgt on it so u heal ur organs, ur bones n ur muscles! Esp to heal ur hormones!
In a few mos, ur hyperinsulinemia will be resolved and the fat loss will start AND continue
Low carb Life (Kelly Hogan)
Dr Elizabeth Bright
Steak & Butter Gal
Judy Cho
Dr Boz
All great YT channels
It's so frustrating to have symptoms no one can explain. I'm glad she figured it out.
So glad she kept advocating for herself. Women's health is so often dismissed
It doesn't help that they didn't start including women in medical research until the 90s (according to the stats I've heard).
They dismiss men’s medical issues, too. I am a woman, by the way
This is the saddest video you have presented. I can't even imagine what she went through. I am glad she is part of a support group and was willing to share her story with your viewers to get awareness out there. My brother in law suffered from amyloidosis and it took two years before they figured it out and he was on deaths door. This was after going to see several top cardiologist in the Los Angeles area who kept telling him it was a virus and there was nothing they could do. After a visit to the Mayo clinic he got a referral to an oncologist and with chemo and a heart and kidney transplant he is still alive 10 years later. I am looking forward to when AI is also used in medicine to help diagnose these more rare conditions.
Chery, I agree, this poor woman went through so much. The Great Physician is all I need. God bless you.
Horrible to hear how she suffered. Bless her for turning that suffering into a reason to help others rather than just feel bad for her own experience. That's a nice outcome to an awful situation.
...this is really interesting. I also had a moment in my late 20s when i gained over 100 pounds over just about a year and thought it was bizarre because my diet did not change and i was actually more active because of my job. I still haven't lost the weight and I've been getting other issues slowly since then, this might be something to look at with my doctor next week!
Thyroid, diabetes and mood medications can cause that too.
Definitely see an endocrinologist or rheumatologist. Sounds suspiciously autoimmune to me🤷🏼♀️
Good luck! Please demand a referral to an Endo. They know what to look for.
What I did was write a list. And I went through each item one by one. Process of elimination.
Sounds like a good time to try carnivore
She is so resilient and patient. God bless her
What Leslie has gone through cannot be easy. She has such a strong character. Respect.
That poor woman! She looked miserable before her diagnosis. Too many times doctors dismiss women’s concerns. When I was pregnant with my second child I was absolutely exhausted and hair was falling out in chunks. I told my OBGYN and he actually said I was lazy. I gave blood and my cholesterol level was over 1000. He finally checked my thyroid and my TSH was 114.
I'm so sorry you were treated that way I would have been outraged.
Trash human being can just discount what a patient is telling them with that out at least trying to verify it through an objective method? Clearly these people have unresolved mother issues because they have a deep-seated misogyny these people are sick and should NOT be practicing!! They are a curse on their profession and a disgraceful example of a human being. I hope you left that doctor shortly thereafter. That is actually verbal abuse and a betrayal of their oath to first do no harm- by refusing to treat patients they are being derelict of duty. There are SO many doctors that need to have their licenses revoked and sadly a lot of them just end up retiring with full benefits.
These people are a disgrace and do NOT deserve to practice. I have zero tolerance and zero patience for these things who think they can go into the medical profession being the worthless people that they are and bring their vile prejudices and total and shameful lack of professionality with them. Just more proof that being smart doesn't make you a good person.
Did you mean your TSH was 114?! Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, how miserable! Can you please tell me how you got well? Thank you
You know I wanted to post something encouraging but UA-cam blocked it yesterday? So annoying....
Why is this doctor still practicing? Report incompetent Doctor to medical board!
@@justjan2576 yes, so sorry! TSH was what I meant. Autocorrect….
leslie you rock, go girl!! you turned all the suffering and the time you "lost" into pure gold and you multiplied it million times. you are a ray of sunshine, hope and help to so many people!! ❤❤🎉
As a woman in my late 30s, I have known that on my mom’s side of the family we have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, PCOS amongst a number of different arthritis. It took me three years before learning that I also have Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis that is not common in either side of the family. Granted, that is what makes things a bit harder, but losing 50 pounds feels great and I am glad Leslie got help for Cushing disease. Sometimes we have to be our own advocates
How did you lose the weight!? I have Ms and hypo thyroid
As a person who used to be morbidly obese even on a restricted diet given to me by my doctor which I followed to the letter. I can say something on this topic. I lost the weight. Once i did my research at the library. Many people like myself have a survival set of genetics that we inherited from our ancestors who faced famine again and again. The ones who survived were these ancestors. If you eat a restricted diet, then you do not no matter what you eat get all of the nutrients and micro nutrients that your body needs. You have to supply all of them. That means to lose weight you got to eat and eat a lot. You got to eat like its spring time on the farm and produce and some animal protein is abundant. Do cut fats and sugars. Moderate amounts of meat protein and make it lean. Pig out on fresh veggies and cooked ones and whole grain breads and have fruit for your sweet tooth. Aim to eat the healthiest food you can. Snack foods and take out limit the quantities to a reasonable portion. Not the whole bag or box and not the supersize and try to choose the healthier options. When your body is flooded with nutrient dense foods, caloric or not, it takes the nutrition and turns OFF the survival genes and turns on the fat burning ones. The food you consume and the fat on your butt will all be burned as energy. It snowballs so if it starts coming off too fast you can slow it down by having some unhealthy fat and sugary foods. You don't want it to melt away too fast as then your skin has no chance to tone up and shrink to fit. Folks in this category with this set of genetics MUST pig out on food from the produce section of the store and some whole grains and beans and some moderate animal protein that is lean and try not to fry it. Unless you need the fat. I would fry meat one day a week only. If the Biggest Loser was on TV at the time I would have been a prime candidate. One big fat blonde lady from the south. I made up my mind I was going to be the healthiest big fat blonde lady there ever was. Even if I stayed fat. Guess what it came off. I ain't no skinny Minnie now and after. But I ain't fat neither. Believe me I pigged out on healthy food. I still lost the weight. The human body if given the nutrition to do so, will balance itself out to the weight and shape that fits your own body type and ancestry. Some folks naturally carry more weight and others are slim athletic types. Others are in between. Stout but not fat. Squash and greens and other foods in the produce section are tasty and good for you. They have nutrients that you need. Salads with a huge variety of veggies and some meat and even fruit. Use your imagination and variety is the key and moderation. Science only knows of a limited variety of nutrients and vitamins and minerals. You want some of it all. So, healthy foods and the more variety the better is your key and should be the majority of what passes your lips. Prepared junk food, easy fix stuff is full of garbage mostly and low on the nutrient dial. Crank that thing up on high and see what happens. Convince your body that food and good food is plentiful and it does not need to store fat for later. It needs to burn it as you got things to do. It will obey.
As a med student I’m so glad I got the correct diagnosis in the first couple minutes of the video
Knew what it was from the video title as I've been struggling with worries about Cushing's for years. I have PCOS, which causes some similar symptoms, and for me that + health anxiety = a fixation with Cushing's. I actually emailed with Leslie last year about my concerns, and she encouraged me to reach out directly to some of the CSRF's recommended endocrinologists. I did, and he was kind enough to accept me as a patient. So far testing hasn't shown that I have Cushing's, and actually my symptoms are improving since losing weight, so we're leaning on it really being PCOS, but I'm very thankful for Leslie's guidance and the endo is continuing to follow me and will test again later this year, so I feel good to have found someone who didn't just pat me on the head like another endo I saw years ago did. Cortisol is a really interesting hormone that we don't know enough about yet; they're now finding that mild autonomous cortisol secretion is probably quite common. (My endo did a study in the 2000s finding that probably a quarter of all people have a pituitary tumour and just never find out because it's subclinical, it's a fascinating area.) It will be up to science to figure out better treatments for that!
That is the difficulty, that many endocrine disorders can both cause and be the symptom of weight gain. I was going through some pretty bad issues due to perimenopause but once I increased my activity, gradually, my brain started to “push” for better foods, which means I feel better overall both due to better nutritions and having lost weight as a by product.
If I may ask, how did you finally manage to get your weight down? I have PCOS as well, don't lead a sedentary lifestyle and have done intermittent fasting multiple times without much success - it just doesn't work as well for me as it seems to for other people. If I could lose just 2 pounds a month I would be absolutely thrilled.
@@user-kpkxgtjI didn’t have too difficult of a time thankfully. Just portion control, I did fully cut out added sugar other than once or twice a week. I’ve heard some others with PCOS do have a really hard time losing weight though, going on metformin (or the newer trendy weight loss drugs) seems to help those people.
WOW. That first surgeon screwed up and started the cascade. Didn't get all the tumor in the 1st place, then after the second surgery to fully remove leftover tumor tissue left behind, removed the *entire* pituitary. THEN she wasn’t closed up properly after the 2nd procedure AND spinal fluid was pouring out!? OMG... So much went wrong here. It's SO vital to research your physicians and skill level. Don't let some hack with a scalpel operate! I know - my husband went through something similar and nearly died. Suffers to this day from an unskilled surgeon. Sounds like a strong case for malpractice. Poor woman!
Great story! This is why doctors are “practicing”. Every body is different.❤️
Yes! THIS!!
I don't think "practice", specifically related to medicine, means guess work. It means "the act of to engage, with or without compensation, in medical diagnosis, healing, treatment, or surgery". True, every body is different, that doesn't mean physicians should just shrug and give vague diagnoses. It's good she advocated for herself and kept looking for the answers.
@@ipsissimavoce4870 🤣completely misunderstood me😉. Have an awesome day!
As someone who graduated pre-med with honors but whose muscle tone disorder meant med school wasn't an ethical option, I love stories where it's the emergency department doctor who is the first medical professional the patient encounters who realizes that the condition is as serious as the patient knows it is.
Thanks. My mom was recently diagnosed with Cushing syndrome. She retired from her stressful job and is trying not to stress about anything. It was so helpful for her to know what was going on with her hormones & adrenaline when she was getting worked up into hysterics. It made such a huge difference. Hopefully, she won't need the surgery. She has a spot on her pituitary gland, but the doc said it's not big enough to cause problems. Right now, I'm glad she's doing so much better. We'll have the docs continue to monitor adrenaline & cortisol levels.
This sounded exactly the same as my experience with a DNET brain tumor. Praise God I’m tumor free now! ❤️🙌🏼❤️ It’s incredible how a tumor can affect every area of our bodies and like her, everyone just thought I was being fat and lazy because they couldn’t see what was truly going on.
I had this same disease, so many symptoms I had I didn't even think to report to a doctor. The only things that I initially noted was a loss of my menstrual cycle for 3 months and weight gain, around 80 pounds in a little over a year. My family doctor thought I had PCOS, but eventually sent me to and endocrinologist when she couldn't find any cysts on ultrasound and nothing improved within a few months. It was only because the endocrinologist decided to rule virtually everything out "just in case" that they found my tumor. Trust me, this disease sucks, and because it's so rare it can be hard to find someone even willing to consider it in the first place, which can make for prolonged suffering and potentially worse outcomes. I got extremely lucky that it was caught before I developed any irreversible long term issues, but sadly most aren't that lucky.
Did you have to have surgery?
Everything sounds the same for me. Ive given up. Why are we telling doctors what to look for. I know my end will be at my own choice. Im done with doctors that tell me nothing.
I love these videos that search and explain a specific condition and then work through treatment afterwards.
This was a terrible thing for Leslie and I’m sorry she went through this but am very glad she recovered and is now doing great work to help others in her situation.
Thanks to both ladies for this story.
I love the way you tell people's story, it feels like you genuinely care 💖 Your videos are the easiest for me to watch for medical stuff because your tone is very vibrant and energetic but in the most pleasant way. Thank you for touching on this very important matter, I feel like most doctors tend to forget about cortisol or hormone levels in general and as women they won't take us seriously and assume we are overreacting or just anxious.
Appreciate the courage it takes to discuss this personal story. The medical "industry" is full of psychopaths, sociopaths, narcissists, and just plain old bullies. Today, i feel sorry for patients, but also, there are many good and decent doctors, nurses, etc, who must work for those arrogant _____.
My long suffering health trouble was FINALLY diagnosed as DIFUSE TYPE DERCUMS DESEASE!
FOR 4 DECADES, I WAS GOING FROM ONE DOC TO THE NEXT.
Dercums causes specific type of fat to grow in the skin, blocking flow of blodod, nerve and lymph, causing lymphedema. Symptoms include pain everywhere, head to toe. Pain, lesions, swwelling,, weight gain that cannot diet off. When I finally could get a lymphedema pump and used it, I lost 35 lbs in lymphedema fluid!!! So painful.
Need a pain doc, lymphedema pump, compression garments, med to sleep and NO STRESS IN YOUR LIFE.
Thank you for the information. May God bless you with better health and happiness.
after my stroke they left the bone flap out so long that when they went to put it back in and send me home my body rejected it I remember my discharge date vividly I had the surgery to put it back in I couldn't fall asleep my last night probably nerves to go back home but I tawned and popped a stitch they threw one back in, in the morning before sending me on my way home.
we left hamilton general, as we were going up the mountain to upper james I felt something running down my neck so I wiped it away then looked at my mom and said I'm leaking I think we should go back we went back they just bandaged me up and sent me home again because I had a racing banquet that night. so I showed up with my head looking like how head injuries in movies look with a gauze bandage wrapped all around. that was really my first introduction to society after 4 months in the hospital. 2 weeks later I sprung a leak again and my head swelled so I went back they draind a urin sample cup full of fluid from my head to test they took the bone back out I stayed 2 weeks for the swelling to go down got out December 22nd was out for two weeks and the same thing happened it was two weeks home with my bone 2 weeks in without for 3 months before a nurse suggested just using a prosthetic piece
That is so upsetting to hear. I hope you are ok.
Boy do I have a story for medical journals...while I am hooked up on IV there times a day for the past six weeks and fighting to keep my leg from amputation, watching other peoples vudeos, thinking about being disabled since 16 years old, surgeries, tumors removals, radiation...and on end, just when I thought surgery went good, maybe I will be able to wear shoes, I am fighting for my life because of bacteria. Well, life is unpredictable but it is worth fighting.
So sorry you are going through that. May You be cured and find healing in Jesus name. God Bless!
God bless you. If you see missionaries in white shirts with black name tags have them give you a blessing. Their blessings work!
ask doctor about phage therapy. it's a treatment that uses phages to fight bacterial infections. john 3:16
Amazing story that shared a rare condition but also relatable. Leslie went through so much and I'm glad she has become an advocate.
Thank you for sharing your story, Leslie. I've been saying that I have high cortisol and query Cushing's for years, but they're too busy treating me for all the same dxs you shared. But they will NOT test for Cushings or cortisol. So tired of them telling me to just eat steamed vegetables.
Dammit... I was so excited when I saw this video because I thought maybe there was finally an answer for what's wrong with me, but nope. Already been tested for that and no Cushings for me, just thirty years of misery and counting. I feel like I'm never going to know what's wrong with me or find a way to fix it. It's really... really hard.
I am glad that Leslie found a solution and got better, though. No one deserves to feel this way. Stay strong, Leslie!
If you don't have this, could it be a bacterial infection in the stomach?
You can try to heal yourself without a diagnosis. The carnivore diet or lion diet heals a lot of health problems. Watch Dr chaffee and Dr ken Berry videos
Gut health...eat yogurt?
Acidophilus etc
I can't lose weight either despite being on the carnivore diet and fasting. I have Lipedema and nothing gets my weight down
Life turned around for me after i realised that doctors had never tested my D levels. I insisted snd it was 12. They wanted me on 2000 a day but, i had read up so much by then that i asked for s megadose once a week. So they prescribed 8000 once a week. Tired of fighting, i went home and i took 16,000 once a week and took a 180 K2 with it and then daily i took another “D3 plus K2” pill of 1000.
I took them mid meal or shortly after a meal.
The huge improvement started after 6 weeks.
None had even mentioned K2 or how vital the K2 role was .
They said i have to wait 6 months before another D blood test.
I will have it done privately at the 3 month mark. Am so over the eye rolling etc that i doubt i will mention anything to them. Checking back over a decade, my D levels were 100. So that’s my goal.
I stopped bruising, started sleeping better and am dropping 2.4 lbs a week.
My energy return has me slowly doing very gentle slow stretch snd strength and balance exercises for 2-20 mins every day now too.
May not be the fix, but its helping me.
So happy to hear Leslie found her cure. For others, it could be carbohydrate poisoning. In fact, starting there would be a lot less traumatic than first going thru all those doctors, tests, and surgeries.
Omgosh, poor THING!!! What an awful bunch of circumstances to suffer through! God love ya, Leslie!❤
Thank you for covering this. I'm going through testing for suspected cushings. I have consistent high cortisol. Unfortunately all the doctors I've seen are gaslighting me and telling me to just go on a diet and have a lifestyle change. That lifestyle change would be to quit my job and make sure someone else takes care of all my bills. Its just not possible. My job is not stressful. I am wide awake at 2AM and ready to sleep again at 8AM despite being on stimulants and sleep meds. My muscles are disappearing on my arms and legs and I keep gaining more fat at my middle.
Muscle loss with a plump midsection is one of the key “signs”. High cortisol can cause reduced protein uptake.
I am so happy Leslie finally got the help she needed. I had never been sick until 2023. Then it all hit at once. DCIS, lumpectomy, radiation, kidney stone, thyroid and parathyroid nodule, thyroidectomy, and then shingles, like icing on the cake, then depression and weight gain with synthroid. People, You are not alone when all hell breaks loose. God was with me. We all suffer at points in life, but dont give up.
Cortisol problems. I had some of Leslie's symptoms, for about 13 years. The worst, for me, was standing in the mirror, watching myself as I felt my heart pound so hard it really felt like it was trying to kill me. Then, the symptoms faded until one day, I could not stand for more than 5 minutes without going numb from the waist down. I had spinal stenosis at L5-my spinal chord had been sending desperate pain messages intermittently directly to my adrenal glands, causing surges of cortisol. The pain was not referred to my brain, which is why this condition was never considered until the numbness episodes. The spinal-chord passage (foramen) at L5 had narrowed to c. 1/8" instead of the normal 1". An 8-hour, $500k+ surgery later, all symptoms were gone.
So...multiple doctors misdiagnosed her,then surgeons didn't do 2 surgeries properly, resulting in yet another surgery...which failed. And, in the end, only the radiation worked. So basically they didn't have to remove the pituitary...if they had used radiation in the first place.
The medical field these days is absolutely terrifying.
I have dealt with obesity on and of all my life and diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2013 after symptoms had started 12 years prior, I searched so long for what was wrong with me I started to think that I was crazy and my weight ballooned: After my 4th child I was 338 lbs and suffering with edema of the feet and legs. My feet and legs would look like balloons and it was so painful, I am happy to say i have lost 91 lbs in the last year and the edema is no longer in my feet and only minor swelling in my legs, Obesity and your body malfunctioning can make you feel like you are losing you mind especially when you have doctors telling you nothing is wrong. Stay stong!
How'd you do it?
@@MEF7 Calories counting not going above 2,000 calories per day unless on a Friday (cheat day) and intermittent fasting, which I am now training my body for prolonged fasting.. Since I wrote this comment I have now lost a total on 120 lbs.
I had a chairy malformation misdiagnosed for years got told i was a junkie trying to abuse pain meds until a neuro surgeon really listen to me and literally saved my life i was losing mobility and didnt know why qll these other symptoms
Horrible. I thought I had Chiary malformation too but I didn't. I studied it alot. Glad you're all better.
@@basantidevi2305 i got the surgery seven months pregnant headaches went away immediately got my hand and feet working but if i didn’t get that surgery i was going to be in a wheelchair
I remember being concerned I might have Cushing's when I was early 30s. I had also gained about 100 lbs over a few years, had bad headaches, hypertension, new T2 Diabetes diagnosis. However, the cortisol test was normal. CT revealed a sphenoid polyp. The Ear, Nose, Throat specialist rinsed out my sinuses with saline irrigation and I felt better and didn't need any more treatment. I slowly lost the weight.
Now, I'm sort of worried again. I've felt fatigued with joint and peri-articular pain, muscle aches and brain fog ever since I had Covid. Rheumatology says it's Fibromyalgia (RH factor is negative and most of the painful joints are mobile). However, later blood tests by my PCP show low TSH despite normal T3 and T3 and unchanged thyroid ultrasound, which might point at a pituitary problem. (As well as anemia and possible high potassium and low body temperature.) I've seen some studies link Sars-CoV-2 to pituitary infection. But I also had brain injury from cardiac arrest a few years ago and wonder if that might be part of it. So, I'm taking blood tests every few months to keep track. I should get a draw next week, but I'm thinking I should wait until a flareup to make sure any changes get caught.
Thank you so much to Lesley! It's so kind of her to be open about a heart wrenching disease.
I’m so glad for Leslie and her family. I feel so sorry you had to go through this awful experience.
What a brave woman. Thank you, Leslie for your work helping others with Cushing’s disease.
I’ve been struggling with a lot of these symptoms and didn’t realize they could be related… will have to bring this up to my PCP. Thanks for this informative video as always!!
I had a chairy malformation and also had alot of these symptoms. It also has to do with the base of the brain and spinal cord .
Sorry to hear that hope ur better now
Good luck
My cortisol is through the roof, I have all the signs but got diagnosed with thyroid cancer and the concerns about my cortisol were dismissed “we have to deal with the thyroid cancer first”. Since then, they haven’t been willing to look into it and I keep gaining weight.
I hope you figure it out. Thomas Seyfried MD and his simple, safe and effective approach to cancer doesn't involve nausea, vomiting or going bald. It is also excellent for improving all manner of health issues. It is being used with success by a Hungarian clinic and by different doctors around the United States. My husband was a happy beneficiary of that was done with his cancer. he has also improved his health in many ways.… Just continuing on a modified eating plan. His practitioner has successfully treated others for cancer In the same natural way. As for me, I've watched people heal from many different kinds of diseases including different cancers, using various modalities. you will want to correct your light environment as a foundation. Black out your bedroom, pray if you wake up in the middle of the night, and don't look at your phone or other lighted clock. if you have to take a bathroom break at night, have a lap with an orange bulb at very low wattage if you need to see, to prevent triggering a cortisol release. You can use that quiet time to pray, forgive anyone that you might hold anything against, which is another stress reducer, and cortisol reducer. If you can do it without looking at a screen at night, listening to something soothing might help you get back to sleep. go outdoors first thing in the morning, rain or shine, to have your eyes exposed to morning daylight. Doesn't matter if it is sunny or cloudy. Go for a walk outside every day. Go to bed when it is dark, and only use an orange lightbulb after sunset. I think you'll be surprised and how this can help you calm down inflammation and cortisol. Follow your cancer markers periodically. It's ideal if you find a practitioner who understands both natural and allopathic cancer treatment, and who can understand you personally well enough to direct you toward allopathic, natural, or a combination of the two. For example, I recommended a supplement called mega hydrate to a friend who was doing traditional cancer therapy, but it kept being delayed because her blood count was terrible. The supplement really helped her renew her reserves so she could finish her treatment. And then she switched to doing a lot of raw juices as part of her lifestyle and has been free of cancer for at least a decade now. Gerson therapy protocols, more or less. But at the same time, people on a carnivore diet with intermittent fasting are finding that they do better with their chemo if they fast before and afterwards. Much less damaging. But people are getting rid of their cancer without doing chemotherapy at all. Or they do only a drug that slows the development of blood vessels that are specifically supportive to cancer growth. So much less stressful, traumatic, expensive. I wish you the best in your healing journey!
I really don't understand why GPs don't just automatically refer obese women to another doctor to rule these possibilities out. SO many of us suffer with underlying conditions that are contributing to weight gain (even if its not the entire cause). I feel like they really are just discriminating and judging us to be terrible people with horrible life habits. I've many times got the DISTINCT impression that certain doctors didn't like me/hated even having to deal with me because of my size. it's a stigma thing that just needs to stop.
I agree entirely. At this point in my life, I truly believe there is a physical root cause for the vast majority of conditions, even so-called psychological conditions.
I'm a PCOS/thyroid cancer survivor. Lesson: keep going to different doctors until you get answers that make sense! The endocrinologist dismissed my symptoms; it was my primary care doctor who knew that I wasn't 'right' and scheduled the ultra sound that saved my life.
Just horrifying how Leslie was misdiagnosed by doctors! She is amazing!! Wish her all the best for a lovely future.
48 GP's, 2 dermatologists, 3 physicians, 1 oncologist all didn't see I had diabetes, over a period of forty years. I had 12 strokes; when you get pain in the back of your head and neck, get to your doctor right away. High blood pressure can lead to stroke.
I had a pituitary tumor removed about a year and a half ago. I had gained about 30 lbs and before the surgery the doctor put me on a really strict diet cutting out all processed foods and was able to shrink the tumor prior to removal. Fortunately I was able to stick to a strict enough diet that I didn’t gain as much weight or lose my hair. I was exhausted all the time, couldn’t sleep and just generally felt horrible all the time. So glad she got a diagnosis. I have a friend I’m pretty sure is dealing with the same problem right now and I’m hoping she eventually feels comfortable enough to discuss her weigh so she can get in to see a doctor and get hormone testing done before it’s too late.
This lovely lady is inspiring for me to take my sufferings and use them to help others.
Glad Leslie had success in the end. Her Instincts with persistence saved her.
my first thought was PCOS definitely but was surprised it was actually Cushing's! That lady went through a lot. I sympathize with her 🙁I'm glad they were finally able to help her and that she's an advocate for others going through the same!
I was diagnosed with Cushings Disease in 2007 after only about 4 months of testing; I was lucky that my medical team found a small tumor on my pituitary gland quite quickly. My cortisol levels were sky high and they said that surgery for me was the only option at this point. I had all the symptoms (weight gain even while dieting/exercising, diabetes etc.) so surgery was scheduled for early December of that same year. They did exactly the same surgery, going through my nose but only removing half of my pituitary gland and even before I was out of recovery, they tested the cortisol levels and it was already in the high side of the normal range. Recovery was brutal with major headaches and loss of taste/smell (which returned a few months later), but they were pleased with the result as they said that it was rare that is surgery was successful, as with happened with Leslie. Unfortunately, it was discovered that this was not causing my weight gain, diabetes etc. and I still suffer from those issues, but the cortisol remains normal to this day.
Why didn't they just remove the tumor instead of half your pituitary? That's what my doc did and said he'll remove it if the tumor comes back or do radiation. I don't like either option. Do you take meds because they removed half of the pituitary?
@@drinabooboo They did remove half of my pituitary because there we several, non-malignant tumors on just one side, so this was the best option to ensure they got it all. And apparently they did because thankfully, my body is working fine with no meds for it I was lucky.
@@lauracollins7067 Yes, that amazing that you don't need meds. Good to know that's a possibility. I couldn't find anyone without or half a pituitary to know of possible outcomes so thank you and Leslie for sharing.
I guessed correctly from the hirsuitism part! Yay for me a retired gastro nurse! This poor woman. She's certainly been through the mill!
what a heart breaking story- what this poor woman had to endure!! She is an absolute warrior. No human should have to endure what she did at the hand of poor diagnostics and poor treatments. Kudos to her to hang in there and continue to pursue getting to the root cause of her devastating and crippling health problems. She must have had a phenomenal support system of family and friends, and an iron will to fight for her health. What an amazing woman to now advocate for others suffering similar health challenges via the Cushing awareness organization. All the best for a healthy, happy, and amazing future doing all the things she missed out on because of the effects of her illness. May her life and happiness increase one hundred fold.
Thank you for bringing attention to this. A lot of people, especially women, blame themselves when they start gaining weight, and they go on fad diets and work out too much to try and mitigate that. It can lead to even more problems and they need to realize that it has more to do with their hormones
Pharmacist here, I would have suggested seeing an endocrinologist after seeing her put on diabetic meds for the first time! I can't believe she wasn't immediately referred.
Had a family member that had this, she ended up at the Mayo Clinic for her surgery after she almost died in a car accident from falling asleep at the wheel. Woke up her doctors to her issues! Edited to add for my entire teen years I lived with high cortisol levels but they could never find a tumor, I have lived most of my life taking prednisone.
Thank you for sharing this. My gf was told for over a decade that "cals in vs cals out" crap and it turns out she has lipedema. Diet and exercise do not work for someone with this hereditary condition. Wish that Leslie's doctors had taken her more seriously. She's one tough lady.
That was exhausting to listen to! I'm so sorry Leslie had to go through all that. I hope the worst is behind her and stays there. Blessings to Leslie
My issue like this is Lipedema, a connective tissue disease. Canada doesn't recognize it so myself and many other women recieve 0 help and support, having to pay thousands of $ out of pocket for treatments. And on top of that we get to have doctors ignore our requests for help.
It is amazing that she survived this ordeal. Thankful for her opening up!!
Bless her heart I watched this three times and I still can't believe what she went through. She was stronger than she realised.
Great episode. Poor woman. Since you live in your own body it seems counter intuitive that you would know what is going on with you. But sadly we're often the very last to know. I'm glad she got her answer and is now healthy. Bless you.
What an ordeal, such courage and resilience. I know I could NOT go through such a thing, being totally alone in the world.
This was an excellent video that will help many people. Thank you both for making it and kudos to Leslie for sharing her story and advocating for people with Cushing’s disease.
Thank you all for putting this video together. May it give hope for those who battle misunderstood and undiagosned conditions. Obesity is a curse for those afflicted because it is deemed unacceptable by our society.
No one asks "WHY?". Why is this happening? What is causing the tumors!?!
A beautiful example of resilience and fighting through the most terrible experience
I just noticed you are at 1M followers! Yay! 🎉
Nice of Leslie to share her story. Glad it had a happy ending!
Poor Leslie. I can't imagine the suffering she endured. The human body can be so cruel.
That poor woman! What an ordeal! That is wonderful that she is now giving support to those going through similar trials! Thanks for sharing this medical mystery! It is very helpful. May it make me more empathetic to others going through challenging medical situations when there isn’t an end in sight.
I'm glad the story turned out well for Leslie. I'm so happy for her better health
Wow!!! I had every symptom she had except diabetes over 10 years suffering. I saw 10 different docs and finally went to Roswell Cancer Center and had the same surgery in 2022. My tumor was 10mm and bleeding. Now I cut out sugar and am trying to continue to heal from the metabolic damage. It's taking long but I'm blessed to be on the road to progress after so many years of hell.
Good heavens! This poor woman! She suffered so much. When I was at my heaviest, I really felt like doctors wouldn't listen to me. I felt like they just judged me because I was fat. I'm so glad she finally found help. But the surgery complications were scary! I hope she continues to heal and thrive.