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Showing results for tags 'weight gain'.
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⁶Hello. I'm confused and still looking for answers. I'm a 47 year old female. Let me give you a little health history of me. Sorry it's kinda long. I had VSD, ventricular septum repair, at age 2.5 . Was in/out the hospital up to this for congestive heart failure. As a child I caught every round of the flu and strep throat every year. Was always on antibiotics for strep. The doctor we had then always talked about taking my tonsils but it never happened. I had chicken pox 2 times, once was very minor at a young age the second was as a teen so bad I had them down my throat with hallucinations high fever. I had measles once. Constantly had croup. As an infant I was allergic to dairy. My mom raised me on goat milk. I guess I grew out of it, I drink milk eat cheese ect with no problems now that I know of. As a teen I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia. Was told to watch my diet and if needed, have a shaking fit, to eat a Hershey's bar and drink a glass of OJ. If not I would end up going full diabetic. These periods of low blood sugar, shaking fits happen off and on still. Never been rechecked into. My biological father died from renal carcinoma in his early 40's my early 20's. Then I had emergency diverticulitis surgery. I spent a week in the hospital due to them not taking care of my hypoglycemia. I had a "fit" and they accused me of being a drug addict. Being diagnosed as having fibromyalgia helped me with medical bills and testing. They couldn't explain my pains and issues so they doctor decided on fibromyalgia to get me a diagnosis. Also I had a bout of what the ER doctor decided was 5ths disease. I was in my late 20's. All my joints swelled up and bruised visibly with green and brown bruises. I had large welted and small bumpy rash all over my body along with a 100° temp. I spent a week in the hospital being tested for everything under the sun; lyme disease, all STDs, and more. Later on in my life I had carpal tunnel syndrome surgery on both wrists along with trigger finger surgery on my left thumb. Also a ganglion cyst removed from my foot. Lasik surgery on both of my eyes. My vision still isn't per perfect. Seems to be getting worse. Also I have had chronic kidney stones since my early 20's. Lately they are not causing me too many problems. I have been hospitalized 3 times for them. Mostly I just try to wash them out fast with fluids. I have recently begun a process to identify my stomach issues. They think I have IBD but not sure as this whole pandemic put everything on hold. Also I'm waiting to be rechecked for my heart. I have had a heart murmur all my life. My mom was told that it appeared to be a stitch that didnt take in my surgery. Since medical has gotten better it was recently discovered that I have had a hole in the upper chambers too that wasn't fixed. My current heart doctor was going to fix it but my blood pressure was too high for no real reason. I'm on 3 different pills for my blood pressure with no really definable effects. It has come down a bit but still high. So we are keeping an eye on my heart with echos. Still waiting to get back into all this, waiting on this pandemic to settle down or.. Looking at the drawing with all the symptoms it looks like me, a big over weight belly and I feel like a hump back. My weight is just going up and up. I feel like I'm carrying a 50 lb weight all the time. Making it hard to breath too. Few years back I fell and dislocated my elbow into a T and jarring my shoulder and wrist. Now I have shoulder issues with deterioration of the socket and muscles. Yes some of my issues are self inflicted, hazards of life. The rest is just me. My mother and niece both have empty pituitary cells. My sister has Arnold Chiari Malformation and has surgery for it. My brother was born with a cleph palette, no hair lip. He had surgery to repair it by adding the roof of his mouth. He had expanding braces as a child but no issues as an adult. My sisters twins, girls, are both autistic on the spectrum, one more so then the other. Also one of my brother's sons is autistic on the spectrum. My grand parents, on both sides, all had medical issues too. My main question is does this even come close to sounding like any reasons to be checked for Cushing's syndrome..? Thanks for your time and sorry it's so long.
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If you’ve got your finger on the pulse of health trends, it’s likely you’ve been hearing the current buzzwords “cortisol creates belly fat” and “cortisol causes muscle wasting and fat storage.” These are the type of catch phrases that gain momentum every few years. And although some of the fads and trends showing up seasonally in fitness are myths, this caution about chronically elevated cortisol is true. Cortisol is also deeply connected with the dangers of chronic inflammation, which I described in another article, “Inflammation Creates Diseases.” Like many hormones, cortisol has an effect on a wide variety of functions in the body. Although it’s getting particularly demonized lately, cortisol serves some very important and positive functions in the body. It’s an essential component of the flight or flight response, so it gives us energy, focus, strength, motivation and courage. But, like with sugar or caffeine, it comes with a crash that feels like an emotional, psychological and physical drain. Cortisol is important for survival, but we didn’t evolve to have high levels of it all the time. According to hormone.org, cortisol isn’t only a stress hormone: “Because most bodily cells have cortisol receptors, it affects many different functions in the body. Cortisol can help control blood sugar levels, regulate metabolism, help reduce inflammation and assist with memory formulation. It has a controlling effect on salt and water balance and helps control blood pressure. In women, cortisol also supports the developing fetus during pregnancy. All of these functions make cortisol a crucial hormone to protect overall health and well-being.” (hormone.org/hormones-and-health/hormones/cortisol) There are many symptoms of chronically elevated cortisol levels. With that said, the way a spike of cortisol gives you a jolt of energy is by raising blood sugar. It does this by way of gluconeogenesis. This literally means “creating new sugar,” and it happens by way of breaking protein down into amino acids that are then turned into sugar by the liver. What is a large source of protein in the body? Yep, muscles. This is what is meant by “cortisol causes muscle loss.” This in turn contributes to muscle weakness. Whereas normal levels of cortisol help to regulate blood sugar levels by breaking down only a little muscle (which can be replaced with exercise), excessive levels cause muscle wasting. Why does cortisol cause fat gain? Remember those cortisol receptors most cells have? Fat cells have four times as many, so they are particularly responsive to cortisol. Okay, remember all that glucose the cortisol surge dumped into your blood for energy? Well, that also came with an insulin response to get your blood sugar levels back down, and insulin causes energy storage. And where do you store the energy? Yep, in those hypersensitive fat cells that cortisol just turned on. And what happens when you have too much insulin over time? Yep, diabetes. Also, another reason stress can cause emotional and/or binge eating is because cortisol also fires up your sense of purpose, as well as your appetite. So now stress has made you feel motivated…to eat. Emotionally and psychologically, chronically high cortisol can exacerbate depression, anxiety, irritability and lack of emotional control. Cortisol triggers a release of tryptophan oxygenase. This enzyme breaks down tryptophan. Tryptophan is required for creating serotonin. Serotonin gives us the ability to feel happiness, and it also affects appetite, sleep and sexual desire. Since extended exposure to high levels of cortisol inhibits the production of serotonin, all the symptoms of low serotonin become problematic (decreased appetite, insomnia, impotence, etc.). In short, prolonged stress causes depression. Cortisol also plays a role in the circulatory system. It manipulates blood pressure by acting as a diuretic. Excess cortisol causes an electrolyte imbalance, whereby sodium is retained, but potassium is excreted. Let me take you back to your high school biology days: Muscles fire because of the sodium potassium pump. The sodium potassium pump also effects the firing of nerves, including those impulses that cause your heart to beat and your kidneys to take in water for filtration. That sodium potassium pump is important throughout the entire body, across many of its biological functions. Because cortisol increases the concentration of sodium in your body, it has a direct impact on your blood pressure. Remember why excess salt can cause high blood pressure? Because it contains sodium. For all these reasons and more, chronically elevated cortisol also causes muscle weakness (ironic, since short bursts of it temporarily increase strength). Cortisol has other effects on minerals. According to the Hindawi Journal of Sports Medicine, “Cortisol triggers bone mineral resorption (removal) in order to free amino acids for use as an energy source through gluconeogenesis. Cortisol indirectly acts on bone by blocking calcium absorption, which decreases bone cell growth.” As you can see, excess cortisol causes osteoporosis. It also exacerbates other bone mineral density diseases, which means cortisol can leave you literally brittle with stress. Practically anything can become a stressor in the right conditions, and fight or flight is our only biological response to stress. Some triggers of stress include conflict, worry, alcohol and drug consumption, processed foods, excess exercise (especially prolonged and repeated sessions of low-level steady-state cardio training), sleep deprivation, thirst and hunger. As much as possible, protect yourself from stress with rest, relaxation, meditation, play time and healthy foods full of antioxidants, which reduce inflammation and thus the risks for practically all diseases. Jack Kirven completed the MFA in Dance at UCLA, and earned certification as a personal trainer through NASM. His wellness philosophy is founded upon integrated lifestyles as opposed to isolated workouts. Visit him at jackkirven.com and INTEGRE8Twellness.com. Adapted from https://goqnotes.com/61597/stress-cortisol-and-weight-gain/
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Im wondering if anyone else has had to deal with differing lab values. Ive been dealing with cushings type symptoms for about 1.5-2 years now. My main ones are weight gain (60 lbs in 6 months with no diet/exercise changes), unexplained fast heart rate, crazy purple painful stretch marks on my abdomen and now my arms, change in where I carry weight (from my legs/hips to abdomen/face/neck), increased hair on face, increase in acne (feel like I'm 15 again), mood changes, severe headaches, insomnia, muscle weakness, irregular menses, muscle cramps, facial twitching, etc. The weight gain has been so bad a family member who didn't see me for about 4 months commented that they didn't even recognize me. The trouble is I have had testing that has come back high, borderline, normal, and even low. Im at a total loss and trying to get a doctor to believe me has been a real trick. Has anyone faced this before? Did you find a doctor that helped? Im at a total loss of what to do at this point.
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Hi Cushies: Without alcohol, I felt like I was walking around in a brain fog dream state. Did anyone with Cushings disease notice that when they drank alcohol they could drink a much larger amount than ever before without getting a buzz or being drunk?
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Help! I think I have an endocrine disorder but Drs. say nothing is wrong...
Guest posted a question in Guest Questions
Hi Everyone! I am SO glad i found this website! I know in my heart that I have an endocrine disorder. I have recently switched to a whole new network of doctors hoping and praying this group will have help for me! So the past two years I had undergone an extreme amount of stress (loss of family member, parents divorcing, domestic abuse resolved, loss of child, loss of house, unexpected homelessness at 18, mother abandoning and relocating to another country after meeting a man online, mother having pulmonary embolism resulting with her and I finding out we both have multiple blood disorders etc etc etc) that coupled with starting a new birth control pill (which i heard raises cortisol levels). I am currently on zoloft only and have no alcohol, drug, or cigarette use ever. I am definitely MUCH better now having worked through this all in counseling/church finding great support!! But I thought I should give a back story of when it all started!! My symptoms: Rapid Weight Gain (95 lbs in one year with normal healthy diet) AND despite constant diet and exercising w/ trainer, haven't lost a POUND! DRY skin including terrible dandruff, red bumps on arms and legs, peeling skin on face with red cheeks but pimples on chin even with layers of moisturizers and lotions! Brittle nails and hair SO dry!! Unusual hair growth (not much YET but its still growing) - around jaw, neck, chest, and stomach. BAD stretch marks on stomach, arms, breast, chest, back, legs, knees, etc... To the point of looking like I was pregnant with triplets! They were dark purple, now turning white/yellow. Chronic Fatigue Chronic Muscle Pain everywhere worse in pelvic area, lower back, neck, shoulders. Short of breath but low blood pressure. Swelling of ankles and feet. Legs and arms skinny but belly and back huge! No buffalo hump on neck, though. Legs and arms frequently go numb. Constant nausea. Irregular bowel movements Frequent and urgent urination Depression/Anxiety (a lot more well managed now than before zoloft was having terrible panic attacks) Severe Hot Flashes And all of a sudden I'll get back and chest pain and have hot flashes but blood pressure still normal. Severe abdominal swelling with no cause, then goes back to normal in a few days. AND MORE! It's to the point where I had to quit my job and can't work thus leaving me unfortunately relying on fiance. I want to be my healthy self again! I was a model and competed in triathlons!! I have seen: Primary Care Neurologist Oncologist Hematologist Gynecologist/Obstetrician Cardiologist Nutritionist Personal Trainer Allergist Physical Therapist Rheumatologist Gastroenterologist None of them have been any help, trying every test in the book with everything negative. Had thyroid checked twice two years ago when all started and was normal. Also had CT scan, MRI, Xrays, POTS testing, Blood Tests, Urine Samples, Upper and Lower GI, Barium Swallow, Physical Endurance Testing, Etc etc etc etc I can't even remember the rest hahaha! And JUST TODAY my new OB/GYN suggested I try and see an endocrinologist... FINALLY! Someone who may know what she's talking about. I have NEW HOPE! Any advice or insight at all would be SO greatfully appreciated. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
