Pcos or cushings ?

[Guest Kerry]

Hi there,

I'm a 29 year old female who was diagnosed with pcos when I was 16. I say diagnosed - I had one blood test and they said you have pcos - this was it!!

I went from a size 12 (uk) to currently a size 20. I weigh 16.5 stone and I am 5ft 5.

My periods disserpeared for along time but in the last 3 years I have one every month although I do sometimes spot in between.

I have excess facial and body hair and stretch marks on my tummy and arms. My legs are not skinny but in proportion to my torso they are thinner and they are quite muscley even though I don't work out! I also have a buffalo hump. I have major mood swings. I ache all the time and more recently I have developed a hernia in the lower leg which is just the muscle poking through the sheath. Every time I go to the opticians they say j have high blood pressure but the docs say no. The optician says there is pressure behind the eyes and one eye is getting worse and headaches are increasing. I had a recent episode where u could only see from one eye and my blood pressure was elevated, the hospital didn't scan me or anything they just said to rest and take pain killers?!

I thought all my symptoms were just pcos, but then my buffalo hump was annoying me, so I looked online and came across cushings. I questioned my doc but she just laughed at me saying she was sure I didn't have it! She done a blood test which came back normal and a ultra sound On my neck which showed a fatty lump?!

What should I do now?

 

Any help would be great. Thanks.

[BDen13]

Do you know what blood test she did?

 

One blood test is not a suitable way to diagnose cushing's syndrome.

 

You need to see an endocrinologist who specializes in cushing's - we have some other members on this site from the UK who can help you with info on how to do that.

[Squeak]

Hi!

 

You would not believe what a reliefe it was to read your response regarding the blood test. I have been going back and forth from the doctors since the age of 18 (am now 33) regarding one issue after the other.. miss-diagnosed PCOS being one of them. My last trip, when I finally broke down, the doctor I went to see actually listened... All my symptoms pointed to Cushings (never heard of it before 2 weeks ago), and never before have I cryed when seeing the pictures when i did my research... as I saw my bodyshape in them... anyway, cutting a long story short I got my results back today, from a low dose Dex test, and they have come back normal. Once again, I have never cried so much on getting told things were normal.. I bet this sounds so silly, but how do you explain to someone you don't feel normal and you don't feel right when you are fighting against medical proof!!

 

So... seeing your note just then, saying one test is not good enough, just felt like I can ask for another one, I can ask them to try again!!

 

Thank you for listening to my rant!!