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In the Cushing’s disease support groups I belong to, I often see questions about medications. People frequently respond by giving advice about these medications based on their personal experiences. I take medications to treat hypogonadism, a result of having a pituitary tumor. I’m often asked about testosterone…

Years ago, the sunrise didn’t have any meaning for me. Stars were merely decoration for the sky. “There’s always tomorrow” was the mindset I used to excuse procrastination and mistakes. Raised voices and the silent treatment seemed like acceptable solutions. Every day, many of us walk around forgetting that we…

Last week, I had a conversation with someone who injured their knee and will need an MRI. They expressed concern about the procedure, so I tried to advise them about what to expect and how long the process lasts. This got me thinking about the times I’ve had an MRI…

While chronic illness comes with many unknowns and changes, it can also involve a lot of repetition. I was diagnosed with cyclical Cushing’s disease in 2016. The years leading up to my diagnosis were full of repetition as my medical team searched for answers to why I felt…

In January 2016, I returned to work after having my pituitary tumor removed, through transsphenoidal surgery in November 2015 and a gamma knife procedure a month later. I figured returning to work would be a good distraction as well as a way to test how I was feeling.

When I was younger, I was very active as a two-sport athlete. I also spent a lot of time outdoors with friends. I was constantly getting bruised and scarred. Sometimes I knew where the scars came from, while other times, I’d notice them later when someone pointed them out. Scars…

Leadership is very important to me. When I was little, my father taught me that leadership skills can be displayed in many forms. A leader is not always the loudest or the most talented person, and leadership is not about power or being able to control others. How do you…

One of the biggest lessons that I learned on my Cushing’s journey was that listening to my body wasn’t always what I wanted to do, but it’s what was best for me. My journey with cyclical Cushing’s disease spanned several years, with my symptoms first appearing in 2011. I…

How would you feel if you woke up every day feeling less and less like yourself, until one day you no longer recognized yourself? What if you told someone with the expertise and the ability to help, but their response was along the lines of, “What you’re saying isn’t true;…

Dear Me, I know what you’re thinking. There’s a desperate voice in your head begging for your body to return to the way it was before this disease. There are spiraling questions that seem to lead to no answers: “Why can’t I lose weight?” “What am I doing wrong?”…