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Before receiving treatment, navigating Cushing’s disease was extremely difficult for me, not only because of the painful and fatiguing symptoms, but also because I started to gain weight like never before in my life. I was always a thin person, so this aspect of the disease left me feeling embarrassed.

The medical drama “The Resident” is one of my favorite TV shows. It centers around a group of doctors navigating the business side of healthcare, advocating for their patients, and managing their own personal issues. Without giving away too much, one part of the show that really stands out to…

There are many therapeutic approaches to healing from trauma. Because everyone’s healing process is different, I don’t believe one technique is better than another. During my post-surgery season, my wife was a little concerned because she was returning to work and I would be home alone at times.

Have you ever thought that your phone could play a vital role in your journey to a medical diagnosis? There’s so much information to be utilized from such a small device, including its internet capability, its camera, and the apps. Surprisingly, an app helped me significantly in my Cushing’s…

Before my diagnosis in 2015, I hadn’t heard of Cushing’s disease. I didn’t even know what a pituitary gland was or what function it performed, but soon I found out how important it is to our bodies.  As a former competitive athlete who had always…

Getting diagnosed with Cushing’s disease was a tricky process for me, and it often can take a long time. While some in my community have been struggling with symptoms for years, a few of us received our diagnoses rather quickly. Here’s a bit of history to preface my advice.

When I tell people I had Cushing’s disease, I usually receive a broad range of responses. They aren’t always the replies I want to hear, but they are genuine reactions from people who want…

In the midst of my disease, I felt very alone. Invisible diseases like Cushing’s tend to make life harder, because one shows no outward signs of an illness. Those who haven’t been through something similar may have a hard time relating to the hardships. Therefore, I believe being friends with…

There’s more to people than meets the eye, although the first thing we often notice about someone is how large or small they are. When I was younger, I was always thin and in shape. I never had to try to maintain my weight, and well into college, I still…

Thinking back over the last few years following my recovery from Cushing’s disease, I still deal with some painful thoughts. To help process those thoughts, I wrote a letter to the person I was before my recovery, from the perspective of the person I currently am. In it,…