Crazy Health Stuff- Update 4

Yesterday afternoon my fabulous mama hung out with me at the doctor’s office. All. After. Noon.

I had an appointment with one of the pituitary specialists in the clinic that I went to in early January. Since that appointment in January I have done two rounds of the three types of cortisol tests, not because it would have been necessary to do two sets, but because the orders were wrong on the first set. Lucky me.

After the last appointment I was super discouraged, because I felt like they were telling me that I probably didn’t have Cushing’s, and it really occurred to me for the first time that it was possible that they weren’t going to be able to figure it out and fix me. That I may just have to live like this for the rest of my life.

Yesterday the pituitary specialist seemed to think that Cushing’s is still the best possibility for what I have. She told me I looked “cushionoid.” Which is, I think, a real word.

So, even if this requires surgery, which still completely freaks me out, it at least feels good that they have a clue.

Next steps mean that I have to quit one of my medications for two weeks because they’re just a little afraid that it’s affecting the cortisol levels, and then redo one of the tests. If that comes back with consistent results to the previous tests, then they will do one more test before surgery. They’ll go in to the area around the tumor sight, and take fluids from there. As I understand it, if those show high cortisol, then they will do surgery.

So, that’s the skinny. At this point I don’t even know how to feel. I think I feel cautiously optimistic, even if I panic when I think about surgery. I think it feels good to know that they have a clue about what’s wrong with me.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time at LabCorp for these tests. On Valentine’s Day, I went in early to have my blood drawn, and I ran into this guy. He had a seriously awesome mullet, and when he took his jacket off to reveal a cut-off t-shirt and suspenders, I thought I should maybe ask him out. I settled for taking a selfie with him in the background.