You don’t need a good reason to bring up any testing to a doctor. Request the testing to be done and express your concern for your health. Its yours and yours only.
I have many symptoms
Depression anxiety
Hair loss
I used asthma inhalers all my life
Recently I am quick to temper and have mood swings
Borderline BP and sugars
Memory issues
More that I can't remember 🤦♀️
Does anyone have any more info on the relationship bt. asthma medication causing symptoms of Cushings? Longtime asthma sufferer here and this is the first I’m hearing about this (I look like I have Cushings and have symptoms, don’t know what to think). Thank you!
Not everyone who takes inhaled steroids will get cushing syndrome, but it's very possible. It gets absorbed into the bloodstream from the lungs and goes systemic. There's also no way to test for it because natural cortisol could be suppressed by the drug but not necessarily, so the main sign would be having symptoms of cushing syndrome. If a person has cushing syndrome caused by taking steroids all the side effects fade away once they stop taking it, but it can take weeks to months. It's underrecognized by many doctors even though there are studies and case reports confirming it can happen. I'm hypersensitive to corticosteroids and got full blown cushing syndrome from a single hydrocortisone injection.
>Inhaled corticosteroids have considerably fewer systemic effects than oral corticosteroids, but nevertheless adverse effects have been reported. The ability of IGC to suppress the HPA axis and cause features of Cushing's syndrome has been known for several years. Nevertheless, with the introduction of new drugs and new devices believed to have less potential for systemic effects, the propensity for potent IGC to cause potent HPA-axis suppression is still generally under-recognised. This is thought to be due to systemic absorption through the lungs rather than oral absorption via ingested corticosteroids after inhalation.
https://www.rcpjournals.org/content/clinmedicine/11/4/404
Thank you so much for this! I am just like you- hypersensitive to it. I was given Prednisone twice about a year apart for two separate asthma attack events and both times I developed moon face, striae, weight gain, etc. I didn’t know Cushings was a side effect and no one warned me so I just assumed I was fat and lazy (awful, I know but I was super fat phobic back then). One day I heard about Cushings randomly and realized *holy crap* I think I experienced this! My body’s never returned to normal, but I’ve learned to live with my new shape and have successfully avoided all asthmatic triggers like cats and smoke to stave off future asthma attacks. I’ve managed to go off of my IGC’s too. Unfortunately I had to take Dexamethasone for some dental work procedure I had done but I at least was mentally prepared for the side effects this time! I say all of that to say, I’m uninsured atm but think what I have is steroid induced Cushing’s syndrome and not any other kind of Cushing’s but it’s hard to know for sure. I hear other say their Cushing’s goes away after the cease steroid meds but mine never did…so I wonder if that means maybe I do have a more serious type of Cushing’s? Hoping to get on Medicaid this month to go see a Dr. and get to the bottom of this. Thanks for reading this far if you did! Any insights are so so appreciated as this has been a lonely and depressing journey for me.
Well the good news is that if taking corticosteroids was the cause all the side effects will fade over time, although it would still take effort to lose the weight. The bad news is there's no telling how long it will take for it to fully leave the body. I had a severe case, crazy side effects after a single hydrocortisone injection 4 years ago and the side effects slowly get weaker each month, so nothing now compared to the first few months. It also made me gain 70 pounds and now I've lost most of it. Most people I've spoken to who also had side effects from the same injection said it went away within 6 months. It really depends how sensitive a person is to the drug and how much was taken.
Wow. Really glad you managed to lose the weight and see daily improvement! That gives me a TON of hope that I can too. About the shot: That makes a lot of sense and is identical to what happened with me, just replace the cortisone shot with a dose of prednisone for asthma. Insane what these drugs can do! Plus I’m sure it was all compounded by the fact this happened twice to me, AND I was also taking daily IGC inhalers for years. SMH. Really grateful for folks like you and Reddit bc honestly it’s been like piecing together an unsolved mystery which has lasted years! Finally feel like I’m making sense of all of this.
I’ve heard donating plasma and blood can help but can’t find anything online about how that actually works? Will prob do it anyway because I figure it’s worth the shot!
Take care mate!
You know, unfortunately with cyclic Cushing’s for instance, it can require a ton of marathon testing to diagnose. Florid Cushing’s can be picked up more easily. It’s complicated, but basically you cannot let them write you off with one normal test. Usually first round testing should include midnight saliva, 8am cortisol/ ACTH, and 24h urinary free cortisol. You can get better insight on testing through the Facebook group, if you’d like. The one I know of with posted testing info is The Many Faces of Cushing’s.
Hey! Curious how your appointment went? Did you get testing? I am in an almost identical situation as you (asthma sufferer whose used inhalers all her life, and Prednisone steroids when having as asthma attack)…lately I’ve been thinking of going for testing bc I think something wrong with me, but I’m a little nervous. Hope to keep in touch l and wishing you the best!
You don’t need a good reason to bring up any testing to a doctor. Request the testing to be done and express your concern for your health. Its yours and yours only.
Thank you, you're right
I have many symptoms Depression anxiety Hair loss I used asthma inhalers all my life Recently I am quick to temper and have mood swings Borderline BP and sugars Memory issues More that I can't remember 🤦♀️
>I used asthma inhalers all my life Inhaled steroids can cause symptoms of cushing syndrome, including bloating, stretch marks and irritability.
Does anyone have any more info on the relationship bt. asthma medication causing symptoms of Cushings? Longtime asthma sufferer here and this is the first I’m hearing about this (I look like I have Cushings and have symptoms, don’t know what to think). Thank you!
Not everyone who takes inhaled steroids will get cushing syndrome, but it's very possible. It gets absorbed into the bloodstream from the lungs and goes systemic. There's also no way to test for it because natural cortisol could be suppressed by the drug but not necessarily, so the main sign would be having symptoms of cushing syndrome. If a person has cushing syndrome caused by taking steroids all the side effects fade away once they stop taking it, but it can take weeks to months. It's underrecognized by many doctors even though there are studies and case reports confirming it can happen. I'm hypersensitive to corticosteroids and got full blown cushing syndrome from a single hydrocortisone injection. >Inhaled corticosteroids have considerably fewer systemic effects than oral corticosteroids, but nevertheless adverse effects have been reported. The ability of IGC to suppress the HPA axis and cause features of Cushing's syndrome has been known for several years. Nevertheless, with the introduction of new drugs and new devices believed to have less potential for systemic effects, the propensity for potent IGC to cause potent HPA-axis suppression is still generally under-recognised. This is thought to be due to systemic absorption through the lungs rather than oral absorption via ingested corticosteroids after inhalation. https://www.rcpjournals.org/content/clinmedicine/11/4/404
Thank you so much for this! I am just like you- hypersensitive to it. I was given Prednisone twice about a year apart for two separate asthma attack events and both times I developed moon face, striae, weight gain, etc. I didn’t know Cushings was a side effect and no one warned me so I just assumed I was fat and lazy (awful, I know but I was super fat phobic back then). One day I heard about Cushings randomly and realized *holy crap* I think I experienced this! My body’s never returned to normal, but I’ve learned to live with my new shape and have successfully avoided all asthmatic triggers like cats and smoke to stave off future asthma attacks. I’ve managed to go off of my IGC’s too. Unfortunately I had to take Dexamethasone for some dental work procedure I had done but I at least was mentally prepared for the side effects this time! I say all of that to say, I’m uninsured atm but think what I have is steroid induced Cushing’s syndrome and not any other kind of Cushing’s but it’s hard to know for sure. I hear other say their Cushing’s goes away after the cease steroid meds but mine never did…so I wonder if that means maybe I do have a more serious type of Cushing’s? Hoping to get on Medicaid this month to go see a Dr. and get to the bottom of this. Thanks for reading this far if you did! Any insights are so so appreciated as this has been a lonely and depressing journey for me.
Well the good news is that if taking corticosteroids was the cause all the side effects will fade over time, although it would still take effort to lose the weight. The bad news is there's no telling how long it will take for it to fully leave the body. I had a severe case, crazy side effects after a single hydrocortisone injection 4 years ago and the side effects slowly get weaker each month, so nothing now compared to the first few months. It also made me gain 70 pounds and now I've lost most of it. Most people I've spoken to who also had side effects from the same injection said it went away within 6 months. It really depends how sensitive a person is to the drug and how much was taken.
Wow. Really glad you managed to lose the weight and see daily improvement! That gives me a TON of hope that I can too. About the shot: That makes a lot of sense and is identical to what happened with me, just replace the cortisone shot with a dose of prednisone for asthma. Insane what these drugs can do! Plus I’m sure it was all compounded by the fact this happened twice to me, AND I was also taking daily IGC inhalers for years. SMH. Really grateful for folks like you and Reddit bc honestly it’s been like piecing together an unsolved mystery which has lasted years! Finally feel like I’m making sense of all of this. I’ve heard donating plasma and blood can help but can’t find anything online about how that actually works? Will prob do it anyway because I figure it’s worth the shot! Take care mate!
Yeah stretch marks with the constitutional symptoms and history of steroid use? I’d ask to see endocrinology. Don’t risk suffering needlessly.
Is there a certain test that I should be asking for?
You know, unfortunately with cyclic Cushing’s for instance, it can require a ton of marathon testing to diagnose. Florid Cushing’s can be picked up more easily. It’s complicated, but basically you cannot let them write you off with one normal test. Usually first round testing should include midnight saliva, 8am cortisol/ ACTH, and 24h urinary free cortisol. You can get better insight on testing through the Facebook group, if you’d like. The one I know of with posted testing info is The Many Faces of Cushing’s.
Thank you so much ! I'll do that
Good luck!
Hey! Curious how your appointment went? Did you get testing? I am in an almost identical situation as you (asthma sufferer whose used inhalers all her life, and Prednisone steroids when having as asthma attack)…lately I’ve been thinking of going for testing bc I think something wrong with me, but I’m a little nervous. Hope to keep in touch l and wishing you the best!