Hi guys!
As many of you know I've been dealing with a chronic hormonal disorder - pituitary failure - for several years. This is the gland that manages hormone production as well as other thins in the body. When I was first diagnosed in 2001, I was told it would be fairly straight-forward to treat and that I should be able to resume a normal life before too long.
But year after year it's been a struggle to even function minimally and it just didn't seem to make sense. Doctor after doctor had no explanation why I was still having so much trouble with exhaustion and sleep disorders. But in March, I saw a specialist at UCLA who concluded that my condition was misdiagnosed. He said he didn't believe there was anything wrong with my pituitary gland and that the reason the tests indicated a pituitary problem was that the steroids I was taking back then for asthma created a false positive result.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a test that would indicate if my pituitary gland was functional. My doctor called me today with the results that seem to indicate that my pituitary gland is working after all... Talk about a surprise! All these years I was being treated for a condition it looks like I didn't have!
However, taking the hormones involved in treating pituitary failure will induce a pituitary-failure-like syndrome even if the pituitary gland is fine. That is because the body usually stops producing hormones on its own if it senses that you are taking that hormone. Apparently, that is what happened to me.
That would explain why I have been on such a rollercoaster with illness for so long. My body has probably been producing hormones on its own erratically and along with taking those same hormones that would create very unstable and varied levels. That would certainly put the body through the ringer! That would also explain the sleep disorders...
So starting tomorrow, the plan is to start reducing hormone dosages slowly over time, witht the hope that the body will eventually jump back in and start producing/regulating those hormones own its own. If this works, it will effectively reverse my condition and my hormones will be managed in the same way as a normal body...
This wll be a challenge but I'm quite excited! I feel like I actually have an explanation for all the difficulties as well as a promising prognosis that I can live a fully-functional and normal life again...
Thanks for all your support and for lending an ear...