----------------------------------------------------------- New Message on Pituitary Chat
----------------------------------------------------------- From: MinnieChat Message 2 in Discussion First of all, if you have Cushings and are taking Dostinex, Dostinex will interfere with test results. I know because I used Dostinex for almost a year to control my hypercortisolism before I had surgery. The good news is that for many cushings patients, Dostinex can help, at least in the short run. A serum cortisol isn't a screening test for Cushings. An overnight dex test shouldn't be used to rule out cushings. I always had a normal overnight dex test, but ended up still having cushings. Some of the endos are advocating removing dex entirely from the testing protocol for cushings, because too many patients fall through the diagnostic cracks. You need to have a 24-hour urine free cortisol done, and possibly some cortisol saliva testing done. There is a more specific blood test out there, serum cortisol lc/ms/ms which is a methodology using spectroscopy. It actually screens out interfereing substances that could affect serum testing. You need to get copies of your last test results and start keeping files of all of the tests you do. Doctors look for horses, not zebras, so they tend to rule out more common things before considering rarer disorders. I think you also might want to bring someone with you to your next doctor's appt, some pictures of yourself each year over the last ten years, and a list of ailments that are specific to you, and not a checklist you found on the web. Stretch marks are often caused by weight gain, and doctors will tend to blow off the presence of stretch marks unless they are the 1" wide purple racing stripe kind. I never had those, except during pregnancy with my first daughter. Expect to develop a long-term relationship with an endo. Cushings is hard to diagnose except in very advanced disease. An endo that can chart disease progression may actually be more of a help than a nusiance. Take care... keep us posted. Minnie ----------------------------------------------------------- To stop getting this e-mail, or change how often it arrives, go to your E-mail Settings. http://groups.msn.com/PituitaryChat/_emailsettings.msnw Need help? If you've forgotten your password, please go to Passport Member Services. http://groups.msn.com/_passportredir.msnw?ppmprop=help For other questions or feedback, go to our Contact Us page. http://groups.msn.com/contact If you do not want to receive future e-mail from this MSN group, or if you received this message by mistake, please click the "Remove" link below. On the pre-addressed e-mail message that opens, simply click "Send". Your e-mail address will be deleted from this group's mailing list. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
