About nine years ago, I had my Cortisol tested and it was wildly high. Doc thought I had Cushings, but then he retested it a few times and it came back normal. I've also had slightly elevated prolactin for a couple of years (no brain tumor though )
You know, Cushing's can be a difficult diagnosis to make, and I've read more than a few stories of women who went years without being properly diagnosed because their doctors didn't do the right tests. More detailed testing than just measuring morning cortisol levels can be required: http://endocrine.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/cushings/cushings.htm You might want to make sure they re-evaluate you for this if the right kind of testing wasn't done in the past.
Quote:
Can you think of anything else that would cause the pulsating pupils?
The pulsating pupils is a sign of fatigue in the small muscles in the eye. I would imagine anything that causes great fatigue could cause this to happen, including sleep deprivation. It is not unique to adrenal fatigue, despite the claims of its' proponents.
Hi Ellie - I'm with you this new format stinks - not user friendly - you have to login just to list posts of a user !!!
To get to a particular author's posts you need to have added them to your buddy list - then go to My Stuff, then My Messages, then under "options" (far left tab , second row) you choose UBB Buddies - a list of your "buddies" - anyone that you put in - is there - buried a few levels as compared to before - then you click on the buddy and when that profile comes up you chose their posts ... maybe the new programs could be backed out to the previous release - we would sure appreciate it - in the past I have written to Michelle and corrections were made. I think if she hears from us she will listen. (After all the reason we are here is stress enough!)
Sounds like you have your plate full - I know you are doing what you enjoy and are so good at - remember to take time for you! I have done more research on many levels - including the thyroid and am documenting and tracking the results - I have not made an appt in CO but have not ruled it out. I may be making one with you! I am finally taking care of me. Putting the importance on that as I should have done all these years.
Bridet - I was surprised to see you - you always have a great attitude and a zest for life that is like a fountain of youth!
Take care - Faith, Hope, Love, LSL LoveSuffersLong@hotmail.com
Well, as some of you may remember, H started a new job at the first of the year. Frustrated with various issues at work, he looked around for other opportunities, and actually had a couple to choose from. Ended up choosing the riskiest choice - but which had the biggest potential long-term payoff. Chose the start-up company with old school friend.
First month H was busy ramping up, learning the ropes, acquiring necessary business skills through serious reading at night and applying his prodigious brainpower to analysis. There was a crisis the first week he started, and he pitched in and helped get the mess cleaned up. Then began to do his job that he was hired for - a largely analytical job - but wait: couldn't really do that job because of operational deficiencies that got in the way. So, my Mr. Fixit jumped into getting those operational deficiencies fixed first, so that he and others could do their jobs.
H was only supposed to have to travel about 1 week per month, but has had to travel every week. Between that and working nights and weekends to get everything going, he's been burning the candle at both ends.
Now, this start-up company has been going for about 18 months before H joined. Is currently starting a real growth phase. H, coming on board late, is only just now realizing some disturbing things about the incompetence of the other executives (and yes, I do believe this is true, not just H's skewed version).
He's tired, he's fried, and now he's pissed that he passed up a better-paying job with a prestigious company for this. Feels he was misled by friend and that company isn't nearly ready for prime-time. Feels HE could make it work, but not with current executive personnel. Tonight he was completely at the end of his rope.
I'm bummed that this isn't working out for him (through no fault of his own - I actually think he's brilliant at this business stuff, and was enjoying it before he realized what a mess the company was). I had hoped this job change would be a healthy MLC outlet. The financial risk is not too great - he could probably still get rehired at his former job, but it would bum him out to go back there with "his tail between his legs". Plus, the issues that drove him to want to leave there in the first place will still be there.
And to make me even more nervous - I don't know for sure whether he's taking his antidepressants. Not something I can ask him, since he resents taking them a little and sometimes blames me.
Meanwhile, S20 got dumped this week by his internet girlfriend (a student in Texas he'd been writing and talking to for a year) and is very sad going into his midterms this week.
And I'm falling behind on organizing things for the big 75th birthday party we're throwing for my mom this weekend.
Yikes!!
Oh yeah - and I'm not sure, but I THINK I'm developing an allergy to chocolate. How awful would that be??????
Oh Ellie. I am so sorry because I kind of know how the job thing feels from both sides. I have been in jobs where I've felt similarly and my xH either seemed to want to tell me what I should do or just be frustrated that I was unhappy with my job. Although I know it bothered him for me to not enjoy my job, it was hard because he did not hide his feelings that he felt his was my fault for wanting too much from a job and that maybe it was a problem with me and not the people I worked for. So at least the facts that you back him up, you think he is wonderful and you are upset that these incompetents do not know how to run a business or know enough to let your H run the business. I also watched my xH struggle with work issues that were frustrating and were not his fault. I tend to be an optimistic realist so I do not ignore obvious issues but I try to look for the positive experiences that come out of negative situations. Sometimes I think that helped my xH and other times I do not think there was any right way for me to respond because he was just angry and wasn't ready to talk.
I do not know how the dynamics between you and H are with issues like this. So I am just going to throw out some ideas and thoughts. Hopefully something will make sense to your situation or at least start the thought process towards something useful. Does he feel that he can vent to you and that you listen AND problem solve with him? Does he want you to problem solve with him or just listen? My point of view is that he is very much focused on negative thinking. This job, while it will not be a fulfilling long term position, has given him some tremendous experience, has reinforced to him how truly capable he is and probably shown him some additional talents that he has. The key is to make a change soon while he is still has some amount of energy left and not after he's become too embittered. And the idea of "going back with his tail between his legs" is negative thinking. IF he would decide that he CHOOSES to go back (rather than look for another job, contact the other company he turned down, see if there is some way to make this new job work, etc.), then he is not going back because there are not opportunities elsewhere. He is going back because he wants to go back and is fully aware of the issues that remain.
I might be inclined to say or ask him directly "H, I know you are in a frustrating situation and honestly it frustrates me because I know how brilliant you are. The last thing you need as you are dealing with this is to deal with me. So what can I do on this end to help you out - be a sounding board, a problem solver, a cheerleader, to get out of your way, etc. or some combination of these? And I understand that you may need different things at different times. Just know that you can always let me know what you need." Of course the most obvious issue with this is that he may not really know what he wants or needs or at least might not be able to express it. And secondly even if you ask with the intention of helping, he might see it as another burden. So tread carefully, I guess.
And on that note, make sure you are taking care of yourself. What do you need right now and how can you take care of it? If things are not perfect for your Mom's b-day party, relax and just enjoy the imperfectness of life:) Aren't I philosophical?? Seriously though, the last thing you or your H needs is stressing about something that should be fun. If he is feeling stressed with work, he may personalize your additional stress even if it is not directed at him. So be the fun wonderful Ellie that we all know and love here!!
By the way the whole chocolate thing is too much!! Is that really possible? Could it be an allergy to milk products rather than chocolate? I think there are chocolate options with soy rather than milk. Just trying to be hopeful.
I wish I had some brilliant advice but mostly I just wanted you to know your DB friends are out here for you.
Last edited by fearless; 02/21/0707:12 PM.
But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads? ~Albert Camus
Well, I'm not sure yet - think I'll have to eat a few more chocolate bars to find out. It's not the milk - I eat cheese all the time, no problem.
Fearless, I've been very supportive and a good sounding board for H. I do tend to have a masculine "fixer" approach to things, so i do need to be careful - sometimes he's just like a woman who just wants to vent but doesn't want me to offer solutions. He knows I'll support his choice.
The dynamic is complicated though by his resentment of my unemployment. He doesn't understand why I was unable to work while my thyroid issues weren't under control (he thinks I'm neurotic because my blood tests looked okay even though I couldn't think or barely function. I've since learned that there are plenty of patients like me out there who don't do well on the standard regimen, and am now doing much better on different therapy - so much so that I am now working part-time with similar patients).
Never mind that he's been gone all the time, leaving me with full home responsibility and homeschool for our two teens. He doesn't WANT to know, just wants to believe I could walk out tomorrow and earn what he earns despite the fact that I've been on the mommy track for 20 years so that he could pursue HIS profession full-bore.
I'm not in the black yet with my new practice, and won't be for a bit. At my current hours, I will be able to replace the cut in pay he took to take this job, at best. If I worked full time, I might eventually be able to earn 1/2 of what he does.
He's just not realistic about the finances. He's encouraging D to apply to a private college that will cost us 45,000 a year, while putting S20 and soon S15 through college, but thinks he can just quit working and I'll be able to support all of us with no change in lifestyle. Magical thinking,really.
So i have to tread very lightly. I want him to be happy in his work situation. I want to develop my own income (because i fear ever being dependent on him again). I don't want to sacrifice my kids well-being by going to work full time this year. Just too many balls I'm juggling here.
GASP!!! That would honestly be one of life's cruelist tricks to inflict any female with a chocolate allergy. Now H and his oldest son both claim allergy to chocolate, but they still eat it. So how can they be allergic?
You are trying to keep a lot of balls in the air, but isn't that pretty typical? Which ball would shatter if it hit the ground, and which balls would bounce back up into the mix? Your work and your income is off to a good start, and it's important to you feeling good about yourself, your H feeling good about you, and contributing to the family as a whole. That seems like an important ball to keep in the air. But that's my business side taking over too. Kids well being shouldn't suffer, schoolwork, etc., but they're pitching in a little extra with duties around the house right? Family effort, could be fun if presented the right way.
Live your life while you are still living. Riding the trail less traveled.
