Samantha
Give yourself grace.

MY JOURNEY TO DIAGNOSIS

It took me about 2 years to get my diagnosis. Over the course of 2 years, I had been to 7 doctors who told me everything was normal and that I just needed to work on managing my stress and losing weight. I can't explain what it feels like to hear that over and over again when you feel anything but normal. I had my surgery in 2023 and received my official Cushing's diagnosis shortly after. It came with mixed emotions—it was scary, and I was sad and frustrated. But I was also relieved and hopeful. Mostly, I was thankful that I finally had an answer.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

The part that I struggled with the most was hearing doctor after doctor tell me everything was normal. I knew that something was wrong and it got to the point where I just didn't feel like myself anymore. It was such an out-of-body experience and so defeating at times. I overcame this by not giving up and advocating for my health until I had an answer.

MY MESSAGE TO OTHERS

For people who are struggling with Cushing's disease, I would say to give yourself grace. Some days are great; other days, you might not want to get out of bed. Stay hopeful!

For those who don't have Cushing's disease and who want to advocate for someone they love, I would say that the more you know about the patient experience, the better. Just because we look fine on the outside, doesn't mean that we are fine on the inside. This isn't a disease like cancer that is widely known, or like a broken bone that you can see. This is a quiet, internal disease that is very difficult to live with.
This is Samantha's story. Every story is different.