Information for people with Cushing’s syndrome

Taking the road to recovery

Cushing’s syndrome is a serious condition usually caused by a tumor. Diagnosis and treatment can often be a complicated process, and sometimes a person may feel a little overwhelmed and stressed by what he or she is going through. However, there are reasons to feel encouraged about the road ahead^1,2:

Your diagnosis can help you get the right treatment

It can take a long time for many people with Cushing’s syndrome to be accurately diagnosed. That’s because Cushing’s syndrome is easy to mistake for other conditions. Cushing’s syndrome has many of the same signs and symptoms as other conditions (such as diabetes and osteoporosis) which are easy to diagnose and treat as the primary condition. If Cushing’s syndrome is the underlying cause of another condition, it often requires more time and effort to diagnose.³

When Cushing’s syndrome is accurately diagnosed, doctors can treat the cause of the problem, not just the signs and symptoms. So even though the diagnosis may be a little difficult to hear at first, it should lead to treatment that can really help.

Your Cushing’s syndrome may be curable

Before being accurately diagnosed, many people with Cushing’s syndrome may have been distressed and frustrated because nothing they tried gave them lasting relief from their signs and symptoms. So even after being accurately diagnosed, it’s understandable to be cautiously optimistic about what treatment can do.

The effect of treatment for Cushing’s syndrome can depend on a number of things, including the type of treatment chosen and the size and location of the tumor. Fortunately, in many cases, Cushing’s syndrome can actually be cured.

Cure is based on the success of the treatment in permanently normalizing the level of cortisol in your body so that it no longer has the toxic effects that cause the signs and symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome.⁴

Many signs and symptoms are reversible … but it takes some time

The signs and symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome can be very distressing. Changes in appearance and an increasing decline in health can impact quality of life. So it is natural to want to see and feel an improvement immediately after treatment.

It is important to know that it usually takes months or longer following successful surgery or radiation to recover from signs and symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome. In some cases, full recovery from certain symptoms may not occur.

Talking to a doctor about what to expect during the recovery period and how to handle lingering symptoms can be very helpful. And seeing progressive improvement over time can be very encouraging.

Next, read about ways to take control of your life with Cushing’s syndrome.

References: 1. Newell-Price J, Bertagna X, Grossman AB, Nieman LK. Cushing’s syndrome. Lancet. 2006;367:1605-1617. 2. Arnaldi G, Angeli A, Atkinson AB, et al.  Diagnosis and complications of Cushing’s syndrome: a consensus statement. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003;88:5593-5602. 3. The Hormone Foundation’s patient guide to the diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome. The Hormone Foundation. http://www.hormone.org/resources/patient_guides/upload/mgmt-cushings-syndrome-070609.pdf  Accessed August 4, 2009. 4. Biller BMK, Grossman AB, Stewart PM, et al. Treatment of adrenocorticotropin-dependent Cushing’s syndrome: a consensus statement. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008;93:2454-2462.