Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil with Addison’s disease Instills Compassion
12:00 a.m. I’m not kidding when I say it’s midnight, “in the garden of good and evil.” Ahhhh yes, I’m up and can’t sleep—AGAIN! So what ELSE can I do? Hmm… uh, find something patient worthy to write about, right? Well, it sure beats watching another episode of Anthony Bourdain on CNN, sorry, I couldn’t resist. That’s what gave me insomnia in the first place…
Or was it just hormones?! AM I CRAZY?!
Forgive the scattered entry here, but… being the hormonal mess of a woman I am at the moment, (thanks to my numerous hot flashes with menopause) I need to seriously STOP and tell you that I feel very inspired upon reading several blog posts from a woman who is living with Addison’s disease.
This condition is caused because the body cannot produce enough hormones in the adrenal glands, and as a result, serious health complications can arise, including death. For people, especially women, who suffer from this condition, it must be pretty crummy to have fluctuating hormones AND go through menopause. That’s really tough!
She says that she used to be thin and then bada bing, sudden weight gain, which is embarrassing to her. Steroids are cruel like that—they are known to effectively treat Addison’s disease symptoms, but steroids are also widely known to cause serious health issues when taken long-term. For instance, steroids, when taken long-term, can cause:
- Thinning of the bones – osteoporosis
- Compression fractures
- Mood swings including depression, aggressiveness, and agitation
- Nausea, upset stomach
- Thinning hair
- Increased appetite and weight gain
- Round face
- Pudgy stomach, midsection
- Immunosuppression
- Increased risk of Type ll diabetes
It sucks that people living with Addison’s disease must take steroids if they want to try and live a decent quality of life. It IS like being in Midnight of the Garden of Good and Evil. Ya can’t live without ‘em but ya sure don’t wanna live with ‘em, either!
