My vices and Pseudo-Cushing's

My cat Lexus has also been there for me in times of woe. Another fact about Cushing's: dogs and cats can also get it. My aunt's cat has a bad thyroid. This post is about how most people who have this disease go through periods of frustration in not being able to get a diagnosis or proper treatment. I was lucky I went to a smart doctor who said I must have it just looking at me and my blood pressure. He ordered me an MRI right away but when that came back normal, the battle to keep my diagnosis raged on. My family doctor almost blew me off before she saw the cortisol test results. She said my diagnosis must've been a "typo". A typo?!? So what the hell was happening to me then? She wouldn't look at my stretch marks. Despite the fact that she didn't have those results (which my mom thankfully had on hand), shouldn't she have tested me to make sure? Suffice to say, she was very embarrassed when my mom showed her my blood tests from the  urgent care. I went two weeks without medicine for my high blood pressure, too. I felt like a sitting duck. I had to wait about four weeks to see the specialist. Again, he said I must have it but why was going to be the tricky part. I did a 24-hour urine test. It came back more than conclusive of course. He seemed wary to order me a CT scan of my abdomen even though I knew the second most common reason is an adrenal tumor! I was scared he was going to think I had Pseudo-Cushing's! You can get this from either drinking too much or from severe depression. I'm a college student, I live in Wisconsin, of course I drink. It became a nightly vice for me, along with coffee, when the insomnia and anxiety got unbearable. I can't imagine how psychotic I must've seemed to people when I was drunk. Alcohol, caffeine, and depressants exasperate Cushing's. My family doctor pushed the specialist to do the scan. I wanted to go back to school for the Spring and I wasn't getting any answers. 2 hours later, viola! I had an obvious tumor. I was scared to death to have surgery, but I just knew it was a tumor. I just knew, once again. Another vice I clung to was sex. I seriously think my relationships kept this disease at bay for awhile. I read the two easiest ways to lower cortisol is through sex and crying. Which sounds more appealing? I could never figure out why I couldn't stand to be away from boys. At night when I couldn't sleep, I'd want to cuddle incessantly. Nothing else really made me feel better. I was also very picky about who I let touch me at all. I got worse quite rapidly when my closest relationships fell apart. Some current news: my nausea continues. Another person with a similar case wrote that she had this problem for a long time after surgery, as well. Lovely. My sleeping problems are back. I decided to take my cortisol replacement in quarters instead of skipping days and will probably have to use sleeping aids if I want to get up for class ever again. We are still worried about my sister. It makes me very angry that doctors think it's not important just because she's disabled. What kind of god-awful logic is that? I can't imagine how much worse this would be/is for her. It's not a game!