Results

Well we finally have the results from Seattle, though I'm not sure how much good they are going to do us. Here they are:

They lost one of her 24 hour urine tests, but the one they didn't lose was high (by high I mean high enough to indicate Cushings).

She had four serum cortisols drawn between midnight and four a.m. that came back high enough to suggest Cushings.

She had two high ACTH serum results that indicate Cushings.

She had a high prolactin test that indicates a problem with her pituitary.

This is all good news. I always thought she had Cushings, but I needed to prove it to get her some help. Now we know that I was right and that she does have Cushings. I am sad that there is something wrong, but glad to know for sure what it is so we can attack it and get her better.

The bad news is that they are cautious about sending someone to brain surgery (I can't blame them for that) and since she is so young they are even more cautious than usual. That means they want to test a little longer and get some more highs before they recommend surgery. I am not as cautious as they are I guess. She is my baby and I want her better NOW.

So I am not sure what step is next for us. We are still praying and talking about it. We are continuing to test for sure, but we are thinking about asking for an IPSS. This is not a fun test. They go in a vein in both legs and go all the way up into her sinus area, inject her with the same CRH that made her so sick before and then take samples from what her pituitary is putting out. This could give us a lot of valuable information, but like I said it wouldn't be fun. So it's a big decision.

Her MRI has been sent to MD Anderson so the doctor that we want to do the surgery can look at it. He is very good at seeing tumors in the pituitary that other people can't see. The radiologist in Seattle couldn't see that her tumor was back. That doesn't mean it isn't. Her symptoms and tests show that it is. However in fifty percent of Cushing's patients they have to do surgery to find the tumor. A very small growth can cause Cushings.

Please pray for wisdom on our part and continued high test results to speed this process along. We want Lauren to feel good for a change. I don't think she even knows what that is. She has been sick for so long.