Self-medicating and acting as your own "doctor" can lead to many diseases, of which Cushing's syndrome is a common disease - Illustration photo
The cause is due to self-medication with topical and oral medications for bone and joint pain without seeing a doctor.
Get sick from taking unknown medicine
MEDLATEC General Clinic said it received patient NTC (53 years old, Tay Ninh ) for examination with the reason of round face and weight gain.
Ms. C. said that 3 months ago she went to the doctor because she had a traffic accident and had a skin wound so she took a 2-week course of medicine (unknown type of medicine). Sometimes when she had joint pain, she bought medicine to take without going to the doctor.
In particular, in the past 2 months, Ms. C. has noticed a round face, unusual weight gain (gained 3kg in 2 months), and concentrated fat (in the abdomen, shoulders, back, and thinning skin). She has been to many places for examination and has been diagnosed with drug-induced adrenal insufficiency.
Doctor Pham Dang Hoai Nam, a family medicine specialist, said the test had two abnormal indicators, including blood cortisol quantification to assess the balance of the adrenal glands and support the diagnosis of hormone-related diseases, with the result decreasing to 16.78 nmol/L compared to the normal value (133.00 - 537.00);
Adrenocorticotropic hormone test decreased <1.50 pg/mL compared to normal value (7.2 - 63.3) and confirmed the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome/drug-induced adrenal insufficiency.
What causes Cushing's syndrome?
Dr. Nam said that Cushing's syndrome is a condition of chronically increased cortisol hormone in the body (also known as hypercortisolemia). Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands, helping to regulate metabolism, blood pressure, immunity...
There are many causes of Cushing's syndrome, including:
+ Long-term use of glucocorticoids used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, asthma, COPD...
+ Using traditional medicines of unknown origin containing corticosteroids...
- Endogenous (due to the body producing too much cortisol):
+ ACTH dependent (accounting for 70-80%):
• ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma (also known as Cushing's disease) (accounting for 60-70%): women are affected more than men, aged 20-40 years old. Most are small pituitary adenomas with a size <1cm.
• Ectopic ACTH-secreting tumors (accounting for 5-10%): originate from tumors originating from the thoracic cavity such as small cell lung carcinoma and bronchial carcinoid, more common in men than women, aged 40-60.
+ ACTH independent (accounts for 20-30%):
• Benign adrenal cortex tumor: typically, the tumor is often unilateral and progresses slowly.
• Adrenal cortex malignancy: progresses rapidly, can metastasize to liver, kidney... tumor size is often large.
Symptoms of Cushing's syndrome
Cushing's syndrome often develops silently, but in some cases, patients need to be alert to the following silent signs:
- Specific symptoms: Round face like the moon; Fatty lump in the nape of the neck (buffalo hump); Purple stretch marks on the abdomen and thighs; Hirsutism, acne (women); Menstrual disorders; Osteoporosis, spinal pain.
- General symptoms: Abnormal weight gain (abdomen, face, neck); Muscle weakness, fatigue; High blood pressure; High blood sugar (pre-diabetes); Easy bruising, slow wound healing; Mental disorders (anxiety, depression).
Cushing's syndrome, if not detected and treated promptly, can cause many serious consequences, comprehensively affecting the patient's physical and mental health and quality of life.
Serious ones include metabolic disorders (chronic hypertension, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia), musculoskeletal damage (severe osteoporosis, weak limbs, herniated discs, back pain, reduced height), immunodeficiency (prone to skin, lung, urinary, oral infections, slow wound healing, easy necrosis or fungal infections)...
"We have encountered cases of Cushing's syndrome due to subjectivity and lack of understanding such as long-term use of corticosteroids (self-purchased or according to old prescriptions, without re-examination), sudden cessation of corticosteroids after many weeks/months of treatment, use of "family medicine", herbal medicine, Chinese medicine of unknown origin - mixed with corticosteroids without the user knowing", Dr. Nam shared.
Doctor Nam recommends that if people show signs of suspected Cushing's, they should go to a reputable medical facility for timely examination and treatment.
Absolutely do not buy medicine on your own, because sometimes accidentally buying and taking medicine containing corticosteroids for a long time will cause more harm than good to the health, even the life of the patient. Comply with taking medicine as prescribed and have regular check-ups when having to take corticosteroids for a long time.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tang-can-mat-tron-nhu-mat-trang-da-mong-di-co-the-ban-da-mac-hoi-chung-cushing-20250618092518419.htm
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