The same pit tumor is causing both? Or do you have an adrenal source plus a pit tumor?
I'm still waiting for my latest round of testing.

Wow, you are lucky to get diagnosed!

Good luck, Sheila

We take it one day at a time Katie.........one day at a time. Right now you're wondering what comes next, and what comes after that.....most likely, you'll start injections to begin with, there may be surgery or maybe even a Gamma treatment........you will be come very acquainted and develop a close relationship with the MRI..........and you'll become a life long donor of blood for lab work ups........ but that all comes with time. Right now you want to talk with your Doctor and find out what his plan of attack is and what he hopes to achieve. No questions from you are silly........ this is your life and your health we are talking about. If you don't feel comfortable with your present Doctor after talking with him, find another. Network with other Acro's online..........most of all face one bridge at a time and learn to listen to your body. There will be good days and there will be bad days, just except it.

Research online to learn all you can about both Cushings and Acro........then educate your family and your employers. They need to understand that when you say you're hurting or fatigued, or just in one of the valleys, it's not just in you mind, it's truly just the symptomatic results of your conditions.

Most of all, focus on the good things that are still there. The medical field is making progress daily on treatments and knowledge of our conditions. And, again, take it one day at a time, yesterday is history, tomorrow hasn't come, we live day by day.

Mr Lifespalette he so speaks such wise words it the best thing to do one day at a time hope is good that something will help even though its scary and I will hold up my hand I have shed many a tear stomped my feet but also knowing I am not alone theres some lovely people on here who have so helped me and when I get overwhelmed I think of the words from doughboys mom on here tommorrow is another day and I find it usually is.Its not easy not at all but with being with some really special people on here it really helps all my love to you Jokeyx

I can only echo what lifespalette has said,#1 though would have to be, Be grateful you have been diagnosed, many people can go for years and still have no idea they have it.
Mine was diagnosed through a hand surgeon who had the hindsight to ask me more questions about my carpal tunnel and send me for hand xrays to back up what he thought was Acromegaly and start the ball rolling, I consider myself extremely lucky for having such a dedicated professional.
I'm not happy that I have it, but I count my blessings that I have such wonderful Dr's and it is treatable, so hang in there, visit us often and let us know how things are going, I have only been a member here a short time but I have found a very warm and understanding group of people here and we can all help each other deal with this condition.
Good Luck Katie.

Thanks so much everyone. I really feel I need the support of people who can truly understand what I am going through right now. I feel pretty alienated among people I deal with in my everyday life.

Shelia - we are pretty sure it is either two pit tumors secreting different hormones or one secreting both. I have no evidence to believe anything is adrenal-related. I do plan to talk to my doctor more about this, as I am concerned about curing one and not the other. I would rather have both than either, as they seem to be counteracting one another's effects. Pretty weird.

I am grieving a lot now, but agree about living one day at a time. Unfortunately, that makes it very hard to plan anything. For example, I would love to go back to school, but don't want to get myself in all sorts of debt just to end up sick again and have to quit school. I realize it is never easy to have either of these diseases, but at 29, I feel very stunted.

Thanks again.

Love,
Katie

Katie, don't give up your life plans! Just allow yourself some time to get all these conditions and their effects sorted out and dealt with. Then you should be able to move on with what you want to do. Depending on your particular needs, you might need to go to school at less than a full course load for a time to allow for your strength/fatigue factor, etc. Many people on this site can give you ideas for ways to cope. Just step back and readjust how you go about things for a while. Lifespalette is right, there are no stupid questions and you should tell your doctors every tiny symptom and change you observe, no matter how trivial or hypochondriacal it seems. We are all walking bundles of bizarre symptoms and histories. The good news is, we're still living our lives, and now that you have diagnoses you can, too! Keep us posted on how you're doing.

If going back to school is your goal, you go girl. When I said take it one day at a time, I didn't mean put your life on hold........I tried that, after 25 years as an architectural designer, I figured I would retire early and deal with the beast........after 6 months I was either going to find something to do or go crazy. I tried over the road trucking for about 18 months, but the complications made it unsafe for me and therefore everyone else on the road. The long hours and sporadic sleep cycles weren't doing me any good...........so now I'm back in the design studio and enjoying it again. It takes time to learn how this beast effects our lives........we learn to listen to our bodies and what they are telling us and we adjust accordingly, much like you will do. If you want to go back to school you need to do it, neither of these conditions are immediately life threatening, if treated properly..... and you and your Doctor are taking the first steps in doing that.

If future treatments are a combination of prescription pills and/or shots, you'll be able to carry on a normal life. If it's surgery, after you recuperate you most likely will be on some regiment of pills or shots or both, and you'll carry on. If it's Gamma, you'll do the same.........the key is to give yourself a couple of months, my Doctor recommended taking off 6 months, which I didn't do........my Gawd, didn't he know I jump buildings in a single leap, I cook 20 minutes brownies in 10 minutes..........a week off after surgery and I thought I was good to go................I should have listened to my Doctor. Take time to recovery from what ever it is they plan in your treatment.............

Secondly, take time to get your emotional state back in order. You've just been told you have a condition that will effect your life from here on out. That takes time to come to terms with and believe me this beast will effect you emotionally. I call it the Fog, it's out there, just on the horizon, hanging there..... some days it rolls in with the tide, something like you see in the San Fransisco bay and then it rolls back out...........it never seems to dissipate, it just hangs there. But as long as it stays on the horizon, I deal with it, by focusing on the positive...........you will figure out how to deal with it . It just takes time to get your arms around it, but your life goes on and you need to keeping making plans.

Ben Franklin said it best.........."we don't quit playing because we grow old, we grow old because we quit playing." We don't quit living because we are Arcomegalic, but we will become more Acromegalic if we quit living.

Everyone here has made the choice not to let this beast win, otherwise they wouldn't be here. YOU are here, that tells me you fall into that same group. We all experience bad days when we get low, but there are folks here to reach out too, and they will reach back to you, and then you'll reach back to some one needs an encouraging word......that's how it works. That's how we take it one day at a time......

Keep us posted with your updates and what the Doctor's have planned when you get more information.

Hey - anything you need just ask away...it took me weeks to find people on-line that I could lean on for support that knew what I was going through.

I also have a tumor that is secreting two hormones, prolactin and growth hormone.

Wow, Lifespalette, you are good! Wanna be our official spokesperson? What you said is so true. Even those of us who think/hope? our tumor is gone still have residual damage that we have to deal with. We truly do have to hang in there and take it a step at a time. It's a huge help to have the support of people on this site.

Thank you everyone for your support.

Ron - are you getting surgery?