on behalf of mum; 6 years ago she had macular degen., misdiagnosed as something else - cant remember - led down the path of cortisone treatment [the 'dr''s an a55] --> eye problems --> depression --> diabetes.
3 years later - over to her endocrinologist: found a pituitary tumor - said to be benign and not a concern. well, I'M CONCERNED. how can you have a pituitary tumour and blow it off as harmless. she has DIARRHEA as well which i'm sure is linked to some endocrinology that the endo isn't picking up. she is UNDERWEIGHT though slightly built. this isn't good enough. she eats a lot and isn't a healthy weight. other than that, she seems well.
pituitary/ bowel link?
if you can direct me to a site that she can look at that'd be great... thanks
Alas, old school is that they are benign, small so they are nothing.
New school knows the tiny little monsters can be deceiving. Depression is a symptom. The eye stuff too. Diabetes too. All clues.
I found this medical paper:
OBJECTIVE: The brain-gut axis has been proposed to influence symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In animal studies corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) challenge has been associated with decreased upper gastrointestinal motility and increased colonic motility. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between gastrointestinal symptoms and the effect of CRH on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis using a weight-adjusted low-dose dexamethasone test in a group of healthy individuals (n = 157).
You are brilliant! For years I have had bowel problems. Plagued with diarrhea for a long time and I have never thought it would be linked to the pituitary tumor! However I am not losing weight...
The pituitary is the master gland - when you go the the gastro doc, unfortunately, now they are only looking at one part of you and forgetting how the whole body works... and the tests they run do not include pituitary function unless they happen to be really clued in.
It may or may not be pituitary - but when all else is ruled out, check it out.