CNN – When Amy Schumer was a guest earlier this month on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” some on social media commented that her appearance had changed.
Schumer responded in an Instagram post by explaining there were some “medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now but I’m okay.”
In an interview published Friday on Jessica Yellen’s News Not Noise newsletter, Schumer revealed she has exogenous Cushing syndrome, brought on by getting steroid injections that resulted in excess cortisol in her body.
“While I was doing press on camera for my Hulu show, I was also in MRI machines four hours at a time, having my veins shut down from the amount of blood drawn and thinking I may not be around to see my son grow up,” Schumer recalled. “So finding out I have the kind of Cushing that will just work itself out and I’m healthy was the greatest news imaginable.”
Schumer said she felt motivated to share her diagnosis to advocate for women’s health and body positivity … READ MORE.
Cushing Syndrome
Cushing syndrome is an uncommon condition that happens when your body has too much of a hormone called cortisol. Another word for Cushing syndrome is hypercortisolism. A syndrome is a medical term that refers to a group of signs and symptoms that happen together. You may see some people call this condition Cushing’s syndrome.
Cortisol is a steroid hormone commonly called the “stress hormone.” Your body releases extra cortisol during times of stress. Cortisol helps by:
- Increasing your heart rate.
- Increasing your blood pressure.
- Managing your blood glucose.
- Managing your respiration.
- Increasing your muscle tension.
Cortisol also helps by temporarily shutting down systems that your body doesn’t need during times of increased stress, such as digestion and reproduction.
Cortisol is essential to:
- Maintaining blood pressure.
- Regulating blood sugar.
- Reducing inflammation.
- Forming memories.
- Managing respiration.
- Balancing salt in your body.
- Transforming your food into energy.
The adrenal glands (two small glands on top of your kidneys), pituitary gland (in your brain) and the hypothalamus (the part of your brain above the pituitary gland) control cortisol levels.
A tumor typically causes the cortisol levels found in Cushing syndrome.
- Endogenous (from within the body): Cushing syndrome happens because of cortisol produced by your body.
- Exogenous (from outside sources): Cushing syndrome happens because of the side effects of certain medications taken to treat other conditions. source.
