Why is obesity defined as a disease - and when does it really endanger us?
(Walla system)
Has it happened to you that you suffered from unexplained obesity even though you eat healthy and exercise?
There is a chance that you have Cushing's syndrome, which is caused by an increase in the cortisol hormone in the body.
Although this is a rare disease, it is three times more common in women and is also characterized by menstrual disorders and an excessive rate.
And beyond the discomfort, Cushing's can also be a fatal disease.
"For the most part, excess weight results from uncontrolled and unhealthy eating and a lack of physical activity. I myself rarely eat, sometimes I fast for whole days, at the same time I exercise five times a week for an hour on the treadmill - and I am chubby," says Yossi, a Cushing's syndrome patient from the center of the country, "People with Cushing's syndrome have familiar external characteristics: they are big people with a bump on the back of their neck and belly fat. If I hadn't fasted, I would be much bigger and heavier than I am now. A doctor who sees me will not believe that I have Cushing's."
Yossi says that "there is a difficult social difficulty here. I don't eat in front of people. I have developed some kind of eating disorder and I feel a complete lack of control over my body."
Yossi's diagnosis came almost by accident, and it started from a normal day when he was looking after his two-year-old daughter.
"We were alone at home and she started vomiting, I picked her up in my hands and ran to the shower. On the way I slipped and broke my hip. The hospital didn't believe that such a fracture could be the result of slipping at home, and they were surprised that at my young age I suffer from osteoporosis (bone thinning). From here began a medical examination that took two years , until the endocrinologist who treated me noticed that I had gained weight and connected the dots. A cortisol test showed unequivocally that it was Cushing's."
A syndrome that is more common in women.
Illustration of a woman on a scale (Photo: ShutterStock)
In the case of Frida, now 65 years old, in addition to the weight gain and overweight, the disease also manifested itself in high sugar that required treatment and blood pressure at a life-threatening level.
"I tried many medications, one of which seriously damaged the liver and I had to stop the treatment. It is not just an aesthetic disease. It is far from that, the mind is also affected, and I faced a drop in mood and irritability that is not at all typical of me. I am a calm person by nature, but I constantly felt that I "A different person", the family supported and hugged me all the way, but I felt terrible and terrible."
Frida decided to go to the family doctor, but instead of support, she went through a difficult experience: "I came with the aforementioned complaints of nervousness, but also with unexplained weight gain, overweight and unexplained pimples on the skin. But the doctor didn't understand what I wanted. I was a size 40 And she didn't see it as problematic, she attributed the rest of the difficulties to hormones, so she only urged me to incorporate more physical activity and diet. I was very active, danced folk dances and followed a healthy and balanced menu, so I was very offended by her. I came with a real complaint and asked for help, I explained that I don't know my body like that, it's not me, and I was treated dismissively and disparagingly. Today I know it wasn't done out of malice, the doctor simply didn't connect the symptoms or didn't know the disease, and I've never heard of it either."
Significant damage to the quality of life
"Although Cushing's syndrome is a rare disease, the consequences of the disease can be devastating, with a significant impairment in the patients' quality of life and high morbidity and even mortality rates if the disease is not properly diagnosed and treated."
Explains Prof. Amit Akirov, specialist in internal medicine and endocrinology, Rabin Medical Center.
"Since this is a rare disease, it is important to know in which situations it is worthwhile to raise the possibility of this diagnosis and to complete the initial investigation, which includes a blood test, urine collection and/or a saliva sample. The recommendations today are to complete tests on the question of Cushing's syndrome in cases of unusual characteristics for age (such as osteoporosis or hypertension in young patients) and in the presence of accumulated symptoms or characteristic signs (such as muscle weakness, facial redness or oval stretch marks in the abdomen). The syndrome is more common in women, but can appear at any age, including children.
"In recent years, a number of new drug treatments against Cushing's syndrome have been developed and approved, which paved the way for achieving balance in many patients in whom surgery did not cure the disease. This is definitely good news for patients suffering from the disease and for the doctors who treat these patients," he added.
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