Calling All Bloggers

I hate doctor's appointments that leave me feeling like I need to spend the next two months googling and 'webmd'ing everything. So I got a bonescan today at the endocrinologist for some adrenal system testing he's been doing. I got a bunch of bloodwork done at the beginning of November, and we were supposed to go over it all as well as the bone scan today. Well, apparently I've "lost some bone" and have "excessively high levels of steroid in my blood". What? Come again? Oh, ok, high cortisol. I understood that. And apparently high aldosterone...never heard of that. Well, now I have to go get an MRI of my brain to "see where it's coming from" is all that he said. Ok...to see where it's coming from- I'm thinking, maybe the MRI will show little firing signs: "Oh, THERE's the cortisol and the aldosterone...ok, now let's treat it". No, upon googling- the ultimate in accurate researching- I found that high levels of cortisol and aldosterone are frequently caused by pituitary tumors. Now that makes sense as to why I have to get an MRI and "see where it's coming from"...he wants to see if there's a tumor that's causing the excess production. Oh ok, sounds good. WHATTTT? Is this right? I know- benign tumor most likely, but what the heck? I hate that. And they simply told me they'd be calling my insurance to see if I need pre-authorization, and that can take "a couple of weeks" and then they would call the scanning place to have them call me to set up an appointment usually "a couple weeks or so after that"... I mean, honestly people. So in about a month or so I may be able to in fact get the MRI and then I have to wait for the doctor to call me if I need to come in to talk about the results. Probably "a couple weeks later" I'm guessing. Good Lord. So in approximately 6 months I'll be able to rest easy. Ridiculous. You do NOT tell me this when I'm menopausal...and you do NOT make me wait on scheduling for months before I can find out what's actually going on. I mean, I'm bound to cause a bit of a ruckus. It's my job, I'm chemically hormonal. What would we do without the wonderful chemically hormonal women out there? We make the world interesting. You think you've got women figured out? Throw one of us in the mix, and watch your head spin.

Alright, I'm just irritated. But does anyone know what any of this mean? Anyone have high cortisol or aldosterone? I asked the doctor if Lupron would affect any of this and he said no. And I can't see Lupron causing bone loss this early, especially because I'm doing a tiny bit of add-back therapy and I've been going crazy on the calcium and vitamin D.

I also got my second Lupron Injection this morning. It didn't hurt at all again. Everything's the same as yesterday except for my emotional outbursts due to my lovely endocrinology appointment. I still have pretty gnarley diaphragm pain...I'm waiting ever so patiently (haha) for that to go away. I wake up every morning thinking this could be the day, no more pain walking or breathing...nope, not today friend- not today.

Help me. Maybe my googling skills are below par. I saw references to Cushing's Syndrome, Conn's Disease, hyperplasia, stress, and some form of thyroid disease. I know I have high levels of thyroglobulin antibodies as well (Hashimoto's disease)...I wonder if that's related. And is the endometriosis related? I had high cortisol once in a test about two years ago but we never looked into it. It wasn't as high as it is now. I've never even heard of aldosterone... If anyone has any ideas about any of this I'd love to know. Waiting for who knows how long to find "actual" answers isn't my forte. ;)