Actress and director Amy Schumer says she feels “reborn” after receiving a diagnosis for Cushing’s syndrome. But what is Cushing’s and what are its symptoms?
Schumer, 42, revealed her diagnosis two weeks after responding to online comments that her face was looking “puffier” in TV interviews, the actress told Jessica Yellin of the News Not Noise Letter.
“While I was doing press on camera for my Hulu show [Life & Beth], 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 said. “Aside from fears about my health, I also had to be on camera having the internet chime in. But thank God for that. Because that’s how I realized something was wrong.”
David Livingston/Getty
Cushing’s syndrome is a rare disorder that occurs when your body makes too much of the hormone cortisol over a long period of time.
“Cortisol is a steroid hormone that helps the body respond to stress,” Colette Monique Knight, chair of the Diabetes Institute at Hackensack University Medical Center, told Newsweek. “It also helps to regulate blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and the immune system.”
This overproduction of cortisol can cause a range of health problems, Knight said, including:
- Weight gain
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Osteoporosis
- Muscle weakness
- Fatigue
- Mood changes
- Skin problems
“One of the most common symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome is a puffy face,” Knight said. “This is because cortisol causes the body to retain water and sodium. The water and sodium build up in the face, causing it to swell.”
According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, roughly 10 to 15 people out of every million are diagnosed with Cushing’s in the U.S. each year, with women between the ages of 20 and 50 most likely to be affected.
Cushing’s syndrome exists in various forms with differing severities, depending on its underlying cause, which can include tumors in the pituitary and adrenal glands, certain medications and genetic disorders.
One subset of the disorder is called Cushing’s disease, which results from a benign tumor of the pituitary gland, a pea-sized gland at the base of the brain that produces, stores and releases a range of different hormones, including ones that stimulate the production of cortisol.
Schumer revealed that her symptoms were brought on by external steroid injections. “Finding out I have the kind of Cushing that will just work itself out and I’m healthy was the greatest news imaginable,” she said.
She hopes that sharing her diagnosis will help fight back against the criticism she received, as she battles the stigma over women’s “ever-changing bodies.”
“I want so much for women to love themselves and be relentless when fighting for their own health in a system that usually doesn’t believe them.”
She added that her online experience was a good example of “the fact that we never know what is going on with someone.
“Everyone is struggling with something. Maybe we can all be a little kinder to each other and ourselves.”
If you have experienced any of these symptoms, Knight said that it is important to see a medical professional. “Your doctor can order tests to check your cortisol levels and rule out other causes of a puffy face,” she said.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.