For those that do not personally know me, my health has been declining for a few years now.  First I had uterine polyps & ovarian cysts removed the beginning of 2007, went for my 6 week follow-up appointment and learned that I had to have a total abdominal hysterectomy due to the pathology reports not coming back good.  Had the 2nd surgery a month later.  Then 4 months after that, I was diagnosed with Stage IIIA Breast Cancer and had a mastectomy.  Went through chemotherapy and now on 5 years of Tamoxifen. 

Anyways, through all this, I began having muscle pain and weakness throughout my entire body, mostly in the legs, feet and hands.  It has affected my life, in that I've been unable to sculpt because of the pain in my hands when I exert pressure.  I have difficulty climbing stairs, getting in and out of the tub and can't get on the floor. If I manage to, I can hardly get up without help.  My doctors have done numerous tests for Lupus, MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and everything has been normal so they chalked the muscle problems up to a result of the cancer treatment.   

I've also had high blood pressure for 10-15 years now and have been on meds to control that ever since.  After the chemo, I had a problem with Edema in both my legs, up to my knees, so my general doctor tried several meds to try and get rid of it.  Nothing worked except for Spironolactone.  I've been on that ever since.  

A few months ago, I began having problems with, what my docs thought was diverticulitis. (I have a history of Diverticulosis), but it turned out to be my Gall Bladder.  I went through ct scans of the abdomen to try and diagnose the problem and it showed that I had a mass on my left adrenal gland.  My Surgeon did not feel safe treating me for it with my history of cancer, so he referred me to my Oncologist for the mass.  Then, I had the Gall Bladder surgery 3 weeks ago.  The day after my surgery, i started having worsening muscular pain all over my body that progressively got worse.  By the next day, my muscles would barely work. I couldn't roll over while laying in bed, couldn't lift my head off the pillow. Had to have someone lift me from the bed. Once i was on my feet, i could get around.  so off to the Emergency Room, we went.  They did more testing, (lupus,etc) and again, all was normal, but the ER Dr. gave me morphine and a sterioid shot. I woke up a few hours later after getting home and all the pain had gone away. 

While all this was going on, my Oncologist referred me to an Endocrinologist and I finally saw him last Friday.  I was so impressed. He'd already reviewed my case prior to me going in. He already knew alot of my prior health history. He showed me the mass on the left adrenal gland and said its about the size of a quarter.  He strongly suspects that I have this rare disorder called, Conn's Disease or Hyperaldosteronism.  I'd never heard of it before in my life.  Apparently, I've had all the symptoms or years.  The high blood pressure, muscle problems, migraines, the temporary paralysis after surgery. The list goes on and on.  
He has begun testing, but the problem is, in order to fully diagnose me, I have to come off the Spironolactone for 6 weeks prior to the test, so he's discussing it with my regular doctors to see how to go about doing this.
I go next Wednesday for an MRI to make absolutely sure that the adrenal gland mass is not metastized Breast Cancer.  

Now, you might think that this is all bad news, and I must admit, I was floored and bummed when I found this out, ( I had the 'why me' attitude like I always get after getting bad news), but after some thought, it may be exactly what I needed to find out, in order to get my health back.   I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.  If I do indeed have this disease, I'll have my Left Adrenal Gland removed and then I should be cured.  I'm imagining a life without Blood Pressure medicine.  No more muscular pain and weakness. I'll hopefully be able to run up stairs. sit on the floor again, take a bath.  The Dr. strongly suspects this, so now I'm hoping that its indeed what's been wrong with me so I can have a fuller, richer pain-free life.  I"m tired of my health getting in the way of things I love to do. I'm missed Bon Jovi in New Orleans today because of my health.  Like a mentioned before, I can't sculpt, and I couldnt' go to a Renaissance Fair, either, today, because I'm stuck at home doing a 24 hour lab test. But that's life.  Dont' get me wrong, I am so thankful that I'm a Breast Cancer Survivor, and my life is full of joy with my family, friends, writing and such, but a life with no pain?  Priceless. :)

Thanks for listening ya'll.  And I'll keep everyone posted on the news. 
Deb