Year: 2019

👥 Johns Hopkins Pituitary Day October 19, 2019!

MaryO Helpful Doctors, Interviews, Meetings and Conferences, Maryland , , , ,

The 11th annual Pituitary Day will take place on October 19, 2019  Patients living with pituitary disorders can hear lectures from our pituitary specialists, see movies of pituitary surgeries and hear from other patients about their experience living with pituitary disease and undergoing surgery.

Attendance is free, and patients can bring one guest.

Call 410-955-3921 or reserve your spot by email at pituitaryday@jmhi.edu

More information at www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/centers_clinics/pituitary_center/index.html

❣️The Message Boards Turn 19 Today! ❣️

MaryO Uncategorized , , ,

 

 

Today  is the birthday, or anniversary, of the boards starting September 30, 2000 (The rest of the site started earlier that year on July 21, 2000)

As of today, we have 72,796 members who have made countless posts.

Find the message boards here: http://cushings.invisionzone.com/

 

💉 Possible New Helpful Endo in Tennessee

MaryO Helpful Doctors, Tennessee , , , , , , , , , ,

Murfreesboro Medical Clinic & SurgiCenter

272 Garrison Drive

Murfreesboro, TN 37129

615-893-4480

Murfreesboro Medical Clinic & SurgiCenter is committed to meeting the needs of Rutherford County’s growing community. In addition to adding two new locations in 2019, MMC will be adding five new doctors to its team of physicians.

The physicians joining MMC this fall are: Christopher Albergo, M.D. (Endocrinology), Lauren Blackwell, D.O. (Pediatrics), C. Brad Bledsoe, M.D. (Dermatology), Britni Caplin, M.D. (ENT), and Brittany Cook, M.D. (Ophthalmology).

“With a national shortage of physicians, it is becoming more and more challenging to find quality physicians to meet the growing healthcare needs of our community,” noted Joey Peay, MMC’s Chief Executive Officer. “For MMC to find five quality physicians to join us in 2019 in addition to the nine that began practicing at MMC in 2018 is truly remarkable! Each of them will be a valuable member of our medical team and a wonderful member of the Murfreesboro community.”

Christopher Albergo, M.D. is a board-certified Endocrinologist skilled in general endocrinology, including Hypothyroid, Parathyroid, Thyroid Cancer, Graves’ Disease, Pituitary disorders, Adrenal disorders, Hypogonadism , PCOS, Obesity, Diabetes and Osteoporosis.

Read about all the new doctors here: https://www.wgnsradio.com/murfreesboro-medical-clinic-surgicenter-is-proud-to-announce-the-addition-of-five-new-physicians-to-its-practice-in-2019–cms-53464

📞 Webinar: Experimental Treatments for Aggressive Pituitary Tumors

MaryO Interviews, Meetings and Conferences , , , , , ,

Presented by

Andrew Lin, MD
Neuro-Oncologist & Neurologist
Memorial Sloak Kettering Cancer Center

After registering you will receive a confirmation email with details about joining the webinar.

Contact us at webinar@pituitary.org with any questions or suggestions.

Date: September 18, 2019
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM. Pacific Daylight Time, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Learning Objectives:

During the conversation I will be:
1) Defining aggressive pituitary tumors.
2) Reviewing the current treatment options for aggressive pituitary tumors.
3) Discussing experimental treatment options including a phase II trial investigating the activity of the immunotherapies nivolumab and ipilimumab.

Presenter Biography:

I am a neuro-oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and a member of the Multidisciplinary Pituitary & Skull Base Tumor Center. In collaboration with my colleagues in endocrine, neurosurgery, and radiation oncology, I treat patients with aggressive pituitary tumors, who are resistant to conventional treatments (i.e. surgery and radiation), with chemotherapy. With my colleagues at MSK, I have published several research articles on pituitary tumors and opened several clinical trials.

📞 Webinar: Update on the Management of Cushing’s Disease

MaryO Interviews, Meetings and Conferences , , , ,

Presented by

Nathan T Zwagerman MD
Director of Pituitary and Skull base surgery
Department of Neurosurgery
Medical College of Wisconsin

After registering you will receive a confirmation email with details about joining the webinar.

Date: Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Webinar Description:

Learning Objectives:

  1. Describe the signs and symptoms of Cushing’s Disease
  2. Describe the work up for patients with Cushing’s Disease
  3. Understand the goals, risks, and expected outcomes for treatment
  4. Describe alternative treatments when surgery is not curative.

Presenter Bio:

Dr. Zwagerman is a Professor of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He did his undergraduate work in psychology at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He earned his medical degree at Wayne State University in Detroit. He did his fellowship in endoscopic and open cranial base surgery, and then his residency in neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

👥 Ohio State Pituitary Patient Symposium 2019

MaryO Helpful Doctors, Interviews, Meetings and Conferences , , , , , ,

Ohio State Pituitary Patient Symposium 2019

 

 

**REGISTER NOW!**

Saturday, Sept 14, 2019

7:30am – 4:00pm

Please join the Pituitary Network Association and The Ohio State University for a Pituitary Patient Symposium featuring a series of pituitary and hormonal patient education sessions presented by some of the top physicians of pituitary and hormonal medicine. The symposium faculty will share the most up-to-date information and be available to answer your most pressing questions.

Keynote Speaker: Maria Fleseriu, MD FACE

**We are offering a limited number of registration only scholarships. Register today to claim your scholarship!**

Please email carol@pituitary.org to register!

*This registration is for the Patient Symposium only. The Ohio State University is offering a CME Course separate from our Symposium. For information on the CME course go to ccme.osu.edu
OSU Pituitary Symposium Agenda
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019
Patient and Family Track
Gabbe Conference Room – James L045

 

7:30 AM Registration and Breakfast
8:00 AM Welcoming Remarks and Introductions: The OSU Skull Base and Pituitary Team
8:05 AM Trans-sphenoidal Approach: What to Expect? Post-Operative Complications
Richard Carrau, MD Professor Department of Otolaryngology OSUCCC – James
8:30 AM Radiation Therapy? Difference Between Modalities and Possible Risks
Dukagjin M Blakaj, MD, PhD
OSUCCC – James
9:00 AM What Are The Challenges Our Patients Face, and How Can We Help?
Kami Perdue, PA-C
OSUCCC – James
9:30 AM Round Table Q & A
9:45 AM Mid-Morning Break and Visit Vendors
10:00 AM Acromegaly: Why it Takes That Long to Diagnose? What are the Options?
Lawrence Kirschner, MD, PhD  Professor Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism
OSUCCC – James
10:30 AM Growth Hormone Deficiency: Beyond Growth
Rohan Henry, MD Pediatric Endocrinologist
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
11:00 AM Hypopituitarism: Pitfalls and Recommendations
Maria Fleseriu, MD, FACE
Oregon Health and Science University – Keynote Speaker
11:30 AM Round Table Q & A
11:45 AM Lunch Break and Patient’s Journey
12:45 PM Pituitary Trivia
Luma Ghalib, MD Assistant Professor – Clinical Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism
OSUCCC – James
Brian Lee, RN OSUCCC – James
1:15 PM Surgical Approach: What to Expect
Daniel Prevedello, MD Professor and Chair, Department of Neurological Surgery
OSUCCC – James
1:45 PM Visual Complications of Pituitary/Sellar Lesion? Predictors of Outcome
Abbe Craven, MD Assistant Professor – Clinical Department of Ophthalmology
OSUCCC – James
2:15 PM Round Table Q & A
2:30 PM Mid-Afternoon Break and Visit Vendors
2:45 PM Recovering from Trans-sphenoidal Surgery, Challenges for the Patient and their Families
Traci Douglass, RN
OSUCCC – James
3:15 PM Pituitary Network Association: Cushing’s Disease: Psychological Research and Clinical Implications
Jessica Diller Kovler, AM, MA, PhD
PNA Board Member
3:45 PM Closing Remarks
4: 00 PM Adjourn

📞 Webinar: Approaches for Pituitary Surgery

MaryO Helpful Doctors, Interviews, Meetings and Conferences , , , , , , , , ,

Dr. Theodore Friedman hosts Gautam Mehta, MD for a fascinating webinar on Approaches for Pituitary Surgery

Dr. Mehta is a neurosurgeon specializing in pituitary surgery at the House Clinic in Los Angeles. He was trained by Ian McCutcheon, MD and Ed Oldfield, MD

Topics to be discussed include:
• How does Dr. Friedman diagnose Cushing’s Disease
• How does Dr. Friedman determine who goes to surgery?
• What type of patients need surgery besides those with Cushing’s Disease?
• How do the neurosurgeon and the Endocrinologist work together?
• How does the neurosurgeon read pituitary MRIs?
• What types of surgical approaches are used for pituitary surgery?
• How long does surgery take and how long will a patient be in the hospital?
• What are the risks of pituitary surgery and how can they be minimized?

Sunday • August 4 • 6 PM PDT

Click here to start your meeting.

or
https://axisconciergemeetings.webex.com/axisconciergemeetings/j.php?MTID=ma1d8d5ef99605e305980e2f7cdfdb7bd
OR
Join by phone: (855) 797-9485
Meeting Number (Access Code): 807 028 597 Your phone/computer will be muted on entry.
Slides will be available on the day of the talk at slides 
There will be plenty of time for questions using the chat button. Meeting Password: hormones
For more information, email us at mail@goodhormonehealth.com

❣️Happy 19th Birthday Cushing’s Help!

MaryO Uncategorized , , , , , , , ,

It’s unbelievable but the idea for Cushing’s Help and Support arrived 19 years ago late last night. I was talking with my dear friend Alice, who ran a wonderful menopause site called Power Surge, wondering why there weren’t many support groups online (OR off!) for Cushing’s and I wondered if I could start one myself and we decided that I could.

Thanks to a now-defunct Microsoft program called FrontPage, the first one-page “website” (http://www.cushings-help.com) first went “live” July 21, 2000 and the message boards September 30, 2000.

All our Cushing’s-related sites:

 

❣️We’re nearly 19!

MaryO Uncategorized , , , , , , , ,

happybirthday-2015

It’s unbelievable but the idea for Cushing’s Help and Support arrived 19 years ago tonight.  That’s a long time for anything online.

I was talking with my dear friend Alice, who ran a wonderful menopause site called Power Surge, wondering why there weren’t many support groups online (OR off!) for Cushing’s and I wondered if I could start one myself and we decided that I could.

The first website (http://www.cushings-help.com) first went “live” July 21, 2000 and the message boards September 30, 2000. Hopefully, with these sites, I’m making some helpful differences in someone else’s life!

The message boards are still active and we have a Cushing’s Awareness Day Forum, podcasts, phone support and much more.

Whenever one of the members of the boards gets into NIH, I try to go to visit them there. Other board members participate in the “Cushie Helper” program where they support others with one-on-one support, doctor/hospital visits, transportation issues and more.

Of course, we now have a Facebook page and 2 groups.  Both are secret, so if you want to join, please email or PM me for an invitation.

Other sites in the Cushing’s Help “Family”

 

maryo colorful zebra

❓Can You Help?

MaryO Can You Help? , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Guest Question from the message boards: Low TSH, Low FT4, buffalo hump and many other symptoms

Posted 

I have been struggling with progressive symptoms of extreme fatigue, muscle weakness, increased anxiety and depression, rage, acne, weight gain, and sweating just doing small tasks over the last 3 to 4 years. I also have a very hard time controlling my body temperature. I get really cold, turn the heat up, get really hot, turn the heat down, over and over throughout the day. (I’m 36 years old) If I’m sitting I’m freezing. If I’m up moving I’m on fire and sweating. Just such dramatic ends of the spectrum. Anyway, for a long time my GP was only checking my TSH. (Hypothyroidism runs strong in my family). My TSH has always been on the low end of normal. I was feeling so awful, I insisted they were missing something and asked them to check my FT4. That has also always ran at the lower end of normal. They treat me with Levothyroxine to try to increase my FT4, but in doing so, cause my TSH to go even lower. I googled what it meant to have a Low TSH with a low FT4 and it said it could be hypothyroidism caused by a pituitary tumor. I then came across Cushing’s which started showing pictures of the classic “buffalo hump” and my jaw hit the floor.

About a month ago, I caught myself in profile in my mirror and was completely taken aback by my appearance. My husband and I aren’t sure how long my neck has looked this way. Either way I was just wondering what others thoughts were. My GP has ordered some kind of cortisol test thus far that I’ll go for tomorrow. I would also like an MRI of my pituitary and possibly adrenals. I’m just tired of sleeping my life away and have been searching for answers for so long. Please let me know what you think of the hump.

Are there other causes for this appearance? Thanks

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