Day 28: Which came first, chicken or egg?

Which came first, chicken or egg?


One of life's philosophical questions is: Which came first, chicken or egg? One of my evolutionary psychology lecturer asked us this question back in year 1 of my BSc and we came to the conclusion that it cannot be answered. After all, it appears one cannot exist without the other.



One of the common misconceptions about Cushing's is that the person's weight is what is causing their health problems. This, as I said is a MISCONCEPTION! What people need to understand is that being overweight is not a contributing factor to Cushing's disease, but a symptom of it. It is the cortisol secreting tumour that has increased the person's appetite and made their body store fat (most prominently around their mid section). Ask any Cushie and they will tell you that even when they eat and exercise properly, they still gain weight. After losing all the weight that I did when I was practically starving myself and living in the gym, I couldn't believe how fast it all came back when I started eating the recommended 2000 calories a day and was only running one hour every morning. Can you imagine that? Let's be honest here, how many of you actually run for an hour every morning? Yet you're not morbidly obese are you?

One of the reasons doctors take so long to diagnose Cushing's is because like may lay people they assume that their patient is dishonest and is actually over eating or not exercising as they state. Perhaps they too watch too much of the TV series House M.D. in which Hugh Laurie reminds us that "Everybody lies!". But why would we lie? Denial? Maybe... In fact, during a time in my life when I didn't have an answer yet, I did start questioning myself. I wondered whether maybe I had underestimated how much I ate or if I wasn't exercising as hard as I could have. Maybe I just wasn't trying hard enough? But that simply isn't true and I should have known better. I have never been lazy and have always been truthful when it comes to serious things like my health. I know that about myself and one of the things I hate the most about this disease is it made me doubt this. I am glad that I was reminded and I will never forget it now.

So why am I talking about the weight issues again? Apart from the fact that being overweight is something that bothers me a lot, I think it is important to remind people about the Cushie misconception. Because as long as people think that the weight is what is causing the issue, they will continue to give "helpful" advice about this diet or that exercise regime. One of my friends on Facebook the other day called this helpful ASSvice. I like that terminology!
Stop trying to fix our problem by addressing the wrong issue. If you really want to be helpful, why don't you suggest ways in which you can help us reduce our stress levels? Give us a hand doing some of the things we struggle with now. Help us stay optimistic and motivated even when life is dealing us hard blows. Or simply be there, non-judgmentally and as a caring friend. Now THAT would be helpful....