{"id":68353,"date":"2023-11-19T18:55:49","date_gmt":"2023-11-19T18:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordcelnews.com\/?p=68353"},"modified":"2023-11-19T18:55:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-19T18:55:49","slug":"i-noticed-a-strange-symptom-that-turned-my-life-upside-down-at-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/i-noticed-a-strange-symptom-that-turned-my-life-upside-down-at-35\/","title":{"rendered":"I noticed a strange symptom that turned my life upside down at 35"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>I was 35, fit and healthy when I noticed a strange symptom that turned my life upside down. Now I&#8217;m stranded in Australia and the plane trip home could make me blind<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tanja Dittfeld has a 2.2cm tumour growing in her\u00a0pituitary gland\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>She&#8217;s also been diagnosed with a rare condition called\u00a0Cushing&#8217;s Disease\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The 35-year-old had her first surgery on November 15\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Read more: Valentina Ferragni shares warning following cancer diagnosis<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Tanja Dittfeld was fit, healthy and living the dream this year having moved from Denmark to Australia as part of her PhD studies.<\/p>\n<p>But when she went to the doctor with &#8216;fuzzy&#8217; eyesight in October, the social change and social work student never expected them to later find a 2.2cm tumour on the pituitary gland in her brain.<\/p>\n<p>Just over a week later, on November 3, she received another devastating blow when she was diagnosed with Cushing&#8217;s Disease, a rare hormonal condition caused by the tumour, which has left her with blurred vision, fatigue, bodily weakness, headaches, muscle loss and a &#8216;hunch&#8217; in her back.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to FEMAIL, Tanja, 35, said if she had known about the growth earlier she wouldn&#8217;t have moved Down Under &#8211; because she is now stranded away from family and requires urgent treatment. Back home she also would&#8217;ve received free healthcare.<\/p>\n<p>Normally pituitary tumours are smaller than 1cm, but Tanja&#8217;s is more than twice that size; it has caused excess production of the stress hormone cortisol, which has left her constantly in &#8216;fight-or-flight mode&#8217; and &#8216;unable to unwind&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/19\/10\/77862575-12745863-Tanja_Dittfeld_was_fit_healthy_and_living_the_dream_this_year_ha-a-1_1700390261076.jpg\" height=\"467\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Tanja Dittfeld was fit, healthy and living the dream this year having moved from Denmark to Australia as part of her PhD studies\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/19\/10\/77861449-12745863-Normally_pituitary_tumours_are_smaller_than_1cm_but_Tanja_s_is_m-a-2_1700390261077.jpg\" height=\"573\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Normally pituitary tumours are smaller than 1cm but Tanja&#8217;s is more than twice this size. The tumour has caused excess production of the stress hormone cortisol, leaving Tanja constantly in &#8216;fight or flight mode&#8217; and being &#8216;unable to unwind&#8217; (pictured before diagnosis)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Her neurosurgeon strongly advised against returning home as the pressure from a flight could cause the tumour to burst and may cause blindness &#8211; so she made the difficult decision to stay in Australia.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She required emergency surgery on November 15 to prevent possible brain damage and permanent blindness. Doctors believe the tumour is benign but won&#8217;t know for sure until a biopsy is conducted.<\/p>\n<p>The rare Cushing&#8217;s Disease has left her with &#8216;hard hitting&#8217; symptoms and she describes her vision as feeling &#8216;like having butter smeared on both eyes&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It&#8217;s really hard to see which makes reading and navigating hard,&#8217; she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Cushing&#8217;s can be fatal if left untreated and surgery is the first resort to remove the tumour followed by any necessary medication.<\/p>\n<h3>What is\u00a0Cushing&#8217;s disease?\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Cushing Disease happens when the body has too much of the hormone cortisol for a long time.<\/p>\n<p>Too much cortisol can cause some of the main symptoms of Cushing syndrome &#8211; or Cushing&#8217;s disease &#8211; causing a fatty hump between the shoulders, a rounded face, and pink or purple stretch marks on the skin.<\/p>\n<p>Treatments for Cushing syndrome can lower the body&#8217;s cortisol levels and improve symptoms. The sooner treatment starts, the better the chances for recovery.<\/p>\n<p>Source: Mayo Clinic<\/p>\n<p>At the start of 2023 she suffered from vision impairment in one eye and visited an\u00a0ophthalmologist in Denmark who told her she had &#8216;dry eyes&#8217;.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t until she\u00a0saw an ophthalmologist in Sydney that the word &#8216;tumour&#8217; was uttered as a possibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;m incredibly anxious..\u00a0what if something goes wrong or I lose my eyesight? It&#8217;s brain surgery and there will be a hard recovery later,&#8217; Tanja said ahead of her surgery.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;m horrified at the possibility of what could happen but I know it&#8217;s necessary. It&#8217;s a catch 22 situation.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/19\/10\/77861447-12745863-She_moved_from_Denmark_to_Australia_in_July_but_received_the_dev-a-4_1700390261380.jpg\" height=\"478\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>She moved from Denmark to Australia in July but received the devastating news in October.\u00a0Her neurosurgeon strongly advised against returning home as the pressure from a flight could cause the tumour to burst and may cause blindness<\/p>\n<p>The scary scenario led three close friends to set up a GoFundMe campaign for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Cushing&#8217;s is nonhereditary and the cause of the tumour remains unknown.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While pituitary tumours very rarely spread to other parts of the body, the macro size of Tanja&#8217;s tumour sparked immediate concerns from doctors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Around one in five Australian (10-20 per cent) have a\u00a0pituitary tumour, most of which are small. But this isn&#8217;t the case for Tanja.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Cushing&#8217;s makes the removal of the tumour complicated because it causes the cells to become sticky and recurrence is higher.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/19\/10\/77861443-12745863-_As_devastating_as_it_was_to_be_diagnosed_it_was_also_a_relief_b-a-3_1700390261379.jpg\" height=\"847\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>&#8216;As devastating as it was to be diagnosed, it was also a relief being provided an explanation,&#8217; she said (pictured in Botswana)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;As devastating as it was to be diagnosed, it was also a relief being provided an explanation,&#8217; she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Since then I haven&#8217;t had a moment to myself to sit with my feelings &#8211; not a day or even an hour &#8211; I&#8217;ve been constantly tied up with appointments and meetings.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I haven&#8217;t had any time to process the diagnosis and I&#8217;m more stressed now than ever before coping with everything, which only elevates the cortisol levels making Cushing&#8217;s and the tumour worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I only sleep one to two hours a night, I&#8217;ve lost most of my hair, and vision impairments have gotten worse.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Tanja also described Australia&#8217;s healthcare system as &#8216;broken&#8217; as she believes everyone should be given the right to integrated healthcare.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She also gets by with a modest $26,600 stipend scholarship from the University of Sydney where she also teaches to supplement her income.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After just five days 360 donations were made and more than $36,000 has been raised to cover half the cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It&#8217;s been overwhelmingly heartwarming and I&#8217;ve felt really humbled,&#8217; she said.<\/p>\n<p>The surgery and hospitalisation alone costs $43,590.<\/p>\n<p>Any extra money raised will be donated to the Pituitary Foundation Australia to help other patients with pituitary tumours.<\/p>\n<p><span>READ MORE:<\/span> Young nurse&#8217;s warning to Aussies about why everyone must have a bedframe to prevent dangerous mould<\/p>\n<p>Young woman, 30, diagnosed with terminal cancer after feeling &#8216;bloated and tired&#8217; reveals how she will spend her final days<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/femail\/health\/article-12745863\/Cushings-Syndrome-pituitary-tumour-Australia-healthcare-denmark.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was 35, fit and healthy when I noticed a strange symptom that turned my life upside down. 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